Project brief and scope worksheet

Three parts. The brief says what you are trying to achieve and what you will not do. The scope sheet turns that into lines a designer or bidder can price. The unknowns register keeps the open questions visible instead of buried in a paragraph. The method is taught in Module 2. Everything you type stays in this browser only, so export the binder from the binder page when you have done real work here.

Part 1: the brief

Write in full sentences. A brief that a stranger could read and then describe your project back to you is the test. If you described your project in setup, the first few fields are already filled from your answers; edit them freely.

Part 2: scope lines

One row per piece of work, by area. "Priority" is your own ranking: must (the project fails without it), should (strongly wanted, could be cut under pressure), could (nice to have), not now (explicitly deferred, written down so nobody prices it by accident). "Finish level" is the quality or specification in words, or the allowance you are carrying. "Status" tracks whether the line is still a wish, defined well enough to price, or actually priced. Load the example rows to see the fictional Alder Street kitchen from Module 7 written as scope.

Part 3: unknowns register

Every project has things nobody knows yet. Listing them with a name and a date is what stops them from becoming change orders. "Who can resolve it" should be a person or an office, not "someone".

How to use this worksheet

• Write the brief before the scope. Goals and constraints are what let you make trade-offs later. If the goal is "a kitchen three people can cook in at once," you will know what to cut when the countertop quote comes in high.
• Exclusions are scope. "We will not touch the dining room floor" is as useful to a bidder as any line you include. Put exclusions in the brief and, where a bidder might assume otherwise, as a "not now" scope row.
• Owner-supplied means owner-responsible. Ticking "owner-supplied" on a line means you carry the lead time, the delivery, the storage, the damage risk and the spec sheet. Module 8 and the selection log pick this up.
• Promote unknowns, do not delete them. When an unknown is resolved, tick it and write what was decided in the notes. The resolved list is your history when a bidder asks "why did you assume that?"
• Give the scope sheet to everyone who prices. Download the CSV and attach it to the bid package from Module 7, so that every proposal starts from the same list.
• Print before meetings. A printed brief on the table keeps a design meeting about your goals rather than the designer's.