Working Backwards

What It Is

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.

As Jeff Bezos put it: "We took it as an article of faith — if we served customers well, if we prioritized customers and delivered for them, things like sales, revenue, and free cash flow would follow."

When to Use It

Use Working Backwards when you need to:

• Define a new product or major feature before committing resources

• Evaluate competing product ideas and choose which to build

• Align stakeholders on what you're building and why

• Force clarity on vague product concepts

• Prevent building solutions in search of problems

• Create a shared vision that engineering, design, and leadership can rally around

• Decide whether an idea is worth pursuing at all

When Not to Use It

• The work is incremental optimization (A/B tests, bug fixes)

• You're executing on an already-defined product

• The scope is too small to warrant the overhead

• You're just exploring technical feasibility (do that first, then write the PR/FAQ)

Patterns

Detailed examples showing how to apply Working Backwards correctly. Each pattern shows a common mistake and the correct approach.

Critical (get these wrong and you've wasted your time)

Pattern What It Teaches

solution-first-thinking Don't start with the solution and retrofit a problem

missing-problem-paragraph If you skip the problem, there probably isn't one

vague-customer-definition "Everyone" is not a customer — be specific

writing-pr-after-building The PR comes first, not as documentation after

internal-jargon-in-pr Press releases are for customers, not engineers

High Impact

Pattern What It Teaches

faq-avoids-hard-questions The FAQ must address what makes you uncomfortable

hyperbole-instead-of-specifics No marketing fluff — use data and concrete claims

customer-quote-sounds-fake Customer quotes reveal whether you understand the job

too-many-features One press release, one compelling benefit

no-measurable-outcome Define what success looks like with numbers

combining-ideas One PR/FAQ per idea — don't bundle concepts

Medium Impact

Pattern What It Teaches

skipping-the-iteration PR/FAQs improve through concentric circle review

missing-the-date The hypothetical launch date signals ambition and scope

faq-too-short External and internal FAQs serve different purposes

Deep Dives

Read only when you need extra detail.

• references/working-backwards-playbook.md : Expanded framework detail, checklists, and examples.

Resources

Books:

• Working Backwards by Bill Carr and Colin Bryar — the definitive guide from former Amazon VPs

• The Everything Store by Brad Stone — context on Amazon's culture and innovation

Templates:

• Working Backwards PR/FAQ Template (available at workingbackwards.com)

Podcasts:

• Bill Carr on Lenny's Podcast — deep dive on implementing Working Backwards

• Ian McAllister on Lenny's Podcast — practical application of the process

Other:

• Good to Great by Jim Collins — influenced Amazon's thinking on flywheels and focus

• The Lean Startup by Eric Ries — complementary approach to validating ideas

Credit: The Working Backwards process was developed at Amazon, primarily during 2004-2007. Key contributors include Jeff Bezos, Bill Carr, Colin Bryar, Jeff Wilke, and many others. This skill synthesizes insights from Bill Carr and Ian McAllister's interviews on Lenny's Podcast.