What is a product requirements document (PRD)?
Updated Nov 1, 2026
Definition
A product requirements document (PRD) describes what a product or feature should do and why: the problem, the goals, the requirements and how the team will know it's done. It keeps product, design and engineering working towards the same thing.
What a PRD includes
- Overview: the problem and who has it.
- Objectives: what success looks like, ideally measurable.
- Functional requirements: what the feature must do.
- Acceptance criteria: the checks that show it's done.
- Out of scope: what this version won't do.
Where PRDs come from
Most requirements are first said out loud, in roadmap meetings, customer calls and design reviews. A PRD written soon after those conversations keeps the detail that's easy to forget.
How Acta drafts PRDs
Acta's PRD draft template finds the initiatives worth building in your product meetings and drafts a PRD for each: overview, objectives, functional requirements and acceptance criteria. The Ticket suggestions template can turn the same meeting into Jira tickets.
PRD draft templateFAQ
Who writes the PRD?
Usually the product manager, with input from design and engineering.
What's the difference between a PRD and a spec?
A PRD says what to build and why. A technical spec says how engineering will build it.