Product Capability Template

Use this when product intent exists but the implementation constraints are still implicit.

The purpose is to create a durable capability contract, not another vague planning doc.

Capability

• Capability name:
• Source: PRD / issue / discussion / roadmap / founder note
• Primary actor:
• Outcome after ship:
• Success signal:

Product Intent

Describe the user-visible promise in one short paragraph.

Constraints

List the rules that must be true before implementation starts:

• business rules
• scope boundaries
• invariants
• rollout constraints
• migration constraints
• backwards compatibility constraints
• billing / auth / compliance constraints

Actors and Surfaces

• actor(s)
• UI surfaces
• API surfaces
• automation / operator surfaces
• reporting / dashboard surfaces

States and Transitions

Describe the lifecycle in terms of explicit states and allowed transitions.

Example:

• draft -> active -> paused -> completed
• pending -> approved -> provisioned -> revoked

Interface Contract

• inputs
• outputs
• required side effects
• failure states
• retries / recovery
• idempotency expectations

Data Implications

• source of truth
• new entities or fields
• ownership boundaries
• retention / deletion expectations

Security and Policy

• trust boundaries
• permission requirements
• abuse paths
• policy / governance requirements

Non-Goals

List what this capability explicitly does not own.

Open Questions

Capture the unresolved decisions blocking implementation.

Handoff

• Ready for implementation?
• Needs architecture review?
• Needs product clarification?
• Next ECC lane: project-flow-ops / tdd-workflow / verification-loop / other