Design Brief Example

Your Name HereThis is similar to what we use on the

Cisco.com team.

Revision History

• Version 1.4: Corrected Category types (page 6), added SMEs, minor updates from Stephanie Smith

• Version 1.3: Added Editorial SMEs• Version 1.1: Minor revisions with examples

Intake Submission Info [internal only]

• Project Name• Mission of the project (one-liner)• Primary business objective• Approximate budget available• Key sponsors• [Note: Use a form like this internally to get the

project started quickly]

Overview• {Our organization} needs to improve measured

customer engagement on {x, y} and as part of this effort is redesigning and streamlining {z}

• The primary goal is to help customers [ …]• A secondary important goal is to [ … ]• There will be two tracks of related work, which

could happen in parallel:– Track 1: Quick fixes to [ … ]– Track 2: A more thorough design based on existing

research [ … ]– These two tracks should be estimated together but

as separate line items.

Key Issues/Challenges• Design not aligned with business objectives

(see section)• Inconsistent Treatments:

• Page titling / naming (causes SEO issues)• Inconsistent top box treatment – sometimes the

grey box is associated with the image – sometimes not

• Inconsistent presentation and layout of video treatments within pages

• Not enough specification information readily available

• Unclear content and visual hierarchy• Not ready for coming features such as [ … ]

Audiences• Primary audiences:– Audience 1– Audience 1

• Secondary audiences:– Media and bloggers– Procurement managers

• Tip: Here think about:– Who are the users you are targeting?– Think about specific personas -- what motivates the

specific targets? What are their buying patterns?

Business Objectives/Desired Outcomes

• From a business standpoint, these pages need to to […]– The new experience should : (edit or add)–

• Specific project objectives: (edit or add to these – pick a few focused objectives)– Educate and excite customers about [product]– Disseminate knowledge and information– Raise public awareness of a new initiative.– Generate purchases– Other: (specify)

• Measurement:– How are you measuring success?–

Customer Needs• Top tasks: [These] pages[experiences] need to

address the basic needs of our visitors: – Help customers to [ … ]– Help customers to [ … ]

• They pages should also: – [ … ] – [ … ] – Provide a path to [ … ]

• Note that wording will be different for mobile or tablet initiatives, but the principle is the same.

Calls to Action

• List any specific known calls to action for this area

Existing Research

• List any known existing metrics, usability, audience research, or competitive research

Usage Data/Metrics

• List any existing relevant metrics you have on this area or product

• List measurement plans you have in mind post launch (what would you like to measure, key conversions, etc)

Content Audit and Status

• List any known content audit information that may be available to the vendor or design team

Design Deliverables• We require a new set of designs that (1) restructure

the [ . . .] of the site and (2) visually redesign the [ … ]. Deliverables include:– Content audit– Wireframes– Usage flow diagrams– Prototype for discussion and testing– Visual comps and specification (leveraging existing

components)– Xx More

Out of Scope

• The product does not address the [ … ]. This may be a future project.

Contacts & Stakeholders• Stephanie Smith: Product Lead/SME• Vinny Paris: Global Lead• Christine Farnham: Visual Design• Jane Walrus: User Experience Lead/Engagement

Manager• Cat Robbin: Usability contact• Gita Ratcliffe: Editorial• Technical lead: Keith Grapefruit• Mitch Jones: Site Producer• Gina Jackson: Maketing Manager

Timeline• Initial wireframes delivered by January 15,

2014.• Usability test results January 27, 2014• Final wireframes delivered February 10,

2014• Visual designs delivered by February 28,,

2014 or earlier• Documentation for new components March

5, 2014

Coordination Points

• Hero spotlight explorations (Chris Farnham), a separate mini-project

• Video treatment (Vendor W)• Task-based navigation and product hierarchy

navigation on new Cisco.com Support area

Details on the Tracks

• (Use this slide if there are multiple tracks)• Track 1: Quick fix approach for deployment

this quarter [ … ]• Track 2: [ … ]

Technical Constraints

• [ … ]• Consult with your IT team or Rick Rose’s team

for any potential issues. Mail: [team mail]• This is a good section to include so that you

and vendors don’t waste time on designs that can’t be implemented easily.

Applications

• Are there any special features you would like to include on the website [e.g. shopping cart, database applications, rich media etc]

• Should this web page or section be optimized for mobile devices?

Global Considerations

• Countries this solution will support: [ … ]• Languages this solution will support [ … ]• Localization considerations beyond language

include [ … ]• Timing

Current Page (include pages as illustrations)

Call out things that work and don’t about the existing designs.

Model Pages from Other Sites

• Here are some best practices from other sites.• Not all of these features make sense for [our

site area], but are worth factoring into our design thinking.

• [ Add pictures of good practices from other sites, with callouts about what you like and don’t ]