How to Brief a Developer Without Making Them Cry

You’re excited. You’ve got a startup idea. Maybe a Figma. Maybe a Notion board full of features. And now you’re about to tell someone technical what to build. Please, let’s do this right.

1. Write what you need, not how it should be built

You’re not the dev. You don’t need to say “React frontend with Firebase auth.” You need to say “User logs in with email and sees their dashboard.” Let your tech team do tech. You do clarity.

2. Include context — not just features

“Send notification” is not a feature. It’s a fragment. Who gets it? When? What triggers it? What’s in it? What happens if it fails? Add the story, or expect bugs.

3. Show flows, not just screens

Balsamiq or not, you need to think in sequences. What happens before this screen? What comes after? Devs don’t build screenshots. They build logic.

4. Say what matters and what can wait

If everything’s “priority”, nothing is. Flag what’s core to the MVP and what’s “nice to have”. Your dev will thank you. Your budget will too.

5. Put it in one place

Don’t make your dev check Figma, Slack, Google Docs and your voice notes. Write it all down. One page, one link, one brain dump — structured.