PRD Template for Product Managers

Overview

2-3 sentences maximum. What you're building, who it's for, and why it matters now. A reader skimming should get the full picture from this section alone.

Problem

Lead with customer signal — not opinions. What's broken or missing? Who feels this and how often? What does it cost in time, money, or churn?

• Pain point — "X of Y users reported..." with source
• Pain point — direct customer quote if available
• Pain point — link to supporting data

"Direct customer quote that captures the core frustration"

— Role, Company / Source

If you can't cite specific data, you're guessing. Flag it as an assumption.

Goals

2-4 outcomes — not outputs. Each goal has a success metric grounded in customer signal and a counter-metric to prevent gaming. Don't invent percentages.

• Goal 1 - Success metric: Measurable target derived from customer signal - Counter-metric: Guardrail — what you watch to ensure you're not gaming the primary metric
• Goal 2 - Success metric: Measurable target - Counter-metric: Guardrail metric

User Stories

3-5 maximum. Define users narrowly — not "product managers" but "Series A founders doing PM work before their first PM hire."

• As a [specific user], I want to [action] so that [outcome].
• As a [specific user], I want to [action] so that [outcome].
• As a [specific user], I want to [action] so that [outcome].

Requirements

P0 — Must Ship

3-5 maximum. Launch blockers — the product doesn't work without these. Every P0 includes an inline citation. If you have more than 5 P0s, you haven't prioritized.

• Requirement — X of Y users reported this. "Verbatim quote or data summary." - User can complete [action] in under [threshold] - [Specific, testable condition]
• Requirement — X of Y users reported this. "Verbatim quote or data summary." - [Specific, testable condition] - [Specific, testable condition]
• Requirement — X of Y users reported this. "Verbatim quote or data summary." - [Specific, testable condition] - [Specific, testable condition]

P1 — Should Ship

High value. Users notice if missing. Ships without it, but significantly degraded.

• Requirement — One sentence. Clear scope.
• Requirement — One sentence. Clear scope.

P2 — Nice to Have

Polish. Fast-follow candidates.

• Requirement — One sentence. Clear scope.

Non-Goals

What you're explicitly NOT building, and why. This prevents scope creep. Include a revisit date so non-goals don't become forgotten decisions.

• Non-goal — Reason. Revisit: Date or milestone
• Non-goal — Reason. Revisit: Date or milestone
• Non-goal — Reason. Revisit: Date or milestone

Open Questions

Unresolved items with a default recommendation. Don't let open questions block the document — state your best guess and move forward.

• Question Default: Your recommendation. Owner: Name. Decide by: Date.
• Question Default: Your recommendation. Owner: Name. Decide by: Date.