8:04 PM
Friday, Jul 11, 2025
8:04 PM
Friday, Jul 11, 2025
When the PRD is a MESS: How I Decode and Deliver as a Product Designer
When the PRD is a MESS: How I Decode and Deliver as a Product Designer
July 2025
July 2025
July 2025
Article
Article
Article
Learning
Learning
Learning
If you have worked on enough products, you already know this feeling. The project brief lands in your inbox, and instead of clarity, you are staring at a document that raises more questions than answers. The screens are half explained, the user flows are incomplete, and somehow, the deadline still stands.
This is more common than most people think. Especially in fast moving teams, Product Requirement Documents (PRDs) are rarely perfect. They are rushed, updated in fragments, or based on assumptions that have already changed. As a product designer, you have two options: wait around for clarity, or step up, decode the chaos, and deliver real outcomes.
Here is how I approach those moments when the PRD makes no sense, yet the product still needs to move forward.
If you have worked on enough products, you already know this feeling. The project brief lands in your inbox, and instead of clarity, you are staring at a document that raises more questions than answers. The screens are half explained, the user flows are incomplete, and somehow, the deadline still stands.
This is more common than most people think. Especially in fast moving teams, Product Requirement Documents (PRDs) are rarely perfect. They are rushed, updated in fragments, or based on assumptions that have already changed. As a product designer, you have two options: wait around for clarity, or step up, decode the chaos, and deliver real outcomes.
Here is how I approach those moments when the PRD makes no sense, yet the product still needs to move forward.
If you have worked on enough products, you already know this feeling. The project brief lands in your inbox, and instead of clarity, you are staring at a document that raises more questions than answers. The screens are half explained, the user flows are incomplete, and somehow, the deadline still stands.
This is more common than most people think. Especially in fast moving teams, Product Requirement Documents (PRDs) are rarely perfect. They are rushed, updated in fragments, or based on assumptions that have already changed. As a product designer, you have two options: wait around for clarity, or step up, decode the chaos, and deliver real outcomes.
Here is how I approach those moments when the PRD makes no sense, yet the product still needs to move forward.
Step 1: Ask, Don't Assume
Step 1: Ask, Don't Assume
It is tempting to jump straight into Figma, but incomplete information leads to wasted time. I start by asking targeted questions. Not everything needs clarification, but the critical gaps definitely do.
I focus on understanding the end goal of the project, the user goal, system limitations (dev wahala), and what success should look like. The goal is not to rewrite the PRD but to extract the pieces that truly guide design decisions.
It is tempting to jump straight into Figma, but incomplete information leads to wasted time. I start by asking targeted questions. Not everything needs clarification, but the critical gaps definitely do.
I focus on understanding the end goal of the project, the user goal, system limitations (dev wahala), and what success should look like. The goal is not to rewrite the PRD but to extract the pieces that truly guide design decisions.
It is tempting to jump straight into Figma, but incomplete information leads to wasted time. I start by asking targeted questions. Not everything needs clarification, but the critical gaps definitely do.
I focus on understanding the end goal of the project, the user goal, system limitations (dev wahala), and what success should look like. The goal is not to rewrite the PRD but to extract the pieces that truly guide design decisions.
Step 2: Break It Down Visually
Step 2: Break It Down Visually
Words can only explain so much. I translate whatever information is available into rough sketches, flow diagrams, or quick wireframes (well... maybe not wireframes 😅). This helps make the gaps visible to everyone.
It is easier for stakeholders and product managers to react to visuals than to paragraphs of text. Sometimes, seeing the incomplete journey sparks the right conversations and questions to move things forward.
A lot of designers (especially on X 😅) do not think this process matters, but it absolutely does.
It brings the final product closer to reality, faster and with fewer surprises.
Words can only explain so much. I translate whatever information is available into rough sketches, flow diagrams, or quick wireframes (well... maybe not wireframes 😅). This helps make the gaps visible to everyone.
It is easier for stakeholders and product managers to react to visuals than to paragraphs of text. Sometimes, seeing the incomplete journey sparks the right conversations and questions to move things forward.
A lot of designers (especially on X 😅) do not think this process matters, but it absolutely does.
It brings the final product closer to reality, faster and with fewer surprises.
Words can only explain so much. I translate whatever information is available into rough sketches, flow diagrams, or quick wireframes (well... maybe not wireframes 😅). This helps make the gaps visible to everyone.
It is easier for stakeholders and product managers to react to visuals than to paragraphs of text. Sometimes, seeing the incomplete journey sparks the right conversations and questions to move things forward.
A lot of designers (especially on X 😅) do not think this process matters, but it absolutely does.
It brings the final product closer to reality, faster and with fewer surprises.
Step 3: Connect the Dots Beyond the Document
Step 3: Connect the Dots Beyond the Document
A PRD rarely tells the full story. That is why I try to align my thinking with the broader business goal or product vision. If I understand what the company is trying to achieve, I can make better design choices, even when specifics are missing.
I saw this firsthand in a recent project (let us call it Project A for NDA reasons). The PRD included a group messaging feature that, on paper, sounded logical. But when I stepped back and looked at the product’s structure, I realized a group chat for job applicants made no practical sense. Job Applicants are not mutuals or part of the company. Giving them that communication space would only create confusion.
