PRD
Details
- Full Name
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Product Requirements Document
- Also known as
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Product Spec, Feature Spec, Requirements Specification
Core Concepts:
- Problem statement
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Clear articulation of the problem to be solved and the target users
- Goals and success metrics
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Measurable outcomes that define what "done" looks like (KPIs, OKRs)
- User personas and use cases
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Who will use the product and what they are trying to accomplish
- Functional requirements
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What the system must do — features, behaviors, and capabilities
- Non-functional requirements
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Quality attributes — performance, security, scalability, accessibility
- Scope and out-of-scope
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Explicit boundaries to prevent scope creep and align stakeholders
- Constraints and assumptions
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Technical, business, regulatory, or timeline constraints
- Open questions
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Unresolved decisions or dependencies that must be tracked
- Key Proponents
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Marty Cagan ("Inspired"), Roman Pichler ("Strategize")
When to Use:
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Before starting design or development of a new product or major feature
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When aligning cross-functional teams (engineering, design, marketing, legal)
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To provide a shared reference for scope negotiations and tradeoff decisions
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When stakeholder sign-off or compliance documentation is required
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As a living document updated throughout the product discovery process