About briefing. Q&A with Prof John Worthington MBE, co-founder DEGW

"Buildings are the physical manifestations of our values and beliefs. Discussing and defining these is an essential part of the briefing process."

The briefing process is more important than the brief itself, says John Worthington who is one of the world’s leading experts on briefing. John co-founded the famed design consultancy firm DEGW (which later became a part of AECOM) and has taught at various academic institutions. In a career spanning more than four decades, he has been teaching, writing, advising and mentoring on the topics of workplace design, architecture and urban planning. Together with Alastair Blyth he wrote one of the best books available on the topic of briefing, called Managing the Brief for Better Design.

JvM: How do you define the concept of briefing?

JW: It is important to make a distinction between the brief as a product and as a process. The first is a deliverable–something that is written, a fixed object. The second is a process—a trajectory in which you explore, learn, develop and test your needs and ideas concerning the project. The process part is the most interesting in my opinion because it never stops. We are living in a fast-moving world and our needs are changing constantly. Just look at the speed with which technologies evolve. Or at the Covid-19 crisis and all the questions it triggers concerning how we design our buildings and cities. Dealing with such change is the biggest challenge in briefing.

JvM: Isn’t there a tension between the process and the product approach? At some point in the process, a project manager will want a brief that is fixed?

JW: A tension indeed. This tension is between the supply side (i.e. the contractors, developers, engineers) and the demand side (i.e. the client, users). At the supply side, there is a push to freeze things at the earliest possible moment, which comes out of a misplaced desire to minimize uncertainty. At the demand side, there is a need to leave things open to the last responsible moment. This is because ideas evolve during the project and user needs may change, especially in large projects that span several years. This is an important notion because if your briefing process cannot deal with change, you may very well end up constructing the wrong building.

JvM: You put a lot of emphasis on changing user needs. But aren’t some requirements quite stable? For example requirements concerning indoor climate?

JW: Of course. I consider such requirements as “rules”. We should aim to specify the minimum number to achieve the maximum effective effect. An effective brief is an appropriate balance between the prescriptive, repeating what is known to be successful and performance specification to allow for innovation.

JvM: What makes a good brief?

JW: There are several criteria that apply to both the product and the process. A good brief is:

• Concise and clear (making it an effective means of communication);
• Iterative (briefing is design, and design is briefing);
• Interactive (reflecting interactions between different project actors and stakeholders)
• Layered (distinguishing between different ‘time scales of change’)
• Aspirational (challenging conventions, seeking change)
• Founded on meaningful data (e.g. occupancy data, survey data, operational data)
• Clear measures for evaluation and feedback

 JvM: How do you see the future of briefing?

JW: As with pretty much everything else the practice of briefing will become more digital and data-driven. Algorithms will help us to analyse use patterns. Occupancy data from smart buildings will give us a more fine-grained understanding of how spaces are being used. All this data can be used to generate better briefs. But, let’s not forget ethics! Digitalisation can make construction much more efficient, but buildings are not just engineered artefacts. They are also the physical manifestations of our values and beliefs. Discussing and defining these is an essential part of the briefing process.

JvM: Any recommendations for construction clients?

JW: Be truly engaged! Don’t delegate your role to a spreadsheet-obsessed project manager. Being engaged is absolutely essential if you want to create a truly meaningful project. In bullets:

• Keep actively involved throughout the entire project
• Keep options open till last responsible moment
• Be prepared to take responsible risks
• Establish the context—set high expectations from the start
• Review continuously
• Visualise the future—using Hindsight and Foresight