What Is Project Description: How to Write One (With Tips) in 2025?

Every project can only be started once it is approved by the relevant stakeholders. Once a project has been ideated, there should be a project plan that outlines the resources needed to deliver it.

Project managers need to create a concise and sharp project description for each project. This is crucial for stakeholders to understand and approve the project. It also acts as the base for teammates to refer and understand the scope of the project.

In this blog, we will look at what a project description, how to create it, and the best practices for one. 

What Is a Project Description?

A Project Description is a document that outlines the details of a specific project in a structured format covering all stages of the project and the processes involved in it. For those unfamiliar, a project description example can offer a clearer picture of how these documents are typically drafted. A Project Description is created quite early in the Project Life Cycle. It is a useful document that could be referred to for a quick understanding of what the project involves, what it aims to accomplish, and how it shall be accomplished.

As a Project Manager, creating this document will be one of your key responsibilities early in the project. This skill will also help you when you want to improve your project management credentials.

Components of a Project Description 

A comprehensive project description is crucial for effectively communicating a project's purpose, scope, and goals. Here are key components to include in a project description: 

• Project Title: Begin with a clear and engaging title that succinctly conveys the essence of the project. 
• Introduction: Provide a brief overview of the project, including its context, significance, and relevance to the organization or stakeholders. 
• Project Objectives: Clearly state the specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) objectives of the project. 
• Scope of Work: Define the project's boundaries by specifying what is included and excluded. Clearly outline the project's scope to manage expectations. 
• Deliverables: Detail the tangible outcomes or products that the project will produce. This helps stakeholders understand what to expect. 
• Methodology or Approach: Describe the methods and strategies employed to achieve the project objectives. Include any unique approaches or innovations. 
• Timeline and Milestones: Provide a high-level timeline outlining the project's significant phases and key milestones. This helps in tracking progress and managing deadlines. 
• Budget and Resources: Specify the financial requirements, including direct costs (materials, equipment) and indirect costs (personnel, overhead). Detail the necessary resources and their allocation. 
• Stakeholders: Identify and describe the primary stakeholders involved in or affected by the project. Consider internal and external stakeholders and their roles. 
• Risk Management: Highlight potential risks and uncertainties associated with the project. Include a plan for risk mitigation and contingency measures. 
• Monitoring and Evaluation: Outline how the project's progress will be monitored and evaluated. Describe the key performance indicators (KPIs) used to measure success. 
• Communication Plan: Detail how communication will be managed throughout the project. Identify key communication channels, frequency, and stakeholders involved. 
• Team Members and Roles: Introduce the project team members, their roles, and responsibilities. Include any external partners or consultants if applicable. 
• Approval Process: Clarify the process for obtaining approvals at various project stages. This ensures alignment with organizational protocols. 
• Conclusion: Summarize the key points and reiterate the project's importance. Conclude with any next steps or actions required. 

By including these components, a project description becomes a comprehensive document that thoroughly understands the project and facilitates effective communication with stakeholders.

Types of Project Descriptions 

Project descriptions can take various forms, depending on the project's nature and the intended audience. Here are several types of project descriptions: 

• Abstract:  The abstract is a concise and informative project summary, typically used for informational purposes. It briefly overviews the project's objectives, methods, and expected outcomes. The abstract is often utilized in research papers, academic proposals, or project documentation to give readers a quick understanding of the project without delving into detailed specifics. It is typically a few paragraphs in length, highlighting the key aspects of the project. 
• Elevator Pitch:  The elevator pitch is a brief and persuasive description of a project that can be delivered in the time it takes to ride an elevator, usually around 30 seconds to 2 minutes. This type of description is designed to captivate and engage the listener quickly. It focuses on the most compelling aspects of the project, aiming to grab the attention of potential stakeholders, investors, or decision-makers. The elevator pitch is often used to "sell" the project idea, emphasizing its value and impact. 
• Short Project Description:  The short project description provides a quick and summarized overview of how the project will be implemented. It includes vital details such as project goals, methods, and reasons for undertaking the project. This description type is meant to be easily digestible, offering stakeholders a snapshot of the project's essentials. It is helpful for initial project introductions, presentations, or project summaries. The short project description may also touch on the motivations behind the project, helping stakeholders understand its significance. 
• Grant Proposal: A specific project proposal is designed to secure funding from a grant-making organization. It should follow the guidelines and format required by the grantor and clearly demonstrate how your project aligns with their funding priorities. 
• Business Plan: A document outlining the operational and financial aspects of a new business or venture. It should include your target market, competitive analysis, marketing strategy, financial projections, and funding requirements. 
• Full Project Proposal: A comprehensive document outlining your project in detail. It typically includes all the elements of a short description, a literature review, research methodology, detailed budget, risk assessment, and evaluation plan. 

