Anyone else think product requirements need a serious overhaul? What’s missing?

Hey friends 👋

The requirements phase in product development often feels like a missed opportunity. User stories can be ambiguous, lack detail for dev, and limit perspective. PRDs, on the other hand, are often stale and bloated. Both approaches fail to integrate crucial elements like design and data seamlessly. Poorly written requirements lead to feedback loops, rework, and delays, while keeping requirements isolated from UX further complicates things. Updating specs after decisions made in Slack? Nearly impossible.

This really hit home during a meeting at Facebook offices, where I was shocked to see them still using Docs as if nothing had evolved in 40 years.

Complex products need clear “assembly instructions”—structured, logic-level guidelines tied to specific design components. These should be accessible to all stakeholders, including external ones, to support collaboration, updates, and easy traceability.

Sure, tools like Miro, Confluence, and Notion exist, but none feel robust enough to tackle requirements effectively. The process still feels broken.

I’m imagining a tool that writes and displays requirements in small, interactive structured chunks—like coding text with color coding—where each chunk highlights the relevant design component or state next to it. This would visually map and connect specs, streamlining product requirements.

What do you think? Do you feel the same way?