How To Uncover Game-Changing Opportunities with the PRFAQ Framework / Marcelo Calbucci / Ep. #225

Service Design Show

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 ] ---

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcelocalbucci/
• The PRFAQ Framework (about the book)
• https://calbucci.com/

--- [ 3. CIRCLE ] ---

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