The Ultimate Guide to PRD Templates

After creating hundreds of PRDs across different companies, team sizes, and product types, I’ve learned that there’s no one-size-fits-all template. The best PRD template depends on your context.

This guide will help you choose and customize the right template for your situation.

Why Templates Matter

A good template does more than save time. It:

• Ensures consistency across your product organization
• Reduces cognitive load so you can focus on content, not structure
• Prompts for important details you might otherwise forget
• Sets expectations for what information stakeholders will receive
• Speeds up review since readers know where to find information

The Core Elements Every PRD Needs

Regardless of template, every PRD should answer these questions:

1. What are we building?
2. Why are we building it?
3. Who is it for?
4. How will we know it’s successful?
5. What are we NOT building?

Everything else is context-dependent.

Template Types by Product Stage

The MVP Template

Best for: New products, early-stage startups, rapid experimentation

Philosophy: Minimal documentation, maximum learning

## Problem
What problem are we solving and for whom?

## Hypothesis
What do we believe will solve this problem?

## MVP Scope
The smallest thing we can build to test the hypothesis.

## Success Criteria
How we'll know if the hypothesis is valid.

## Non-Goals
What we're explicitly not trying to learn/build.

When to use: When you’re still finding product-market fit and need to move fast. Over-documentation at this stage is waste.

The Feature Template

Best for: Adding features to existing products, medium-sized projects

Philosophy: Enough detail for clarity, not so much that it’s overhead

## Overview
One paragraph summary.

## Problem Statement
The specific problem and who has it.

## Goals & Success Metrics
What success looks like, quantified.

## User Stories
Detailed stories with acceptance criteria.

## Design
Wireframes and user flows.

## Technical Considerations
Performance, security, integration requirements.

## Edge Cases
Comprehensive list of edge cases.

## Out of Scope
What we're not building.

## Open Questions
Things still to be determined.

When to use: For most feature work at growth-stage companies. Provides structure without bureaucracy.

The Enterprise Template

Best for: Large organizations, complex features, compliance requirements

Philosophy: Comprehensive documentation for alignment and audit trails

## Executive Summary
High-level overview for leadership.

## Business Context
Market analysis, competitive landscape, strategic alignment.

## Problem Statement
Detailed problem definition with data support.

## Goals & Success Metrics
OKRs, KPIs, and measurement methodology.

## User Research
Personas, jobs-to-be-done, user interview insights.

## Scope Definition
In-scope features with priority (P0/P1/P2).

## Functional Requirements
Detailed specifications per feature.

## Non-Functional Requirements
Performance, security, accessibility, compliance.

## User Stories
Comprehensive stories with acceptance criteria.

## Design Specifications
High-fidelity mockups, interaction specifications, design system references.

## Technical Architecture
System design, API specifications, data models.

## Integration Requirements
Third-party systems, internal dependencies.

## Testing Strategy
Test plans, acceptance criteria, QA requirements.

## Launch Plan
Rollout strategy, feature flags, monitoring.

## Risks & Mitigations
Known risks and mitigation strategies.

## Timeline & Resources
Milestones and team allocation.

## Appendix
Supporting documentation.

When to use: For major initiatives at large companies, regulated industries, or when multiple teams need to coordinate.

Template Types by Methodology

Agile/Scrum Template

Philosophy: Living document that evolves with sprints

## Epic Overview
What we're trying to achieve.

## User Value
Why this matters to users.

## User Stories
Stories sized for sprints.

## Definition of Done
What "complete" means for this epic.

## Acceptance Criteria
Testable criteria per story.

## Dependencies
Blockers and cross-team needs.

Key principle: Keep it light. Details emerge through refinement sessions.

Lean Template

Philosophy: Build-Measure-Learn focused

## Assumption
The key assumption we're testing.

## Experiment Design
What we'll build to test it.

## Success Metrics
What data will validate/invalidate the assumption.

## Minimum Viable Test
Smallest thing we can do.

## Learning Goals
What we want to learn, regardless of outcome.

Key principle: The goal is learning, not shipping.

Jobs-to-be-Done Template

Philosophy: Focus on user outcomes, not features

## Job Statement
When [situation], I want to [motivation], so I can [outcome].

## Current Solutions
How users solve this job today.

## Pain Points
Struggles with current solutions.

## Desired Outcome
What success looks like for the user.

## Solution Approach
How we'll help users get the job done better.

## Success Metrics
Outcome-based metrics.

Key principle: Features are means to ends. Focus on the ends.

Choosing the Right Template

Ask yourself these questions:

1. How much uncertainty exists?

High uncertainty → Lean/MVP template Low uncertainty → Feature/Enterprise template

2. How many people need to align?

Small team → Lighter template Large organization → More comprehensive template

3. What’s the regulatory environment?

Regulated → Enterprise template with compliance sections Unregulated → Choose based on other factors

4. What’s your development methodology?

Agile → Agile-optimized template Waterfall → More upfront detail

5. What’s the project size?

Small feature → Feature template Major initiative → Enterprise template

Customizing Templates

The best template is one you customize for your organization. Here’s how:

1. Start with a Base

Pick the template closest to your needs.

2. Add Required Sections

What does your organization always need? Add it.

• Legal review checklist?
• Accessibility requirements?
• Data privacy assessment?

3. Remove Unnecessary Sections

Every section should earn its place. If you consistently skip a section, remove it.

4. Add Prompts

Turn sections into questions that prompt thinking:

• Instead of “User Stories” → “What specific actions will users take?”
• Instead of “Technical Requirements” → “What technical constraints must the solution work within?“

5. Include Examples

Add inline examples of good content for each section.

6. Make It Easy to Use

Store your template somewhere accessible. Consider tools like Thig.ai that can generate PRDs from conversation using your custom template.

Template Anti-Patterns

The Kitchen Sink Template

Too many sections that are rarely relevant. Teams fill them out mechanically or skip them entirely.

Fix: Fewer required sections, more optional sections marked as such.

The Rigid Template

No flexibility for different types of work.

Fix: Create template variants for different project types.

The Outdated Template

Created years ago, never updated.

Fix: Review templates quarterly. Remove unused sections, add missing ones.

The Secret Template

Lives in someone’s personal folder, not shared.

Fix: Store templates in a central, accessible location.

The Future of PRD Templates

AI is changing how we use templates. Instead of filling out a template manually, you can:

1. Describe your feature in natural conversation
2. AI asks clarifying questions
3. Generate a PRD in your chosen template format

This approach combines the structure of templates with the flexibility of conversation. You get comprehensive documentation without the tedium of filling out forms.

Conclusion

The right PRD template is the one that:

• Fits your organization’s culture
• Matches your project’s complexity
• Helps your team build the right thing
• Doesn’t create unnecessary overhead

Start with a template close to your needs, customize it for your context, and evolve it over time. And consider AI tools that can generate PRDs in your template format automatically.

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Explore Thig.ai’s template marketplace with dozens of community-created templates for every use case, or create your own custom templates.