Product brief template
One page that says what you're building, for whom, and how you'll know it worked. The first doc in the chain, and the one every later doc traces back to.
Templates · Product brief template
Template 1 of 10
- Signed off by:
- The product owner
- Leads to:
- PRD
brief.md
# Brief · <name> ## In one sentence ## The problem Who has it, how often, what it costs them. Evidence. ## Who it's for Primary and secondary users. ## What we'll build The core idea, 3 to 5 bullets. ## What we won't ## How we'll know it worked 2 to 3 measurable outcomes. ## Constraints Dates, budget, tech, compliance. ## Risks and unknowns
When to write one
At the start of a project, or of any feature big enough to need a PRD. If you can't fill in The problem with evidence yet, you need research or interviews first, not a brief.
How to fill it in
- In one sentence. Who gets what, and why it matters. If it takes two sentences, the idea isn't settled.
- The problem. Be specific about who has it and what it costs them today: hours, errors, lost orders. Cite the interview, ticket or number it comes from.
- What we won't. The most useful section. Name the things people will assume are included and aren't. It's what stops scope arguments three sprints later.
- How we'll know it worked. Outcomes, not outputs: "orders over 50 lines placed in under 5 minutes", not "bulk upload shipped". Each one needs a number and a date.
- Risks and unknowns. Write down what you don't know rather than guessing. Each unknown is a question for a named person.
Keep it to one page
Detail belongs in the PRD. A brief that runs to three pages gets skimmed, and then nobody agrees on what was approved.
Common mistakes
- Describing the solution in The problem ("users need a CSV upload").
- Success measures that can't fail ("users like it").
- No What we won't, so the PRD inherits an unbounded scope.
Example
Brief · Bulk orders
In one sentence
Wholesale buyers place orders of hundreds of lines by uploading the spreadsheet they already keep, instead of typing every line.
The problem
Northwind's 40 largest customers order 150 to 600 lines a week. They keep the order in a spreadsheet, then retype it line by line, which takes 45 minutes on average (support interviews, Sept). One in eight of these orders has a wrong quantity, and fixing it costs a support call.
Who it's for
Primary: buyers at wholesale accounts. Secondary: Northwind's support team.
What we'll build
- Upload an .xlsx or .csv order sheet from the cart
- Match each line to a product by SKU, with suggestions for near misses
- Review and fix problem lines before anything is added
What we won't
- Recurring or scheduled orders
- Uploads by email
- Price negotiation per line
How we'll know it worked
- 60% of orders over 50 lines come in by upload within 3 months
- Time to place a 200-line order under 5 minutes
- Quantity corrections on uploaded orders below 2%
Constraints
Live before the March trade season. Works with the existing cart; no change to invoicing.
Risks and unknowns
- Customers' SKUs may not match ours (ask Dana in sales which accounts use their own codes).
Have Releavo write the product brief
In Releavo this lives at docs/brief.md. Releavo drafts it from the docs before it and your team's conversations; every edit is a draft until the product owner approves it, and approved versions are never overwritten.