How to Brief a Developer Without Sounding Clueless

Here is the brief we get most often. 'I want an app. It is like Uber but for...' and then something completely unrelated to taxis.

I want an Uber for dog walking. An Uber for laundry. An Uber for finding plumbers.

At this point Uber is basically a mood board. Here is a better brief. In fact, here are the five things you should be able to answer before you talk to any developer.

One. What problem does this solve? Not what features does it have.

What problem does it solve? If you cannot answer that in one sentence, you are not ready to build yet. And that is fine.

Two. Who uses it? Not 'everyone.' Nobody builds something for everyone.

Who specifically is going to open this app on a Tuesday afternoon and why? Three. What is the one thing it absolutely must do?

Not the 47 things you thought of at 3am. The one thing that if it does not work, the whole app is pointless. Four.

Does it need to talk to anything else? Payment systems? Calendars?

CRMs? That word is 'integrations' and it is the thing that most people forget until week six of development when suddenly everything costs twice as much. Five.

What is your budget? Not 'it depends.' An actual number. Developers are not psychic.

If your budget is £30,000, say so. A good developer will tell you what is possible within that. A bad one will nod and send you an invoice for 80.

If you want to practise, go use our Scope My App tool. It asks you these questions and gives you a proper report. Free.

No sales call. Just clarity.