01 · DECISION
What the team must decide now
One sentence if possible, with a timeframe. Example: which kind of user the product serves first for the next two quarters.
PROJECT BRIEF / START HERE
Write down what needs deciding on a one-page project brief
No formal brief needed. Write down one specific decision, the material you have and when you hope to decide, and we can start the first conversation.
Four things on one page are enough. Each comes with an example; replace it with your own, roughly is fine.
You only need four things
02 · WHY NOW
Why now
What makes it urgent, such as a date already set. Example: next quarter’s plan locks in five weeks, and sales is already demoing the old positioning.
03 · MATERIALS
What you already have
Send whatever exists; no need to tidy it. Example: 12 user interviews, 86 support tickets and three unlaunched versions of home page copy.
04 · PEOPLE
Who takes part
The people who can decide and the people who hold the evidence. Example: the head of product, the founder and the head of customer success, all three available for the second meeting.
A sample project brief
This one comes from a fictional team, filled in along the four points above. Copy it and replace each line with your own.
Sample · copy and use
B2B collaboration product: settle the main roadmap in five weeks
- The decision
- Which kind of user the product serves first over the next two quarters, and next quarter’s roadmap based on it.
- Why now
- Next quarter’s plan locks in five weeks; sales is demoing the old positioning and customer feedback is starting to scatter.
- Users today
- Three groups at once: project managers, remote engineers and external client collaborators. Their needs differ and each direction on the roadmap has supporters.
- Material at hand
- 12 user interviews (last 8 weeks), 86 support records (grouped by topic), six months of feature usage data and two unlaunched home page drafts.
- Timing
- A positioning decision within five weeks, and next quarter’s main line set.
- People
- Head of product (decides), founder (priorities and budget), head of customer success (user evidence).
- What we want to leave with
- A positioning conclusion ready for planning and the home page redesign, with the main evidence and the directions explicitly dropped.
Replace these seven lines with your own and the brief is done. Send it even if material is missing; we’ll list the gaps together.
What happens in the first 30 minutes
0–5 min · Context
You briefly describe the product, its stage and the team; I confirm which decision we are here to talk about.
5–20 min · Break down the problem and constraints
We split the decision into options that can be judged and lay out the constraints: time, people, budget and fixed dates.
20–30 min · Fit and next step
I say what I think of the problem, whether I can help, and what the first step would be. Then you decide whether to go ahead.
No long-term package and no generic price list in these 30 minutes.
Replies and next steps
- This site: an example site that doesn’t take enquiries. There is no form or email address here, so please don’t send real information.
- On a real site: a reply usually within 2 working days, with a first view after reading the brief.
- If it fits: a short first engagement with its length, the decision and the deliverables written down, before deciding to start.
- If it doesn’t: the reason, and a better direction where useful, without forcing it.
Questions before we talk
Can we start with incomplete material?
Yes. Three interviews or two weeks of data still count as material. The first conversation can start from the most complete thing you have, and we’ll list the gaps together.
What if I can’t yet put the problem into words?
Start with one concrete moment, such as “last week we argued about one release date for two hours”. Concrete moments expose the real disagreement faster than summaries.
Do I need to sign a long-term contract?
No. We usually finish one short engagement, see whether the conclusion helps you decide, then talk about continuing.
Ready to write the page?
Write the four things down and you’ll already be clearer before sending. To check how we work first, see the engagements on the services page.
Want more to go on? Read the case studies first
Gu Yan is a fictional consultant on an example site: no enquiries are taken and no visitor information is collected or stored. There is no form, email or contact address on this page.