Instructional Design
Writing a Training
Brief
A good brief is the single biggest factor in whether a training project succeeds or fails. It's not about specifying every detail — it's about clearly defining the problem, the audience, and what success looks like. This guide shows you how.
7 min readTL;DR
The best training briefs focus on the problem, not the solution. Define what people need to be able to DO after the training that they can't do now. Describe your audience specifically. Set clear boundaries on scope and timeline. And define success criteria before you start — not after. A one-page brief that covers these well beats a 20-page specification that misses them.
Start with the problem, not the solution
The most common briefing mistake is jumping straight to the solution. "We need a 30-minute eLearning module on hand hygiene." That's a solution, not a problem. It tells the instructional designer what to build, but not why — and it closes down options before the real thinking has started.
A better starting point: "Our infection control audit found 40% non-compliance with hand hygiene protocols in Ward 3. Staff say they know the rules but don't follow them consistently." Now the instructional designer can figure out the right solution — which might not be eLearning at all. It might be a job aid. A workflow change. A 5-minute refresher instead of a 30-minute module.
When you define the problem clearly, you give the designer the freedom to solve it well.
Weak brief
"We need a 30-minute eLearning module on hand hygiene for all clinical staff. It should cover the 5 Moments of Hand Hygiene and include a quiz at the end. Deadline: end of March."
Strong brief
"Our last infection control audit found 40% non-compliance in Ward 3. Staff know the 5 Moments framework but aren't applying it consistently, especially during shift changeovers. We need to improve compliance to 85%+ by Q3. We're open to the best approach — eLearning, job aids, blended, whatever works."
Know your audience
Generic training for "all staff" rarely works. The more specific you can be about your learners, the better the outcome. An instructional designer uses audience information to make dozens of decisions — tone, complexity, examples, delivery format, assessment approach. The more they know, the more targeted the result.
Who are they?
Roles, experience levels, typical demographics. A graduate nurse and a senior clinician need very different approaches.
What do they already know?
Existing competence, previous training, knowledge gaps. Starting from scratch is a very different design challenge than refreshing existing knowledge.
Where will they learn?
Desktop, mobile, on the floor, in a classroom. A warehouse worker on a phone needs a fundamentally different solution to an office worker at a desk.
What motivates them?
Compliance requirement, career development, genuine interest. Mandatory training needs a very different engagement strategy than voluntary professional development.
What are the barriers?
Time, technology access, language, resistance. Knowing the obstacles upfront means the designer can work around them instead of discovering them at launch.
How many learners?
Scale affects design decisions significantly. A module for 20 people can be more tailored and hands-on. A module for 2,000 needs to be more self-sufficient and robust.
Scope and boundaries
What's in scope and — equally important — what's NOT. Scope creep is the number one killer of training project timelines and budgets. A good brief draws clear lines so everyone knows what they're working towards and when to push back.
Your brief should clearly state:
Topics to cover
Be specific about what content must be included — and explicitly list what's excluded. "This module covers onboarding for the patient management system. It does NOT cover clinical protocols or OH&S induction."
Delivery method preferences
If you have a preference (eLearning, blended, instructor-led), state it — but ideally leave room for the designer to recommend the best approach based on the problem and audience.
Timeline and key milestones
When does the training need to be live? Are there regulatory deadlines, audit dates, or onboarding cohorts driving the timeline? Fixed deadlines affect what's achievable.
Budget range
Even an approximate range helps. A $5,000 budget and a $50,000 budget produce very different solutions. Being upfront about budget avoids wasted effort on proposals that don't fit.
Technical constraints
Which LMS? SCORM 1.2 or 2004? xAPI? What devices do learners use? Are there accessibility requirements (WCAG)? These constraints shape every design decision.
Approval process
Who signs off on the content? How many review rounds are included? Who are the subject matter experts? Unclear approval processes are responsible for more project delays than anything else.
Defining success
If you can't measure it, you can't prove it worked. Success criteria should be specific and tied to observable behaviour or measurable outcomes. Define them before the project starts — not after. Retrofitting success metrics to justify a completed project is a waste of everyone's time.
Completion isn't success
A 100% completion rate means nothing if behaviour doesn't change. Completion tells you people clicked through. It doesn't tell you they learned anything or that they'll do anything differently tomorrow.
Knowledge checks have limits
Passing a quiz proves short-term recall, not long-term application. A learner who scores 90% on a hand hygiene quiz might still not wash their hands at the right moments. Knowledge is necessary but not sufficient.
Behaviour change is the goal
Can people do the thing? Are they doing it on the job? This is what matters. The brief should describe what learners need to be able to DO after the training that they can't — or don't — do now.
Business metrics matter
Reduced incidents, faster onboarding, better audit results, fewer errors. Tie training outcomes to the business outcomes that triggered the project in the first place. This is how you prove ROI.
Build evaluation into the brief
Don't figure out how to measure success after the training is built. If the brief includes success criteria upfront, the designer can build assessment and evaluation into the learning experience from the start.
My Approach
How I approach training briefs
A brief isn't a form to fill in — it's a conversation to have. I work with clients to get the brief right before any design work begins, because it saves weeks of back-and-forth later.
01
Discovery
Briefing workshop or structured intake form. Clarify the real problem, understand the audience in depth, and separate assumptions from evidence.
02
Strategy
Translate the brief into a learning design proposal — objectives, structure, delivery method, assessment approach. Tested against the problem, not just the brief.
03
Delivery
Collaborative build with review checkpoints, pilot testing, and iteration based on learner feedback. The brief stays alive as a reference throughout.
Ready to start?
Get the brief right from the start
If you're planning a training project and want to get the brief right from the start, I offer structured briefing sessions that save weeks of back-and-forth later.
Get in touch