Product Requirements & PRDs
Write specs that help teams build the right thing — with the right level of detail for your stage.
A product requirements document is not a contract written in stone. It is a shared picture of what you are building, for whom, and why — detailed enough that engineering and design can move, flexible enough to change when you learn.
PRDs fail when they...
- Read like legal documents nobody updates
- Specify how instead of what and why
- Duplicate decisions already made elsewhere
- Arrive after engineering has already started
PRDs succeed when they...
- Link to decisions and discovery evidence
- State success criteria clearly
- Match detail to risk and team maturity
- Stay living until the initiative ships
Articles
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How to Write a PRD
A step-by-step approach to specs that align teams without over-specifying.
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PRD Template for Startups
A one-page template when speed matters more than ceremony.
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Product Spec Examples
Three spec shapes for different kinds of work — feature, experiment, and platform.
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How Detailed Should a Product Spec Be?
Calibrate PRD depth to risk, team familiarity, and how wrong you can afford to be.
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PRD vs User Stories
When to use each — and how they work together without duplicating work.