How to write a learning brief that gets you a better result

When a learning project goes wrong, the problem can often be traced back to the start: a brief that was unclear about the goal, the audience or what “done” looks like. When a project goes well, there is usually a good brief behind it.

You don’t need a long or formal document. You need clear answers to a handful of questions. Here is what we find most useful.

1. What needs to change?

Start with the outcome, not the format. Rather than “we need a 30-minute e-learning course on data protection”, try “we need staff to recognise and report data incidents within 24 hours”. A clear outcome lets your supplier recommend the best approach, which may be more, less or different from what you first imagined.

2. Who is the audience?

• Roles, locations and roughly how many people.
• What they already know, and what they think about the subject.
• Where, when and on what devices they will learn.
• Any accessibility, language or literacy considerations.

3. What content exists already?

Share whatever you have: existing courses, policies, presentations, process documents or technical material. Be honest about its state. Knowing that content is “complete but very dense” or “still being finalised” makes a big difference to planning.

4. Who are the experts and reviewers?

Name the subject experts who will contribute and the people who will sign off the work. Be realistic about how much time they can give. Review delays are the most common cause of slipping timelines, and it helps to plan for them from the start.

5. What are the practical constraints?

• Timescale: any fixed launch dates and why they matter.
• Budget: even a rough range helps a supplier recommend an approach that fits.
• Technology: your LMS, authoring tools you already own and any IT restrictions.
• Brand: guidelines, templates and tone of voice.

6. How will you know it worked?

Decide early how you will judge success: completion rates, assessment results, fewer support calls, better data quality, or feedback from managers. It shapes the design and makes it much easier to demonstrate value later.

Don’t worry if you don’t have every answer

A brief is a starting point, not a test. If some answers are uncertain, say so. A good supplier will help you fill the gaps in the first conversation, and the questions they ask will tell you a lot about how they work.