PRD Template Knowledge
Create well-structured Product Requirements Documents following industry best practices.
Document Structure
A comprehensive PRD includes these sections:
1. Overview (Required)
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## 1. Overview ### 1.1 Problem Statement [2-3 sentences describing the problem users face] ### 1.2 Proposed Solution [High-level description of what we're building] ### 1.3 Target Users [Who will use this feature and their characteristics] ### 1.4 Success Metrics - [Measurable metric 1] - [Measurable metric 2]
2. Requirements (Required)
Organize requirements with consistent IDs and categories:
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## 2. Requirements ### 2.1 Core Features **REQ-001: [Requirement Title]** - Description: The system shall [specific, testable behavior] - Priority: High - Rationale: [Why this matters] **REQ-002: [Requirement Title]** - Description: The system shall [specific, testable behavior] - Priority: High - Rationale: [Why this matters] ### 2.2 User Interface **REQ-010: [UI Requirement]** - Description: [Specific UI behavior] - Priority: Medium ### 2.3 Data & Storage **REQ-020: [Data Requirement]** - Description: [Data handling behavior] - Priority: High
Requirement Categories:
- •Core Features (REQ-001 to REQ-009)
- •User Interface (REQ-010 to REQ-019)
- •Data & Storage (REQ-020 to REQ-029)
- •Integration (REQ-030 to REQ-039)
- •Performance (REQ-040 to REQ-049)
- •Security (REQ-050 to REQ-059)
3. User Stories (Required)
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## 3. User Stories ### 3.1 Primary Flow As a [user type], I want to [goal] so that [benefit]. **Acceptance Criteria:** - Given [context], when [action], then [result] - Given [context], when [action], then [result] ### 3.2 [Secondary Flow] As a [user type], I want to [goal] so that [benefit].
4. Technical Considerations (Optional but Recommended)
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## 4. Technical Considerations ### 4.1 Constraints - [Technical constraint 1] - [Technical constraint 2] ### 4.2 Dependencies - [Dependency on system X] - [Dependency on team Y] ### 4.3 Known Technical Debt - [Relevant existing debt that affects this feature]
5. Out of Scope (Required)
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## 5. Out of Scope The following are explicitly NOT included in this version: - [Feature X] - Deferred to v2 - [Feature Y] - Requires separate initiative - [Feature Z] - Out of product scope
6. Open Questions (If Any)
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## 6. Open Questions 1. [Question requiring stakeholder input] - Options: A, B, C - Recommendation: [if any] 2. [Technical question] - Blocked by: [dependency]
Quality Checklist
Before finalizing a PRD, verify:
- • Every requirement uses "shall" language and is testable
- • No ambiguous terms ("fast", "easy", "intuitive", "user-friendly")
- • All requirements have unique IDs (REQ-XXX)
- • Priorities are assigned (High/Medium/Low)
- • Success metrics are measurable
- • Out of scope section exists and is specific
- • User stories have acceptance criteria
- • Dependencies are identified
Anti-Patterns to Avoid
Vague requirements:
- •"The system should be fast"
- •"Users can easily manage their data"
Specific requirements:
- •"API responses shall complete within 200ms at p95"
- •"Users shall be able to export data as CSV with a single click"
Solution-focused:
- •"Use Redis for caching"
Problem-focused:
- •"Frequently accessed data shall be cached to reduce database load"
Examples
For a complete PRD example, see examples/sample-prd.md.