PRDs are not dead

You've seen many product leaders say PRDs are dead, prototypes are in. I actually don't believe this at all. One of the interesting things happening right now is that because implementation has gotten so cheap across every medium, it's very tempting to jump straight to a prototype, especially if you're not an engineer. What I've also noticed though, is that for engineers, it's really tempting to write a lot of documents, a lot of documents that are not worth reading. If implementation is abundant, then it's really important to pick the right format for the point you're trying to make. If that point is product clarity around a vague area, then it might actually be a document. If what you're trying to do is get something in people's hands to try out, stress test an interaction pattern, it's a prototype. You do not want to over-anchor on this thing that was meant to be an exploration, but now it looks so production ready that, oh, visually it's ready for prod, but it's not actually the right model of where the research is going or what users are asking for or what's right for the business.