I'm sure you recognize this...
A stakeholders comes up with a new idea they want to explore, which you are highly skeptical about.
Or take the opposite scenario where you see value in pursuing an opportunity but have a hard time getting your business stakeholders on board.
The underlaying question in both situation is really how do you know which opportunities to pursue and which one are just a waste of time?
Once we have the ability to predict the future this question will become irrelevant... but up to that point we have to rely on tools and frameworks that help us make educated guesses about the future.
There's already many, many frameworks out there already that try to help you navigate theses kinds of strategic questions.
All of these frameworks come with their pros and cons and should be used in different situations.
But I'm pretty sure that you haven't yet come across the PRFAQ framework, at least I hadn't until I met Marcelo Calbucci, who recently wrote a book about it.
So, why should you care about another framework?
Well, for one PRFAQ has been used internally heavily inside Amazon for over 20 years already, helping them decide which projects to focus their resources on. And I think we can agree that Amazon has had a few success over the last years.
So why didn't this framework get out sooner and find broader adoption outside of Amazon, that's one of the questions I had for Marcello as well.
When I got more familiar with the framework, what fascinated me is that it has a strong emphasises writing.
Yeah, I know the idea of having to write instead of visualising might scare off a few people at first but trust me, you don't have to be novelist in order to leverage the power of this framework.
As you'll hear, Marcelo explains in this episode that writing has deeper and more important purpose than putting words on paper.
Does this mean it's less suited for the design community? The opposite couldn't be more than true, this framework should be a natural fit for us, and you'll learn why in the conversation.
So if you want to make important strategic decisions faster and with more confidence the PRFAQ framework is absolutely one of the tools you should consider.
And this episode will help you get up to speed about it in no time.
In a world where many people around us are more comfortable with the written word (and spreadsheets), having a framework like this can make the difference between finding the connection with them and not.
Enjoy and keep making a positive impact!
~ Marc
--- [ 1. GUIDE ] ---
00:00 Welcome to episode 225
04:13 What is PRFAQ?
06:30 The problem PRFAQ solves
08:30 PRFAQ's Origin
10:00 Structure of a PRAFQ
13:00 When to Use
14:30 PRFAQ Power / Use
17:30 Thinking about PRFAQ
19:00 An Example
21:30 Strategic writing elements
24:00 Avoiding Nitpicking
25:00 Who Struggles / Benefits
26:45 Biggest misconceptions
29:00 AI Influence on PRFAQ
31:30 When to be careful using AI
33:30 How to Start using PRAFQ
35:00 Using Marc as an example
37:30 How to express the problem
39:15 Sustainability
41:00 Retention
44:30 Strategy: Can vs Should
45:45 The Spark
46:00 Marcelo's Next Steps
47:30 Does PRFAQ Take Long?
49:00 PRFAQ Superpowers / Importance
52:00 Writing Challenges
54:00 Possible Book Sequel
55:30 Question to ponder
56:15 Learn More about PRAFQ
--- [ 2. LINKS ] ---
--- [ 3. CIRCLE ] ---
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