prd

name	prd
description	Use when creating a new Product Requirements Document (PRD) for a feature. Triggers on "write a PRD", "create PRD", "plan feature", "new feature spec". Produces structured markdown with user stories, acceptance criteria, and technical approach.

PRD Skill

Generate detailed Product Requirements Documents (PRDs) for features.

When to Use

Use this skill when you need to create a PRD for a new feature before implementing it with Ralph.

Workflow

When the user says "Load the prd skill and create a PRD for [feature]", follow this process:

1. Gather Information

Ask clarifying questions to understand the feature:

1. What problem does this solve? - The user need or pain point
2. Who is the target user? - Specific user persona or segment
3. What's the scope? - MVP vs full feature
4. What tech stack? - Framework, database, etc.
5. Any existing patterns? - UI components, API conventions to follow
6. Success criteria? - How will we know it works?

Don't ask all at once - conversational back-and-forth is fine.

2. Generate the PRD

Create a markdown file at tasks/prd-[feature-name].md with this structure:

# PRD: [Feature Name]

## Overview
Brief description of the feature and its purpose.

## Problem Statement
What user problem does this solve? Why now?

## Target Users
Who will use this feature?

## Goals
- Goal 1
- Goal 2

## Non-Goals
- What this feature will NOT do

## User Stories

### US-001: [Story Title]
**As a** [user type]
**I want to** [action]
**So that** [benefit]

**Acceptance Criteria:**
- [ ] Criterion 1
- [ ] Criterion 2
- [ ] Criterion 3

**Technical Notes:**
- Implementation hints
- Files to modify
- Dependencies

---

### US-002: [Next Story]
...

## Technical Approach
High-level technical strategy.

## Dependencies
- External services
- Other features
- Libraries needed

## Out of Scope (Future)
Things we might do later but not in this PRD.

## Success Metrics
How we measure success.

3. Story Guidelines

Each user story should be:

• Small - Completable in one Claude Code context window (~30 min of work)
• Independent - Can be implemented without other incomplete stories
• Testable - Clear acceptance criteria
• Ordered - Dependencies flow correctly (schema before API, API before UI)

Right-sized stories:

• Add a database migration
• Create an API endpoint
• Build a UI component
• Add form validation
• Implement a specific test suite

Too big (split these):

• "Build the authentication system"
• "Create the dashboard"
• "Add the admin panel"

4. Save the PRD

mkdir -p tasks
cat > tasks/prd-[feature-name].md << 'EOF'
[PRD content here]
EOF

Confirm the file location with the user.

5. Next Steps

Tell the user:

PRD saved to tasks/prd-[feature-name].md

To convert this to Ralph format and start autonomous development:
1. Say: "Load the ralph skill and convert tasks/prd-[feature-name].md to prd.json"
2. Then run: ./scripts/ralph/ralph.sh

Tips

• Ask about UI requirements early - browser verification stories need specific details
• Include technical notes to help future Claude instances
• Order stories by dependency: data → API → UI
• Each story should have 3-5 acceptance criteria, not 15
• Consider error states and edge cases as separate stories