- Generate a Product Requirements Document (PRD) for an existing project by analyzing README, documentation, and project structure.
- Use Case
- Onboarding existing projects to Blueprint Development system. Prerequisites : Blueprint Development initialized ( docs/blueprint/ exists) Project has some existing documentation (README.md, docs/, etc.) Steps : Phase 1: Discovery 1.1 Check Prerequisites ls docs/blueprint/manifest.json If not found → suggest running /blueprint:init first. 1.2 Gather Project Documentation Search for existing documentation: fd -e md -d 3 . | head -20 Key files to look for: README.md - Primary project description docs/ - Documentation directory CONTRIBUTING.md - Contribution guidelines ARCHITECTURE.md - Architecture overview package.json / pyproject.toml / Cargo.toml - Project metadata 1.3 Read Primary Documentation Read and analyze: README.md for project purpose, features, and usage Package manifest for dependencies and scripts Any existing architecture or design docs Phase 2: Analysis & Extraction 2.1 Extract Project Context From documentation, identify: Aspect Source Questions if Missing Project name Package manifest, README Ask user Purpose/Problem README intro "What problem does this project solve?" Target users README, docs "Who are the primary users?" Core features README features section "What are the main capabilities?" Tech stack Dependencies, file extensions Infer from files 2.2 Ask Clarifying Questions Use AskUserQuestion for unclear items: question: "What is the primary problem this project solves?" options: - "[Inferred from docs]: {description}" → confirm inference - "Let me describe it" → free text input question: "Who are the target users?" options: - "Developers" → technical documentation focus - "End users" → user experience focus - "Both developers and end users" → balanced approach - "Other" → custom description question: "What is the current project phase?" options: - "Early development / MVP" → focus on core features - "Active development" → feature expansion - "Maintenance mode" → stability and bug fixes - "Planning major changes" → architectural considerations 2.3 Identify Stakeholders Ask about stakeholders: question: "Who are the key stakeholders for this project?" options: - "Solo project (just me)" → simplified RACI - "Small team (2-5 people)" → team collaboration - "Larger organization" → formal stakeholder matrix - "Open source community" → contributor-focused Phase 3: PRD Generation 3.1 Generate Document ID Before creating the PRD, generate a unique ID:
Get next PRD ID from manifest
next_prd_id ( ) { local manifest = "docs/blueprint/manifest.json" local last = $( jq -r '.id_registry.last_prd // 0' " $manifest " 2
/dev/null || echo "0" ) local next = $(( last + 1 )) printf "PRD-%03d" " $next " } Store the generated ID for use in the document and manifest update. 3.2 Create PRD File Create the PRD in docs/prds/ : docs/prds/project-overview.md 3.3 PRD Template Generate PRD with this structure:
id : { PRD - NNN } created : { YYYY - MM - DD } modified : { YYYY - MM - DD } status : Draft version : "1.0" relates-to : [ ] github-issues : [ ] name : blueprint - derive - prd
{Project Name} - Product Requirements Document
Executive Summary
Problem Statement
Proposed Solution
Business Impact
Stakeholders & Personas
Stakeholder Matrix | Role | Name/Team | Responsibility | Contact | |
|
|
|
| | {role} | {name} | {responsibility} | {contact} |
User Personas
Primary:
- **
- Description
- **
-
{who they are}
- **
- Needs
- **
-
{what they need}
- **
- Pain Points
- **
-
{current frustrations}
- **
- Goals
- **
- {what success looks like}
Functional Requirements
Core Features {List of main capabilities extracted from docs} | ID | Feature | Description | Priority | |
|
|
|
| | FR-001 | {feature} | {description} | {P0/P1/P2} |
User Stories {User stories derived from features} - As a {user type}, I want to {action} so that {benefit}
Non-Functional Requirements
Performance
{Response time expectations}
{Throughput requirements}
Security
{Authentication requirements}
{Data protection needs}
Accessibility
{Accessibility standards to follow}
Compatibility
{Browser/platform/version support}
Technical Considerations
Architecture
Dependencies
Integration Points
Success Metrics | Metric | Current | Target | Measurement | |
|
|
|
| | {metric} | {baseline} | {goal} | {how to measure} |
Scope
In Scope
{Included features and capabilities}
