Blog 59: Three major requirement documents to keep everyone aligned.

As we may have noticed, product management does involve a lot of documentation. It could either be in a MS word document or in a digital tool.

Proper documentation ensures all stakeholders are on the same page with respect to goals, objectives, features, assumptions, timelines, points of contact etc.

But at times, it is challenging to get stakeholders to read lengthy documentation. In such scenarios, it is a good practice to breakdown the document into smaller chunks. And communicate these chunks with relevant stakeholders. Either through a roadshow, a live session, or just an email etc. Keep stakeholders and the team engaged.

There are broadly three master documents that need to be written effectively and updated periodically.

Market requirements document (MRD), product requirements document (PRD), technical requirements document (TRD). If one is from a non-tech background, the TRD can be written in close collaboration with the Engineering/Tech Lead. These documents must NOT be written as a chore. They require deep thought and experience (find MRD and PRD sample templates attached below).

Note: PRDs and TRDs tend to be exhaustive. Hence, one can break down PRDs and TRDs into smaller chunks either by phase or features or user story etc. Maintain separate documents accordingly.

Market requirements document helps us understand the market landscape that we are operating in. The document will include customer needs, value proposition, target market, market size, personas, competitor analysis, features, metrics, etc.

Leverage past analysis done for frameworks (blog 9 for business model, blog 19 for clear articulation of pain points, blog 10 for mapping value proposition with customer expectations, blog 11 for estimating market size, blog 12 & 13 for competitor analysis, blog 14 for personas, blog 34 and 35 for metrics).

What is the difference between these requirement documents and frameworks? Well, these requirement documents are a summary of different framework analysis, collated into one document. The language used is generally jargon free. Easy to understand, refer, and share with different types of stakeholders.

After, we complete writing the MRD we can write the PRD.

Product requirements document informs how the product should be built to meet customer needs (identified in MRD). This document assists a product manager while collaborating with design and engineering. As it includes scope of the work, user stories, wireframes, UX design, functional architecture, assumptions etc.

Leverage past analysis and blogs (Refer blog 17 for wireframes, blog 29 and 30 for good UX design, blog 34 and 35 for metrics).

Technical requirements document informs on how we are going to technically build the product. If this document is not done right, it could lead to severe heartaches, rework, and a complete waste of company resources. And, eventually the product fails.

This document is generally written by and for the technical team. This document enables the team to think about the solution piece-by-piece. Without jumping the gun. The broad sections include proposed solution and design, test plan, monitoring plan, release and deployment plan, security and privacy, cost analysis, success evaluation, execution of work etc. (more on TRD in blog 63).

You can download sample MRD, PRD templates. You can expand, customise, and personalise the templates as per your needs. This is only a guide.

Idea2product2business_MRD_sample_template.pdf

Download PDF • 250KB

Idea2product2business_PRD_sample_template.pdf

Download PDF • 272KB

Jump to blog 100 to refer to the overall product management mind map.

I wish you the best for your journey. 😊