press-release

# Press Release (Working Backwards) Writes the announcement *first*, as if the thing already shipped, then the FAQ that survives a skeptical room. The output is a decision instrument, not marketing copy: if you cannot write a compelling press release, that is the finding. **Grounded in:** *Working Backwards* — Colin Bryar & Bill Carr: start from the customer announcement and the FAQ, and let a weak press release kill a weak idea before it consumes a roadmap. The rule that does the work is the constraint — one page, customer language, no internal jargon, benefits stated as what the customer can now do. ## When to use this - At the *start* of a significant bet, before a spec exists and before engineering estimates anchor the conversation. - When a proposal keeps getting described in internal terms and nobody can say what changes for a customer. - To force a decision between three competing ideas — write all three, and the weak ones become obvious. - Before a roadmap review where you need one page an exec can read cold. - When an idea feels exciting but you suspect the excitement is internal, not customer-side. ## Before you start (gather these) - **The customer** — a specific segment or role, not "users". The press release is written to them. - **What they can do afterwards that they can't today** — stated as a capability, not a feature. - **The evidence the problem is real** — a number, a quote, a support volume, a lost deal. - **The hardest question a skeptic will ask** —...