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Product Requirements Document (PRD #4) - “Tell People What Just Happened”

1. What Was Going On

By the time PRD #3 was approved, the core operational risks were addressed.

Scoring could be run safely. Results could be reviewed. Publication was controlled and auditable.

And yet, something was still missing.

After publication, the organisation relied on an informal mix of:

  • manual emails
  • verbal confirmation
  • and "I think it went out"

This hadn’t caused a major incident - which is precisely why it was easy to ignore.

Outcome 4 was acknowledged as important, but not urgent. It was deliberately deferred in the PIP.

That made this PRD different.

2. The Conversation That Triggered This Step

The trigger wasn’t a failure.

It was an uncomfortable realization:

“How do people actually know scoring is final?”

The answers were unsatisfying:

  • “They usually check.”
  • “Someone sends a message.”
  • “If there’s a problem, we hear about it.”

That last sentence lingered.

The group agreed on two things:

  • this capability mattered
  • it did not need to block the current release

The decision was made to document it anyway.

3. The Artifact

Below is the Product Requirements Document for Outcome 4, exactly as captured.

This PRD exists to preserve intent - not to force immediate delivery.

# Product Requirements Document (PRD)

## 1. Outcome Reference
**Outcome Name:** Stakeholder notification and confirmation  
**Initiative:** Season Scoring Risk Reduction  
**Problem Summary:** Stakeholders are not consistently notified when scoring results are finalized, leading to uncertainty and delayed issue detection.

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## 2. Business Objective
Ensure that relevant stakeholders are clearly informed when scoring results are finalized and published, establishing shared confidence and accountability.

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## 3. Detailed Business Requirements
- Stakeholders must be notified when scoring results are officially published
- Notifications must clearly indicate that results are final
- The business must be able to confirm that notifications were sent
- Notification mechanisms must be consistent across scoring events

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## 4. Business Workflow (Refined)
1. Scoring results are published
2. Published results are verified as complete
3. Notifications are sent to designated stakeholders
4. Notification delivery is recorded

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## 5. Roles & Permissions
- **Role:** Operations Administrator  
  **Responsibilities:** Define notification recipients and manage notification rules

- **Role:** Stakeholder  
  **Responsibilities:** Receive and act on published results

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## 6. Constraints & Policies
- Notifications must not be sent prior to publication
- Recipient lists must be explicitly maintained
- Notification failures must be detectable

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## 7. Assumptions
- Stakeholder contact information is available and current
- Notification expectations are consistent across leagues

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## 8. Acceptance Criteria
- Stakeholders receive clear notification when results are published
- Notifications accurately reflect publication status
- Notification activity can be reviewed after the fact

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## 9. Open Questions
- Which stakeholders must be notified for each league?
- What level of notification failure requires escalation?

4. What Almost Went Wrong

Several people attempted to dismiss this as “nice to have.”

  • “People will notice eventually.”
  • “We’ve lived without this.”
  • “Can’t we just send an email?”

All of those responses missed the point.

This PRD is not about convenience. It’s about closing the loop.

5. The Decision

Decision Question Are the business requirements clear enough to preserve intent for a deferred outcome?

Decision Made Proceed (Deferred).

Why This Was Good Enough

The PRD:

  • captured intent while context was fresh
  • prevented future re-litigation of the problem
  • allowed deferral without loss of clarity

That was the objective.

6. What This Unlocked (And What It Didn’t)

Now Allowed

  • Revisit this PRD in a future phase
  • Include notification design without rediscovery

Still Not Allowed

  • Expanding current scope
  • Slipping delivery commitments

Deferred does not mean forgotten.

7. Why This Step Matters

This PRD demonstrates a subtle but critical discipline.

Teams often lose deferred work to memory and turnover. By documenting this now, USA Clay Target ensured that future work starts with intent - not archaeology.

8. Sarcastic Footnote

Someone suggested that “no news is good news.”

Operations disagreed.