How to Brief a VR Walkthrough Project
A VR brief needs five things in order: the decision the walkthrough exists to unblock, the list of spaces that decision actually requires, the accuracy standard those spaces must meet, where and how it will be deployed, and an approved test build before the full set is produced. Briefs that start with a building instead of a decision produce expensive content that answers nothing.
The difference between a virtual reality project that gets used and one that becomes a stored headset is largely decided in the brief.
| Stage | Decision made | Artifact produced |
|---|---|---|
| Stage 1: name the decision | Who is deciding what, and what is stopping them | A one sentence decision statement everyone signs up to |
| Stage 2: list only the spaces that decision needs | Which spaces the decision actually requires, which sets the budget | A ranked space list, with each space justified against the decision |
| Stage 3: set the accuracy standard | Which kind of accuracy is being bought, and what is committed versus proposed | A written accuracy standard plus a committed versus proposed list |
| Stage 4: fix the deployment before the build | Device type, count, location and owner, before anything is built | A deployment specification naming devices, locations and the person who owns them |
| Stage 5: approve a test build first | The standard the remaining spaces are produced against | A signed-off first space that defines the standard for the rest |
Stage 1: name the decision
Write one sentence: who is deciding what, and what is stopping them. "Prospects will not sign for the two bedroom because there is no model unit." "The clinical group cannot evaluate the exam room from plans." "The committee will not fund a repositioning they cannot picture."
If you cannot write that sentence, the project is not ready to brief, and no amount of content will fix that.
Artifact produced: a one sentence decision statement everyone signs up to.
Stage 2: list only the spaces that decision needs
Work from the decision backwards. The two bedroom problem needs the two bedroom, not eleven unit types. The exam room review needs the exam room and its adjacencies, not the whole floor.
Space count is the main cost driver, so this is where a brief either controls the budget or loses it.
Artifact produced: a ranked space list, with each space justified against the decision.
Stage 3: set the accuracy standard
Different decisions demand different things. A clinical clearance review needs exact dimensions and mounting heights and does not care how it looks. A finish approval needs specified materials under specified lighting. A capital presentation needs the scope in the budget, not the scope in the brochure.
State which one you are buying, and state what is committed versus proposed in writing, because that determines what gets labeled on screen.
Artifact produced: a written accuracy standard plus a committed versus proposed list.
Stage 4: fix the deployment before the build
Standalone or tethered, how many devices, in which locations, run by whom, seated or standing. These are not delivery details; they set the technical target the environment is built against, and changing them later means rebuilding.
Artifact produced: a deployment specification naming devices, locations and the person who owns them.
Stage 5: approve a test build first
This is the stage that gets cut for schedule and costs the most when it is. One space, built to the agreed standard, reviewed in the actual headset by the actual decision maker, before the remaining spaces are produced.
In our experience, significant corrections on a VR project could have been caught here, at the cost of one space rather than ten.
Artifact produced: a signed-off first space that defines the standard for the rest.
What a weak brief looks like
"We need VR for the project." No decision, no space list, no accuracy standard, no deployment. It will be quoted, built, delivered and unused, and nobody will be able to say exactly where it went wrong.
If you have the decision sentence and a space list, send both and we can scope without a second round of questions.
How to start
Write the decision sentence. Everything in the brief either serves it or comes out.
Related reading: build-to-rent communities and industrial and warehouse facilities show how differently the same brief resolves by sector, VR for construction teams covers the coordination brief, and how long a VR walkthrough takes covers scheduling.
Send us your decision sentence and space list and we will come back with a scope.