Describe the current workflow
Explain what happens today before listing the features you want. Who starts the task, where does the information come from, and what does a completed task look like? Include the handoffs between people and systems. A statement such as “staff copy approved requests from email into a spreadsheet” tells a development partner more than “we need a dashboard.” Describe the time-consuming or error-prone steps without assuming the solution.
Separate requirements from preferences
Make three lists: essential for launch, valuable later, and outside scope. For each essential requirement, explain the outcome it enables. A preferred color scheme is a design preference; a requirement that only an account owner can export records is a product rule. Both matter, but they need different kinds of decisions. Record unresolved questions rather than disguising them as settled requirements.
Identify the practical constraints
List target devices, expected user roles, existing systems, data sensitivity, content ownership, and dependencies on other organizations. Include a budget range and any fixed event that drives the launch date. Indicate which accounts, integrations, designs, and content already exist. If something is uncertain, label it as an assumption that discovery should validate.
Use a concrete acceptance example
For an illustrative customer portal, an acceptance example might be: “A customer signs in, sees only their own requests, submits a new request with required fields, and receives a visible reference number.” Add what should happen when an input is missing or a request fails. Examples make scope review more productive than vague promises that a product will be easy or powerful.
Bring this checklist to discovery
Prepare a one-paragraph problem statement, two or three user roles, a sample workflow, the essential requirements, known integrations, and the person responsible for approving decisions. Share sanitized examples rather than live customer records. The brief is a starting point for discussion, not a fixed-price agreement or a substitute for discovery.