writing-prds▌
refoundai/lenny-skills · updated Apr 8, 2026
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Help teams write focused, actionable product requirements documents using frameworks from 11 product leaders.
- ›Start with problem and context before solutions; include \"why now\" to justify timing and urgency against competing priorities
- ›Choose the right format for your product type: traditional PRDs for feature specs, prototypes or prompt sets for AI features, executable evals as living requirements
- ›Define success upfront with clear metrics and outcomes; keep documents lightweight a
Writing PRDs
Help the user write effective product requirements documents using frameworks and insights from 11 product leaders.
How to Help
When the user asks for help with PRDs:
- Start with the why - Ask about the problem being solved and why it matters now, before features
- Define success upfront - Help them articulate how they'll know the feature succeeded
- Choose the right format - Discuss whether they need a traditional doc, a prototype, or executable evals
- Keep it actionable - Ensure the document leads to clear team action, not just documentation
Core Principles
Lead with problem and context
Maggie Crowley: "The most important section is the first part - what is the background and context? What is the problem, why does it matter, and why does it matter now?" Center the team on the 'why' and the urgency before discussing solutions.
The PR/FAQ forces clarity
Bill Carr: "Whenever we're devising a new product, we start by writing a press release describing it in a way that speaks to the customer. The idea better jump off the page." Use the PR to describe customer, problem, and solution in factual, data-rich language.
Demos before memos in AI age
Aparna Chennapragada: "If you're not prototyping and building to see what you want to build, you're doing it wrong. Prompt sets are the new PRDs." For AI features, include functional prototypes and prompt sets as core requirements.
Evals as living PRDs
Hamel Husain & Shreya Shankar: "This is the purest sense of what a product requirements document should be - this eval judge that's telling you exactly what it should be, and it's automatic and running constantly." Translate product requirements into executable evaluations for AI products.
Keep it lightweight for action
Eric Simons: "We tend to keep them pretty light. I like to have the minimal amount of context that ensures everyone's on the same page and that key outcomes will be present when we get there." Focus on key outcomes rather than exhaustive details that developers ignore.
PRDs demonstrate craft
Vikrama Dhiman: "Is your PRD quality good enough? Are you writing drafts that go to care teams, marketing teams? You must have impact through the artifacts you work on." High-quality PRDs demonstrate professional craft and create clarity at scale.
AI can scaffold the basics
Claire Vo: "I had used ChatGPT to come up with a very serviceable PRD spec for this very technical product." Use AI to scaffold basics like user stories and out-of-scope items, then focus on high-level strategy and narrative.
Live PRDs reduce ambiguity
Guillermo Rauch: "The product management team is now actually building the product. We've specced out in v0, think of it as a live PRD. The amount of detail - we're all saying 'just ship it.'" Interactive, animated prototypes reduce ambiguity and speed up approval.
Include the 'Why Now'
Justify the timing of this investment against other opportunities. If you can't explain why this matters now versus later, the priority is questionable.
Questions to Help Users
- "What problem is this solving, and why does it matter now?"
- "How will you know if this feature was successful - what metric moves?"
- "Who is the customer, and what does their life look like after this ships?"
- "What is explicitly out of scope to prevent scope creep?"
- "Could you build a quick prototype instead of writing more documentation?"
- "What are the key decisions that still need to be made?"
Common Mistakes to Flag
- Starting with the solution - The document should lead with the problem and context
- No success criteria - Every PRD needs a clear definition of how you'll measure success
- Exhaustive detail - Lightweight PRDs focused on outcomes are more likely to be read and used
- Static when prototypes work better - For AI and UI work, live prototypes communicate more than prose
- Missing the 'Why Now' - Without urgency justification, priorities will be questioned
Deep Dive
For all 14 insights from 11 guests, see references/guest-insights.md
Related Skills
- Writing Specs & Designs
- Working Backwards
- Stakeholder Alignment
- Shipping Products
How to use writing-prds on Cursor
AI-first code editor with Composer
Prerequisites
Before installing skills in Cursor, ensure your development environment meets these requirements:
- ›Cursor installed and configured on your development machine
- ›Node.js version 16.0+ with npm package manager (verify with
node --version) - ›Active project directory or workspace where you want to add writing-prds
Execute installation command
Execute the skills CLI command in your project's root directory to begin installation:
The skills CLI fetches writing-prds from GitHub repository refoundai/lenny-skills and configures it for Cursor.
Select Cursor when prompted
The CLI will show a list of available agents. Use arrow keys to navigate and space to select Cursor:
Verify installation
Confirm successful installation by checking the skill directory location:
Reload or restart Cursor to activate writing-prds. Access the skill through slash commands (e.g., /writing-prds) or your agent's skill management interface.
Security & Verification Notice
We perform automated surface-level scans (Gen AI Scanner, Socket, Snyk) during installation. These checks detect common vulnerabilities but do not guarantee complete security. Always review skill source code and verify the publisher's reputation before production use.
Skills execute code in your development environment. Always verify the publisher's identity, review recent commits, and test in isolated environments before production deployment.
