Product Requirements Document: Writing Guidelines Tool

You can visit customizable writing guidelines here.

1. Introduction

1.1 Overview

The Writing Guidelines Tool is a web-based application that enables individuals and teams to create, customize, and export comprehensive writing guidelines for brand communications. Unlike static style guides, this tool provides an interactive interface for defining and documenting all aspects of voice, tone, grammar, and terminology with real-time visualization and easy export options.

1.2 Problem Statement

Content inconsistency is a significant challenge for growing organizations. As teams scale, maintaining a consistent brand voice becomes increasingly difficult without proper documentation. Traditional solutions (static PDFs, shared docs) quickly become outdated, are difficult to reference, and lack contextual examples. Writers and content creators need a flexible, comprehensive tool to establish, document, and share communication standards.

1.3 User Personas

Primary:

• ME
• Content Strategists & UX Writers: Professionals who establish content standards and need to document them in a shareable, comprehensive format.
• Marketing Teams: Groups responsible for maintaining brand consistency across various channels.
• Product Teams: Cross-functional teams creating user-facing content who need alignment on writing approach.

Secondary:

• Freelancers: Independent professionals who need to quickly understand a client's voice and tone requirements.
• Agencies: Creative teams working with multiple clients, needing to document different brand guidelines.

2. Product Goals

2.1 Core Value Proposition

Create a tool that makes establishing, documenting, and sharing writing guidelines intuitive, interactive, and immediately useful, reducing the time needed to align teams on content standards while improving content consistency.

2.2 Success Metrics

• Tool Usage: Number of guidelines created and exported
• User Engagement: Time spent customizing guidelines
• User Satisfaction: Feedback from users on the tool's usefulness (hope it helps!)
• Portfolio Impact: Demonstration of my technical and UX writing skills

3. Feature Requirements

3.1 Style Guide Section

Requirements:

• Editable text fields for documenting the following:
  • Purpose of the style guide
  • Brand personality
  • Formatting standards
  • Brand name
  • Brand story
• Rich text formatting capabilities
• Automatic local storage persistence
• Visual distinction between sections

3.2 Voice & Tone Section

Requirements:

• Interactive tone quadrant visualization with:
  • Draggable marker on a formal/casual and matter-of-fact/enthusiastic axis
  • Visual quadrant labels
  • 16 (phew!) distinct tone areas with specific examples
  • Responsive design for various screen sizes
• Editable voice attributes list
• Contextual adaptation documentation for different communication scenarios
• Real-time visualization of selected tone with examples

3.3 Grammar & Mechanics Section

Requirements:

• Editable text areas for:
  • Punctuation rules
  • Capitalization guidelines
  • Numbers and units standards
  • Date and time formatting
• Ability to format with bullet points and lists
• Section organization that follows industry-standard style guide formats

3.4 Terminology Section

Requirements:

• Interactive table for documenting key terms with:
  • Term name
  • Definition
  • Usage notes
  • Status indicators (approved, limited use, prohibited)
• Ability to add, edit, and remove terminology entries
• Visual distinction between different term statuses

3.5 Export Functionality

Requirements:

• PDF export with professional formatting
• Markdown export for integration with documentation systems
• Custom naming options based on brand name
• Visual confirmation of successful export

4. User Experience

4.1 Information Architecture

• Tab-based navigation between major sections
• Streamlined mobile experience with shortened tab labels
• Consistent card-based UI components for each major section
• Export options prominently available at the top of the page

4.2 User Flows

Primary Flow:

1. User navigates to /writing-guidelines
2. User customizes each section according to their brand requirements
3. User exports the guidelines in preferred format
4. Guidelines are saved locally for future editing

Secondary Flows:

• User returns to previously edited guidelines (retrieved from local storage)
• User creates new guidelines by clearing existing content
• User shares guidelines with team members via exported files

4.3 Mobile Responsiveness

• Simplified interface for smaller screens
• Shortened tab labels for mobile displays
• Responsive tone quadrant that maintains usability on small screens
• Stacked layouts for form elements on narrow viewports

5. Technical Requirements

5.1 Frontend

• React with TypeScript for robust component development
• Next.js for server-side rendering and optimized performance
• Tailwind CSS for styling and responsive design
• Shadcn UI components for consistent interface elements
• Local storage API for data persistence

5.2 Export Infrastructure

• HTML2PDF integration for PDF export functionality
• Custom markdown generation logic for documentation-friendly exports
• Client-side file generation to avoid server dependencies

5.3 Persistence Layer

• Browser local storage for saving user preferences and content
• JSON structure for data organization
• Fallback default content for first-time users

6. Implementation Approach

6.1 Phase 1: Core Functionality

• Create basic UI framework with tabs navigation
• Implement style guide form fields with local storage
• Build static tone quadrant visualization
• Implement basic grammar and mechanics sections
• Create simple terminology table
• Add basic export functionality

6.2 Phase 2: Enhanced Interactions

• Develop interactive tone quadrant with draggable marker
• Expand tone definitions to 16 specific areas
• Add detailed examples for each tone area
• Enhance export styling and options
• Implement complete mobile responsiveness

6.3 Phase 3: Refinement

• Add rich text formatting capabilities
• Improve visual design and animations
• Enhance export options and quality
• Implement user feedback mechanisms
• Add comprehensive default content examples

7. Future Considerations (hope it can be done soon!)

7.1 Potential Enhancements

• Multi-user collaboration features
• Cloud storage options for teams (eh~)
• Template gallery with industry-specific starting points
• Integration with design system documentation (exploring)
• Interactive wizard for first-time guide creation

7.2 Maintenance Plan

• Regular updates based on user feedback
• Performance monitoring for larger guideline documents
• Browser compatibility testing
• Accessibility enhancements

8. Success Evaluation

The Writing Guidelines Tool will be considered successful if it:

1. Demonstrates technical proficiency in React, TypeScript, and interactive UI development
2. Showcases understanding of content strategy and brand voice documentation
3. Provides genuine utility to users creating writing guidelines
4. Functions seamlessly across devices and export formats
5. Receives positive feedback from portfolio visitors and potential clients

By creating this tool, I'm demonstrating the intersection of writing expertise and development skills that make up a Product Writer-Developer hybrid role.