Why without TK - the result of HZ. Why without TK - the result is XZ Without a clear TK, the result is always XS

“Make me beautiful, creative!”

"I want the text to be good"

"No worse than competitors"

These and similar phrases are indistinct TK.

TK (short for terms of reference) is a clear description of what you want to end up with. The task that the freelancer (in this case, me) will focus on doing their job.

TK? You are a professional! Guess!

There are people who try to work without TK. But I immediately warn you that without TK I do not work. I'm not a magician to know in advance everything you need. Moreover, the guessing game takes a lot of time, effort, nerves, not only from me, but also from you.

And that's why:

• I don't know what you want. Maybe you want "War and Peace", or maybe "Our Tanya is crying loudly ..." by Agniya Barto. Texts are different. They have different tasks, different language etc. .
• I don't know who your target audience is. In his TOR, the customer must necessarily outline his ideal client. Until I understand your client's needs, I won't be able to write an engaging text for them. For example, I recently wrote the text for the front page for a dog clothing store. In the terms of reference, the customer clearly stated: “our client is a glamorous blonde with a pocket dog under her arm.” So, I had to use the "language of blondes" to write an attractive text for them.
• I do not know your advantages over competitors. And this is perhaps one of the most important information. If you are into something better than competitors, you need to write about it.
• I do not know your problems, cons. This is also important, because the minuses can always be represented as pluses.
• I don't know your tastes. Beautiful (creative, easy to read, smart. Emphasize what is necessary) is different for everyone. Do you like Khokhloma? And I'm high-tech. Do you think that best holiday on a Turkish beach? I love snow and mountains. Don't be vague, be direct! Otherwise, we may not agree on tastes.

A letter is better than a phone

If you want to tell me your thoughts on the phone, Skype - DO NOT DO THIS!

I am a copywriter. I work with texts. Texts are easier for me to study, reread, understand than to perceive information by ear. After all telephone communications maybe bad, I might miss something, and you might forget something.

It is not so difficult for me to fill out the BRIF and send it to me. But it is very useful.

TK is designed in the form of answers to questions - excellent.

TK in the form of lengthy thoughts in a letter is worse, but better than nothing.

Thoughts expressed orally are the same as nothing.

I usually have not one customer, but several at once. I can simultaneously think about the concept of texts about rolling metal, the treatment of hemorrhoids and skydiving. Now imagine that you call me at 23:00 and immediately give out thoughts about the convenient replacement of fuel pumps.

It is much more difficult to perceive information by ear. And remembering everything is unrealistic.

TK to protect your interests

TK is your insurance.

Let's say you want a 3000-character text about breeding rabbits with the keywords "rabbits", "rabbits feeding", "lop-eared rabbits with languid eyes".

After a certain time, the copywriter issues a text of 1000 characters, where “cows”, “dairy cows”, “Kholmogory cows with long tails” are used as keys.

This is not what you ordered!

But you have the TK in your hands, which you gave to the copywriter, and you can demand that he rewrite the text in accordance with your requirements.

Without TK, a damaged phone is often obtained: the copywriter either did not hear, or did not understand, or forgot. And that means you have to start all over again.

Without exact TK - the result of HZ.

Where were you?
- Begala
- And where are your posts on Twitter, photos on Instagram?

Nothing, just to wait for the summer! To finally start this scold this heat.

Are you bored?… Sad? You have nothing to do? ... Give birth to a child ... and everything will pass!

Son, look: I have 400 rubles. Mom has 100 rubles. How much money does mom have?
- 500 rubles.
- That's right, son.

A woman without love is like a flower without water. Either wither, or a cactus.

The student, having learned the statuses of friends, passed philosophy with an "excellent" mark.

Since I learned morse
I can't sleep in the rain
Yesterday I heard him twice
Called me by name...

I love a hungry cat - he is so sociable!

If you don't know what to write - then sit down and like it.

Do not trust women, brakes and Word's spelling.

Typical woman:
1) Do a couple of squats.
2) It is sacred to believe that the priest has already become ideal.

My May is not so affectionate ...

Many, many problems can be solved with just one easy butt lift.

In life, you can be unpredictable and treacherous like a cucumber with a bitter ass.

Can you tell me the time?
I can only say roughly...
- Don't languish
- Tuesday

At what stage is your diploma now?
- At the stage of desperation

I feel like a real Carlson - I want sweets, to play pranks and away from everyone on the roof.

When I worked in an intimate shop, I believed that there is real male friendship. The guys often came to ask if there was anything to increase the penis and to strengthen the erection for a friend who was having problems.

Were there Jews in your family?
- No, I'm the first.

The worst thing is that your grandmother says that you need to lose weight.

An experienced sword swallower was able to take out a whole sturgeon from the corporate party.

In the Mongolian Kinder Surprise, the same toy is always the same - the yolk.

My level of English proficiency: normalno.

For an excellent accountant, only a skirt can not converge.

Dad, where did you get such a good mother from?
- Educated.

Today I got up at 5 am.
(Warning! The trick was done by a professional.
Don't try this at home!)

It's time for you to get married, and you're still dating me.

Of course, I am responsible for what I said to you, but not for what you heard.

