What is a Product Requirements Document?
A Product Requirements Document (PRD) describes the application, primary function, secondary functions, communication, safety and end of life requirements for a product. One of the first steps of a new product design and development program is to creation a PRD, which is the most important document for a successful product development project. It is an essential supporting document of the Requirement Traceability Matrix.
The PRD summarises all requirements starting with the initial product requirements often documented in the client’s scope of work and request for proposal. The Project Sponsor, Stakeholders and users are then interviewed to build a full understanding of the product requirements. Use cases are often included as part of the PRD, or these can be detailed within a separate document. Requirements come from many sources.
Some of these are:
- Business requirements
- User requirements
- User case related requirements
- Voice of the customer input
- Risk management requirements
- Functional safety requirements
- Regulatory and standards requirements
- Functional requirements
- Communication requirements
- Non-functional requirements
- Manufacturing, assembly and shipping requirements
Use Cases
A use case is a written description of how the use of the product is envisioned. The environment where the product will be used, as well as the background of the user is documented. Each potential way the product could be used is described in separate use cases and is usually written as a series of simple steps.
Stakeholder Engagement
A stakeholder is anyone that has a ‘stake’ in using, defining, designing, marketing, manufacturing, testing, distributing, approving or repairing the product envisioned. Meeting with and interviewing stakeholders to create and refine the PRD is one of the first stakeholder engagement activities that Solid Design’s Project Managers conduct. Throughout a project, our Project Managers actively seek to engage all stakeholders to get buy-in, keep them informed of project status and seek their input. These activities foster trust and create connections that reduce risks and misunderstandings, and manages expectations.
Human Centred Design considerations
Solid Design utilises Human Centred Design principles to ensure usability, ergonomics and user input are all considered during the development of the PRD.