samarv The "Working Backwards" process is a mechanism to ensure that every product decision is grounded in a specific customer problem. It moves the most difficult questions to the beginning of the development cycle, preventing the "retrofitting" of problems to pre-conceived solutions.
The Three-Question Investment Test
Before writing any documents, evaluate a potential initiative against these three criteria:
- Is it a big idea? Does it have the scale to move the needle for the business?
- Is it something we should be doing? Does it align with the company's core mission and strengths? (e.g., A great oil extraction technology might be a big idea, but it isn't something Amazon should do).
- Is there a legitimate plan to succeed? Do we have a path to execute this given our constraints?
The Internal Press Release (PR) Structure
The PR is a one-page document written in the future tense, imagining the day the product launches. It must be written in customer-centric language, avoiding internal jargon.
1. The Problem Paragraph
Clearly define the customer's pain point. If you cannot write a compelling paragraph about the problem, the product shouldn't exist.
- Rule: Do not skip this.
- Red Flag: If the problem paragraph feels like an afterthought to justify a technology, you are "working forwards."
2. The Solution Paragraph
Describe how the product solves the problem elegantly. Focus on the "what," not the "how." Describe the user experience in simple terms.
3. The Customer Quote
Write a hypothetical quote from a customer describing how this product changed their life or solved their specific frustration. This anchors the team in the human impact of the work.
The Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
The FAQ is the second part of the document and handles the "Legitimate Plan to Succeed." It is split into two sections:
External FAQ
Questions a customer or member of the press would ask:
- How much does it cost?
- How do I get started?
- What happens if [X] goes wrong?
Internal FAQ
Questions leadership or the engineering team will ask:
- What are the biggest technical risks?
- How does this impact our current margins?
- What are the dependencies on other teams?
- What is the "fitness function" (the one metric that defines success)?
Implementation Guidelines
- Focus on the "Why": A product leader’s job is to teach the mental model behind the decision, not just make the decision. Use the PR/FAQ to teach the team how to think.
- Scale Appropriately: While every new product needs a PR/FAQ, smaller features may only need the spirit of the process (starting with the problem) rather than the full overhead of the document.
- Avoid "Pantry-First" Thinking: Do not look at the "ingredients" (available APIs, existing code, spare server capacity) and try to combine them into a product. Look at the customer first.
Examples
Example 1: Amazon Smile
- The Problem: Customers want to support charities but find the process of donating small amounts of money or tracking their impact cumbersome and expensive.
- The PR Solution: A version of Amazon where the company donates a percentage of every purchase to a charity of the customer's choice at no cost to the user.
- The FAQ Focus: How do we onboard 1M+ charities? How do we ensure the donation doesn't increase prices for customers?
Example 2: A Tech-First Failure (The "Ingredients" Mistake)
- The Input: A team realizes they have a database of product attributes and a new voting UI component. They decide to link products together based on subjective attributes (e.g., "products that feel like summer").
- The Mistake: They named it "ASIN to ASIN linking" (internal jargon) and retrofitted a problem to use the existing tech.
- The Result: The product lacked a clear customer "Why" and was eventually shut down because it didn't solve a real pain point.
Common Pitfalls
- Retrofitting the Problem: Starting with a solution you’re excited about and then inventing a customer problem to justify it.
- Skipping the Problem Paragraph: Moving straight to features because the problem seems "obvious." This usually leads to a lack of focus.
- Using Jargon in the PR: Using internal project names (e.g., "The Phoenix Project") instead of customer-facing names. If a customer wouldn't say it, it doesn't belong in the PR.
- Ignoring the FAQ: Writing a visionary PR but failing to answer the hard internal questions about costs, risks, and technical trade-offs.