How to Write a Project Description: Key Criteria and Steps

Let’s say you had to select an effective email service provider for your company. In that case, how would you feel if your Chief Marketing Officer thought it wasn’t as important or tried to rush the process? Pretty frustrated because he didn’t get the context or purpose of the activity. Here is where a well-written project description comes into play. 

Project management courses include detailed sessions on writing the perfect project descriptions. Even if your organization isn’t the type that documents such activities, it’s a good idea to create one for your ready reference at the very least. 

Key Criteria

The following are the criteria that you need to keep in mind while drafting your project description: 

• You should have clarity about the project that you’re undertaking. Everything from its purpose to its scope should be described such that your reader doesn’t have any questions once he’s done reading the document. 
• You should describe the project in the simplest way possible. However, don’t omit any important details, and never talk about other unrelated projects or events. The document should be a snapshot of the entire activity. 
• You should include everything worth knowing about your project in its description. Of course, it shouldn’t ramble on, but everyone who reads it should have a well-rounded idea of what you’re planning to do.  
• You should only include relevant and updated data in your description. Whatever you are writing should make sense to the purpose of your project. 

Top Cities where KnowledgeHut Conduct Project Management Certification Training Course Online

Project Management Courses in London	Project Management Courses in Singapore
Project Management Courses in Melbourne	Project Management Courses in Toronto
Project Management Courses in Sydney	Project Management Courses in Perth
Project Management Courses in Bangalore	Project Management Courses in Dubai
Project Management Courses in Mumbai	Project Management Courses in Brisbane

Delve into the most popular KnowledgeHut's Project Management Courses

PMP Certification Training	Prince2 Certification Training	PMI-CAPM Certification
PgMP Certification Training	Prince2 Foundation Certification	Project Management Masters Program
Prince2 Agile Certification	PMI-RMP Certification Training	Prince2 Practitioner Certification

Steps in Project Description

Once you’ve understood the criteria mentioned above, you must go through the following steps while writing your project description: 

1. Summary

As the name suggests, this section should be simple and short. You should outline the why, what, and how of your project, while keeping it within five lines at the most. 

2. Definition 

Why did this project come about in the first place? Are there any organizational pain points that you’re trying to relive? Or are you trying to tap into potential business opportunities? Whatever they may be, these are the questions that you must answer for your reader in this section. You should talk about the project’s purpose. 

3. Justification

In the description of your project, this is the section your top stakeholders will be looking for. You must justify the reason for the project and convince your reader that it is worth the financial investment being made. It would help if you could map it to certain performance metrics of your department. The more you can convince your stakeholders that your project is essential to the organization’s efforts, the better. 

4. Evaluation 

This is a tricky section in the description of your project, because you will be measuring the benefits that you hope to gain against the costs that your organization will incur. Look at it as your typical cost-benefit analysis. Even while planning a house party, you will think of the consequences of inviting a particular friend over, won’t you? 

5. Approach

Here, you must describe the approach that you will take to meet your project’s goals and objectives. You must be mindful of whether your organization has the operational capabilities to support the approach you plan to take. There shouldn’t be a mismatch between what you plan to do and where your organization is at. 

6. Timeline 

This step is crucial because here you must estimate the total time your project will require. You must draw up a plan that shows how many working hours each step of your project requires, along with the number of resources required. Ensure that you put enough thought into this, because your project timeline will help you stay on track for its duration.

