A brief is not enough. First, I need to understand what we are actually solving.

Shape Up helped me name the way I want to think about projects. Do not start with a feature list or a predetermined solution. First define the problem, the important context and the boundaries within which the work makes sense.

This does not mean weeks of workshops and endless planning. It means spending enough time understanding the right problem so we do not spend weeks building something nobody needs.

I prefer smaller, clearly shaped pieces of work. Each should have a purpose, a reasonable scope and a finished outcome.