Pre-release Notes with FAQ are notes for external communication and internal enablement. These are written early in the product definition phase. Here’s my Pre-release Notes with FAQ Template.  

Benefits

The external communication notes help customers understand the proposed product and its value. Prospective customers may buy the planned product or feature. Customers provide early, useful, and concrete feedback on the planned product. This feedback is invaluable to the team that is defining the product.  

During the early product definition phase, ​​Pre-release Notes with FAQ are useful even in draft form. These notes help communicate decisions about the feature and align cross-functional teams early. The product team can bring along these teams, consider their input, and have them start their activities in parallel. 

FAQ

When to write Pre-release Notes with FAQ?

Writing it right before release is too late. Draft first in the early stage of the product cycle e.g. right after opportunity brief is a go. Short description and concept designs are useful at this stage. Title it as “draft”. Have this draft reviewed early by product, eng, and GTM teams. 

 

Is this the same as Amazon’s PRFAQ? 

Somewhat but not quite. This is like Amazon’s PRFAQ first approach but not like a press release. The word “press release” has a specific meaning for product managers in terms of style and process. This meaning clouds the PRFAQ’s intent to communicate differentiated value and benefits to customers. Pre-Release Notes achieve this intent while using the skills that product managers have in writing release notes. 

PS: Check out more articles on building products. I write to pay it forward and to clarify my thinking.