Project Description Templates

You can refer these templates when you are writing your project descriptions. 

• 1st Template
• 2nd Template

How to Write a Project Description in a CV or Resume? 

It is a great idea to include the key projects you were part of while describing your stint at an organization in your CV or resume. The way you write it can play a key role in showcasing your experience. A well-written project description also highlights your domain expertise, leadership style and the value you add to potential recruiters. Including concise project descriptions that focus on your outcomes is helpful in any professional role. 

Let us look at some key elements of a project description to include in your CV or resume: 

• Project Title and Timeline: You need to mention the project you were working on and “how long you worked on it. (e.g.: CMS Creation – Nov 2023 - March 2024) 
• Objective: You need to mention the project’s aim in a brief manner. 
• Your Role: This is where you mention your role in the team and describe your responsibilities. (e.g.: team lead, data analyst, developer, tester, etc.) 
• Tools/Technologies Used: Mention the various frameworks, platforms, or tools used to complete the project. (e.g.: Java, Visual Studio, etc.) 
• Outcomes or Metrics: Wherever possible, mention results in a quantifiable manner. (e.g.: Reduced first-response time by 25% or Optimized server load by 15%) 

Let’s look at an example of a description tailored to be short and written in a CV or resume: 

Multiple Restaurant Delivery July 2022 - December 2022 
UI-UX Design 
Technologies Used: Figma, Miro 
Designed a workflow where users can add dishes from multiple restaurants to their cart and order together, increasing average order value by 15%. 

Using bullet points and the right focus words will convey the best impact to recruiters. Project descriptions in your CV or resume should be tailored to the job you are applying for. 

Importance of Writing a Project Description

Writing a project description is crucial for several reasons: 

• Clarity of Purpose: The purpose, goals, and objectives of the project are succinctly and clearly stated in a well-written project description. It acts as a roadmap, bringing all team members and interested parties together around a shared understanding of the project's objectives. 
• Communication: The project description serves as a medium for communication, keeping team members and stakeholders alike informed. It removes uncertainty and promotes a common understanding of the objectives.  
• Definition of Scope: A project description aids in defining the parameters and restrictions by describing the extent of the work. As a result, scope creep is avoided, and the project remains concentrated on its original goals. 
• Effective risk identification and management can be achieved by clearly defining the project's goals and possible obstacles in the project description. Teams can create plans to deal with potential problems before they become more serious because of this proactive approach.  
• Effective resource allocation, including staff, time, and money, is facilitated by a thorough project description. It offers a resource planning roadmap, assisting teams in allocating duties and responsibilities effectively.  
• Making Decisions: Well-informed decisions are derived from a thorough project description. It gives stakeholders and project managers the knowledge they need to make strategic decisions at every stage of the project's lifespan.

When Should You Write a Project Description? 

As the fundamental document that directs the whole project lifecycle, writing a project description is essential in the early phases of project planning. It usually starts at the project's inception and explains its objectives, viability, and purpose. The project description is improved as it moves closer to the planning stage by adding specific details about the goals, deliverables, schedule, scope, and resource needs. 

Giving stakeholders access to this extensive document guarantees everyone is on the same page regarding the project's vision and helps the team work towards a unified objective. Project managers can evaluate the possible effects of decisions on project objectives by using the what is project description as a point of reference while making decisions. It also acts as a risk assessment tool, assisting in the early detection and proactive management of possible hazards. The what is project description greatly aids, all things considered, good project management, alignment, and communication.

Tips to Write a Good Project Description  

A well-written project description isn’t just an explanation of the work involved in getting the project completed. It narrates a story that talks about the hurdles the project faced, how you helped the team overcome them, and the outcome you reached as a project manager. 

Let's look at some tips to craft a compelling project description. 

1. Start with the Big Picture: 

A brief statement should introduce the project by highlighting its purpose and the business value it will bring. This helps the reader to understand the context before getting into the details. 

