How Amazon decides what to build: the PR/FAQ, explained

What’s a PR/FAQ?

Amazon teams write the press release before they build anything. It’s the announcement they’d want to publish on launch day, followed by the questions customers and leaders would ask. That document is the PR/FAQ: PR for press release, FAQ for frequently asked questions.

It’s the core of Amazon’s Working Backwards method: start from what the customer gets, then work back to what you need to build. If the press release wouldn’t make a customer care, the idea isn’t ready yet.

A PR/FAQ has two parts:

The press release. One page, in plain words: what it is, who it’s for, and why they’ll care.

The FAQs. The questions customers would ask that the press release doesn’t answer, and the harder questions leaders need answered to decide (the internal FAQ).

About this example

This example is a little different: it’s a PR/FAQ about adopting PR/FAQs. The press release announces that a company now starts every new idea from the customer, and the FAQs answer what its executives and staff ask about that. So it shows you the format and makes the case for using it.

Use it three ways:

To learn the format. See how a one-page press release and its FAQs fit together, and what each part is for.

To make the case in your own company. Replace [Company] with your own, change the details, and use it to start the conversation.

To explain it to colleagues. Send them this page. The FAQs answer the questions people ask when they first hear about it.

I first worked on this with a client’s leadership team, who used it to roll out Working Backwards across the company. The company, people and details here are made up.

The example: press release

[Company] works backwards from the customer

New ideas start with the customer, and teams across the company shape them together

[City], [Date]. [Company] is doubling down on serving its customers by making sure new ideas matter to them before investing in them, and by involving teams from across the company early.

Until now, ideas started in many different ways, sometimes with several documents for one idea. The customer’s point of view could get lost behind optimistic financial projections, polished slides or persuasive language.

Now every new idea starts as a one-page “future press release”, written in plain language and in the same format across the company. From the start, people from different teams work on it together, improving it with their own knowledge and sharing ownership of the idea as it grows. The idea gets better quickly, and most big issues come up before the go/no-go decision, not halfway through building it. The PR/FAQ becomes one shared picture of the idea, with everything needed to decide in one place.

“I’d had the idea for months, but nobody had time for it. Once I wrote the press release, a colleague in customer support spotted the problem I’d missed. Three reviews later it was a better idea, and it got funded.” Product manager, [Company]

To get started, write your idea as a PR/FAQ. As soon as you have a first draft, ask your manager and colleagues to review it. At worst, you’ll learn more about your customers, the business and the teams around you. At best, your idea gains momentum and becomes the next thing we build.

“We make better decisions when we start with the customer and argue about the facts, not the slides. This is how we’ll decide what to build.” Chief executive, [Company]

The example: executive FAQs

These are internal FAQs: the questions leaders ask before they decide.

How is this better than what we do now?

The press release should answer this, but to say it directly: today’s process is inconsistent, and the way it’s used can push the customer out of the picture. Doing it the same way every time keeps the customer at the centre.

How should I review a PR/FAQ as an executive?

Your job is to make a go/no-go decision. Check whether the document gives you everything you need to decide. If something is missing or unclear, ask the team to find out and come back with an updated PR/FAQ. Sometimes that delays the decision, and that can be better than deciding without the facts. Other times you’ll judge it’s right to go ahead anyway.

Which initiatives need a PR/FAQ?

Start one early in the life of almost any initiative. Simple or small ideas may not need one; a user story or a ticket may be enough. If in doubt, start a PR/FAQ and get things moving. It can also help to write one for something already under way, to clarify the vision or reset expectations.

Where does the PR/FAQ fit in how we plan and fund work?

A PR/FAQ can come to a decision at any time, not only at planning points. If it’s approved as a priority, the priorities get revisited, either at the next quarterly review or straight away if it can’t wait.

What role does the PR/FAQ play in an initiative’s life?

Its job is to get to a go/no-go decision. Anyone can have an idea. After a first chat with their manager, if it still looks interesting, they start the PR/FAQ, work on it with people across the company, fill the gaps, and let the right person decide: build it, drop it, do another round, or take it higher if it’s big enough. Bigger ideas pass through more decision levels. It’s normal that from a dozen PR/FAQs, only a few of the best ideas get built. The PR/FAQ is how ideas get discussed across the company, and the basis for the decision.

