6 Proven Practices to write & manage PRDs like a Pro — (4)

Hi reader, this is the fourth part of the PRD blog series, where we are discussing the importance of Product Requirement Documents (PRDs) for Product Managers and the company, and some proven practices to write and manage PRDs better and efficiently

In this blog, we will discuss the fourth proven practice which will ensure that PRD as a document is effectively used as a communication tool to create common understanding between the teams & stakeholders, plus it also forms the single source of truth for everyone in the company, to get an understanding of the product/features being developed

Proven Practice №4 — PRD Walk-Throughs

PRD Walkthrough is a process, where the Product Manager/Owner of the PRD takes the team (Tech, Design, UX, Data, QA, Support) and stakeholders (Business Heads, Business POCs) through the PRD in a presentation format. The Product Manager explains to the team the details mentioned in the PRD including user flows, wireframes, prototypes, etc. Post the presentation, the PM will take questions or feedback related to the PRD

Why do PRD Walk-Throughs?

Sharing the PRD with your team and stakeholders won’t necessarily mean that they will be going through it or will be understanding the PRD exactly the way you meant and wrote it

But ultimately it’s you “the PM” who will be responsible for the final outcome of the product you are building, and if your team is not aligned with what you wrote in the PRD, then it will affect the outcome, the team’s performance, and your performance as well

So, it’s better to take precautions than go for the cure once the damage is done. Taking your team and stakeholders through the PRD will ensure that you have cleared up any existing communication gaps and that they are definitely on the same page as you, about the product development details and expected outcome

One of the key expectations from a Product Manager is that they will bridge the communication gaps in-between different teams, stakeholders, vendors, users, etc. For this PMs create various documents, so that there is a shared common understanding between the concerned parties

The purpose of the Product Requirement Document (PRD) is also the same, to make sure everyone in the team and company stay on the same page about the product/features that are being developed and this document can form the single source of truth for other documents & manuals that will be created for the product/features you are building

When to do PRD Walk-Through?

You can do PRD Walk Through at different stages of the PRD writing and product development process for your team and the stakeholders

First PRD Walk-Through

You can do the first PRD walk-through at the initial stage of the PRD writing process, right after you have chalked out the solutions and done the first set of usability testing for them

At this stage, you will be looking for approvals from your stakeholders on the PRD in order to kickstart the tech development work. You can do the walk-through, even though you won’t be having all the details and it will be a work in progress

But you can communicate the same thing to your stakeholders, and tell them that there will be a second PRD walk-through once you finalize the wireframes/solutions based on user data

Post the PRD walk-through with your stakeholders, and once you get approvals from them. You can do a PRD walk-through for your team, after which they can start their respective tasks

Second PRD Walk Through

The second PRD walk-through can happen once the solutions are finalized with the details and they are ready to go to the design stage. Basically, when you have finalized the wireframes or how the solution will function with all the details

Doing a second PRD walk-through at this stage will inform the stakeholders about how the solution is exactly going to function, and also they can start preparing for the product launch accordingly

Doing a PRD walk-through with the team will inform them of the finalized solutions, details, and all the other information that you have added to the PRD since the first walk-through

This walk-through is particularly useful for Tech, QA, Data team because they can get a quick understanding of the finalized solution and the details that they need to focus on. QA can start writing the test document, and similarly, tech and data can move ahead in their tasks as per the finalized solution

Things to Keep in Mind

Do not combine your stakeholder's PRD walk-through and team PRD walk-through in one session. Even though the presentation from your side will be quite the same for both these walk-throughs, but the audience on the other side, their goals, and related questions & feedback will be very different

Combining the PRD walk-throughs will make your presentation longer, it can even become chaotic for you to handle, plus it will lead to a meeting where people ask questions that other people cannot relate to nor is not important to them leading to their loss of interest in the meeting

PRD walk-throughs provide a platform for the stakeholders and team members, to understand the ongoing product work, clarify their queries, sync up on tasks, plan ahead better and ultimately close any existing communication gaps

This process also boosts accountability and participation towards product development