# Playback Preparation

> Create clear leadership presentations that communicate findings and enable good decisions. Use at end of each phase or before major commitments.

- Skill: `majiayu000/playback-preparation` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds add majiayu000/playback-preparation`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/majiayu000/playback-preparation/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: majiayu000 (https://skillmd.com/u/majiayu000)
- Updated: 2026-09-09
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/majiayu000/playback-preparation

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# Playback Preparation

## Overview
Create clear, concise presentations for leadership that communicate findings and enable good decisions.

## When to Use
- At the end of each design phase
- Before major resource commitments
- When needing strategic direction or approval
- At key decision points

## How to Apply

### 1. Know Your Audience (LT)
Remember what leadership cares about:
- **Pat** (Product): Strategy, market fit, competitive advantage
- **Casey** (Operations): Feasibility, resources, risks, timeline
- **Morgan** (User Advocate): Customer impact, quality, brand

### 2. Structure the Playback

**Essential sections**:

```markdown
# Playback: [Phase] - [Project Name]

## Context (2 minutes)
- Where we are in the process
- What we've done since last playback
- What decision we need today

## Key Findings (5 minutes)
- Top 3-5 insights/results
- Supporting evidence (not overwhelming detail)
- Surprises or changed understanding

## Recommendations (3 minutes)
- What we recommend doing next
- Why this is the right direction
- What resources/timeline needed

## Decision Needed (2 minutes)
- Specific ask
- Options if applicable
- What happens next based on decision
```

### 3. Show, Don't Just Tell
- Use visuals (empathy maps, journey maps, prototypes)
- Include direct quotes from users
- Show data, not just interpretations
- Demonstrate prototypes if relevant

### 4. Be Clear About Confidence
For each finding or recommendation:
- What's our confidence level?
- What evidence supports this?
- What assumptions remain?
- What would increase confidence?

### 5. Frame Decisions Clearly

**Good**: "We recommend prototyping Idea B because it addresses the #1 user pain point (offline access) with high feasibility. We need 2 weeks and 1 designer. Alternative is Idea A (more features, but 6 weeks)."

**Bad**: "We have three interesting ideas. What do you think?"

### 6. Anticipate Questions

Prepare for:
- "How many users did you talk to?"
- "What would this cost to implement?"
- "How confident are you?"
- "What are the risks?"
- "What alternatives did you consider?"

### 7. Document Everything

Save playback in `playbacks/` and capture:
- What was presented
- Questions asked
- Decisions made
- Next steps and timeline

## Playback by Phase

### Empathize Playback
**Present**: User research findings, validated/invalidated assumptions, stakeholder needs
**Ask**: "Should we proceed to Define phase?"
**LT evaluates**: Research depth, strategic fit, confidence level

### Define Playback
**Present**: Synthesized insights, problem framing, opportunity areas
**Ask**: "Is this the right problem to solve?"
**LT evaluates**: Problem value, definition clarity, alignment

### Ideate Playback
**Present**: Range of ideas, impact/feasibility grades, recommendation
**Ask**: "Which ideas should we prototype?"
**LT evaluates**: Strategic value, feasibility, resource needs

### Prototype Playback
**Present**: What we built, fidelity, iteration plan
**Ask**: "Approve iteration plan?"
**LT evaluates**: Learning value, investment level, timeline

### Iterate Playback
**Present**: User feedback, validated/invalidated findings, path forward
**Ask**: "Proceed to implementation / more iterations / pivot?"
**LT evaluates**: Evidence strength, business case, user enthusiasm

## Tips
- Keep it concise (10-15 minutes)
- Lead with the most important information
- Use leadership's language (business value, not design jargon)
- Show user voice (quotes, videos)
- Be honest about gaps and risks
- Make a clear recommendation
- Document decisions immediately after