/prd-mastery

name: "PRD Mastery: Context-Aware, Expert-Driven, and Token-Efficient Refinement"
description: "A skill that blends the wisdom of top industry experts, ensures token-efficient PRDs, and organizes outputs in a clear folder structure."
version: "1.0"
author: "Callum Bir"
keywords: ["PRD", "product requirements", "business analysis", "product management", "documentation", "Cagan", "Torres", "Biddle"]
domain: pm

PRD Mastery Skills

**Status:** Production Ready **Package Manager:** pnpm **Key Focus:** Context-aware PRD creation, token efficiency, expert-driven guidance **Official References:**

• Marty Cagan - "Inspired: How to Create Tech Products Customers Love"
• Teresa Torres - "Continuous Discovery Habits"
• George Biddle - Product Management Best Practices

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Table of Contents

1. [Overview](#overview) 2. [Installation & Setup](#installation--setup) 3. [Workflow Steps](#workflow-steps) 4. [Expert-Driven Questioning Techniques](#expert-driven-questioning-techniques) 5. [Token Efficiency Guidelines](#token-efficiency-guidelines) 6. [PRD Organization Structure](#prd-organization-structure) 7. [Code Examples](#code-examples) 8. [Best Practices](#best-practices) 9. [Templates & Resources](#templates--resources)

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Overview

The PRD Mastery skill helps AI agents create high-quality, context-aware Product Requirements Documents (PRDs) that are:

• **Context-Aware**: Adapts to whether the project is new or existing, understanding the current tech stack and architecture
• **Expert-Driven**: Uses questioning techniques from industry leaders like Marty Cagan, Teresa Torres, and George Biddle
• **Token-Efficient**: Optimized for AI readability and minimal token usage while maintaining clarity and completeness
• **Well-Organized**: Maintains a clear folder structure for managing multiple PRDs and related artifacts

Key Features

✅ Automated repository reconnaissance to understand project context ✅ Adaptive questioning based on project stage ✅ Expert-guided user interviews to extract requirements ✅ Token-optimized output format ✅ Structured organization system for PRD management ✅ Reusable templates and examples

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Installation & Setup

Prerequisites

# Node.js 20.9+ for running reconnaissance scripts
node --version

# pnpm (recommended)
pnpm --version

Quick Start

1. **Run Repository Reconnaissance**

   node .claude/skills/ba-prd-skills/repo_scan.js

2. **Review Preliminary Findings**

   cat prelim_summary.md

3. **Create Your First PRD** Follow the workflow steps below to guide the PRD creation process.

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Workflow Steps

Step 1: Initial Reconnaissance

**Goal**: Automatically determine if the project is new or existing, identify tech stack, and document context.

**Process**: 1. Run `repo_scan.js` to analyze:

• Existing codebase structure
• Technology stack (frameworks, languages, tools)
• Architecture patterns (monorepo, microservices, etc.)
• Dependencies and integrations
• Documentation state

2. Output is saved to `prelim_summary.md` with:

• Project type (new/existing)
• Tech stack summary
• Architecture overview
• Key observations
• Recommended next steps

**Example Output**:

# Preliminary Project Summary

**Project Type**: Existing
**Tech Stack**: Next.js 16, React, TypeScript, Prisma ORM
**Architecture**: App Router with server components
**Key Observations**: 
- Well-structured authentication system using Auth.js
- Vector database integration with Upstash
- MCP server pattern implementation

---

Step 2: Identify Project Stage and Tech Context

**Goal**: Understand where the project is in its lifecycle and whether architecture changes are needed.

**Context-Aware Questions**:

For **New Projects**:

• What problem are you solving?
• Who are your target users?
• What are the core user outcomes you want to enable?
• What technical constraints do you have? (team skills, budget, timeline)
• What are your scalability expectations?

For **Existing Projects**:

• What are you trying to improve or add?
• Are there pain points with the current architecture?
• Should we maintain the existing tech stack or consider changes?
• What are the key integration points we need to preserve?
• What are the migration constraints?

**Adaptive Follow-ups**:

• If user provides technical details → Validate against current stack, identify gaps
• If user is non-technical → Translate to technical requirements, suggest options
• If requirements are vague → Use expert questioning to narrow scope

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Step 3: Guide the User (Expert-Driven Approach)

**Goal**: Use proven questioning techniques to move from broad ideas to specific, outcome-focused PRDs.

Marty Cagan's Outcome-Focused Questions

Inspired by "Inspired", focus on outcomes over features:

1. **Problem Definition**

• What customer problem are we solving?
• How do we know this is a real problem?
• What does success look like for the user?

2. **Discovery Validation**

• Have we validated this problem with real users?
• What evidence do we have that this solution will work?
• What are the risks?

3. **Value Proposition**

• Why will customers choose this?
• What makes this solution compelling?
• How does this align with business objectives?

Teresa Torres' Continuous Discovery

Based on "Continuous Discovery Habits":

1. **Opportunity Mapping**

• What opportunities have we identified?
• Which opportunity has the biggest impact?
• How does this connect to the desired outcome?

2. **Assumption Testing**

• What assumptions are we making?
• Which assumptions are riskiest?
• How can we test these quickly?

3. **Customer Interviews**

• Who should we talk to?
• What do we need to learn?
• How will we capture and synthesize insights?

George Biddle's Structured Approach

Focus on clarity and completeness:

1. **Stakeholder Alignment**