A project brief people actually use
Five small sections that give a team enough context to begin.
Write the question before the plan
A brief earns its place by helping someone make a decision. Start with the problem, who experiences it and what a useful outcome looks like. Keep this section short enough for a teammate to read before a meeting. Supporting research can live in linked documents.
Make the boundaries visible
List the owner, the next milestone and the decisions already made. Include a small out-of-scope section so a new teammate understands the boundaries. A brief can change; record meaningful changes with a date and a sentence explaining the reason.
Leave room for open questions
A good starting document does not need all the answers. Give open questions an owner and a date for the next update. Review the brief at each milestone and archive it with the final handover so the next project can learn from the work.