working-backwards

SKILL.md

Working Backwards is Amazon's product development methodology. The core insight: start with the customer problem and work backward to the solution, not the other way around.

Most teams work forward: "We have this technology/capability/idea — what can we build with it?" Working Backwards inverts this: "What problem does the customer have? What would the ideal solution look like? Now, how do we build it?"

The mechanism: Write an internal press release and FAQ before building anything. If you can't write a compelling press release, you don't have a compelling product.

Use when asked to "working backwards", "PR/FAQ", "Amazon PR/FAQ", "write a press release", "define a new product", or "write a customer-focused PRD". Helps define products by starting with the customer problem and desired outcome before building. The Working Backwards process (developed at Amazon) forces clarity on customer value before committing engineering resources. Source: pmprompt/claude-plugin-product-management.

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