Every example in our PR/FAQ gallery is scored on the same four dimensions the Amazon Working Backwards method cares about: customer clarity, problem sharpness, evidence strength, and risk. Each is rated strong, needs work, or weak. Because every example carries the same scorecard, the gallery is a small dataset of where product ideas actually break - and the pattern is consistent.
The dataset
This analysis is computed live from the 11 examples currently published, and updates automatically as we add more. Of those, 2 scored strong overall, 9 needs work, and 0 weak.
Where ideas break most often
When we rank the four dimensions by how often they score below “strong,” one pattern stands out.
Evidence strength is the dimension that most often needs attention - 100% of examples scored below strong on it. That matches what practitioners see in the wild: the customer and the problem are usually easy to state convincingly, but the evidence that people will actually pay is the hardest thing to bring to a first draft.
The most reliably strong dimension is Customer clarity - only 9% scored below strong. Naming a specific customer is the part founders find easiest; proving the idea is the part they skip.
What “strong” looks like on each dimension
Reading across the examples, the strong ones share concrete tells:
Customer clarity
- Strong: a specific, reachable person - “engineering managers in 6+ meetings a day,” not “busy professionals.”
- Weak: the customer is “everyone,” which means no one.
Problem sharpness
- Strong: a problem the customer already wastes time or money working around today.
- Weak: a mild inconvenience people tolerate rather than pay to fix.
Evidence strength
- Strong: a credible reason to believe people will pay more than for the status quo - not just that they’d like it.
- Weak: enthusiasm with no willingness-to-pay signal. This is where most ideas fall down.
Risk
- Strong: the biggest risk is named honestly in the FAQ, with a plan to retire it.
- Weak: the FAQ avoids the cost, defensibility, or churn question entirely.
The takeaway
A great customer and a sharp problem aren’t enough - most ideas have those. What separates a strong idea is evidence and an honest read on risk. The fastest way to find out which side yours lands on is to write the PR/FAQ and run the so-what test - on paper, before you build.
Score your own idea on all four dimensions
Working Backwards turns your idea into a PR/FAQ and a scored verdict in minutes - free to start.
Score my idea
Design by The Resonance | Powered by GPC – The AI Transformation Company
Working Backwards is an independent tool from The Resonance. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Amazon.com, Inc., Working Backwards LLC, or the authors or publisher of Working Backwards: Insights, Stories, and Secrets from Inside Amazon. Amazon, Kindle, Prime, Alexa, and AWS are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates, referenced only to describe the methodology’s origin. All other trademarks belong to their respective owners.