PRDs & Project Context
Create product requirements and project context that humans and coding assistants can execute effectively.
Two capabilities:
- PRDs & Specs - Requirements, specs, stories, acceptance criteria
- Project Context - Architecture, conventions, tribal knowledge (CLAUDE.md)
Modern Best Practices (Jan 2026): Context engineering (right info, right format, right time), decision-first docs, testable requirements with acceptance criteria, metrics with formula + timeframe + data source, cross-tool portability.
Workflow (Use This Order)
- Pick the deliverable (PRD, AI PRD, tech spec, story map, CLAUDE.md).
- Gather inputs (problem evidence, users, constraints, dependencies, risks).
- Fill the template (write decisions first; keep requirements testable).
- Validate with checklists (requirements, edge cases, security/compliance as needed).
- Hand off with next actions (implementation plan, owners, open questions).
Quick Reference
PRDs & Specs
| Task |
Template |
| PRD creation |
assets/prd/prd-template.md |
| Tech spec |
assets/spec/tech-spec-template.md |
| Planning checklist |
assets/planning/planning-checklist.md |
| Story mapping |
assets/stories/story-mapping-template.md |
| Gherkin/BDD |
assets/stories/gherkin-example-template.md |
| AI PRD |
assets/prd/ai-prd-template.md |
Project Context (CLAUDE.md)
| Context Type |
Template |
Priority |
| Architecture |
assets/architecture-context.md |
Critical |
| Conventions |
assets/conventions-context.md |
High |
| Key Files |
assets/key-files-context.md |
Critical |
| Minimal Start |
assets/minimal-claudemd.md |
5-min |
| Cross-Tool |
assets/cross-tool-context.md |
Multi-tool |
Decision Tree
User needs:
├─► AI-Assisted Coding?
│ ├─ Non-trivial (>3 files)? → Planning checklist + agentic session
│ └─ Simple (<3 files)? → Direct implementation
│
├─► Project Onboarding?
│ ├─ New to codebase? → Generate CLAUDE.md
│ └─ Quick context? → Minimal CLAUDE.md
│
└─► Traditional PRD?
├─ Product requirements? → PRD template
├─ AI feature? → AI PRD template
└─ Acceptance criteria? → Gherkin/BDD
Cross-Tool Context Files
| Tool |
Location |
Notes |
| Claude Code |
CLAUDE.md, .claude/ |
Auto-loaded |
| Cursor |
.cursor/rules/ |
Project rules |
| Copilot |
.github/copilot-instructions.md |
Workspace context |
| Generic |
AGENTS.md |
Tool-agnostic |
CLAUDE.md / AGENTS.md Guidance
- Start minimal: assets/minimal-claudemd.md
- Add only what’s needed: assets/architecture-context.md, assets/conventions-context.md, assets/key-files-context.md, assets/dependencies-context.md, assets/tribal-knowledge-context.md
- Keep it executable: commands must run; include no secrets; prefer file paths over pasted code
Do / Avoid
Do
- Start with executive summary (decision, users, scope, success)
- Define acceptance criteria in testable language
- Keep requirements unambiguous (must/should/may)
- Link to supporting docs instead of pasting
Avoid
- Vague requirements ("fast", "easy") without definitions
- Mixing draft notes and final requirements
- Metrics without measurement plan
- Docs with no owner or review cadence
Context Extraction
Use:
- references/architecture-extraction.md for components/data flows
- references/convention-mining.md for naming/patterns
- references/tribal-knowledge-recovery.md for git-history “why”
- references/docs-audit-commands.md for audit commands and tool fallbacks
Quality Checklist
PRD Quality
CLAUDE.md Quality
Resources
| Resource |
Purpose |
| references/agentic-coding-best-practices.md |
AI coding patterns |
| references/requirements-checklists.md |
PRD validation |
| references/traditional-prd-writing.md |
Classic PRD format |
| references/architecture-extraction.md |
Mining architecture |
| references/convention-mining.md |
Extracting conventions |
| references/tribal-knowledge-recovery.md |
Git history analysis |
| references/docs-audit-commands.md |
Audit shell commands |
| data/sources.json |
Curated external sources |
Templates
| Category |
Templates |
| PRDs |
prd-template, ai-prd-template, tech-spec-template |
| Planning |
planning-checklist, agentic-session-template |
| Stories |
story-mapping-template, gherkin-example-template |
| Context |
architecture, conventions, key-files, minimal-claudemd |
| Stack-specific |
nodejs-context, python-context, react-context, go-context |
Related Skills
1---2name: docs-ai-prd3description: Write PRDs, specs, and project context optimized for coding assistants (Claude Code, Cursor, Copilot, Custom GPTs). Includes CLAUDE.md generation, session planning, and templates for creating documentation that tools can execute effectively.4---56# PRDs & Project Context78Create product requirements and project context that humans and coding assistants can execute effectively.910**Two capabilities:**111. **PRDs & Specs** - Requirements, specs, stories, acceptance criteria122. **Project Context** - Architecture, conventions, tribal knowledge (CLAUDE.md)1314**Modern Best Practices (Jan 2026)**: Context engineering (right info, right format, right time), decision-first docs, testable requirements with acceptance criteria, metrics with formula + timeframe + data source, cross-tool portability.1516## Workflow (Use This Order)17181. Pick the deliverable (PRD, AI PRD, tech spec, story map, CLAUDE.md).192. Gather inputs (problem evidence, users, constraints, dependencies, risks).203. Fill the template (write decisions first; keep requirements testable).214. Validate with checklists (requirements, edge cases, security/compliance as needed).225. Hand off with next actions (implementation plan, owners, open questions).2324## Quick Reference2526### PRDs & Specs2728| Task | Template |29|------|----------|30| PRD creation | [assets/prd/prd-template.md](assets/prd/prd-template.md) |31| Tech spec | [assets/spec/tech-spec-template.md](assets/spec/tech-spec-template.md) |32| Planning checklist | [assets/planning/planning-checklist.md](assets/planning/planning-checklist.md) |33| Story mapping | [assets/stories/story-mapping-template.md](assets/stories/story-mapping-template.md) |34| Gherkin/BDD | [assets/stories/gherkin-example-template.md](assets/stories/gherkin-example-template.md) |35| AI PRD | [assets/prd/ai-prd-template.md](assets/prd/ai-prd-template.md) |3637### Project Context (CLAUDE.md)3839| Context Type | Template | Priority |40|--------------|----------|----------|41| **Architecture** | [assets/architecture-context.md](assets/architecture-context.md) | Critical |42| **Conventions** | [assets/conventions-context.md](assets/conventions-context.md) | High |43| **Key Files** | [assets/key-files-context.md](assets/key-files-context.md) | Critical |44| **Minimal Start** | [assets/minimal-claudemd.md](assets/minimal-claudemd.md) | 5-min |45| **Cross-Tool** | [assets/cross-tool-context.md](assets/cross-tool-context.md) | Multi-tool |4647---4849## Decision Tree5051```text52User needs:53 ├─► AI-Assisted Coding?54 │ ├─ Non-trivial (>3 files)? → Planning checklist + agentic session55 │ └─ Simple (<3 files)? → Direct implementation56 │57 ├─► Project Onboarding?58 │ ├─ New to codebase? → Generate CLAUDE.md59 │ └─ Quick context? → Minimal CLAUDE.md60 │61 └─► Traditional PRD?62 ├─ Product requirements? → PRD template63 ├─ AI feature? → AI PRD template64 └─ Acceptance criteria? → Gherkin/BDD65```6667---6869## Cross-Tool Context Files7071| Tool | Location | Notes |72|------|----------|-------|73| Claude Code | `CLAUDE.md`, `.claude/` | Auto-loaded |74| Cursor | `.cursor/rules/` | Project rules |75| Copilot | `.github/copilot-instructions.md` | Workspace context |76| Generic | `AGENTS.md` | Tool-agnostic |7778---7980## CLAUDE.md / AGENTS.md Guidance8182- Start minimal: [assets/minimal-claudemd.md](assets/minimal-claudemd.md)83- Add only what’s needed: [assets/architecture-context.md](assets/architecture-context.md), [assets/conventions-context.md](assets/conventions-context.md), [assets/key-files-context.md](assets/key-files-context.md), [assets/dependencies-context.md](assets/dependencies-context.md), [assets/tribal-knowledge-context.md](assets/tribal-knowledge-context.md)84- Keep it executable: commands must run; include no secrets; prefer file paths over pasted code8586---8788## Do / Avoid8990### Do9192- Start with executive summary (decision, users, scope, success)93- Define acceptance criteria in testable language94- Keep requirements unambiguous (must/should/may)95- Link to supporting docs instead of pasting9697### Avoid9899- Vague requirements ("fast", "easy") without definitions100- Mixing draft notes and final requirements101- Metrics without measurement plan102- Docs with no owner or review cadence103104---105106## Context Extraction107108Use:109- [references/architecture-extraction.md](references/architecture-extraction.md) for components/data flows110- [references/convention-mining.md](references/convention-mining.md) for naming/patterns111- [references/tribal-knowledge-recovery.md](references/tribal-knowledge-recovery.md) for git-history “why”112- [references/docs-audit-commands.md](references/docs-audit-commands.md) for audit commands and tool fallbacks113114---115116## Quality Checklist117118### PRD Quality119- [ ] Clear problem statement120- [ ] Measurable success criteria121- [ ] Unambiguous acceptance criteria122- [ ] Edge cases documented123- [ ] AI can execute without clarification124125### CLAUDE.md Quality126- [ ] Architecture reflects actual structure127- [ ] Key files exist at listed locations128- [ ] Conventions match actual patterns129- [ ] Commands actually work130- [ ] No sensitive information131132---133134## Resources135136| Resource | Purpose |137|----------|---------|138| [references/agentic-coding-best-practices.md](references/agentic-coding-best-practices.md) | AI coding patterns |139| [references/requirements-checklists.md](references/requirements-checklists.md) | PRD validation |140| [references/traditional-prd-writing.md](references/traditional-prd-writing.md) | Classic PRD format |141| [references/architecture-extraction.md](references/architecture-extraction.md) | Mining architecture |142| [references/convention-mining.md](references/convention-mining.md) | Extracting conventions |143| [references/tribal-knowledge-recovery.md](references/tribal-knowledge-recovery.md) | Git history analysis |144| [references/docs-audit-commands.md](references/docs-audit-commands.md) | Audit shell commands |145| [data/sources.json](data/sources.json) | Curated external sources |146147## Templates148149| Category | Templates |150|----------|-----------|151| PRDs | prd-template, ai-prd-template, tech-spec-template |152| Planning | planning-checklist, agentic-session-template |153| Stories | story-mapping-template, gherkin-example-template |154| Context | architecture, conventions, key-files, minimal-claudemd |155| Stack-specific | nodejs-context, python-context, react-context, go-context |156157## Related Skills158159| Skill | Purpose |160|-------|---------|161| [docs-codebase](../docs-codebase/SKILL.md) | README, API docs, ADRs |162| [qa-docs-coverage](../qa-docs-coverage/SKILL.md) | Documentation gaps |163| [product-management](../product-management/SKILL.md) | Product strategy |164| [software-architecture-design](../software-architecture-design/SKILL.md) | System design |