List & Monetize Your Skill
Submit your Claude Code skill and start earning
Use Cases▌
User Story & Requirements Generation
Create detailed user stories, acceptance criteria, and feature specs
Example
Generate user stories for 'password reset feature' with acceptance criteria, edge cases, and test scenarios
Reduce spec writing time by 50%, ensure comprehensive coverage
Competitive Analysis
Research competitors, compare features, identify gaps
Example
Analyze 5 competitor products, create feature comparison matrix, suggest differentiation opportunities
Complete competitive research in 2 hours instead of 2 days
Roadmap Prioritization
Evaluate features using frameworks (RICE, ICE, Kano) and create prioritized backlogs
Example
Score 20 feature ideas using RICE framework, generate prioritized roadmap with rationale
Make data-driven prioritization decisions faster
Stakeholder Communication
Draft PRDs, status updates, and stakeholder presentations
Example
Create executive summary of Q3 roadmap, monthly progress report, feature launch announcement
Save 3-5 hours/week on communication overhead
Implementation Guide▌
Prerequisites
- ›Claude Desktop or compatible AI client
- ›Access to product documentation and roadmap tools (Jira, Notion, etc.)
- ›Understanding of product management frameworks (RICE, Jobs-to-be-Done, etc.)
- ›Stakeholder contact information and communication channels
Time Estimate
30-60 minutes to see productivity improvements
Installation Steps
- 1.Install product management skill
- 2.Start with user story generation for known feature
- 3.Progress to competitive analysis: research 2-3 competitors
- 4.Use for roadmap prioritization: apply RICE/ICE scoring
- 5.Draft stakeholder communications and refine based on feedback
- 6.Build template library for recurring PM tasks
- 7.Share effective prompts with product team
Common Pitfalls
- ⚠Not validating competitive research—verify facts before sharing
- ⚠Accepting user stories without involving engineering team
- ⚠Over-relying on frameworks without qualitative judgment
- ⚠Not customizing outputs to company culture and communication style
- ⚠Skipping stakeholder validation of generated requirements
Best Practices▌
✓ Do
- +Validate research and competitive analysis with real data
- +Collaborate with engineering when generating technical requirements
- +Customize frameworks and templates to your company context
- +Use skill for first drafts, refine with stakeholder input
- +Document successful prompt patterns for PM tasks
- +Combine AI efficiency with human judgment and intuition
✗ Don't
- −Don't publish competitive analysis without fact-checking
- −Don't finalize user stories without engineering review
- −Don't make prioritization decisions solely on AI scoring
- −Don't skip customer validation of generated requirements
- −Don't ignore company-specific context and culture
💡 Pro Tips
- ★Provide context: company goals, constraints, customer feedback
- ★Ask for alternatives: 'Show 3 ways to prioritize this roadmap'
- ★Request stakeholder-specific formatting: 'Executive summary vs. engineering spec'
- ★Use skill for 70% generation + 30% customization to company needs
When to Use This▌
✓ Use When
Use for user story writing, competitive research, roadmap prioritization, stakeholder communication, and PRD drafting. Best for reducing repetitive documentation and research work.
✗ Avoid When
Avoid for strategic product vision (requires deep customer empathy), pricing decisions (needs market and financial expertise), or when face-to-face customer discovery is more valuable than speed.
Learning Path▌
- 1Basic: user stories, feature specs, status updates
- 2Intermediate: competitive analysis, prioritization frameworks, PRDs
- 3Advanced: product strategy, go-to-market planning, OKR setting
- 4Expert: product vision, market positioning, business model innovation
Discussion
Product Hunt–style comments (not star reviews)- No comments yet — start the thread.
Ratings
4.5★★★★★32 reviews- ★★★★★Pratham Ware· Dec 20, 2024
We added writing-prds from the explainx registry; install was straightforward and the SKILL.md answered most questions upfront.
- ★★★★★Noah Malhotra· Dec 20, 2024
Keeps context tight: writing-prds is the kind of skill you can hand to a new teammate without a long onboarding doc.
- ★★★★★Yuki Gonzalez· Dec 4, 2024
I recommend writing-prds for anyone iterating fast on agent tooling; clear intent and a small, reviewable surface area.
- ★★★★★Layla Singh· Nov 23, 2024
writing-prds fits our agent workflows well — practical, well scoped, and easy to wire into existing repos.
- ★★★★★Noah Sethi· Nov 11, 2024
writing-prds is among the better-maintained entries we tried; worth keeping pinned for repeat workflows.
- ★★★★★Chinedu Smith· Nov 3, 2024
We added writing-prds from the explainx registry; install was straightforward and the SKILL.md answered most questions upfront.
- ★★★★★Noah Farah· Oct 22, 2024
Solid pick for teams standardizing on skills: writing-prds is focused, and the summary matches what you get after install.
- ★★★★★Layla Jain· Oct 14, 2024
Registry listing for writing-prds matched our evaluation — installs cleanly and behaves as described in the markdown.
- ★★★★★Omar Rahman· Oct 2, 2024
Useful defaults in writing-prds — fewer surprises than typical one-off scripts, and it plays nicely with `npx skills` flows.
- ★★★★★William Taylor· Sep 21, 2024
Keeps context tight: writing-prds is the kind of skill you can hand to a new teammate without a long onboarding doc.
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