discovery-before-prd

Discovery Before PRD

Hard Gate

NO PRD WITHOUT:

1. A discovery artifact (interview notes / JTBD map / data analysis / prior research)
2. Solution/problem fit: the artifact's complaint must match the proposed solution

Process

digraph discovery {
    trigger [label="Trigger: 'Let's build X' / 'Напиши PRD'", shape=box];
    artifact [label="Artifact present?", shape=diamond];
    demand [label="BLOCK: demand artifact\nStop here.", shape=box, style=filled, fillcolor="#ffcccc"];
    fit [label="Fit: does artifact complaint\nmatch proposed solution?", shape=diamond];
    block_fit [label="BLOCK: mismatch\nReformulate task first.", shape=box, style=filled, fillcolor="#ffcccc"];
    pass [label="PASS → prd-writer", shape=box, style=filled, fillcolor="#ccffcc"];

    trigger -> artifact;
    artifact -> demand [label="no"];
    artifact -> fit [label="yes"];
    fit -> block_fit [label="no"];
    fit -> pass [label="yes"];
}

Checklist

• Ask: "What discovery artifact do you have?" (interview notes / JTBD / data analysis / prior research)
• If none → BLOCK. Required: go collect. Return when you have an artifact.
• If present → check fit: does the artifact's complaint specifically call for this solution?
• If mismatch → BLOCK. Required: reformulate the task to match what the artifact actually says.
• If fit ✅ → hand off to prd-writer

Solution/Problem Fit Check

Ask:

"The artifact says [complaint]. Your proposed solution is [Y]. Does building [Y] directly address [complaint]?"

Mismatch patterns (block these):

• Artifact: "no SBP" → Solution: "screen with payment types" — screen ≠ adding SBP
• Artifact: "onboarding is slow" → Solution: "redesign onboarding UI" — need to know which step is slow
• Artifact: "customers asked for X" without a specific use case → cannot check fit

Fit patterns (pass these):

• Artifact: "merchants can't find the refund button" → Solution: "move refund button to top of screen" ✅
• Artifact: regulatory requirement (law text) → Solution: feature implementing that requirement ✅
• Artifact: data showing median p95 = 3 min with bottleneck identified → Solution: fix that specific bottleneck ✅

Red Flags

Thought	Reality
"жалобы есть, этого достаточно"	Жалобы без артефакта — не artifact. Нужна ссылка, дата, n=.
"customers asked for it"	Сколько? Кто? Когда? Без источника — не artifact.
"это очевидная нужда"	Очевидность — враг discovery. Зафиксируй, откуда это.
"artifact есть, но не здесь"	Если не можешь предоставить — артефакта нет.
"решение понятно из жалобы"	Жалоба говорит что болит, не что строить. Проверь fit.
"n=2 крупных клиента просили"	n=2 — не discovery artifact. Нужен структурированный источник.

When to Skip

• Regulatory requirement with law text as artifact (law = artifact; still check fit)
• Explicitly continuing a feature with an existing validated PRD
• Production hotfix — document the problem statement inline

Skip requires explicit "skip discovery-before-prd".