Let's write a Product Requirements Document!

 What is a PRD? 🖋

Product Requirements Document outlines the requirements of what are the functions and features to be built on the product. It could specifically describe what the updated release version could be (of course, in SaaS or software world)

When you say SaaS, I hear Zoho.

As you aware, Zoho provides us end-to-end cloud-based business tools. There is product for every nuance of business needs. For example: Zoho email, Zoho cliq for communication; Zoho CRM to improve the customer relationship; Zoho analytics, a business intelligence software; Zoho recruit assists hiring and recruitment activities and what not, the list goes on and on.

Okay, Let's write a PRD to improve this product called "Zoho Sign", a digital signature platform.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PRD

To enhance 'Zoho Sign'

Purpose:

The purpose of the document is to detail the comparison of Zoho Sign platform with other close competitors out there is the world. Moreover to understand the pain points of the users and recommend solutions in the form of features / functions / improvements for the betterment of the platform.

 Scope:

The competitor products / platform which analyzed as part of this document are DocuSign & signNow. These products have been chosen based on the popularity and user base.

Feature Comparison:

Let's compare the basic features of digital signature apps with Zoho Sign

 

Feature / Product	Zoho Sign	DocuSign	signNow
Cloud Backup	✅	✅	✅
Branding	✅	✅	✅
Mobile Apps	✅	✅	✅
Bulk Send	✅	✅	✅
Reminders and Recall	✅	✅	✅
Full Forms Functionality	Missing currency format, Data validation, Formula field	✅	✅
Templates	✅	✅	✅
Collaboration	Sharing documents and templates alone. No collaboration workflow available	✅	Sharing documents and templates alone. No collaboration workflow available
Integrations and REST API	✅	✅	✅

 Pricing on ZS is far better and economical when compared with others. API-only pricing option also available with the ZS. However, let's ignore pricing related discussion as this is not the scope of the analysis.

User Pain Points:

Google Play Store 4.7/5 out of 456 ratings: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.zoho.sign.zohosign
Pain Points	Count	+ve or -ve	Tag
Great, simple, secure and easy to use	24	✅	Simple and secure
UI could be better	1	❌	UI
App crashes / Doesn't load / work as intended	3	❌	Technical Issue
Can't uncheck the prechecked box field	1	❌	Feature Update

 

Apple App Store: 4.9/5 out of 49 ratings https://apps.apple.com/in/app/e-signature-app-zoho-sign/id1236146442
Pain Points	Count	+ve or -ve	Tag
Useful	1	✅	Simple and secure
Minimize the signature size even further	1	❌	Feature Update

 

Online Reviews: https://www.getapp.com/operations-management-software/a/zoho-sign/reviews/
Pain Points	Count	+ve or -ve	Tag
Need more integration with other third-party apps	2	❌	Integrations
Signing from an email message is not possible. Have to go to the ZS webpage, download and upload document from email, sign it	1	❌	-Not Valid-

Summary of Pain Points:

The below pain points are prioritized based on counts and also biased towards feature updates more than UI updates.   

• More form functions
• Data validation rules
• Formula function
• UI could have been better

Updates to be done on the next version:

 1. Currency format data field

This is a straight forward addition 'drag and drop' field. As the e-signature tool is being mostly used for financial & legally binding documents, getting a price value based on the user's geographical location is more needed.

Hence, the user shall drag and drop the 'Currency Unit' drop down field while sending a document. The following cases shall take place:

• The sender shall set the default unit as they wish, for example - ₹.
• The sender shall let the recipients to select the currency unit from the drop-down list.

2. Custom data validation rules tweaks

The option to set a specific rule for each of the text fields in the documents. This gives the power to proactively protect against signer typos and increase the accuracy of the information. 

There is already 'Validation' setup available with us. The following commonly data types options could be added: Phone number, Zip code, Positive / Negative integers. Yes, these formats can be done currently by using 'Custom' option, but still adding those data types could be more accessible to the users.

There is a high probability that the users still want 'Custom' validation. To make them do the same with ease, add 'Click here to know more' link next to Regex and link the text to the knowledge base on how to setup custom data validation page.

3. Formula / Calculated fields

Calculated fields allow applying a formula to user input from other tabs / fields and displaying the outcome of the calculation. The value of the computed field will change if the values of the tabs that are used as input change.

Example use case: The user (car dealer) wants to get an e-signature on a quote filled by their customers online. The dealer shall be able to quote the final value based on the car the customer selects. Here, the discount percentage should change based on the selection of the car.

The calculations can vary from simple arithmetic expressions to deeper logical expressions. 

For example: Addition of numbers from two different fields, calculate dates between. The whole formula setup from 'Zoho Analytics' shall be replicated here - here is the link.

4. Collaboration field

The recipients can be able collaborate on text, radio button, drop-down, and check box fields with this functionality. When signers may need to bargain over modifications to your document, collaborative fields are ideal.

Example use case: Two users A and B, need to agree to a fair price of their business before getting an agreement signed. In this case, the document sender A could fill up a number and signs. When the user B doesn't feel the number is right, he can modify the same. The document will again route to person A for review and approval. The person B could add comments on why he / she didn’t agree with the number.

Feature: The sender shall be able to select the option called 'Collaborate' after dragging a field. The sender shall also have an option to select the users (mail ids) who can collaborate on the field. This feature works on 'Sign in order' option. From the signer's perspective, once he / she updated the field the document will be routed as per the order. Once, any of the signer not agreed to the collaborative filed, he / she can raise a dispute, add comments, and update the field. Now, the document will be routed back to the sender or initial signer for agreement.

5. UI updates

Let's study and revamp the home page.

There is a quote saying about the landing page "Show users what they want to see". As this page is most frequently visited, let's make this more impactful for the users.

Adding two more most frequently used option for the home page as below:

 

Yes, 'Pending for signature' is already there, revamping the design slightly. Moreover, adding 'Waiting others' would show the glimpse of the documents pending for others signatures.

Prioritization:

 Even though, all the improvements could be done in the next release, prioritizing those to approach the solutions.

Feature / Improvements	Reach (out of 100)	Impact (Scale - 0.5 to 3)	Confidence	Effort (out of 5)	RICE Score	Rank
Currency format data field	70	2	80%	2	56	1
Custom data validation rules tweaks	75	2.5	80%	3	50	2
Collaboration field	85	2.5	85%	4.5	40.13	4
UI updates	70	2	85%	2.5	47.6	3

The features / improvements shall be implemented based on its rank.

Disclaimer:

This document doesn't touch about the technical capabilities of the team / platform and timeline into which the solutions could be implemented.

 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The above document is to improve our PRD writing, product sense skills. As you might know, I'm not affiliated with any company or brand. 

Hope you enjoyed reading! Thanks! Cheers! ✌