A PRD Is a Decision Record, Not a Wish List
A good product requirements document isn't the longest one. It's the one that records what was decided, why, and what was deliberately left out.
Saji Nammari2 min read
Product requirements documents have a reputation problem. Many teams treat them as paperwork: long, written once, never read again. Others skip them entirely and pay for it in rework, when engineering builds what it heard rather than what was meant.
The fix isn't a better template. It's a different idea of what a PRD is for. A good PRD is a record of decisions: what problem we're solving, for whom, how we'll know it worked, and what we chose not to do.
What belongs in it
- The problem, in the customer's words. Quote real feedback where you can. If you can't describe the problem without describing a solution, you're not ready yet.
- Who it's for. A specific user in a specific situation, not "all users."
- How we'll measure success. One or two metrics, ideally tied to an input of your North Star, with a target and a date to check.
- Scope and non-goals. What's in the first release and, just as clearly, what isn't. Non-goals prevent more arguments than any other section.
- Open questions. The unknowns, each with an owner and a date.
What to leave out
Pixel-level design belongs in design files. Technical implementation belongs with the engineers who'll build it. A PRD that dictates both takes judgment away from the people best placed to make those calls, and it goes out of date the moment they learn something new.
Keep it short and alive
Two pages is usually enough; link out for detail. When a decision changes, update the document and note why. Six months later, when someone asks why the feature works the way it does, the answer should be in the PRD, not in someone's memory.
Review it like code
Before anyone starts building, the PRD gets a review from engineering and design, in writing. Engineers flag what's expensive or risky; designers flag where the user's path is unclear. Questions raised at this stage cost a comment. The same questions raised mid-sprint cost a week.
A simple outline
- Problem and evidence
- Target user and situation
- Success metrics and targets
- Scope for the first release
- Non-goals
- Open questions, owners, and dates
- Decision log
The most valuable line in a PRD is often the one that says what we're not building.
Written this way, a PRD stops being a hurdle before development and becomes the thing that keeps product, design, and engineering pointed at the same outcome.
About the author
Saji Nammari
Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Saji serves as the Founder and Chief Executive Officer, having successfully pivoted from five years as a highly effective freelance software and data professional. His leadership is rooted in the pragmatic, results-driven mentality required to deliver all types of projects, driving a culture of agility and technical rigor. Outside of work, Saji enjoys the creative disciplines of literature, music, and the satisfaction of pure problem solving.
