How to write product briefs?
In this newsletter, I want to talk about how we write product briefs at Macromo. We are a startup so one would expect that our process is more fluid than a process in a bigger company. As a part of this newsletter I’m sharing our template with you.
I’m a huge advocate for putting down thoughts on paper because we humans tend to forget the details. I feel like writing stuff down allows me to explore some edge cases I haven’t thought about before and it helps me develop the ideas better.
I remember how straightforward designing new features was when I worked for DoorDash. The briefs were very detailed which helped throughout all of the aspects of the development.
Having one source of truth for the team is key, mainly because people might interpret ideas in different ways. Also, it’s nice to get back to an old feature and see what we thought about it previously.
Template
Here is the template we are currently using. We haven’t invented it - it’s inspired by the companies I worked for before, and it’s still in development.
3 Bonus Tips
Use clear and concise language that anybody can understand. It’s important to remember that not everyone reading your brief will have the same level of expertise, so avoid using company jargon or shortcuts. By adhering to simple language, you will make sure your message will be understood by a broad range of people who might find themselves reading your product brief. In case you need to use words or concepts people might have difficulty understanding, write them in the Glossary of Terms. Here’s the Macromo’s example:
DNA - Deoxyribonucleic Acid
SNP - Single-Nucleotide Polymorphism
SNV - Single-Nucleotide Variant
High-risk variant - usually, a variant in the genome that has a causal effect or predisposes to a certain phenotype highly
PRS - Polygenic Risk Score
PGx - Pharmacogenomics
FASTQ - FASTQ file format, used for storing short reads created by sequencers. Usually needs to be converted to BAM/CRAM for further processing
VCF - Variant Call Format - file used for storing variants that differ from the reference genome
BAM/CRAM - File that stores aligned short reads created by sequencing. Usable for genomic analysis
Sharing user stories is essential to convey to everybody what we are trying to achieve and, most importantly, for whom. This section will allow you to communicate your goals and objectives, illustrating them clearly. Here’s the Macromo’s example:
Macromo Customers
I want to know the progress of my sample and when I will receive the results.
I want to be notified when my results are available in the app.
Macromo Operations Team
I want an easy way to bulk upload new kit IDs to the system (from .csv).
I want to search for information about samples, users, and sample manifests.
I want to know what happened with the sample in the past.
I want to mark samples as based on laboratory or distributor and manage a list of distributors and laboratories.
Using this format will help to focus on the end goal for the users, establishing clear expectations among all team members and stakeholders.
Try to link as much relevant information as possible. The best way for people to understand a problem is to have a broad context about it. Share, educate, and inspire people for whom you’re creating the brief so that they can make the most of it. Linking to external and internal resources could help the readers get as many details and context as possible. When including links, make sure they’re all working and easily accessible from all devices; double-check, if necessary.
I hope that you enjoyed these tips and that they might be helpful when you create your next product brief! Don’t hesitate to leave me a comment, sharing your experience or telling me what you would like to read about next. I wish you all a great weekend.
Thanks for reading,
Eva.