DailyWF / Projects
Discovery Brief
Document early investigation before the project is formally approved.
Project use
Use this before committing to a project when the problem, options, or constraints are still unclear.
- Define the question being investigated and the decision the brief should support.
- Summarize known facts, unknowns, constraints, and stakeholders.
- Compare practical options without pretending design is complete.
- Identify risks, dependencies, rough cost class, and timing pressure.
- Recommend whether to proceed, pause, reject, or run a pilot.
Expected output
A project record that states the decision, owner, boundary, dependency, next checkpoint, and evidence needed to continue.
Common failure mode
Treating discovery as approval instead of decision support.
Use notes
| Best trigger | Use before a project decision becomes expensive to reverse. |
|---|---|
| Evidence | Keep enough context to explain the decision later without reconstructing conversations. |
| Review point | Review when scope, stakeholder expectation, timing, risk, or ownership changes. |
Related pages
- Assumption LogTrack project assumptions before they become invisible sources of risk.
- Project CloseoutClose work formally and preserve ownership of remaining obligations.
- Project IntakeCapture a proposed project before committing time or budget.
- Benefits ReviewCheck whether delivered work produced the expected operational or business value.
- Lessons LearnedCapture reusable learning from project execution.
Use this with a tool
Find related documents, copy a checklist, or request a missing workflow.