An AI project brief that starts with one useful task

Describe an action, not “an AI system”

Use a sentence with a person, a situation, an input and an output. Keep the first pilot focused: identify who uses the output, who makes the final decision, and which step changes while other decisions remain with a person.

Prepare material that represents the work

Use ordinary tasks alongside missing, conflicting or inconsistent cases. Record source types, formats, languages, permissions and versions. An initial enquiry does not need a customer database, personnel files or production secrets.

Define output and acceptance together

State what a useful answer includes: source support, a clear uncertainty signal, a usable format and a practical correction route. Measure the whole task, including preparation, review, correction and export—not only generation time.

Give the pilot an end point

Agree deliverables, the acceptance owner, reserved evaluation tasks and the condition for a next phase. A handover should include configuration records, operating notes, known limits and a route back to the manual process.

MAKE IT YOURS

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# AI project brief

Project:
Owner / team:
Version and date:

## 1. One useful task
Who turns which input into which output, and when:
Current manual process and difficulty:
Step included in the pilot:
Out of scope:

## 2. Material and environment
Source types / formats / languages:
Source permissions:
Personal or sensitive information present:
Agreed processing environment and access roles:
Update frequency and source owner:
Existing tools and export format:

## 3. Representative tasks
Task ID:
Input or source location:
Expected result and references:
Acceptable expression of uncertainty:
Difficult cases:
Reserved acceptance task (yes/no):

## 4. Acceptance
Required conditions:
Metrics that allow trade-offs:
Current manual baseline:
Whole-task time measurement, including review and correction:
Acceptance owner and date:
Manual fallback:

## 5. Delivery
Deliverables and configuration records:
Pilot scope / time / budget range:
Maintenance and handover:
Condition for the next phase: