What is Product Requirements Document (PRD)?
A Product Requirements Document (PRD) describes what a product or feature must do and the problem it solves. It typically covers the problem and goals, target users, the solution and its requirements, success metrics, scope (and explicitly what's out of scope), and open questions.
The PRD is a tool for alignment and clarity, not bureaucracy. Modern PRDs are lean, living documents — often a shared doc that evolves through collaboration — rather than the exhaustive, frozen specs of waterfall eras. The emphasis is on the "why" and "what," leaving the "how" to engineering and design.
PMs write PRDs to align cross-functional teams on what they're building and why, to surface disagreements early, and to provide a reference that prevents scope drift. A good PRD answers the questions a team would otherwise ask repeatedly; a bad one is either ignored or so detailed no one reads it.
Examples
- A PRD for a referral program states the goal, target users, requirements, success metric, and out-of-scope items.
- A PM uses a lean one-page PRD to align the team, then refines details collaboratively.
Where PMs use this
Related terms
Acceptance Criteria
The specific, testable conditions a user story must satisfy to be considered complete.
User Story
A short, plain-language description of a feature told from the perspective of the user who wants it.
Product Roadmap
A high-level, communicative plan of what a product team intends to work on and why, over time.
Wireframe
A low-fidelity, skeletal layout of a screen used to plan structure and flow before visual design.