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Add Assumptions section to PRD template#35

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adalton merged 2 commits intomainfrom
andalton/prd-template-tweaks
May 5, 2026
Merged

Add Assumptions section to PRD template#35
adalton merged 2 commits intomainfrom
andalton/prd-template-tweaks

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@adalton adalton commented May 1, 2026

Summary

  • Added an optional Assumptions section (Section 5) to the PRD template for capturing unverified preconditions that underpin requirements — the highest-value thing for human reviewers to challenge
  • Converted all inter-file section references from brittle numbers ("Section 7") to resilient names ("the Open Questions section") to prevent cascading updates when the template structure changes
  • Added section guidance and draft coverage verification for the new Assumptions section

Test plan

  • Verify all 7 modified files have consistent section numbering (1-8)
  • Grep for stale "Section [5-8]" references across prd/ — should find none in inter-file contexts
  • Confirm section-guidance.md headings match prd.md template headings
  • Review Assumptions guidance for clarity and completeness

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

Summary by CodeRabbit

  • Documentation
    • Added an Assumptions section (Section 5) to the PRD template and renumbered following sections: Dependencies (6), Risks (7), Open Questions (8)
    • Updated templates, guidance, and PR text to reference named sections and “Open Questions” (8.x) instead of previous section numbers
    • Extended verification checklist to require Assumptions coverage and adjusted review-cycle wording and examples to match the new structure

…file refs

Add an optional Assumptions section (Section 5) to the PRD template for
capturing unverified preconditions that underpin requirements. This fills
a gap where product-level assumptions had no dedicated home — they're
distinct from requirements, risks, and open questions, and are the
highest-value thing for human reviewers to challenge.

As part of this change, convert all inter-file section references from
brittle numbers (e.g., "Section 7") to resilient names (e.g., "the Open
Questions section"). This prevents cascading updates across skill files
when the template structure changes — demonstrated by this very commit,
which would have required updating ~20 references across 6 files under
the old convention.

Numbers are retained within section-guidance.md (mirrors the template
1:1) and in example subsection IDs (inherently document-specific).

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
@adalton adalton self-assigned this May 1, 2026
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coderabbitai Bot commented May 1, 2026

No actionable comments were generated in the recent review. 🎉

ℹ️ Recent review info
⚙️ Run configuration

Configuration used: Organization UI

Review profile: CHILL

Plan: Pro

Run ID: b01daafa-58c9-42b6-87e5-4f4fcb9b152e

📥 Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between eb9001e and 162dd6b.

📒 Files selected for processing (1)
  • prd/templates/section-guidance.md

Walkthrough

The PR updates PRD templates, guidance, and skills to insert a new optional "Assumptions" section at position 5, renumber subsequent sections (Dependencies→6, Risks→7, Open Questions→8), and replace hardcoded "Section X" references with named/generic references; example question IDs updated from 7.x to 8.x.

Changes

PRD Template and Core Guidance

Layer / File(s) Summary
Template insertion / Data shape
prd/templates/prd.md, prd/templates/section-guidance.md
Add a new optional 5. Assumptions section and placeholder content; renumber subsequent sections (Dependencies → 6, Risks → 7, Open Questions → 8).
Numbering updates / Labels
prd/templates/section-guidance.md, prd/templates/prd.md
Update subsection numbers for risks and open questions (e.g., 6.17.1, 7.18.1) and adjust example IDs accordingly.
Guidance text edits
prd/templates/section-guidance.md, prd/GUIDE.md
Replace explicit "Section 7" references with generic phrasing ("this section", "Open Questions") and update resolved-item removal wording to reference the renamed section.
Documentation polish
prd/GUIDE.md
Adjust PR review-cycle wording to reference "open questions" and /prd:respond flows without hardcoded section numbers.

PRD Skills and Draft/Publish/Respond Flows

Layer / File(s) Summary
Verification checklist update
prd/skills/draft.md
Add "Assumptions coverage" to Step 5 verification; instruct omission when no preconditions exist.
Instruction renaming / Resolution logic
prd/skills/respond.md, prd/skills/publish.md, prd/skills/revise.md
Update step text, comment templates, and examples to reference named sections (Risks, Open Questions) and question IDs now numbered 8.x; replace explicit "Section 7" wording with "Open Questions" or generic phrasing.
PR body / How-to-review text
prd/skills/publish.md
Remove explicit "Section 7" references in draft PR description and reviewer guidance; refer to "Open questions" generically.
Consistency/log examples
prd/skills/respond.md, prd/skills/revise.md
Update example resolution entries and consistency-update bullets to use new numbering and section names (e.g., reference 8.2).

Estimated code review effort

🎯 2 (Simple) | ⏱️ ~12 minutes

🚥 Pre-merge checks | ✅ 5
✅ Passed checks (5 passed)
Check name Status Explanation
Description Check ✅ Passed Check skipped - CodeRabbit’s high-level summary is enabled.
Title check ✅ Passed The pull request title accurately summarizes the primary change: adding an Assumptions section to the PRD template. It is concise, clear, and directly reflects the main objective.
Docstring Coverage ✅ Passed No functions found in the changed files to evaluate docstring coverage. Skipping docstring coverage check.
Linked Issues check ✅ Passed Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.
Out of Scope Changes check ✅ Passed Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.

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  • Commit unit tests in branch andalton/prd-template-tweaks

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@adalton adalton requested a review from amir-yogev-gh May 1, 2026 18:56
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Overall LGTM with some nit comments

Comment thread prd/templates/section-guidance.md
Address PR feedback: the existing examples were all technical
preconditions. Add scope-related examples ("no UX/UI changes needed,"
"only validation and documentation work") that represent release
planning rationale — a category the AI wouldn't naturally surface.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
@adalton adalton requested a review from amir-yogev-gh May 4, 2026 15:01
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LGTM

@adalton adalton merged commit 9af1516 into main May 5, 2026
6 checks passed
@adalton adalton deleted the andalton/prd-template-tweaks branch May 5, 2026 15:45
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2 participants