A long specification is not always the best starting point. A useful brief helps both teams understand the problem, the expected output and the constraints that shape delivery. Use these five questions to prepare your first discussion.
1. What needs to change?
Describe the current system and the specific problem. “Automate our testing” is a direction; “make the checkout regression checks repeatable in our existing environment” is a starting scope. Include who uses the system and what is currently difficult.
2. What should the handover contain?
Name the assets you expect: source code, test scripts, an interface implementation, execution evidence or operating instructions. Distinguish a working prototype from a production-ready component. Agree which items will be reviewed and how acceptance will be recorded.
3. Which inputs are ready?
List the available repositories, documentation, hardware, environments and test data. Record the owners of missing inputs. Access to a customer environment may need approval before engineering can begin; make that dependency visible in the plan.
4. Who owns decisions?
Identify a technical contact and the person who accepts the delivery. Define how questions, scope changes and defects will be handled. A regular review is useful only when the right people can make the decisions needed to keep work moving.
5. What are the real constraints?
Separate a preferred date from a fixed dependency. Discuss location, security, working hours and handover needs. These details help determine whether a specialist, a project work package or a recurring workstream is the most suitable starting model.
Bring the discussion to your project.
Share the system, the challenge and the outcome you need. We can discuss a suitable scope and delivery model.
Discuss your requirement ↗