A simple process for writing specs

duplicate this document and start editing your own version (top right corner button) problem statement begin with a brief, clear problem statement that describes the issue or opportunity you're addressing goals and objectives outline the goals and objectives of the feature or product, explaining how it aligns with the overall product vision user stories write concise user stories to describe the desired functionality from the user's perspective use a simple format like "as a \[user role], i want to \[action], so that \[benefit] " acceptance criteria for each user story, provide clear acceptance criteria that outline the specific requirements needed for the story to be considered complete use bullet points or numbered lists for easy readability designs and mockups if applicable, include simple wireframes, mockups, or screenshots to visually convey the proposed user interface and experience technical details highlight any relevant technical constraints, dependencies, or considerations that the developers should be aware of when implementing the solution success metrics define a few key performance indicators (kpis) that will help you track the success of the feature or product once it's launched review and collaboration share the spec with the development team and gather their feedback encourage collaboration and iteration to ensure that the spec accurately represents the desired functionality and is feasible to implement best practices collaborative approach involve the development team early in the design process to encourage collaboration, foster a shared understanding of the feature, and ensure technical feasibility user focused problem statement clearly articulate the user benefit in the problem statement to help the team understand the value the feature brings to the end user concise user stories use a simple format for user stories, such as "as a \[user role], i want to \[action], so that \[benefit] " this ensures the purpose of the feature is clear to everyone acceptance criteria write clear and concise acceptance criteria to define the required functionality and enable effective testing wireframes and mockups provide visual aids like wireframes or mockups when necessary to clarify design, flow, or item placement iterative grooming regularly review and refine the user stories and acceptance criteria with the development team to ensure everyone is aligned and understands the expectations collaboration with tech docs work closely with the technical documentation team to create accurate and user friendly documentation, release notes, or marketing materials based on the user stories and acceptance criteria empower developers encourage the development team to take ownership of the solution, allowing them to suggest improvements, optimizations, or alternative approaches focus on the right things spend more time on discovery, research, and validation to ensure you're building the right features rather than over documenting the specs continuous improvement regularly gather feedback from the development team and other stakeholders to improve your spec writing process and adapt it to the needs of your organization