prd-development

name prd-development argument-hint [feature or initiative] description Build a structured PRD that connects problem, users, solution, and success criteria. Use when turning discovery notes into an engineering-ready document for a major initiative. intent Guide product managers through structured PRD (Product Requirements Document) creation by orchestrating problem framing, user research synthesis, solution definition, and success criteria into a cohesive document. Use this to move from scattered notes and Slack threads to a clear, comprehensive PRD that aligns stakeholders, provides engineering context, and serves as a source of truth—avoiding ambiguity, scope creep, and the "build what's in my head" trap. type workflow theme pm-artifacts best_for ["Writing a complete PRD from scratch","Structuring product requirements for an engineering handoff","Documenting a major new feature before development begins"] scenarios ["I need a PRD for a new AI-powered recommendation feature in our e-commerce platform","I've completed a discovery sprint and need to turn the findings into a PRD my engineers can act on"] estimated_time 60-120 min Purpose Guide product managers through structured PRD (Product Requirements Document) creation by orchestrating problem framing, user research synthesis, solution definition, and success criteria into a cohesive document. Use this to move from scattered notes and Slack threads to a clear, comprehensive PRD that aligns stakeholders, provides engineering context, and serves as a source of truth—avoiding ambiguity, scope creep, and the "build what's in my head" trap. This is not a waterfall spec—it's a living document that captures strategic context, customer problems, proposed solutions, and success criteria, evolving as you learn through delivery. Input Works best with: The feature or initiative the PRD covers. Also useful: Discovery notes, problem statements, user research, success metrics, and constraints — paste whatever exists; the workflow slots it into the right phases and skips what's already answered. Anything supplied with the invocation itself — text after the skill name, a pasted context dump, or an appended ARGUMENTS: line — counts as answers already given. Use it and skip whatever it covers; don't re-ask. Arriving empty-handed? That works too. The workflow starts at problem definition and builds up from there. Example invocation: Build a PRD for self-serve workspace provisioning — here are my discovery notes and the OKR it ladders to. Key Concepts What is a PRD? A PRD (Product Requirements Document) is a structured document that answers: What problem are we solving? (Problem statement) For whom? (Target users/personas) Why now? (Strategic context, business case) What are we building? (Solution overview) How will we measure success? (Metrics, success criteria) What are the requirements? (User stories, acceptance criteria, constraints) What are we NOT building? (Out of scope) PRD Structure (Standard Template) # [Feature/Product Name] PRD ## 1. Executive Summary - One-paragraph overview (problem + solution + impact) ## 2. Problem Statement - Who has this problem? - What is the problem? - Why is it painful? - Evidence (customer quotes, data, research) ## 3. Target Users & Personas - Primary persona(s) - Secondary persona(s) - Jobs-to-be-done ## 4. Strategic Context - Business goals (OKRs) - Market opportunity (TAM/SAM/SOM) - Competitive landscape - Why now? ## 5. Solution Overview - High-level description - User flows or wireframes - Key features ## 6. Success Metrics - Primary metric (what we're optimizing for) - Secondary metrics - Targets (current → goal) ## 7. User Stories & Requirements - Epic hypothesis - User stories with acceptance criteria - Edge cases, constraints ## 8. Out of Scope - What we're NOT building (and why) ## 9. Dependencies & Risks - Technical dependencies - External dependencies (integrations, partnerships) - Risks and mitigations ## 10. Open Questions - Unresolved decisions - Areas requiring discovery Why This Works Alignment: Ensures everyone (PM, design, eng, stakeholders) understands the "why" Context preservation: Captures research and strategic rationale for future reference Decision log: Documents what's in scope, out of scope, and why Execution clarity: Provides engineering with user stories and acceptance criteria Anti-Patterns (What This Is NOT) Not a detailed spec: PRDs frame the problem and solution; they don't specify UI pixel-by-pixel Not waterfall: PRDs evolve as you learn; they're not frozen contracts Not a substitute for collaboration: PRDs complement conversation, not replace it When to Use This Starting a major feature or product initiative Aligning cross-functional teams on scope and requirements Documenting decisions for future reference Onboarding new team members to a project