Data Vanguards.
Problem-Framing Field Guide
Your recommended method
Working Backwards
Start from the outcome and reverse-engineer the path.
Why this method
Amazon's discipline: write the press release for the finished solution before building anything. For sports clubs it forces hard questions — who exactly benefits, and how? If the board can't agree on the headline, they haven't agreed on the goal. Surface that disagreement now, on paper, where it's cheap to resolve.
The discipline of writing the press release first strips out the technology conversation and forces everyone to agree on the human outcome. It also makes internal alignment visible — arguments happen in a document, not after six months of build and a six-figure sunk cost.
Your next move
Write a one-page future press release announcing the solved problem — headline, the concrete fan or member win, and a quote from a delighted supporter. Circulate it; if the board can't agree on the wording, you've just found the real disagreement to resolve first.
Your template — the press release skeleton
Draft this before your next board meeting
[Club name] today announced [product or change].
For the first time, [fan or member type] can [concrete new capability or outcome].
"[short quote from a delighted supporter]", said [name, role].
[One sentence on how this was made possible.]
If the people whose buy-in you need can't agree on the wording above, you've found the real disagreement — resolve it here, not after the build.
Three quick-start steps
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1
Draft the headline first. "[Club name] solves [problem] for [who]." If you can't write this in one sentence, you haven't decided what you're building yet. That's the most valuable thing the exercise can reveal — before you spend anything.
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2
Circulate and find the disagreement. Send the draft to the 3–5 people whose buy-in you need. Where they disagree on the wording is exactly where the real disagreement lives. Resolve it in the document — it's cheap there.
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3
Write the FAQ. List the 10 hardest questions a sceptic would ask — about cost, risk, timeline, and evidence. If you can't answer them, add them to the brief as open questions. The brief is done when the FAQ is done.
Turn this into a build plan.
A Data Vanguards diagnostic takes your press release brief and turns it into a product decision and timeline — in one focused session.
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