Why Every Product Needs a PRD 🔗
If you’ve ever kicked off a new feature build and watched it veer off course — developers asking what’s in scope, designers re-interpreting the UX, or stakeholders confused about goals — you’ve lived the pain of not having a clear Product Requirements Document (PRD).
A PRD is the single source of truth for what a feature does, why it matters, and how success is measured. Done right, it saves teams from endless meetings and expensive rework.
Industry leaders like Atlassian and ProductPlan recommend PRDs as a lightweight but powerful alignment tool.
The Core Elements of a PRD 🔗
A good PRD isn’t a wall of text. It’s structured around a few essential sections:
- Feature description – what the capability is and why it matters.
- User stories – scenarios that define value from the end user’s perspective.
- Acceptance criteria – clear, testable rules of success.
- Assumptions & constraints – what’s expected, and what may block delivery.
- Technical considerations – performance, security, and scalability notes.
- Sprint readiness – is the feature ready to be picked up?
This structure prevents ambiguity and ensures your engineering team knows exactly what “done” means.
Example: Feature 1 – Notify Me Button 🔗
Here’s a shortened example PRD section generated using LaizyDoc:
| Feature | Notify Me button |
|---|---|
| User Story | As a shopper, I want to tap “Notify Me” on an out-of-stock product so I’m alerted when it’s restocked. |
| Acceptance Criteria |
|
| Technical Notes | Queue-based dispatch, encryption of contact data, horizontal scaling of workers. |
| Sprint Readiness | ✅ Email and push notification services configured |
This level of clarity means the feature can go directly into sprint planning with minimal questions.
Example: Feature 2 – Search Product Category 🔗
A second feature illustrates how assumptions, accessibility, and performance expectations get documented:
-
User Stories
- Search within category (fast filtering).
- Voice input for accessibility.
- Merchandiser analytics for product placement.
-
Acceptance Criteria
- Results load within 300 ms after 3 typed characters.
- Accessible “No products found” message.
- ARIA labels for screen readers.
- SQL injection attempts sanitized.
-
Blockers
- API lacks category-scoped endpoint.
- UI/UX designs not finalized.
By listing blockers early, teams avoid starting work they can’t finish.
Why PRDs Reduce Risk 🔗
A clear PRD helps you:
- Align stakeholders – Everyone knows what’s being built and why.
- Protect quality – Acceptance criteria double as QA test cases.
- Mitigate technical risk – Security and performance considerations are explicit.
- Increase velocity – Engineers can estimate confidently without chasing clarifications.
The IEEE’s Guide to Software Requirements Specifications backs this up: formal requirements reduce downstream defects by up to 60%.
Tips for Writing Better PRDs 🔗
- Keep them short: One page per feature is often enough. Avoid “novels.”
- Write in user language: “As a shopper…” not “The system shall…”
- Make success measurable: Use functional, performance, and security criteria.
- Don’t skip constraints: If APIs, vendors, or licenses are blockers, call them out.
- Version control: Store PRDs where teams can collaborate, not as email attachments.
How AI Simplifies PRD Creation 🔗
Traditionally, writing PRDs is tedious. Teams either over-specify (pages of detail nobody reads) or under-specify (leading to guesswork). AI tools like LaizyDoc change the game:
- Generate structured PRDs from plain text prompts.
- Automatically include user stories, acceptance criteria, and technical considerations.
- Ensure consistency across features.
- Export directly into formats your team already uses.
Think of it as a product manager’s co-pilot — you focus on product vision, LaizyDoc handles the documentation heavy lifting.
Download the PRD Checklist (Free A4 PDF)
Ship features with fewer iterations. Use this checklist to confirm goals, stories, acceptance criteria, dependencies, and risks before sprint kickoff.
Wrap Up 🔗
A Product Requirements Document is not bureaucracy — it’s leverage. It ensures clarity, reduces risk, and accelerates delivery.
If you’re still writing PRDs in blank docs, or worse, skipping them entirely, you’re leaving your team exposed to wasted effort.
Try LaizyDoc to generate your next PRD in minutes, complete with features, user stories, and acceptance criteria.
Want a pitch deck or PRD generated in minutes? Start with LaizyDoc