Amazon Working Backwards

This walks you through Amazon's Working Backwards methodology, starting with the 5 Questions (who's the customer, what's the problem, what's the benefit, how do you know, what's the experience) and ending with a full PR-FAQ document. It's opinionated about process: everything goes to dated markdown files, not chat, and it won't let you skip to writing the press release until you've nailed down clear answers to all five questions. The verification phase is solid, with probing questions that challenge vague thinking. Use this when you're writing a product proposal and want the structure that made Amazon famous, or when you need to review someone else's PR-FAQ against their bar. It includes examples and catches the common ways these documents fail at Amazon.

skills.sh installs: 520
GitHub stars: 4
last updated: Aug 21, 2026

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Install

$ npx -y skills add robdefeo/agent-skills --skill amazon-working-backwards --agent claude-code

Installs into .claude/skills of the current project.

Files

Amazon Working Backwards

The Working Backwards process moves from idea to PR-FAQ in two phases: first answer the 5 Questions to force clarity of thinking, then write a PR-FAQ document that brings the idea to life for readers.

Workflow

Determine the entry point based on what the user provides:

Starting from a rough idea or proposal? → Follow the "5 Questions Phase" below Have 5Q answers to refine/verify? → Read references/five-questions-guide.md and apply the verification checklist Ready to write a PR-FAQ? → Follow the "PR-FAQ Phase" below Have a PR-FAQ to review? → Read references/prfaq-template.md and evaluate against the writing standards and common rejection reasons Want to clarify a specific element? → Read the relevant reference file for that phase