2. Be Specific, Not Generic: 

It is best to avoid generic and ambiguous terms such as “developed a system” or “created a fail-safe". It is better to be precise and explain the systems and processes used. An example would be “Created an internal ticketing system using Angular and Node.js.” This helps the reader understand the project better. 

3. Focus on Your Contribution: 

A project description helps you highlight your contribution to the team and what value brought to the team. It explains how your unique role helped in finishing the project. 

4. Use Quantifiable Metrics: 

Every project should show some quantifiable results. This shows the impact of the project and why it was important. Some examples of relevant metrics include time reduction, cost saving, or performance boosts. 

5. Align with the Role You Want: 

The project description should be tailored to the role you’re applying for. You can emphasize your skills and knowledge that are relevant to what the employer is looking for. 

6. Keep it Concise but Complete: 

Each project description should not ideally be more than 3-5 bullet points. Focusing on the “what,” “how,” and “result” will help you keep it concise without missing any important points. 

7. Maintain a Consistent Format: 

Using the same layout while describing each project helps to ensure readability. 

Well-written project descriptions can turn a generic resume into a results-driven showcase of your capabilities. 

What Is a Project Description in a PMP Application?

While writing the project description for your Project Management Professional (PMP) application, it should be as concise and to the point as possible. The project objective and outcome should both be brief, and your project deliverables should be spread across the various project stages.  

How to Write a Brief Description of a Project

While writing a project description, it’s important to keep it to the point and be as brief as possible. However, you should still make sure that it’s complete. You should include the project idea, the goals that need to be achieved, the approach that you’re planning to take, and the expected outcomes. Based on its idea and context, you may need to include accurate data as well. For guidance, consider reviewing examples of well-written project descriptions

• Keep it clear 

To keep your project description brief, you must use simple and easy-to-understand language. Your sentences should be short and free of complex words. Avoid ambiguous terms or instructions. 

• Keep it crisp 

Your project description should be to the point while also describing the project fully. Ensure you talk only about your project and its aspects, while avoiding any information about other projects. Such Information will most likely make your reader miss out on important points about the actual project. 

• Keep it complete   

Your project description should cover all aspects of the project. It should inform your reader about everything they need to know. It does need to be concise, but not at the cost of missing out on critical points. Your stakeholders should be able to understand the project plan and its context accurately.  

What Is a Project Description in a Project Proposal?

In a project description, your project proposal section should give your reader an overview of what you're aiming to do. The questions "What are you trying to achieve?" and "Why are you doing this?" should be clearly answered once anyone finishes reading your project proposal.  

As mentioned earlier, the proposal should be clear and precise. It should outline the project background and justification for the same. You should convince the reader about the project's need, and outline what existing efforts have already been put in that area. End strongly by detailing the value-add your project is supposed to bring to the organization.

Project Description vs Project Proposal 

Feature	Product Description	Project Proposal
Purpose	Provides an overview of the project, its goals, and scope.	Seeks approval and funding for the project.
Audience	Primarily for internal stakeholders or team members.	It is aimed at external stakeholders, sponsors, or investors.
Content	Describe what the project is about, its objectives, and its context.	Includes details on project goals, timeline, budget, and methodology.
Level of Detail	Generally, it is less detailed.	More detailed, including specific plans and strategies.
Timing	Created before the project starts.	Developed during the project initiation or planning phase.
Perspective	Emphasizes the 'what' and 'why' of the project.	Focuses on 'how' the project will be executed and managed.
Approval Requirement	It may not require formal approval.	Usually, it requires approval from relevant stakeholders.
Document Type	It could be a brief document or a section within a larger document.	A standalone document presenting a formal proposal.
Components	It may include a project overview, objectives, and high-level strategy.	Typically includes an executive summary, project details, budget, and timeline.
Emphasis on Creativity	More focused on conveying the project concept.	Balanced with practical details to gain support.

What Is a Project Description in a Thesis?

In a thesis, your project description section is something that you write with the help of your supervisor or guide. Even in a thesis, your project description should answer roughly the same questions we talked about in the last paragraph. It should precisely define the scope of your project. You should outline everything you need to successfully complete a project, and how you are going to go about it.  Think of it as a brief based on which you will be judged when your thesis ends.

