Kevin Yien's Minimal Brief
Kevin Yien's ultra-minimal product brief format. Strips away everything non-essential to focus on the core problem and proposed solution in the fewest possible words.
Product Brief: Kevin Yien Minimal Viable Brief Variant
Kevin Yien's ultra-concise brief focused on customer impact. Strips away everything non-essential. Fits on one actual page.
[Product Name] Brief
PM: [Name] | Date: [Date] | Status: [DRAFT | GO]
Problem
What: [Problem in one sentence] Who: [How many customers affected?] Impact: [Why do they care?]
Solution
What we're building: [One sentence]
How it works:
- [Step 1]
- [Step 2]
- [Step 3]
Why this way: [Why this approach vs. alternatives?]
Strategic Fit
Business pillar: [Which one?] Customer outcome: [What customer gets to do that they couldn't before?] Competitive position: [Why does this matter relative to competitors?]
Success
Showing 40 of 74 lines
Enter your email below to unlock the full template
Unlock Full Template
Enter your email to access the complete template
Frequently Asked Questions
Why use a minimal product brief?
Minimal briefs force clarity of thought. If you can't explain the problem and solution in a few sentences, you haven't thought about it enough. Kevin Yien's format works best for experienced teams that don't need hand-holding through every section.
Other Product Brief Variants
Lenny Rachitsky's One-Pager
Lenny Rachitsky's structured one-pager format with clear sections for problem, appetite, solution, and metrics. Designed for rapid alignment across distributed teams.
Ryan Singer's Shape Up Pitch
Based on Ryan Singer's Shape Up methodology from Basecamp. Focuses on appetite-driven development with fat marker sketches and fixed time budgets.
Related Templates
Fill This Template With AI
PM33 turns these templates into living documents. AI-powered suggestions, auto-populated metrics, and team collaboration built in.
Join the Waitlist