PRD Generation

Overview

Transform high-level ideas into structured Product Requirements Documents through guided discovery. This skill walks through problem/solution/constraint discovery, generates a professional PRD with measurable goals and user stories, and ensures stakeholder approval before saving.

Announce at start: "I'm using the prd-generation skill to create a Product Requirements Document."

Phase 1: Discovery

Ask these questions ONE AT A TIME (prefer multiple choice where possible).

Do NOT skip discovery. Even if the user provides a detailed brief, confirm understanding by asking at least 3 clarifying questions.

STOP after discovery — present a summary of collected answers and get confirmation before drafting.

Problem Space Questions

Solution Space Questions

Constraint Questions

Phase 2: Draft PRD

Generate the PRD using the template below. Dispatch the prd-writer agent with collected answers for heavy generation.

STOP after drafting — do NOT present as final until Phase 3 review is complete.

PRD Template

# [Product/Feature Name] — Product Requirements Document

## 1. Overview
One paragraph summarizing what this is and why it matters.

## 2. Problem Statement
- Current situation
- Pain points
- Impact of not solving

## 3. Goals & Non-Goals
### Goals
- [ ] Goal 1 (measurable)
- [ ] Goal 2 (measurable)

### Non-Goals
- Explicitly NOT doing X
- Explicitly NOT doing Y

## 4. User Stories
As a [persona], I want to [action], so that [benefit].

## 5. Functional Requirements
### FR-1: [Requirement Name]
- Description
- Acceptance criteria
- Priority (P0/P1/P2)

## 6. Non-Functional Requirements
- Performance: [specific targets]
- Security: [requirements]
- Accessibility: [standards]
- Scalability: [expectations]

## 7. Technical Constraints
- Platform/stack requirements
- Integration dependencies
- Data requirements

## 8. Success Metrics
| Metric | Current | Target | How to Measure |
|--------|---------|--------|----------------|

## 9. Timeline & Milestones
| Phase | Description | Target Date |
|-------|-------------|-------------|

## 10. Open Questions
- [ ] Question 1
- [ ] Question 2

## 11. Appendix
References, mockups, related documents

Priority Classification

Phase 3: Review

Present the PRD section by section:

1. After each section, ask: "Does this capture your intent? Any changes?"
2. Revise based on feedback before moving to next section
3. Pay special attention to these high-signal sections:
   • Goals & Non-Goals (scope alignment)
   • User Stories (persona accuracy)
   • Success Metrics (measurability)
   • Functional Requirements (acceptance criteria completeness)

STOP after review — get explicit "approved" confirmation before saving.

Phase 4: Save and Transition

After explicit approval:

1. Save to docs/prds/YYYY-MM-DD-<feature>.md
2. Commit the PRD with message: docs(prd): add PRD for <feature>
3. If implementation follows, invoke the brainstorming skill
4. If specs are needed, invoke the spec-writing skill

Transition Decision Table

Anti-Patterns / Common Mistakes

Anti-Rationalization Guards

• Do NOT skip discovery because "the user already described it well enough"
• Do NOT leave placeholder text in any section — fill every section or mark as "TBD: [reason]"
• Do NOT proceed to save without explicit user approval of each section
• Do NOT invent success metrics — they must come from the user

Integration Points

Verification Gate

Before claiming the PRD is complete:

1. VERIFY all 11 sections are filled (not placeholder text)
2. VERIFY every goal has a measurable metric
3. VERIFY non-goals are explicit and meaningful
4. VERIFY user stories have acceptance criteria
5. VERIFY user has approved each section individually
6. VERIFY the file is saved and committed

Concrete Example: Discovery Summary

Problem: Users cannot find relevant search results in the dashboard.
Users: Data analysts (primary), team leads (secondary).
Current workaround: Export to Excel and use Ctrl+F.
Impact of not solving: 30min/day wasted per analyst (team of 12).
Success metric: Reduce average search time from 5min to <30s.
Must-have: Full-text search across all dashboard widgets.
Non-goal: Advanced boolean query syntax (P2, not launch).
Timeline: 6 weeks to MVP.
Constraint: Must work with existing Elasticsearch cluster.

This summary is presented to the user for confirmation before Phase 2 begins.

Skill Type

Flexible — Adapt discovery depth and PRD structure to project context while preserving the discovery-before-drafting principle and section-by-section review process.