Now you are stylish and independent. What if mom forgot to iron her shirt?

Tell me, are you smart?
- In terms of?

A couple of philosophies at uni. Test. Question: “What is the difference between recreational bioconservatism and transhumanist constructivism? ". Voice from the back:
- Excuse me, but how do you understand "different"?

Imagine, we have here one boy ate grass!
- Maybe it was a sorrel?
- No, it was a boy!

Home keeper...

Let's play dice, shall we?
- Let's. Tszyu
- Tsiolkovsky
- Meladze.

Either I weigh half past nine, or the clock has fallen off the wall again.

Do you understand that you are asking for the impossible?
- Stop eating at night.
- Well, here it is again.

Brief. So much has been said about him...

But copywriters will understand me: for some customers, this word still works worse than a red rag for a bull. You don't have to look far for an example.

The other day I am negotiating with a new client to write three selling texts for the site. Pretty hyped company for interior work. And they have a good site - modern with excellent design, good usability.

But the texts - to put it mildly, not very much. The director understands the situation, otherwise he would not have contacted me. And it seems that all the details were discussed, everything was agreed. I write to him: okay, here are the questions for the sales text, I'm waiting for answers and I'm starting to work. And then it began!

Why do we need it? Can't you do without it? You are a professional, but in this case you “ate the dog”! In general, the answers to these questions in our texts are not needed.

I explain that I need this information in order to delve deeper into the topic, to marketing analysis. Answer: I understand, think about it. They still think, and I'm sure they won't come up with anything.

What a brief - such a creative

How would a novice copywriter act in this situation? Most likely, he would have written another letter or called - okay, they say, they persuaded me, if you don’t want a brief, I’ll write it like that. And I would write. I can even admit that the customer would have accepted this text. Only the probability that he will start selling is zero. Well, it’s impossible like this, on the fly, to write a good salesperson!

One thing my failed client noticed correctly. Yes, I consider myself a professional, and therefore I will never sign up for this business - to create any, especially selling, text for an unfamiliar industry without a brief. No, of course, I have regular customers whose business I have already studied so well that I can write without technical specifications. They explain to me in a nutshell what is needed, and I do it. But even in this case, as a rule, it cannot do without some clarifying questions in the process of work.

Aspirin for all occasions?

Imagine you are visiting a doctor. It doesn't matter what, let's say, the head hurts. He starts asking you what and how. And you told him: doctor, why is this all, give me a pill, and I'll go. Funny? But for us, in order to help your business - to prescribe the right medicine, you also need to first make a diagnosis.

Yes, even take any other matter. What do home builders build without drawings and projects? And the seamstress in the atelier will sew a coat to your taste and according to your own standards? Why is the work of a copywriter considered to be some kind of amorphous matter that does not require a serious documentary foundation?

Of course, I understand that some people find it really hard to sit down and write answers. Not because they do not know how to formulate thoughts or have never written anything in their lives, although this option is not excluded. Trite time may not be enough. Therefore, I always suggest, if possible, to answer my questions by phone. I fill out the brief myself, send it for approval and, having received an “OK” in response, I start working. And it’s easier for me, and the customer can be sure that at the exit he will not be in for a surprise from the category of “this is not about us”.

So, dear clients, you must understand that the brief is not a whim of a copywriter and not an indicator of his unprofessionalism (he asks - it means he doesn’t know), but quite the opposite! It's not the brief that's scary, it's the absence of it

P.S. Yes, and one more thing. Can there be one brief for all texts and for all clients? My opinion is no. You will not find a file on my website that copywriters usually offer to immediately download and fill out. For each client, I prepare a special questionnaire based on the task and the initial marketing information. In this case, the brief simply does not contain unnecessary questions that steal the customer's time.

On this, perhaps, everything. Mutually beneficial cooperation!

Yesterday I learned the saying of freelancers: "Without a clear TK - the result of HZ".
In principle, the saying is not only about them.
The doctor, without really asking about the symptoms, can instead cut out appendicitis or, God forbid, cut off something, the thread is not right, the lawyer, without listening, will achieve the wrong result, moreover, the judge, without understanding, will award or sue what you didn’t expect, the programmer slaps the wrong site, the nanny feeds you with the wrong food, the pilot presses the wrong button, the politician, without understanding the situation, can also make a big difference, the newlyweds, without agreeing on the shore on a joint vision and common goals, too, they can plunge into an action movie or a horror film instead of a romantic melodrama.

In general, continuous chaos, no order and intelligibility ...
Perhaps you need to immediately warn about the consequences and demonstrate to the client this very "HZ"?

If there is no intelligible "TK", then it is immediately clear how the matter will end, so show the poor fellow immediately this result - let him be horrified: "Semyon Semyonych, look what can happen in the end if we start doing according to the principle" Let's do it and we'll figure it out!" A naive client, seeing the results without a clear "TK", out of horror and fear, will still be able to connect a couple of words and explain what he wants, what result he expects. The rule "from the opposite" helps some people to decide - they immediately understand what they want, if they determine what they definitely do not want.

