This chapter presents a range of techniques that can be used to collect data, insights and ideas as input for the brief. Roughly speaking, the techniques can be divided into four groups. The first group concerns techniques that review existing material and literature: organizational documents, research publications, general design guidelines and benchmark studies. This type of desk research will usually take place at the beginning of the project. The purpose is to get acquainted with the client organization and the building type in general. The second group concerns descriptive techniques that help to describe the clients current use of space and the users activities. These can be observational studies, occupancy measurements, walk-throughs, social network analyses and surveys. All these techniques provide valuable field data about the specifics of the client organization. But, as said, these techniques are descriptive: they are very much about describing the existing situation (as is) rather than the future situation (to be), which is just as essential in briefing.Therefore, a crucial third group concerns explorative techniques aimed at identifying future demands and new ideas. It entails various kinds of workshops with users, decision makers and experts. Project visits and scenario studies can also be seen as explorative techniques as they provide insights about alternative solutions and possible futures. The fourth group of techniques concerns assessment methods. During its course, a briefing process is likely to produce all sorts of visions and ideas, which may look very promising, but need to be tested and validated in terms of feasibility and relevance. This can be done on paper by making prototypical designs, or in real life by conducting pilot projects. Technically, it is possible to apply all these techniques in a briefing process, but not every project has the resources or the need for a full-blown briefing process. In small projects, a few interviews may be sufficient, in large projects there may a need for a more extensive briefing process with scenario analysis and future studies. The right mix of techniques for a particular project will depend on the size and time-frame of the project and the predictability of the clients accommodation requirements. 95