grailautomation/write-spec

Write Spec

If you see unfamiliar placeholders or need to check which tools are connected, see CONNECTORS.md.

Write a feature specification or product requirements document (PRD).

Usage

/product-management:write-spec $ARGUMENTS

Workflow

1. Understand the Feature

Ask the user what they want to spec. Accept any of:

• A feature name ("SSO support")
• A problem statement ("Enterprise customers keep asking for centralized auth")
• A user request ("Users want to export their data as CSV")
• A vague idea ("We should do something about onboarding drop-off")

2. Gather Context

Ask the user for the following. Be conversational — do not dump all questions at once. Ask the most important ones first and fill in gaps as you go:

• User problem: What problem does this solve? Who experiences it?
• Target users: Which user segment(s) does this serve?
• Success metrics: How will we know this worked?
• Constraints: Technical constraints, timeline, regulatory requirements, dependencies
• Prior art: Has this been attempted before? Are there existing solutions?

3. Pull Context from Connected Tools

If ~~project tracker is connected:

• Search for related tickets, epics, or features
• Pull in any existing requirements or acceptance criteria
• Identify dependencies on other work items

If ~~knowledge base is connected:

• Search for related research documents, prior specs, or design docs
• Pull in relevant user research findings
• Find related meeting notes or decision records

If ~~design is connected:

• Pull related mockups, wireframes, or design explorations
• Search for design system components relevant to the feature

If these tools are not connected, work entirely from what the user provides. Do not ask the user to connect tools — just proceed with available information.

4. Generate the PRD

Produce a structured PRD with these sections. See the feature-spec skill for detailed guidance on user stories, requirements categorization, acceptance criteria, and success metrics.

• Problem Statement: The user problem, who is affected, and impact of not solving it (2-3 sentences)
• Goals: 3-5 specific, measurable outcomes tied to user or business metrics
• Non-Goals: 3-5 things explicitly out of scope, with brief rationale for each
• User Stories: Standard format ("As a [user type], I want [capability] so that [benefit]"), grouped by persona
• Requirements: Categorized as Must-Have (P0), Nice-to-Have (P1), and Future Considerations (P2), each with acceptance criteria
• Success Metrics: Leading indicators (change quickly) and lagging indicators (change over time), with specific targets
• Open Questions: Unresolved questions tagged with who needs to answer (engineering, design, legal, data)
• Timeline Considerations: Hard deadlines, dependencies, and phasing

5. Review and Iterate

After generating the PRD:

• Ask the user if any sections need adjustment
• Offer to expand on specific sections
• Offer to create follow-up artifacts (design brief, engineering ticket breakdown, stakeholder pitch)

Output Format

Use markdown with clear headers. Keep the document scannable — busy stakeholders should be able to read just the headers and bold text to get the gist.

Tips

• Be opinionated about scope. It is better to have a tight, well-defined spec than an expansive vague one.
• If the user's idea is too big for one spec, suggest breaking it into phases and spec the first phase.
• Success metrics should be specific and measurable, not vague ("improve user experience").
• Non-goals are as important as goals. They prevent scope creep during implementation.
• Open questions should be genuinely open — do not include questions you can answer from context.