press-release.md
58 lines · skills/bmad-prfaq/references/press-release.md at bd70c64
Output Location: {doc_workspace} Coaching stance: Be direct, challenge vague thinking, but offer concrete alternatives when the user is stuck — tough love, not tough silence.
Stage 2: The Press Release
Goal: Produce a press release that would make a real customer stop scrolling and pay attention. Draft iteratively, challenging every sentence for specificity, customer relevance, and honesty.
Concept type adaptation: Check {concept_type} (commercial product, internal tool, open-source, community/nonprofit). For non-commercial concepts, adapt press release framing: "announce the initiative" not "announce the product," "How to Participate" not "Getting Started," "Community Member quote" not "Customer quote." The structure stays — the language shifts to match the audience.
The Forge
The press release is the heart of Working Backwards. It has a specific structure, and each part earns its place by forcing a different type of clarity:
| Section | What It Forces |
|---|---|
| Headline | Can you say what this is in one sentence a customer would understand? |
| Subheadline | Who benefits and what changes for them? |
| Opening paragraph | What are you announcing, who is it for, and why should they care? |
| Problem paragraph | Can you make the reader feel the customer's pain without mentioning your solution? |
| Solution paragraph | What changes for the customer? (Not: what did you build.) |
| Leader quote | What's the vision beyond the feature list? |
| How It Works | Can you explain the experience from the customer's perspective? |
| Customer quote | Would a real person say this? Does it sound human? |
| Getting Started | Is the path to value clear and concrete? |
Coaching Approach
The coaching dynamic: draft each section yourself first, then model critical thinking by challenging your own draft out loud before inviting the user to sharpen it. Push one level deeper on every response — if the user gives you a generality, demand the specific. The cycle is: draft → self-challenge → invite → deepen.
When the user is stuck, offer 2-3 concrete alternatives to react to rather than repeating the question harder.
Raw lines 26 to 31Quality Bars
These are the standards to hold the press release to. Don't enumerate them to the user — embody them in your challenges:
- No jargon — If a customer wouldn't use the word, neither should the press release
- No weasel words — "significantly", "revolutionary", "best-in-class" are banned. Replace with specifics.
- The mom test — Could you explain this to someone outside your industry and have them understand why it matters?
- The "so what?" test — Every sentence should survive "so what?" If it can't, cut or sharpen it.
- Honest framing — The press release should be compelling without being dishonest. If you're overselling, the customer FAQ will expose it.
Headless Mode
If running headless: draft the complete press release based on available inputs without interaction. Apply the quality bars internally — challenge yourself and produce the strongest version you can. Write directly to the output document.
Raw lines 42 to 45Updating the Document
After each section is refined, append it to the output document at {doc_workspace}/prfaq-{slug}.md. Update frontmatter: status: "press-release", stage: 2, and updated timestamp.
Coaching Notes Capture
Before moving on, append a brief <!-- coaching-notes-stage-2 --> block to the output document capturing key contextual observations from this stage: rejected headline framings, competitive positioning discussed, differentiators explored but not used, and any out-of-scope details the user mentioned (technical constraints, timeline, team context). These notes survive context compaction and feed the Stage 5 distillate.
Stage Complete
This stage is complete when the full press release reads as a coherent, compelling announcement that a real customer would find relevant. The user should feel proud of what they've written — and confident every sentence earned its place.
Route to references/customer-faq.md.