How to write a one-page experiment brief

Most failed experiments fail before they start, because nobody wrote down what they were trying to find out. A one-page brief costs about twenty minutes and saves days. Here is the template we use, with examples from ServiceNow and AI work.

1. The question. Write one sentence. “Will users complete this ServiceNow catalog request without help?” is a good question. “Explore the catalog” is not. If you cannot write it as a question, you probably have a task, not an experiment.

2. Why it matters. Say what decision the answer will inform. If the answer will not change any decision, the experiment is probably not worth running.

3. The method. Describe, in a few lines, what you will build or run and on what material. For a ServiceNow experiment, name the instance, the module and the data. For an AI experiment, name the tool, the data and the set of examples you will test against.

4. The success test. Write down, before starting, what result would make you proceed and what would make you stop. This is the single most valuable line in the brief, because it stops you from deciding after the fact that whatever happened was a success.

5. The limits. Say what the experiment will not tell you. A test on a sample of CMDB records does not tell you about the whole database. An AI tool tested on twenty tickets says little about ten thousand.

6. Safety. State where it will run and what it must not touch. Experiments belong in test environments, on copies or samples of data. If AI is involved, say who reviews the output and what they check.

7. Time and owner. Name one owner and set a time limit. An experiment without a deadline tends to become a project by accident.

8. What happens next. Say what you will do with each outcome: stop, change direction or plan a proper project.