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What a PRD is actually for

30 July 2026 ยท 1 min read

The worst PRDs I have written were complete. Every field filled, every screen described, and still useless, because they recorded decisions without recording why.

The three questions

A PRD earns its keep when a new engineer can answer, without asking: what problem is this for, what counts as done, and what did we decide not to do.

Acceptance criteria are the spec

If a line cannot be tested, it is a preference. Writing criteria first exposes the parts of the problem still unresolved, which is exactly the part worth arguing about early.

Keep the cuts visible

A short "not now" list saves more time than any diagram. It stops the same scope returning every second sprint with a new name.