The PRINCE2 Project Brief is traditionally produced as a Word document. But for many projects, a structured PowerPoint presentation is a more effective format — particularly when the audience is senior executives who will review the brief in a meeting rather than reading it independently.
When to Use PowerPoint
In complex environments with a high level of ambiguity, a rich document may be needed to fully describe objectives, scope, products, approach, and roles. But for projects with a clear context and well-understood scope, a structured PowerPoint deck is often faster to produce, easier to present, and more accessible to stakeholders who don't read long documents.
Combining Scope and PPD
One of the most useful features of a PowerPoint Project Brief is how it naturally combines the Scope section with the Project Product Description (PPD). Rather than maintaining these as two separate sections that can end up repeating each other, the slides create a side-by-side or linked view.
The scope should describe the breadth of what the project covers — not the detailed product specifications. It should address areas such as:
- Production environment preparation
- Maintenance planning and handover
- Launch and rollout activities
- Training and capability building
- Support materials and documentation
Linking Scope to PPD Components
Each scope item should link to a corresponding element in the Project Product Description's Composition section. This creates a logical breakdown that ties acceptance criteria, delivery approach, and responsibility assignments together in a coherent structure — making it easy to see that nothing important has been missed.
For every deliverable listed in the PPD Composition, specify the customer quality expectations, quality standards, or high-level requirements. This applies to both external customer needs and internal stakeholder requirements.