When NOT to Use This For small bug fixes or trivial features (overkill) When problem and solution are already clear and aligned (just write user stories) For continuous discovery experiments (use Lean UX Canvas instead) Facilitation Source of Truth When running this workflow as a guided conversation, use workshop-facilitation as the interaction protocol. It defines: session heads-up + entry mode (Guided, Context dump, Best guess) one-question turns with plain-language prompts progress labels (for example, Context Qx/8 and Scoring Qx/5) interruption handling and pause/resume behavior numbered recommendations at decision points quick-select numbered response options for regular questions (include Other (specify) when useful) This file defines the workflow sequence and domain-specific outputs. If there is a conflict, follow this file's workflow logic. Application Use template.md as the fill-in document. The template includes: Per-section coaching blocks — each section has its own Instructions, Steps, Contributing Skills, and Activities so the template is self-guiding even without this workflow. Inline gap tagging — tag every gap as 🔶 Assumption (plausible but unvalidated) or 🔵 Open Question (unknown, needs discovery). Tag inline where the gap appears, not just at the end. Cross-section recommendation prompts — after completing each section, a "Before moving on" block checks consistency with prior sections and warns about what the next section will need. Self-assessment — after Section 10, a diagnostic captures the strongest section, weakest section, top assumptions to validate, and the recommended next step before sharing the PRD. Skill cross-reference table — maps 15 skills to the specific sections they feed (e.g., problem-framing-canvas → Section 2, epic-breakdown-advisor → Section 7). This workflow orchestrates 8 phases over 2-4 days , using multiple component and interactive skills. The phases below describe the facilitation sequence; the template captures the output. Phase 1: Executive Summary (30 minutes) Goal: Write a one-paragraph overview for skimmers. Activities 1. Draft Executive Summary Format: "We're building [solution] for [persona] to solve [problem], which will result in [impact]." Example: "We're building a guided onboarding checklist for non-technical small business owners to solve the problem of 60% drop-off in the first 24 hours due to lack of guidance, which will increase activation rate from 40% to 60% and reduce churn by 10%." Participants: PM Duration: 30 minutes Output: One-paragraph summary Tip: Write this first (forces clarity), but refine it last (after other sections are complete). Phase 2: Problem Statement (60 minutes) Goal: Frame the customer problem with evidence. Activities 1. Write Problem Statement Use: skills/problem-statement/SKILL.md (component) Input: Discovery insights from skills/discovery-process/SKILL.md or skills/problem-framing-canvas/SKILL.md Participants: PM Duration: 30 minutes Output: Structured problem statement Example Problem Statement: ## 2. Problem Statement ### Who has this problem? Non-technical small business owners (solopreneurs, 1-10 employees) who sign up for our SaaS product. ### What is the problem? 60% of users abandon onboarding within the first 24 hours because they don't know what to do first. They see an empty dashboard with no guidance, get overwhelmed by options, and leave. ### Why is it painful? - **User impact:** Wastes time (30-60 min trying to figure out product), never reaches "aha moment," churns before experiencing value - **Business impact:** 60% activation rate → high churn, low LTV, poor word-of-mouth ### Evidence - **Interviews:** 8/10 churned users said "I didn't know what to do first" (discovery interviews, Feb 2026) - **Analytics:** 60% of signups complete 0 actions within 24 hours (Mixpanel, Jan 2026) - **Support tickets:** "How do I get started?" is #1 support question (350 tickets/month) - **Customer quote:** "I logged in, saw an empty dashboard, and thought 'now what?' I gave up and went back to my spreadsheet." 2. Add Supporting Context (Optional) Customer journey map: If problem spans multiple touchpoints Use: skills/customer-journey-mapping-workshop/SKILL.md output Jobs-to-be-done: If motivations are key Use: skills/jobs-to-be-done/SKILL.md output Outputs from Phase 2 Problem statement: Who, what, why, evidence Supporting artifacts: Journey map, JTBD (if relevant) Phase 3: Target Users & Personas (30 minutes) Goal: Define who you're building for. Activities 1. Document Personas Use: skills/proto-persona/SKILL.md (component) output Participants: PM Duration: 30 minutes Format: Include persona name, role, goals, pain points, behaviors Example: ## 3. Target Users & Personas ### Primary Persona: Solo Entrepreneur Sam - **Role:** Freelance consultant, solopreneur - **Company size:** 1 person (no IT support) - **Tech savviness:** Low (uses email, spreadsheets, basic SaaS) - **Goals:** Get value from software fast without technical expertise - **Pain points:** Overwhelmed by complex UIs, no time to watch tutorials, needs immediate value - **Current behavior:** Signs up for products, tries for 1 day, churns if not immediately useful ### Secondary Persona: Small Business Owner (5-10 employees) - **Role:** Owner-operator, manages team - **Needs:** Onboard team members quickly - **Differs from primary:** More tolerant of complexity, willing to invest setup time Outputs from Phase 3 Primary persona: Detailed profile Secondary personas: (if applicable) Phase 4: Strategic Context (45 minutes) Goal: Explain why this matters to the business and why now. Activities 1. Document Business Goals Source: Company OKRs, strategic memos, roadmap Format: Link feature to business outcomes Example: "This initiative supports our Q1 OKR: Reduce churn from 15% to 8%. Improving onboarding activation directly impacts retention." 2. Size Market Opportunity (Optional) Use: skills/tam-sam-som-calculator/SKILL.md (interactive) output When: For major initiatives, new products, exec presentations Example: "TAM: 50M small businesses globally. SAM: 5M using SaaS tools. SOM: 500K solopreneurs in our target segments. Improving onboarding could unlock 30% of SAM (1.5M potential customers)." 3. Document Competitive Landscape (Optional) Source: Competitor research, G2/Capterra reviews Example: "Competitors (Competitor A, B) have guided onboarding. Our lack of guidance is cited as a churn reason in exit surveys." 4. Explain "Why Now?" Rationale: Why prioritize this now vs. later? Example: "Churn spiked 15% in Q4. Onboarding is the #1 driver (60% churn in first 30 days). Fixing this is critical to hitting retention OKR." Outputs from Phase 4 Business goals: OKRs or strategic initiatives Market opportunity: TAM/SAM/SOM (if applicable) Competitive context: How competitors address this Why now: Urgency rationale Phase 5: Solution Overview (60 minutes) Goal: Describe what you're building (high-level, not detailed spec). Activities 1. Write Solution Description Format: High-level overview, 2-3 paragraphs Example: ## 5. Solution Overview We're building a **guided onboarding checklist** that walks new users through core workflows step-by-step when they first log in. **How it works:** 1. User signs up and logs in for the first time 2. Modal appears: "Let's get you set up! Complete these 3 steps to get started." 3. Checklist shows: - ☐ Create your first project - ☐ Invite a teammate (optional) - ☐ Complete a sample task 4. As user completes each step, checklist updates with checkmarks 5. After completion, celebration modal: "You're all set! Here's what to do next." **Key features:** - Minimal: Only 3 core steps (not overwhelming) - Dismissible: Users can skip if they prefer to explore - Progress tracking: Visual progress bar (1/3, 2/3, 3/3) - Celebration: Positive reinforcement when complete 2. Add User Flows or Wireframes (Optional) Use: Design tools (Figma, Sketch), or hand-drawn sketches When: For complex features requiring visual explanation Output: Embedded in PRD or linked 3. Reference Story Map (Optional) Use: skills/user-story-mapping-workshop/SKILL.md output When: For complex features with multiple release slices Output: Link to story map Outputs from Phase 5 Solution description: High-level overview User flows/wireframes: (if applicable) Story map: (if applicable) Phase 6: Success Metrics (30 minutes) Goal: Define how you'll measure success. Activities 1. Define Primary Metric Question: What is the ONE metric this feature must move? Example: "Activation rate (% of users completing first action within 24 hours)" Target: "Increase from 40% to 60%" 2. Define Secondary Metrics Question: What else should we monitor (but not optimize for)? Examples: Time-to-first-action (reduce from 3 days to 1 day) Completion rate of onboarding checklist (target: 80%) Support ticket volume (reduce "How do I get started?" tickets by 50%) 3. Define Guardrail Metrics Question: What should NOT get worse? Example: "Sign-up conversion rate (don't add friction to signup flow)" Example: ## 6. Success Metrics ### Primary Metric **Activation rate** (% of users completing first action within 24 hours) - **Current:** 40% - **Target:** 60% - **Timeline:** Measure 30 days after launch ### Secondary Metrics - **Time-to-first-action:** Reduce from 3 days to 1 day - **Onboarding checklist completion rate:** 80% of users complete all 3 steps - **Support tickets:** Reduce "How do I get started?" tickets from 350/month to 175/month ### Guardrail Metrics - **Sign-up conversion rate:** Maintain at 10% (don't add friction to signup) Outputs from Phase 6 Primary metric: What you're optimizing for Secondary metrics: Additional success indicators