Pandora's 4 Key Product Docs

Use it when you need to align teams around strategy, prioritize features effectively, and make data-driven product decisions.

What is it?

Pandora's 4 Key Product Docs is a lean framework that breaks the bulky PRD into four focused artifacts, Vision & Strategy, Roadmap & Prioritization, Requirements & Specs, and Metrics & Launch Plan.

Each doc tackles a core problem: setting the north star, ranking high-impact work, detailing user stories and technical specs, and defining success metrics plus go-to-market steps. By splitting responsibilities across four living docs, you keep cross-functional teams aligned, avoid bloated deliverables, and move fast without losing direction.

This approach solves the classic ‘document trap', where one massive PRD becomes outdated, ignored, or misaligned, by replacing it with bite-sized, purpose-driven docs that guide every decision from idea validation to launch. Ideal for PMs, founders, and growth teams who need a repeatable, transparent way to prioritize and execute.

Why it matters?

When you split product planning into these four targeted docs, you eliminate misalignment, speed up decision cycles, and focus on features that move the needle. Teams know exactly what to build, when to build it, and how to measure success, driving faster time-to-market, higher launch velocity, and measurable impact on retention and revenue.

How it works

Growth co-pilot turns your toughest product questions into clear, data-backed recommendations you can act on immediately.

Draft the Vision & Strategy Doc

Start with your product mission, target personas, user pain points, and unique value proposition. Get stakeholder buy-in by mapping each goal to business outcomes, keep it to one page.

Build the Roadmap & Prioritization Doc

List major initiatives, tie them back to your vision goals, then score them on impact vs. effort. Use a simple matrix to rank and time-box your next three releases.

Create the Requirements & Specs Doc

For each top-ranked initiative, write user stories, acceptance criteria, UX flows, and tech notes. Keep each feature spec under two pages to avoid scope creep.

Set up the Metrics & Launch Plan Doc

Define KPIs, OKRs, analytics events, and success thresholds. Outline your launch checklist, marketing activities, release channels, A/B test plan, and feedback loop cadence.

Frequently asked questions

Growth co-pilot turns your toughest product questions into clear, data-backed recommendations you can act on immediately.

What are the four docs in Pandora's framework?

They're Vision & Strategy, Roadmap & Prioritization, Requirements & Specs, and Metrics & Launch Plan, each solving a different planning and execution challenge without bloating a single PRD.

What are the four docs in Pandora's framework?

They're Vision & Strategy, Roadmap & Prioritization, Requirements & Specs, and Metrics & Launch Plan, each solving a different planning and execution challenge without bloating a single PRD.

How often should I update each document?

Refresh Vision quarterly, iterate your Roadmap monthly, update Requirements each sprint, and review Metrics & Launch Plan weekly or after major experiments.

How often should I update each document?

Refresh Vision quarterly, iterate your Roadmap monthly, update Requirements each sprint, and review Metrics & Launch Plan weekly or after major experiments.

Who owns and collaborates on these docs?

PMs own Vision & Strategy, Product Ops or PMs own the Roadmap, Engineering and Design co-own Requirements & Specs, and Growth/Marketing manage Metrics & Launch Plan, with all teams having read/write access.

Who owns and collaborates on these docs?

Can I combine some docs if I'm early-stage?

You can merge Roadmap with Specs or Metrics with Strategy at pre-product/alpha stage, but expect more confusion and misalignment as you scale. Split them once you hit consistent delivery cadence.

Can I combine some docs if I'm early-stage?

You can merge Roadmap with Specs or Metrics with Strategy at pre-product/alpha stage, but expect more confusion and misalignment as you scale. Split them once you hit consistent delivery cadence.

How is this different from a traditional PRD?

Instead of one giant, quickly outdated PRD, Pandora's approach uses four lean, living docs, so you stay aligned, agile, and laser-focused on high-impact work at every step.

How is this different from a traditional PRD?

Instead of one giant, quickly outdated PRD, Pandora's approach uses four lean, living docs, so you stay aligned, agile, and laser-focused on high-impact work at every step.

You've locked in your four core product docs, now run them through the CrackGrowth diagnostic to uncover alignment gaps, sharpen your roadmap, and power your next set of growth experiments.

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