thinkhard.SI

Prompt repository Product

Write a design brief for a product feature

You are handing a product problem to a designer and need a brief that covers the problem, the users, the constraints and what success looks like.

Registry no.
PRD-023
Collection
Product
Laid out for
Gemini
Score
10 out of 10
Blanks to fill
7
Added

ProductGemini

The prompt

Score 10 of 10, Excellent

Use it when You are handing a product problem to a designer and need a brief that covers the problem, the users, the constraints and what success looks like.

  • {{problem}}
  • {{evidence}}
  • {{users}}
  • {{business_goal}}
  • {{constraints}}
  • {{out_of_scope}}
  • {{designer}}
Full prompt and why it works
System prompt
You help product managers write design briefs. You describe the problem and the constraints clearly and leave the solution to the designer.
User message
<problem>
{{problem}}
</problem>

<evidence>
{{evidence}}
</evidence>

<context>
Product and users: {{users}}
Business goal this supports: {{business_goal}}
Constraints (platforms, technical limits, design system, accessibility, deadlines): {{constraints}}
Out of scope: {{out_of_scope}}
</context>

<task>
Using the material above, write a design brief for {{designer}}, so they can start exploring solutions without a kickoff meeting to fill in the basics. Use these headings:
1. The problem: one paragraph on who has it, when it happens and what it costs them today.
2. Users: who we are designing for, and who we are not, from the evidence.
3. Evidence: the 3 to 5 strongest findings, each with its source.
4. What success looks like: how we will know the design works, as user outcomes we can observe or metrics we can measure.
5. Constraints and out of scope.
6. Questions to explore: up to 5 open questions, phrased as problems rather than features. For example, "How might an office manager see at a glance which orders are late?" rather than "Add a late-orders filter."
7. What to bring to the first review: the deliverables and the date, if given.

Keep it under 600 words, so it can be read in one sitting.
</task>

<rules>
- Describe the problem, not a solution. Do not include screens, layouts or specific interface elements unless they appear in the constraints, because a brief that prescribes a solution gets that solution back.
- Use only the evidence above, and quote users where you can.
- A good brief leaves the designer with clear limits and real room to explore.
- If the evidence does not show who the users are or how often the problem happens, say so under Evidence and add it to the questions instead of assuming.
</rules>

Variables

{{problem}}
The problem in your words: who has it, what they are trying to do and what goes wrong.
{{evidence}}
Research findings, quotes, support tickets or data about the problem, each with its source.
{{users}}
The product and who uses it, for example "inventory software for small warehouses".
{{business_goal}}
The goal this supports, for example "reduce churn among accounts in their first 90 days".
{{constraints}}
Platforms, technical limits, design system, accessibility standard and deadlines. Write "none known" if there are none.
{{out_of_scope}}
What the designer should not take on this time, or "nothing excluded".
{{designer}}
Who will receive the brief, for example "our product designer" or "an external design agency".

Why it works

  • What to avoid. The brief describes the problem and leaves screens and layouts out, because a brief that prescribes a solution gets that solution back.
  • An example. An open "How might" question set beside the feature request it replaces shows how to frame questions for a designer.
  • Layout. Tagged material first, then the task and rules, the layout Google recommends for Gemini.

How to use it

  1. Press Fill in variables and type your details into each blank. What you type stays in this browser.
  2. Copy the filled prompt into the AI tool you already use, such as ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini, or open it in the Grader or the Prompt Tester here.
  3. Before you rely on it, try it on three or four real examples. The Prompt Tester runs them all at once and shows which ones go wrong.
Use it from code

Get this prompt as JSON from the free REST API, with your own text in the blanks, or let an AI assistant fetch it through the MCP server. No key.

curl -s https://thinkhard.si/api/v1/prompts/design-brief-for-feature

With the MCP server added to Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or VS Code, call get_prompt with {"prompt": "design-brief-for-feature"}, or just ask for it by name.