/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: 1. **What problem are we solving?** (Problem statement) 2. **For whom?** (Target users/personas) 3. **Why now?** (Strategic context, business case) 4. **What are we building?** (Solution overview) 5. **How will we measure success?** (Metrics, success criteria) 6. **What are the requirements?** (User stories, acceptance criteria, constraints) 7. **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`](../workshop-facilitation/SKILL.md) as the interaction protocol.

**Default entry mode:** Guided · set in `pm-skills.config.yaml` (library-wide default or a per-skill override); the user's own choice in the session always wins. On the first turn, offer all three modes, then open in the default without waiting for a pick: Guided asks the first question, Context dump invites the paste, Best guess asks for a one-sentence minimum and drafts with every assumption labeled.

It defines:

• session heads-up + entry mode (Guided, Context dump, Best guess)
• one-question turns