Generate PRD from Project Idea

Generate PRD from Project Idea

Context

You are helping the user create a structured Product Requirements Document (PRD) from a high-level project idea. You will conduct a brief interview to gather the information needed, then generate a complete PRD.

Instructions

1. Get the Project Idea

If the user provided an idea inline (e.g., /vk:generate-prd build a recipe sharing app), use that as the starting point. Otherwise, ask:

What's your project idea? Give me a brief description of what you want to build.

2. Interview the User

Use the AskUserQuestion tool to gather requirements interactively. Ask up to 4 questions per round, grouped by topic. Skip questions the user already answered. Adapt questions based on the project type.

Round 1 - Scope & Users (use AskUserQuestion):

Suggested questions (adapt to project):

• "Who are the target users?" → header: "Users", options: Developers / End consumers / Internal team / B2B clients
• "What's the core problem this solves?" → header: "Problem", options tailored to the domain, or use 2 broad categories + let user pick "Other" for free-text
• "What's the MVP scope?" → header: "MVP Scope", options: Minimal (1-2 features) / Standard (3-5 features) / Ambitious (6+ features)
• "What's explicitly out of scope?" → header: "Out of scope", use multiSelect: true with common exclusions like: Mobile app / Admin panel / Analytics / Integrations

Round 2 - Technical & Constraints (use AskUserQuestion):

• "Preferred backend stack?" → header: "Backend", options tailored to project (e.g., Node.js / Python / Go / Rust)
• "Authentication approach?" → header: "Auth", options: None / Simple (email+password) / OAuth/SSO / API keys
• "Where will this be hosted?" → header: "Hosting", options: Cloud (AWS/GCP/Azure) / Self-hosted / Serverless / Local only
• "Key non-functional priority?" → header: "NFR Priority", options: Performance / Security / Scalability / Simplicity

Round 3 - Success & Delivery (use AskUserQuestion):

• "What's the timeline?" → header: "Timeline", options: Days / Weeks / Months / No deadline
• "How will you measure success?" → header: "Metrics", options: User adoption / Performance benchmarks / Revenue / Internal efficiency
• "Any external dependencies?" → header: "Dependencies", use multiSelect: true with: External APIs / Other teams / Third-party services / None

Open-ended follow-ups: After the interactive rounds, output any remaining open-ended questions as plain markdown for the user to answer freely (e.g., "Describe any specific technical constraints not covered above").

If the user gives short answers or picks defaults, that's fine — fill in reasonable defaults and flag assumptions.

3. Generate the PRD

Write the PRD to docs/prd.md. If the file already exists, warn the user and ask before overwriting.

Use this format:

# PRD: [Project Name]

> **Author:** [User]
> **Created:** [date]
> **Status:** Draft

## Problem Statement

[What problem does this solve? Why does it matter?]

## Goals

1. [Primary goal]
2. [Secondary goal]
3. [Tertiary goal]

## Non-Goals (Out of Scope)

- [Explicitly excluded item 1]
- [Explicitly excluded item 2]

## Target Users / Personas

### Persona 1: [Name/Role]
- **Description:** [Who they are]
- **Needs:** [What they need from this product]
- **Pain points:** [Current frustrations]

### Persona 2: [Name/Role]
- **Description:** [Who they are]
- **Needs:** [What they need]
- **Pain points:** [Current frustrations]

## Functional Requirements

### FR-1: [Feature Area]
- [Requirement 1.1]
- [Requirement 1.2]

### FR-2: [Feature Area]
- [Requirement 2.1]
- [Requirement 2.2]

### FR-3: [Feature Area]
- [Requirement 3.1]

## Non-Functional Requirements

- **Performance:** [Response times, throughput]
- **Scalability:** [Expected load, growth]
- **Security:** [Auth, data protection]
- **Reliability:** [Uptime, error handling]
- **Accessibility:** [Standards, compliance]

## Tech Stack (Suggested)

- **Backend:** [technologies]
- **Frontend:** [technologies]
- **Database:** [technologies]
- **Infrastructure:** [hosting, CI/CD]

## Success Metrics

| Metric | Target | How Measured |
|--------|--------|--------------|
| [Metric 1] | [Target value] | [Measurement method] |
| [Metric 2] | [Target value] | [Measurement method] |

## Dependencies

- [External dependency 1]
- [External dependency 2]

## Risks & Open Questions

| Risk/Question | Impact | Mitigation/Answer |
|---------------|--------|-------------------|
| [Risk 1] | [High/Medium/Low] | [Mitigation strategy] |
| [Open question 1] | [High/Medium/Low] | [TBD] |

## Timeline / Milestones

| Milestone | Target Date | Description |
|-----------|-------------|-------------|
| MVP | [date] | [What's included] |
| V1.0 | [date] | [What's included] |

4. Flag Assumptions

After generating, list any assumptions you made where the user didn't provide specifics. For example:

Assumptions made (please verify):

• Assumed web-based (not mobile native)
• Assumed PostgreSQL for database
• Assumed single-tenant for MVP

5. Next Steps

After creating the PRD, inform the user:

1. The PRD has been created at docs/prd.md
2. Review it and edit anything that needs adjustment
3. When ready, run /vk:prd-review for a structured review and gap analysis
4. Then run /vk:create-plan to generate a development plan with epics and tasks