The product requirements document (PRD) is a central document used to align all stakeholders (product management, engineering, QA, designers, and leadership) on how we will solve a specific problem with the proposed solution.

When creating the PRD, provide just as much information as needed and nothing more. If the document is too long and complex, it will quickly become outdated, and readers will lose interest.

In this latest iteration of the Unified Compliance PRD template, we changed the template to help raise visibility of how the proposed product (or feature set) adheres to Unified Compliance’s strategic plan including details on why this product proposal is important to Unified Compliance.

Describe the problem we are solving, the high-level approach, and goals so that before we get too far into the details, readers will have a good understand of where we are headed.

What problem are we trying to solve?

Briefly describe the approach you’re taking to solve this problem. Provide enough information for the reader to imagine possible solution directions and get a rough sense of the scope of this proposal.

What does success look like? What metrics can we effect and why it is important to affect those metrics?

The intent of this section is for the following:

Scope Definition: defines the scope of the proposed product (or features), including what will and will not be included helping manage expectations and focus development efforts.

Guideline for Development: provides detailed information on the product’s features, functionalities, user flow, and interface to guide the development team in building the product.

Describe the product features that will bring value to customers and fulfill underserved need(s).

List the known features that are out of scope for this project or might be revisited at a later time.

As is case with the assumptions, it is important to list these out so that architects and engineers can plan accordingly for these later updates.

If we have them, link to:

• user journeys, process flow, or other diagrams related to the requirements.

• mockups, prototypes, or screenshots related to the requirements.

If this project is a component to other areas or an update to an existing product, specifically call out where this product will interact with other areas.

List any open questions that come to mind throughout the lifecycle of this initiative.

The intent of this section is for the following:

Technical Risk Mitigation: Identifies potential technical risks and propose mitigation strategies.

Launch Readiness: launch checklist including high-level go-to-market plan to ensure cross-departmental alignment.

If applicable, identifies potential technical risks and propose mitigation strategies.

Identify any relevant milestones that people should now about. Will we “eat it” ourselves first? Will this require a beta? and what is the target launch date?

This section is a reminder to the product team to make sure all relevant stakeholders are involved as necessary.

List and link to any other reference sites, documents … that might be important to the reader including the business model canvas (BMC).