Out of Scope
{Explicitly excluded items}
{Future considerations}
Timeline & Phases
Current Phase: {phase name}
Roadmap | Phase | Focus | Status | |
|
|
| | {phase} | {focus areas} | {status} |
*
Generated from existing documentation via /blueprint:derive-prd
*
*
Review and update as project evolves
*
Phase 4: Validation & Follow-up
4.1 Present Summary
Show the user:
✅ PRD Generated: {Project Name}
ID: {PRD-NNN}
Location: docs/prds/project-overview.md
Extracted from:
- {list of source documents}
Key sections:
- Executive Summary: {status}
- Stakeholders: {count} identified
- Functional Requirements: {count} features
- Non-Functional Requirements: {status}
Confidence: {High/Medium/Low}
- {High confidence areas}
- {Areas needing review}
Recommended next steps:
1. Review and refine the generated PRD
2. Run /blueprint:derive-adr to document architecture decisions
3. Run /blueprint:prp-create for specific features
4. Run /blueprint:generate-skills to create project skills
4.2 Suggest Follow-up
Based on what was generated:
If architecture unclear → suggest
/blueprint:derive-adr
If features identified → suggest
/blueprint:prp-create
for key features
If PRD complete → suggest
/blueprint:generate-skills
Phase 5: Update Manifest
Update
docs/blueprint/manifest.json
:
Add PRD to
generated_artifacts
Update
has_prds
to true
Update
updated_at
timestamp
Update ID registry
:
{
"id_registry"
:
{
"last_prd"
:
{
new_number
}
,
"documents"
:
{
"{PRD-NNN}"
:
{
"path"
:
"docs/prds/{filename}.md"
,
"title"
:
"{Project Name}"
,
"github_issues"
:
[
]
,
"created"
:
"{date}"
}
}
}
}
Tips
:
Be thorough in reading existing docs - they often contain valuable context
Ask clarifying questions for ambiguous or missing information
Infer from code structure when documentation is sparse
Mark uncertain sections for user review
Keep PRD focused on "what" and "why", not "how"
4.3 Update task registry
Update the task registry entry in
docs/blueprint/manifest.json
:
jq
--arg
now
"
$(
date
-u
+%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ
)
"
\
--argjson
created
"
${PRDS_GENERATED
:-
1}
"
\
'.task_registry["derive-prd"].last_completed_at = $now |
.task_registry["derive-prd"].last_result = "success" |
.task_registry["derive-prd"].stats.runs_total = ((.task_registry["derive-prd"].stats.runs_total // 0) + 1) |
.task_registry["derive-prd"].stats.items_created = $created'
\
docs/blueprint/manifest.json
tmp.json && mv tmp.json docs/blueprint/manifest.json 4.4 Prompt for GitHub Issue (use AskUserQuestion): question: "Create a GitHub issue to track this PRD?" options: - label: "Yes, create issue (Recommended)" description: "Creates issue with title '[PRD-NNN] {Project Name}'" - label: "No, skip for now" description: "Can link later by editing github-issues in frontmatter" If yes , create GitHub issue: gh issue create \ --title "[{PRD-NNN}] {Project Name}" \ --body "## Product Requirements Document Document: \
docs/prds/ { filename } .md \ID: {PRD-NNN}
Summary
{Executive summary from PRD}
Key Features
{List of FR-* features} name: blueprint-derive-prd
Auto-generated from PRD. See linked document for full requirements." \ --label "prd,requirements" Capture issue number and update: PRD frontmatter: add issue number to github-issues Manifest: add issue to id_registry.documents[PRD-NNN].github_issues Manifest: add mapping to id_registry.github_issues 4.5 Prompt for next action (use AskUserQuestion): question: "PRD generated. What would you like to do next?" options: - label: "Document architecture decisions (Recommended)" description: "Run /blueprint:derive-adr to capture technical decisions" - label: "Generate project skills" description: "Extract skills from PRD for Claude context" - label: "Create a PRP for a feature" description: "Start implementing a specific feature" - label: "Review and refine PRD" description: "I want to edit the generated PRD first" - label: "I'm done for now" description: "Exit - PRD is saved" Based on selection: "Document architecture decisions" → Run /blueprint:derive-adr "Generate project skills" → Run /blueprint:generate-skills "Create a PRP" → Run /blueprint:prp-create (ask for feature name) "Review and refine" → Show PRD file location and key sections needing attention "I'm done" → Exit Error Handling : If no README.md → ask user for project description If blueprint not initialized → suggest /blueprint:init If conflicting information in docs → ask user to clarify