A product requirements document often runs to thirty pages, and few people read past the first one. This template fits the decision on one page: the problem and the hypothesis, the solution outline, the success metrics and the risks. Numbered, testable requirements sit beneath, each with a priority, an owner and an acceptance criterion, so designers, builders and testers all work from the same statements.

The sample is for a client document approval portal at Bramblewood Partners, with figures for monthly approvals, sign-off time and the causes of delay. Every name, figure and date is fictional. Replace the problem, owner and requirements with your own, keep must-have items to 60 percent of the list or fewer, and add a measurable acceptance criterion to every line before the review.