/pm-write-spec

name: pm-write-spec
description: Write a feature spec or PRD from a problem statement or feature idea. Use when turning a vague idea or user request into a structured document, scoping a feature with goals and non-goals, defining success metrics and acceptance criteria, or breaking a big ask into a phased spec.
argument-hint: "<feature or problem statement>"

Write Spec

Write a feature specification or product requirements document (PRD).

Usage

/pm-write-spec $ARGUMENTS

Workflow

1. Understand the Feature

Ask the user what they want to spec. Accept any of:

• A feature name ("SSO support")
• A problem statement ("Enterprise customers keep asking for centralized auth")
• A user request ("Users want to export their data as CSV")
• A vague idea ("We should do something about onboarding drop-off")

2. Gather Context

Ask the user for the following. Be conversational — do not dump all questions at once. Ask the most important ones first and fill in gaps as you go:

• **User problem**: What problem does this solve? Who experiences it?
• **Target users**: Which user segment(s) does this serve?
• **Success metrics**: How will we know this worked?
• **Constraints**: Technical constraints, timeline, regulatory requirements, dependencies
• **Prior art**: Has this been attempted before? Are there existing solutions?

3. Pull Context from Connected Tools

If **Linear MCP** (`int-linear-review`) is available:

• Search for related tickets, epics, or features
• Pull in any existing requirements or acceptance criteria
• Identify dependencies on other work items

If **Notion MCP** is available:

• Search for related research documents, prior specs, or design docs
• Pull in relevant user research findings
• Find related meeting notes or decision records

If **Figma MCP** is available:

• Pull related mockups, wireframes, or design explorations
• Search for design system components relevant to the feature

If these tools are not connected, work entirely from what the user provides. Do not ask the user to connect tools — just proceed with available information.

4. Generate the PRD

Produce a structured PRD with these sections. See **PRD Structure** below for detailed guidance on what each section should contain.

• **Problem Statement**: The user problem, who is affected, and impact of not solving it (2-3 sentences)
• **Goals**: 3-5 specific, measurable outcomes tied to user or business metrics
• **Non-Goals**: 3-5 things explicitly out of scope, with brief rationale for each
• **User Stories**: Standard format ("As a [user type], I want [capability] so that [benefit]"), grouped by persona
• **Requirements**: Categorized as Must-Have (P0), Nice-to-Have (P1), and Future Considerations (P2), each with acceptance criteria
• **Success Metrics**: Leading indicators (change quickly) and lagging indicators (change over time), with specific targets
• **Open Questions**: Unresolved questions tagged with who needs to answer (engineering, design, legal, data)
• **Timeline Considerations**: Hard deadlines, dependencies, and phasing

5. Review and Iterate

After generating the PRD:

• Ask the user if any sections need adjustment
• Offer to expand on specific sections
• Offer to create follow-up artifacts (design brief, engineering ticket breakdown, stakeholder pitch)

PRD Structure

Problem Statement

• Describe the user problem in 2-3 sentences
• Who experiences this problem and how often
• What is the cost of not solving it (user pain, business impact, competitive risk)
• Ground this in evidence: user research, support data, metrics, or customer feedback

Goals

• 3-5 specific, measurable outcomes this feature should achieve
• Each goal should answer: "How will we know this succeeded?"
• Distinguish between user goals (what users get) and business goals (what the company gets)
• Goals should be outcomes, not outputs ("reduce time to first value by 50%" not "build onboarding wizard")

Non-Goals

• 3-5 things this feature explicitly will NOT do
• Adjacent capabilities that are out of scope for this version
• For each non-goal, briefly explain why it is out of scope (not enough impact, too complex, separate initiative, premature)
• Non-goals prevent scope creep during implementation and set expectations with stakeholders

User Stories

Write user stories in standard format: "As a [user type], I want [capability] so that [benefit]"

Guidelines:

• The user type should be specific enough to be meaningful ("enterprise admin" not just "user")
• The capability should describe what they want to accomplish, not how
• The benefit should explain the "why" — what value does this deliver
• Include edge cases: error states, empty states, boundary conditions
• Include different user types if the feature serves multiple personas
• Order by priority — most important stories first

Example:

• "As a team admin, I want to configure SSO for my organization so that my team members can log in with their corporate credentials"
• "As a team member, I want to be automatically redirected to my company's SSO login so that I do not need to remember a separate password"
• "As a team admin, I want to see which members have logged in via SSO so that I can verify the rollout is working"

Requirements

**Must-Have (P0)**: The feature cannot ship without these. These represent the minimum viable version of the feature. Ask: "If we cut this, does the feature still solve the core problem?" If no, it is P0.

**Nice-to-Have (P1)**: Significantly improves the experience but the core use case works without them. These often become fast follow-ups after launch.

**Future Considerations (P2)**: Explicitly out of scope for v1 but we want to design in a way that supports them later. Documenting these prevents accidental architectural decisions that make them hard later.

For each requirement:

• Write a clear, unambiguous description of the expected behavior
• Include acceptance criteria (see below)

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