Transform your management approach with our agile course. Embrace change, boost productivity, and stay ahead of the competition. Enroll today!

Project Description Checklist 

Creating a project description requires careful consideration of various elements to ensure clarity, completeness, and alignment with project goals. Here is a checklist to guide you through the process of crafting a comprehensive project description: 

Title: 

• Is the project title clear, concise, and reflective of the project's essence? 

Introduction: 

• Does the introduction provide a brief overview of the project, setting the context for readers? 
• Is the significance of the project clearly communicated? 

Objectives: 

• Are the project objectives specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART)? 
• Are both short-term and long-term objectives clearly stated? 

Scope of Work: 

• Is the project's scope well-defined, including what is included and excluded? 
• Are any limitations or constraints acknowledged? 

Deliverables: 

• Are the expected deliverables clearly outlined? 
• Do the deliverables align with the project objectives? 

Methodology or Approach: 

• Is the methodology or approach described sufficiently for stakeholders to understand the project's implementation? 
• Are any innovative or unique strategies highlighted? 

Timeline and Milestones: 

• Is the project timeline clearly presented, indicating significant phases and milestones? 
• Are key deadlines realistic and achievable? 

Budget and Resources: 

• Is the budget specified, including both direct and indirect costs? 
• Are resource requirements, including personnel, equipment, and materials, detailed? 

Stakeholders: 

• Have all primary stakeholders, both internal and external, been identified? 
• Is there clarity on the roles and responsibilities of each stakeholder? 

Risk Management: 

• Have potential risks been identified, and is there a plan for risk mitigation? 
• Is there a contingency plan in place for unforeseen challenges? 

Monitoring and Evaluation: 

• Are key performance indicators (KPIs) defined for monitoring project progress? 
• Is there a clear plan for evaluating the project's success? 

Communication Plan: 

• Is there a defined communication plan outlining channels, frequency, and key messages? 
• Have communication preferences for different stakeholders been considered? 

Team Members and Roles: 

• Are project team members introduced, and are their roles and responsibilities clearly outlined? 
• Is there a plan for collaboration and coordination among team members? 

Approval Process: 

• Is the process for obtaining approvals at various stages clearly defined? 
• Are there checkpoints for stakeholder input and feedback? 

Conclusion and Next Steps: 

• Does the conclusion effectively summarize key points and reiterate the project's importance? 
• Are the next steps or actions required clearly communicated? 

By systematically reviewing these elements, you can ensure that your project description is thorough, well-structured, and effectively communicates the project's purpose and execution plan. 

How a Project Manager Turns a Project Description into a Project Plan? 

Once a project description is made, the project manager develops it into a project plan which describes how the project will be executed.  

The project plan explains the strategy to execute the project with the involvement of different teams. This includes the milestones involved in the project apart from highlighting the budget forecasts and KPIs. Such a roadmap ensures that all stakeholders are aligned and acts as a reference point to track progress and manage any changes during the project’s lifecycle. 

There are two crucial steps in developing a project description into a project plan. 

The first step is to convert the high-level objectives highlighted in the project description into an actionable task list. This is done by breaking the scope into work packages, defining the expected deliverables, and estimating the time, cost, and resources involved to do this. The project manager then develops a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) and maps this out into realistic timelines using tools like Gantt charts. 

Once this is done, the project manager needs to conduct a risk assessment. This will help identify potential roadblocks. The project manager will need to come up with mitigation strategies, so these roadblocks won’t hamper project progress if they happen during the project lifecycle. Communication plans, quality control procedures, and stakeholder engagement frameworks are also established while creating the project plan. 

Conclusion 

Project managers should be able to create a concise and well-documented project description. This helps all stakeholders and members involved to understand what is expected of the project before it begins. 

There are various templates available online, but project managers need to ensure that they tailor it to the context of each project. Following these templates will help readability, but it should not affect the context of the project being missing. Simply put, it is your project in a nutshell, and PMP certification course online helps you create these with live example projects.