If you want a product to be successful and meet deadlines, you need to create a well-written product requirement document. Product requirement documents are detailed guides that include steps such as release, development, testing, and functions for your product. If you are new to product requirement document writing and wondering how to write one, we’ve got you covered!

In this article, we will explore what a product requirement document is and how to write one.

Ready?

Let’s dive in!

TL; DR

  • A product requirement document is a guide that explains the process required to complete a product.
  • Product requirement documents are prepared by product owners, team managers, or product team members.
  • A product requirement document offers advantages such as clarity, requirement management, project planning and a centralized product database.
  • To write a product requirement document, you need to define the product and provide information about goals, objectives, constraints, scope, features, and release criteria.
  • If you are looking for an AI assistant to streamline all your documentation, including the product requirement document, TextCortex is the solution for you.

What is a Product Requirement Document?

The product requirement document contains everything that must be included for a product to be considered complete, serving as a guide to the documentation required for all parts of the process. This document usually contains sections such as product introduction, product design, delivery, development, product functions, etc.

Who Creates Product Requirement Documents?

Product requirement documents are created by product owners, team managers, or product team members who are knowledgeable about the process and product. Once the product requirement document is created, it is accessible by the product development team and aims to guide all members.

Advantages of Product Requirement Documents

A product requirement document describes the functional and non-functional characteristics of a product by providing detailed information to developers and testers. It also highlights how the product should behave, function, and work. Some of the advantages of product requirement documents include:

  • Clarity and Better Understanding of Product
  • Requirement Management
  • Makes the product easier to understand
  • User Stories Management and Organization
  • Accurate Project Planning
  • Create a Centralized Product Database

How to Write a Product Requirement Document?

If you want to write a product requirement document but don’t know where to start, we’ve got you covered! Let’s explore the steps you need to complete to write a product requirement document and how to write it!

1. Define the Product

In the opening section of the product requirement document, you need to define your product, the benefits it will provide to the end-user, the product’s purpose, and the problems it will solve for the target audience. In this way, anyone who starts reading your product requirement document will have general information about what the product is.

2. Determine Goals and Objectives

Write down the team’s objectives for the development process. This way, your team can understand what they are working towards and develop the product more efficiently. This section also explains what users should expect from the product and how they will benefit. You can use SMART goals to create this section:

  • Specific
  • Measurable
  • Achievable
  • Relevant
  • Time-bound

3. Identify Constraints

Product constraints refer to external factors that may negatively affect workflow, such as delays when working with a new supplier, malfunctions in the production line, and software issues. Identifying product constraints before starting the process allows you to prepare for possible negative scenarios and set your expectations for the product correctly.

4. Scope of Product

By defining the product scope, you can define the characteristics and functions of the product. You can also set limits for your product scope, unlocking the project to remain within a certain scope and develop for its purpose. Thus, your team can keep track during product development and afterwards.

5. List Features

In this section of your product requirement document, you should list the primary and secondary features of the product. For each feature, you can also describe how it will be used and define the requirements for adding that feature to the product. This way, any stakeholder reviewing your product requirement document can quickly understand what the requirements are for. Since PRD is all about requirements, we recommend that you create this section carefully.

6. Release Criteria

The part that you should definitely specify in your product requirement document is the release criteria section, where you specify whether the product is ready to be released. In this section, you should explain what stage your product should reach before being released, what criteria it should meet, and what features it should offer. In this way, the product development team can learn which aspects of the product it should focus on and prioritize.

7. Set Metrics

You should write a section where you will set metrics for your product to meet a certain quality standard or to track its progress. By following these metrics, you can make sure that your product does not miss any essential parts. The metrics section of your product requirement document will include metrics such as delivery dates, productivity levels, to-do lists, milestones, etc.

Create PRDs via TextCortex

If you are looking for an AI assistant to help you with your product requirement document writing process and automate your tasks, then TextCortex is the one for you. TextCortex offers its users AI agent automation, knowledge bases, multiple LLMs, AI image generators, web search, workflow automation, and writing assistance. In particular, you can use the TextCortex writing assistant to simplify your PRD searches, translate them to another language, paraphrase them, or turn your sentences into actionable lists.

Another feature that TextCortex offers to simplify your documentation process, including PRD, is AI agents and knowledge bases. Using TextCortex AI agent builder, you can automate monotonous and repetitive tasks. For example, you can automate the analysis of data you collect for your PRD writing process and generate insightful outputs. TextCortex is also an effective assistant to increase the individual performance of your employees. Check out the results from one of our case studies:

  • Reduction of internal expertise search time from minutes to seconds
  • 10-12% more efficient proposal creation
  • Employee confidence in working with AI improved from 8/10 to 10/10
  • Employee enthusiasm toward AI increased from 25% to 67%
  • 94% of employees report that AI improves their work quality

Frequently Asked Questions

How to structure a PRD?

If you want to write a product requirement document and need a template to help you, you can use AI tools. Using TextCortex AI, you can generate customized PRD templates for your product.

Who prepare PRDs?

Product requirements documents are created by product managers, team members or business owners who know the product well and understand how it should be shaped. This way, you can be sure that the product delivers what you want it to deliver to customers.

How long should a PRD be?

Regardless of the scope of your product, a product requirement document should be between 6-8 pages. This number of pages is sufficient to provide information about your standard product and create a well-designed PRD.