Capability Brief Template
Purpose: Turn a workflow pressure into a buildable hypothesis, scope, and first useful artifact.
When to use: After a customer, operator, or leadership conversation identifies a possible AI capability. Before committing build time.
Inputs Required
- Conversation transcript, workshop notes, or workflow notes
- Understanding of the current process and where it breaks down
- Sense of what would make the work easier, faster, safer, or more consistent
Template
1. Hypothesis
What are we proving or disproving?
Format: "We believe that [capability] will [improve this workflow] for [user/customer] because [reason]."
This is the headline. If the artifact succeeds, what have we learned?
2. Workflow Context
Key insights from the conversation, observation, or source material.
- What problem did they describe?
- What's their current workaround?
- What would "better" look like to them?
- What constraints did they mention?
3. Core Capability
What the first useful artifact MUST do (maximum 3 things).
Be ruthless. A narrow capability that helps real work beats a broad tool nobody trusts.
4. Out of Scope
What we're explicitly NOT building.
Write this down so the build does not drift into platform scope.
5. Success Criteria
How do we know the demo worked?
What behavior are we looking for? What should the user be able to do better? What evidence would make us continue?
6. Technical Approach
High-level, 2-3 sentences max.
What are you building this with? What shortcuts are you taking? What can you reuse?
7. Data Requirements
What specific data do we need?
- Source system (Shopify, Salesforce, CSV export, etc.)
- Format (API, export file, database access)
- Key fields needed
- Who provides it and when
No source material = no useful capability. Get this locked down early.
8. User & Workflow Context
Who uses this and where does it fit?
- Who is the primary user?
- Where in their workflow does this fit?
- What's the "before" state? (What do they do today?)
9. Sample Scenario
Walk through a concrete example.
User receives X -> system prepares Y -> human reviews Z -> work moves forward.
If you cannot write this, the capability is not concrete enough.
10. Risks / Unknowns
What could make this capability fail?
- Data quality issues?
- Missing fields or access?
- Ambiguous requirements?
- Technical unknowns?
11. Pre-Demo Checklist
What must be true before you start building?
A checklist of concrete prerequisites. Don't start until these are checked.
Outputs
- Completed capability brief (1 page max)
- Clear decision on whether to build the first useful artifact
Tips
- Write the hypothesis first. If you can't articulate it clearly, you're not ready to build.
- The brief should take 30-60 minutes. If it takes longer, the workflow is probably not clear yet.
- "Customer" includes internal teams. If you are building for operators inside the company, they are the customer.
- A rejected hypothesis is still progress. Better to learn before the work grows.
Next: Evidence Review Meeting (after the first artifact exists)