PRD Scaffolding Expert

Overview

Structured product requirements document creation using a proven 8-section framework. This skill produces clear, jargon-free PRDs that communicate what to build, why it matters, and how success is measured. Every PRD generated follows a consistent structure that keeps engineering, design, and business stakeholders aligned.

Core Capabilities

Pre-PRD framing — Problem Framing Canvas (user-perspective narrative) and Working Backwards Press Release sharpen the problem before solutions.
8-section PRD framework — Summary, Contacts, Background, Objective (SMART KRs), Market Segments (JTBD), Value Proposition (Value Curve), Solution (P0/P1/P2), Release.
Plain-language discipline — one idea per sentence, specificity over abstraction, 10-second executive test.
Scaffolder automation — prd_scaffolder.py generates the skeleton with guided placeholders.

When to Use

New Product Initiative -- Starting a product from scratch and need a comprehensive spec before development begins.
Feature Expansion -- Adding significant functionality to an existing product that requires cross-team alignment.
Stakeholder Alignment -- Need a single document that answers "what are we building and why?" for everyone involved.

Clarify First

Before generating the PRD, confirm these inputs. If any is unknown or vague, ASK — do not assume:

[ ] Core problem — one sentence in the user's words; who hurts and how (drives Background + Objective)
[ ] Target reader — exec, engineering, or mixed (sets altitude and which of the 8 sections matter most)
[ ] Success metric — the SMART KR that defines "it worked" (drives Objective)
[ ] Scope boundary — what is explicitly NOT in this release (drives Solution P0/P1/P2 + Release)

Stop rule: ask only the 2–3 that most change the output. If the user says "just draft it," proceed and list your assumptions at the top of the PRD.

Quick Start

python scripts/prd_scaffolder.py --product-name "MyProduct" \
  --objective "Short description of the outcome" \
  --segments "Segment A, Segment B"

Gather context: product name, target segment, core problem.
(Optional) Frame the problem first with the Problem Framing Canvas or Working Backwards PR (see references/prd-framework.md).
Run the scaffolder to generate the skeleton, then fill each of the 8 sections.
Review against the checklist in references/prd-writing-guide.md, then share for feedback.

References

references/prd-framework.md — read this while writing: the two pre-PRD techniques, full 8-section framework with per-section guidance, writing principles, scaffolder flag reference, troubleshooting, and success criteria.
references/prd-writing-guide.md — read this when polishing a draft: section-by-section writing guide and the review checklist.
references/red-flags.md — read this before sharing the PRD: common ways PRDs go wrong with bad/good examples and fixes.
assets/prd_template.md — complete PRD template ready to fill in.

Scope & Limitations

In Scope: 8-section PRD skeleton generation with guided placeholders; section-by-section writing guidance (plain-language, specificity); market-segment definition by jobs-to-be-done; value-proposition mapping with Value Curve; release planning with Now/Next/Later and explicit deferral.

Out of Scope: Technical architecture or system design docs (engineering/); user story writing and backlog creation (execution/job-stories/, execution/wwas/); detailed UX research or usability testing plans (product-team/); financial business-case modeling (finance/).

Important Caveats: A PRD is a communication tool, not a contract — treat it as a living document. The 8-section framework is proven, but lightweight agile teams may need only sections 1, 3, 4, 7, 8, while regulated contexts may need more. A 2025 Carnegie Mellon SEI study found effective requirements management eliminates 50-80% of project defects.

Integration Points

| Integration | Direction | Description | |------------|-----------|-------------| | discovery/identify-assumptions/ | Receives from | Validated and "Test Now" assumptions populate PRD Section 7 with evidence | | discovery/brainstorm-experiments/ | Receives from | Experiment results validate or invalidate PRD assumptions | | discovery/pre-mortem/ | Receives from | Tiger mitigations become PRD risk sections | | execution/brainstorm-okrs/ | Feeds into | PRD Key Results (Section 4) align with quarterly OKR targets | | execution/outcome-roadmap/ | Feeds into | PRD release plan (Section 8) maps to roadmap Now/Next/Later horizons | | execution/prioritization-frameworks/ | Receives from | Feature priority (P0/P1/P2) in Section 7 informed by RICE/ICE scoring | | senior-pm/ | Feeds into | PRD stakeholder context feeds stakeholder mapper engagement plans |