Guide for Product Owners

As a product owner, Vanillaround is where you define what gets built. Your primary job in the tool is to work with the delivery team (Provider) to produce clear, approved specs — and then formally sign off on each requirement before development starts.

Your typical workflow

1. Start with a project structure

When a new project is set up, work with the delivery team to agree on how the spec pages should be structured before writing begins. A clear hierarchy of pages prevents duplication and makes it easy for stakeholders to find what they’re looking for.

A common structure:

Project
  ├── Product Vision (global page)
  ├── User Authentication
  ├── User Profile
  ├── Order Management
  │     ├── Browsing & Search
  │     ├── Cart & Checkout
  │     └── Order History
  └── Admin Panel

2. Define requirements in collaboration

Work with the delivery team in the spec pages — either synchronously (collaborative editing session) or asynchronously (delivery team drafts, you review and provide feedback via @mentions).

As requirements are defined, the delivery team will embed requirement cards in the spec pages. Each card represents one discrete, approvable item.

3. Review and give feedback

When a spec section is ready for your review:

Open the spec page — you’ll typically receive a notification or @mention
Read the requirement cards in context (the surrounding spec text explains the why)
If something needs clarification, use @mentions to flag it to the relevant Provider
If a card is mostly right but needs a small change, ask the Provider to update it before you approve

4. Approve requirement cards

When a card is submitted for your approval:

You receive a notification (in-app and email)
Open the card in the spec page
Review the requirement title and description
If it accurately captures your intent: click Approve
If it does not: click Reject and describe what needs to change

Take approval seriously — an approved card is the formal agreement that development can proceed on that item.

5. Track the overall picture

Use Boards to see all requirements and their current status in one view. A well-maintained board shows you at a glance:

How many requirements are still being written
How many are awaiting your approval
How many are approved and ready for development
How many are in development

What you control

Approving and rejecting requirement cards
The strategic direction in spec pages (via feedback and @mentions)
Which stakeholders need to be involved in which approvals

What the delivery team controls

Writing and structuring the spec pages
Creating and configuring requirement cards
Submitting cards for approval
Syncing to Jira and beginning development

Tips

Be specific when rejecting. “This is wrong” doesn’t help the delivery team. “This doesn’t account for guest checkout users” gives them something actionable.

Approve in batches. Set aside dedicated time to work through pending approvals rather than letting them accumulate for weeks.

Use the changes feed. If a spec changes after you’ve been involved, the changes feed shows exactly what was modified — so you know whether your earlier input was incorporated.