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Farah KhalidProfile picture@thefarahk·Apr 27

The PRD is dead. Here's what replaced it.

I've written hundreds of PRDs over my career. Most of them were never read past page 2.


The problem isn't the document — it's the format. A 10-page PRD assumes your stakeholders have 20 minutes and perfect context. They don't.


Here's what actually works in 2026:


1. The 1-Page Problem Brief

Instead of describing the solution, describe the problem. One page. Three sections: who's affected, what's broken, and how we know (data). If you can't fit it on one page, you don't understand the problem well enough yet.


2. The Decision Log

Replace the "Requirements" section with a running decision log. Every major trade-off gets documented with context, options considered, and the rationale. This is what people actually go back and reference 6 months later.


3. The 5-Minute Video Walkthrough

Record a Loom walking through your prototype or mockup. Narrate the user journey. This replaces 80% of what a PRD tries to communicate and takes 10% of the time to consume.


4. The Living Spec

Use a lightweight tool (Notion, Linear, even a shared doc) that engineers can comment on in real-time. Kill the handoff. The spec evolves as you build — and that's not a bug, it's a feature.


The best PMs I know stopped writing PRDs and started writing clarity. The format is just the vehicle.


What's your approach? Still writing traditional PRDs or have you evolved?