Product Requirements for Vibe Coding: Write Better AI Build Briefs

Why requirements matter

AI builders are good at generating structure, but they cannot know your business context unless you provide it. If you ask for a CRM, the builder has to guess the audience, fields, pipeline stages, roles, reports, and actions. If you specify that the CRM is for small recruitment agencies managing candidates, clients, roles, interviews, and follow-ups, the output becomes more relevant. Requirements reduce guessing. They also make iteration easier because you can compare the result against the brief instead of reacting only to whether it looks nice.

Define the user

Start with the primary user. A founder, admin, customer, seller, client, recruiter, clinic manager, and student all need different workflows. Describe what the user is trying to accomplish and what they currently use. This gives the AI builder context for copy, navigation, and prioritization. If there are multiple users, list them separately. For example, a marketplace has buyers, sellers, and admins. A SaaS product may have owners, admins, members, and viewers. These roles should shape the interface.

Define the workflow

The workflow is the sequence of actions that creates value. For a booking app, the workflow is choose service, pick time, enter details, confirm booking, and manage booking. For an AI writing tool, the workflow is enter brief, generate output, edit, save, and export. For a client portal, the workflow is invite client, submit request, comment, update status, and close the request. When you define the workflow, the AI builder can create pages and states around the actual job.

Define the data

Most useful apps have data. Name the objects and fields. A job board has jobs, companies, applications, candidates, and saved searches. A property app has properties, tenants, leases, payments, maintenance requests, and documents. A dashboard has metrics, records, filters, and activity. Without data requirements, the generated product may look good but fail as soon as a user needs to save, search, filter, edit, or report on something.

Include states

States are what users see when something changes. Empty states explain what to do before data exists. Loading states show progress. Error states help users recover. Success states confirm completion. Permission states explain why a user cannot access something. Payment states explain upgrade limits. Many vibe-coded apps feel unfinished because states are missing. Add them directly to the requirements so the generated product behaves more like a real application.

• Empty state
• Loading state
• Error state
• Success state
• Permission state
• Upgrade or limit state

Write acceptance criteria

Acceptance criteria describe what must be true for the build to be acceptable. They make review objective. For a CRM, an acceptance criterion might be: an admin can create a contact, assign it to a pipeline stage, add a note, filter by owner, and view the contact in the dashboard. For a landing page, it might be: a mobile visitor can understand the offer, see proof, read FAQs, and submit the lead form. These criteria help you ask the AI for targeted fixes.

Copy-ready requirement template

Build a [product type] for [primary user] who needs to [job]. The core workflow is [steps]. User roles are [roles]. Data objects are [objects and fields]. Required pages are [pages]. Include empty, loading, error, success, permission, and mobile states. Integrations are [integrations]. Constraints are [constraints]. Acceptance criteria: [criteria]. Use realistic sample data and a clean interface that supports the main workflow before secondary features.

How to use requirements in Lovable

Paste the requirement brief into Lovable as the first prompt. After the first version, review each requirement. If something is missing, ask for one specific correction at a time. For example, add role-specific dashboard states, convert mobile tables to cards, or add empty states for projects and invoices. Avoid changing the product direction in every follow-up prompt. Stable requirements make the AI easier to steer.

Lightweight example

A lightweight requirement for a client portal could say: agencies invite clients, clients submit requests, staff update statuses, both sides comment, and admins review all work. Data objects are clients, requests, comments, files, users, and statuses. Required states are empty request list, submitted request, in progress, blocked, complete, and archived. Acceptance criteria are simple: a client can submit a request, staff can reply, and the client can see status changes. That is enough structure for a strong first Lovable build.