So instead of building directly from flawed instructions, I rethought the approach. I split the feature into two:
A broadcast channel for job applicants to receive updates (for example, interview invites or status changes), and
A group chat exclusively for employees.
That restructuring kept the user experience clean, logical, and aligned with the product’s actual needs, while still satisfying the intended functionality.
The team appreciated the initiative. Rather than delivering based on unrealistic assumptions, I designed a viable, functional experience rooted in logic and user context.
A PRD rarely tells the full story. That is why I try to align my thinking with the broader business goal or product vision. If I understand what the company is trying to achieve, I can make better design choices, even when specifics are missing.
I saw this firsthand in a recent project (let us call it Project A for NDA reasons). The PRD included a group messaging feature that, on paper, sounded logical. But when I stepped back and looked at the product’s structure, I realized a group chat for job applicants made no practical sense. Job Applicants are not mutuals or part of the company. Giving them that communication space would only create confusion.
So instead of building directly from flawed instructions, I rethought the approach. I split the feature into two:
A broadcast channel for job applicants to receive updates (for example, interview invites or status changes), and
A group chat exclusively for employees.
That restructuring kept the user experience clean, logical, and aligned with the product’s actual needs, while still satisfying the intended functionality.
The team appreciated the initiative. Rather than delivering based on unrealistic assumptions, I designed a viable, functional experience rooted in logic and user context.
A PRD rarely tells the full story. That is why I try to align my thinking with the broader business goal or product vision. If I understand what the company is trying to achieve, I can make better design choices, even when specifics are missing.
I saw this firsthand in a recent project (let us call it Project A for NDA reasons). The PRD included a group messaging feature that, on paper, sounded logical. But when I stepped back and looked at the product’s structure, I realized a group chat for job applicants made no practical sense. Job Applicants are not mutuals or part of the company. Giving them that communication space would only create confusion.
So instead of building directly from flawed instructions, I rethought the approach. I split the feature into two:
A broadcast channel for job applicants to receive updates (for example, interview invites or status changes), and
A group chat exclusively for employees.
That restructuring kept the user experience clean, logical, and aligned with the product’s actual needs, while still satisfying the intended functionality.
The team appreciated the initiative. Rather than delivering based on unrealistic assumptions, I designed a viable, functional experience rooted in logic and user context.
Step 4: Build Feedback Loops Early
Step 4: Build Feedback Loops Early
Instead of designing in isolation, I share rough versions early. Even if the PRD is unclear, showing low fidelity work helps validate assumptions and surface misunderstandings quickly.
On average, I check in with the product manager several times a day through quick texts, calls, or voice notes just to keep alignment tight. This prevents wasted effort and keeps the team on the same page as the product takes shape.
Instead of designing in isolation, I share rough versions early. Even if the PRD is unclear, showing low fidelity work helps validate assumptions and surface misunderstandings quickly.
On average, I check in with the product manager several times a day through quick texts, calls, or voice notes just to keep alignment tight. This prevents wasted effort and keeps the team on the same page as the product takes shape.
Instead of designing in isolation, I share rough versions early. Even if the PRD is unclear, showing low fidelity work helps validate assumptions and surface misunderstandings quickly.
On average, I check in with the product manager several times a day through quick texts, calls, or voice notes just to keep alignment tight. This prevents wasted effort and keeps the team on the same page as the product takes shape.
Step 5: Stay Comfortable with Uncertainty
Step 5: Stay Comfortable with Uncertainty
The truth is, some level of ambiguity never goes away. I have learned to see this not as a problem but as part of the process.
The faster you adapt, ask better questions, and connect the right dots, the more valuable you become to the team. That is what every product designer aims to be: INDISPENSABLE
The truth is, some level of ambiguity never goes away. I have learned to see this not as a problem but as part of the process.
The faster you adapt, ask better questions, and connect the right dots, the more valuable you become to the team. That is what every product designer aims to be: INDISPENSABLE
The truth is, some level of ambiguity never goes away. I have learned to see this not as a problem but as part of the process.
The faster you adapt, ask better questions, and connect the right dots, the more valuable you become to the team. That is what every product designer aims to be: INDISPENSABLE
Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
Even when the PRD comes in as a mess, the product still has to ship. As designers, our job is not just to make screens look good. It is to convert words, data, and sometimes confusion into clear, usable pixels.
That is how products move from ideas to real, functioning experiences.
The better we get at creating clarity from chaos, the more impact we deliver.
Let's continue creating wonders from messy PRD's.
Even when the PRD comes in as a mess, the product still has to ship. As designers, our job is not just to make screens look good. It is to convert words, data, and sometimes confusion into clear, usable pixels.
That is how products move from ideas to real, functioning experiences.
The better we get at creating clarity from chaos, the more impact we deliver.
Let's continue creating wonders from messy PRD's.
Even when the PRD comes in as a mess, the product still has to ship. As designers, our job is not just to make screens look good. It is to convert words, data, and sometimes confusion into clear, usable pixels.
That is how products move from ideas to real, functioning experiences.
The better we get at creating clarity from chaos, the more impact we deliver.
Let's continue creating wonders from messy PRD's.
8:04 PM
Friday, Jul 11, 2025