PRD is the Definitive Reference for a Feature
Impact: CRITICAL (Eliminates conflicting information sources)
The PRD should be the single, authoritative document for a feature's requirements. All other artifacts (tickets, designs, tech specs) should reference the PRD, not duplicate its content.
Incorrect
<!-- Bad: requirements scattered across multiple sources -->
# Slack message (March 10):
"Hey team, let's add click analytics with country breakdown"
# Jira ticket PROJ-123:
"Build analytics page showing total clicks"
# Google Doc "Analytics Requirements v2":
"Show clicks by device, browser, OS, and country"
# PRD in repo:
"Analytics dashboard with click tracking"
# Design file in Figma:
Shows referrer breakdown (not mentioned anywhere else)Problems:
- Five sources with five different scopes
- No single place to check what's actually required
- Figma has requirements not in the PRD
- Slack message has context that's already lost
- Which source wins when they conflict?
Correct
<!-- Good: PRD is the authority, others reference it -->
# /docs/prd/click-analytics.md (single source of truth)
## Requirements
- FR-1: Show total clicks and unique clicks per link
- FR-2: Device breakdown (mobile, tablet, desktop)
- FR-3: Browser breakdown (top 10)
- FR-4: OS breakdown (top 10)
- FR-5: Country breakdown (top 10, via geolocation)
- FR-6: Referrer breakdown (top 10)
- FR-7: 30-day timeline chart
# Jira ticket PROJ-123:
"Implement click analytics per PRD /docs/prd/click-analytics.md (FR-1 through FR-4)"
# Jira ticket PROJ-124:
"Implement geo analytics per PRD /docs/prd/click-analytics.md (FR-5 through FR-7)"
# Figma design:
"Visual spec for PRD /docs/prd/click-analytics.md"Benefits:
- One place to check for the complete picture
- Tickets reference specific requirement IDs
- Design files implement the PRD, not the other way around
- Conflicts are resolved by updating the PRD
Why
- Eliminates ambiguity: When sources conflict, the PRD wins
- Enables traceability: Every ticket and design traces back to a requirement
- Simplifies updates: Change the PRD once, not five documents
- Onboards efficiently: New team members read one document, not five threads