Method · Decisions

Working backwards: how to run it

Before building something, write the press release announcing it to customers and the questions they would ask — then decide whether it is worth building.

60 minutes5 stepsDecisions
Other methods

When it helps

Use it for a new product, feature or service, to test whether the customer benefit is clear and real before investing in it.

When to use something else

Skip it for small improvements and internal fixes; the effort is meant for bets that matter.

How to run it, step by step

  1. Read the press release10 min
    • One page: who the customer is, their problem, the solution, a customer quote. Read in silence.
  2. Read the questions and answers15 min
    • Customer questions and internal ones — cost, risks, what is hard.
  3. Is the benefit clear and real?15 min
    • Would a customer care? What evidence do we have?
  4. What is hard10 min
    • What would make this difficult or expensive to build?
  5. Decide10 min
    • Build, rewrite, or drop — and what the next draft must answer.

What comes out — an example

Made up, to show the shape.

Press release. “Clinics can now fill a last-minute gap in the rota in one tap.”

Customer question. What if no one accepts? Answer. It goes to an agency automatically.

Hard part. Agency integrations differ by region.

Decision. Rewrite for one region first; next draft by March.

Where it comes from

Working backwards is Amazon’s method of writing the press release and FAQ before building a product, described in detail in the book Working Backwards by Colin Bryar and Bill Carr.

Questions

What is the working backwards method?

Starting a product idea by writing the press release and frequently asked questions as if it had launched, to test the customer benefit before building.

What is a PR/FAQ?

The document used in working backwards: a one-page press release followed by customer and internal questions and answers.

Which company uses working backwards?

Amazon is best known for it.

Other methods

Six Thinking HatsThe group looks at one question from six angles in turn — facts, feelings, risks, benefits, new ideas and process — so everyone thinks the same way at the same time instead of arguing.Dot votingEverybody gets a few votes — dots — to put on the options they like best, so a group can see its priorities in minutes instead of debating every item.RACIA grid that says, for each task or decision, who does the work (Responsible), who answers for it (Accountable), who is asked first (Consulted) and who is told after (Informed).DACIA way to make a group decision clear before discussing it: one Driver runs the process, one Approver makes the call, Contributors give input, and the Informed are told the result.RAPID decision rolesAssign five roles for an important decision — who Recommends, who must Agree, who will Perform it, who gives Input, and the one person who Decides — so it gets made and carried out.Six-page memo meetingInstead of slides, someone writes a narrative memo of up to six pages; the meeting starts with everyone reading it in silence, then discusses it.

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