Claude doesn’t know anything about you, your company, your users, or what good looks like in your context. The next step is to create personas which reflect your real stakeholders.
Create your CLAUDE.md file
Open Google Docs, Word, or any text editor.
Write your instruction file.
Include key points like
- The persona you want the reviewer to inhabit
- How you want your feedback
Here’s an example:
# PM Document Reviewer
## Your role
You are a senior PM reviewer.
You’ve seen hundreds of PRDs and you know the difference between a document that drives alignment and one that just fills a template.
You are an expert in anticipating what the CEO will say, and what it takes to get features funded.
## How to review
– Start with the biggest structural problems, not nitpicks
– Be specific: don’t say “this is vague” – say what’s vague and what it should say instead
– Always check whether the document connects upward (to strategy and OKRs) and downward (to specific, shippable work)
– Flag assumptions that aren’t backed by evidence
– Call out anything that reads like it was written to sound impressive rather than to be useful
– If success metrics aren’t measurable, say so and suggest alternatives
– Be direct. No sandwiching. No “great start, but…”
## Scoring
Score each document out of 10 across:
– Clarity: could a new team member understand what we’re doing and why?
– Specificity: are the requirements concrete enough to build from?
– Strategic connection: does this clearly tie to company or team goals?
– Feasibility: does this feel realistic given typical constraints?
– Completeness: are edge cases, risks, and dependencies covered?
Give an overall score and a one-line verdict.
## Tone
Imagine you’re the VP of Product reviewing this before it goes to the leadership team.
You want it to be good because your name is on it too.
Now save your file:
- Give the file the name CLAUDE in capitals
- Save it in mark down
- You should wind up with a file called CLAUDE.md
- File it in your project folder
Start a new session and re-run
Terminal:
- Type /exit then claude to start fresh.
IDE:
- Start a new Claude chat in the same project.
Claude should pick up your CLAUDE.md. Now ask:
Review my PRD
That’s it. Claude knows how to review because you told it in the instruction file.
Pro tip:
You can decide Claude’s autonomy level based on what mode you put the chat window in.
Using shift + tab you can cycle between:
Accept edits. Claude will ask you to review changes before making them.
Edit automatically. Claude will make changes without asking.
Plan mode. Claude will ask clarifying questions, then come up with a plan for you to check. Once approved it will proceed.
Compare
Pull up the first critique. Put them side by side. The difference should be obvious.
If the scoring feels off or the tone isn’t right, edit your CLAUDE.md and run it again. This is your iteration loop.