And then, as in that parable about the dragon: "The knight was walking through the desert. His path was long. The knight was hungry, he was tormented by thirst. Suddenly, in the distance, he saw a lake. The knight gathered all his remaining strength and went to the water. But at the very lake a three-headed dragon sat. The knight immediately drew his sword and, with his last strength, began to fight with the monster. He fought for a day, the second he fought. He already cut off two heads of the dragon. On the third day, the dragon fell exhausted, and an exhausted knight fell next to him, and he had no strength to stand on his feet, hold the sword and fight.’ And then, with the last of his strength, the dragon asked:

Knight, what did you actually want?

The knight replies:

Drink water....

Well, I would drink!

P.S. a good excuse is to justify your xs-results by citing someone else's indistinctness. Yes, and customers are also good: go there - I don’t know where, bring something - I don’t know what. In general, if you really can’t explain what you want, the “battle with dragons” is guaranteed :)

P.P.S. At the request of clarifyers:
*TOR - terms of reference for creating a specific product - for example, a website, information system etc., that is, some source material that contains certain technical requirements to the product and, most importantly, - answers the question - what this product / this system should do, how to work and under what conditions (according to GOST).
*ХЗ - a letter combination denoting ignorance of further events, is interpreted as "I don't know, without a clue."

At the design stage, the manager of an IT company, one way or another, is faced with writing a technical task for the development of the site. However, it is often not treated with due attention. Why you need a technical task, why it cannot be ignored and how to issue it, read in our article.

Why and who needs a technical task?

Indeed, why? Customer requirements are heard and recorded. The meeting ends with nods of approval with smiles on their faces. Harmony. Full understanding. After drawing up an estimate and voicing the final budget of the project.

The web studio resists and does not want to reduce the numbers received. The customer does not understand the price tag, he starts setting conditions... The manager grabs his head. Using all his diplomatic skills, he tries to explain what is included and what is not included in the company's duties and why such figures have come about. The tension is rising. This is where that missed stage in the design of the site comes to mind. The very terms of reference that would resolve all disagreements.

Usually, a digital agency writes the terms of reference before the development of the resource begins. The terms of reference confirmed at the first stage can be adjusted in the course of work. As a rule, it is worked out important points, a single vision of the customer's project and the web studio is formed.

To understand the importance of this document, it is enough to say that large companies hire individual specialists - technical writers who all their own work time spend on drawing up TOR for various projects. In smaller companies, this is usually done by the product manager.

What is the technical task for the development of the site

How does the terms of reference resolve disagreements, what is written in it so special? Let's break it down point by point.

Let's start with a little excursion into history. Back in 1978, Soviet minds created and wrote GOST 19.201-78 TK for software, after 9 years, another curious document appeared GOST 34.602-89 TK for automated system. And attention. Until now, no one has canceled these GOSTs, and in many respects the technical specifications written now are similar to what these documents offer. More than twenty-five years, separating modern developers and authors of documents, of course, has made its own adjustments. But to fulfill government orders, some companies still use GOST 34. The list of points presented by us, of course, is not the ultimate truth, but it serves as a guideline for writing such documents.

1. Purpose of the resource

Here you need to clearly identify the tasks that the resource performs. Whether it is informing about the company's news, whether the sale of goods via the Internet or something else. The clearer the tasks are set, the easier it will be for the development team to navigate further.

2. Functionality

At this point, the tasks are formed into specific technical means that will be implemented on the site. The work of the main functionality is fixed, the mechanism is prescribed in stages. So, for example, the “place an order” function, which is basic for online stores, is signed step by step in the TOR.

3. Terms and definitions

A strong basis for understanding the customer and the contractor. It is important to explain not all highly specialized terms, but those that are used in the work.

4. Site structure

This is one of the main parts of the technical task. This paragraph of the TOR describes the model of the future site: the number of pages, links, transitions, page content in the form of blocks. For clarity, many web studios draw a prototype. This greatly facilitates the dialogue with the customer.

5. Reliability requirements

These requirements are fixed for large, visited, multi-page sites to prevent their possible breakage.

6. Server Requirements

Depending on the site, select certain kind hosting, or a virtual server with certain characteristics.

8. Delivery and acceptance. Product testing.

This paragraph specifies the financial relations of the companies: the conditions under which the customer pays for the work are determined. Will it be a one-time payment, stage by stage, what will be the test period of the site, and how improvements will be made to the already accepted site.

On average, it takes from 2 to 4 working days to draw up one technical task for a project. Often, a web analyst is additionally involved, which makes the terms of reference more complete.

Registration of TK

Let's say the necessary information is collected. All that remains is to complete it and present it to the customer. It is better to do this at a personal meeting, after sending the document to the customer for review. The customer makes changes to the document and approves it. As a rule, after that the pre-project stage is completed, and the web-studio gets to work. When additional work, the developer company informs the customer company about this, explaining the reason for the improvements that have arisen.

At the design stage, the customer is primarily interested in functional with which he will achieve his business goal. Thanks to website prototyping, you can extra words and terms to demonstrate the operation of the functionality installed on the site. To save time, screenshots of the prototype are placed in the terms of reference, which clearly show the work of a particular service.

We never develop websites without technical specifications. Our sites work and meet the requirements of customers.