Which documents does it replace? Does it replace the business case?

It replaces the documents you’d write to explain why an idea is worth doing, and the review documents needed for a go/no-go decision. The main parts of the business case become questions in the FAQ, and often that’s enough to decide. For some decisions, a full business case is still attached as an appendix. That becomes clear during the reviews.

Does the FAQ only answer customer questions?

No. It answers the questions customers have that the press release doesn’t, and the questions executives need answered to make an investment decision (the internal FAQ). Its real purpose is to drive the work needed to reach a decision. You can split it into customer and internal questions, and organise the internal ones by group: finance, operations, marketing, customer support.

The example: staff FAQs

In this example, the “customers” are the company’s own staff, so these are the questions they’d ask.

Who is the customer?

It’s a question you need to be clear on, and writing the PR/FAQ helps. The customer is the person whose behaviour you want to change: to buy more, sell more, or do something differently. Sometimes there are two groups of customers in one document, for example buyers and sellers. Occasionally the customer is an internal team using your platform, but be careful: are they really your customer, or a stand-in for the real one outside? Can you link your work to real customer value?

How long does it take to write the press release?

Getting started can take as little as an hour of focused writing. Get reviews early, and don’t spend too long on it. If you over-invest, you get attached, and it’s harder to change. Write a strawman: a draft meant to be torn apart so you can learn and improve, not a finished piece.

How long does it take to write the FAQs?

For a complex, risky or expensive idea, there can be a lot of work, especially in the internal FAQ: a business case, financial analysis, planning the work, feasibility checks, or testing assumptions with real customers.

Should I write the press release and the FAQ at the same time?

Usually not. Write the press release and review it with a few people to get the basics right. Note the questions that come up, and add the ones the press release can’t answer to the FAQ. Don’t rush to answer them all; make sure the idea has traction first. As you get closer to the decision-makers, put in the effort to answer the harder questions well.

Is there a standard set of FAQs?

For internal FAQs, a bank of the questions leaders ask about most proposals is a good start, but pick the ones that matter most to your reviewers. For customer FAQs, it depends on the idea, so build them from your reviews. If you have a lot of customer questions, the idea probably isn’t strong enough, or the press release isn’t clear enough. Rewrite, or find a better idea, rather than add pages of FAQs.

How long do reviews take?

Each review usually takes about an hour. Getting to a decision might take a few reviews over a few days, or months and several rewrites before the right idea appears. Each round is learning: the value is as much in the relationships and insights you build as in the document.

Should every new idea start with a PR/FAQ?

No. Plenty of ideas are small enough for one person to decide, for example a product owner writing a user story. PR/FAQs are for bigger ideas, or when you need other people to give you time, money or people.

How do I deal with objections to my idea?

Learn from them first. The person usually sees something you don’t, and if they’re important enough to review your PR/FAQ, their view is worth taking seriously. With an influential objector, put their concern in the internal FAQ, even under a question like “What were the hotly debated topics?” Answer it as well as you can, and review your answer with them if possible. The goal is to represent their concern clearly, not to dismiss it or talk them out of it. That turns objectors into (perhaps reluctant) collaborators, and makes the final decision more likely to get everyone’s commitment.

A reviewer said she didn’t understand the problem I’m solving.

That’s great feedback. Work out what problem you’re really solving, and for whom, and say it clearly. Sometimes you’ll need data to show it’s a real problem (use the internal FAQ), but when it’s well written, readers usually recognise the customer and their problem straight away.

A reviewer said she didn’t think my solution solves the problem.

Also great feedback. Find out how the customer judges possible solutions. Sometimes the problem isn’t clear enough, but often your solution solves a problem you see, not the one the customer sees. Iterate, take suggestions, and do the work to find something that really matters to the customer.

Is this a good PR/FAQ to copy?

It’s an OK starting point. The press release is too long, and there are too many FAQs; it needs more rounds to get clearer. You can help by saying which parts matter to you, the “customer”, and which don’t.

Want help with this?

I help teams in bigger companies bring in Working Backwards: training on their own real ideas, live reviews, and coaching as the drafts improve. See the Working Backwards workshop →

The transformation I’m leading. You want new ideas to start from the customer, and decisions to come from clear writing, not slides.