School infrastructure project briefs, plans and instructions fail because the descriptions and the language used are vague. Some examples of common issues are:

• What is required may be unclear.
• What qualities or characteristics that need to be delivered or achieved may not be specified.
• The responsibility for delivery may not be defined.
• In addition, the budget, or the cost of achieving delivery and the timeframes, may not be provided.

When these issues are not provided or are not clearly defined it is likely that projects will not be completed on time and on budget. The wrong deliverable may also be provided. And, finally, if no responsibility is allocated nothing may happen.

This can be avoided through simple clear documentation. This includes a project brief (what is required), a project plan (how the project will be carried out), project minutes (records of decisions about the project) and reports (communication on progress).

While these documents help, it is also important that the language within them is clear.

Language can be tested and improved using S.M.A.R.T principles. These principles are outlined below and can be used to help write better education infrastructure briefing, planning and monitoring documents.

S	Specific	Project aims are defined in a precise and detailed way.
M	Measureable	Deliverables for the project are written in a way that can be measured.
A	Achievable	Project outputs should be achievable within the timeframes and resources provided.
R	Relevant	The project should align with the aims and values of the school.
T	Time-bound	Deliverables and actions must be time-bound and delivery dates must be set.