Begin at the End

Product failures or mis-steps can be costly in time, budget, and reputation. That’s why the working backwards method is so valuable in corporate or startup environments

Introduction

Product teams often find themselves setting out with a vague, cryptic clue of what needs to be built—like Harry Potter’s lone hint from the golden snitch Dumbledore left him emblazoned with the words: “I open at the close.” 

In the world of product development, we often encounter the same scenario. We know what success should look like—delighting customers, solving a problem, or outpacing competitors—but how to get there is less clear. Enter the working backwards method, a process at the heart of Amazon’s innovation prowess that takes its cue from Amazon’s long established leadership principles. The first of them starts: “Customer obsession. Leaders start with the customer and work backwards…”

You start with the customer and work backwards to create a customer focused version of your product’s future. It allows you to clarify your thinking, share your idea widely and validate the customer value of ideas. This is a concept that I have applied with a few teams to help establish the ‘why’ and interrogate proposed ideas.

Harry understands he has a big, urgent goal, yet the path from the starting line to the finish line is filled with unknowns.

Below, we’ll look at Harry Potter’s final quest through the lens of working backwards. Even if we don’t literally face the Dark Lord, there’s a great deal to learn from the wizarding world about clarity of goals and how it can transform our creative and strategic process.

Start with the End Scene

In product terms, imagine someone handing your team a note reading “We need to revolutionise user experience!”—without details on timeline, scope, or outcomes.

One way to interrogate this cryptic message is to think into the future by writing a document that forces you to think big. You can focus on big goals, and the groundbreaking, game changing changes you need to achieve them.

A typical working backwards document is no more than six pages long and follows a simple format:

1. Begin with the ideal press release. (What announcement do you envision when the product is finished?)

2. Draft the FAQs (up to 5 pages). (What questions might stakeholders or customers have?)

3. Clarify your solution. (How does it solve the problem better than the alternatives?)

Lesson:

• Set a tangible vision of what “the end” looks like—your ultimate definition of success or the “close” at which the door will finally open.

• Have a clear “why.” Define the mission or purpose behind the project. A “what” without a “why” often leads to wasted effort, misalignment, and missed opportunities.

Detail Your Horcruxes

Despite not fully grasping the specifics of his quest, Harry’s goal remains painfully clear: defeat Voldemort. In business speak, Harry has a well-defined “mission statement.” While the details of achieving that mission might be vague, he fundamentally knows why he’s on this journey.

The next step is to bring disparate teams who will be involved in bringing the idea to market to work together quickly to unite behind the vision and iron out the detail behind the FAQs to get a much fuller picture on what is required.

Lesson:

• Clarity matters. The less clarity you have on what is required, the more time your team will spend floundering in discovery.

• Collaboration is key: Getting teams involved earlier in the process ensures that different perspectives are considered.

Map Out the Journey

Let’s imagine an alternate reality: Suppose Harry (and the rest of the Order) fully realised from the get-go that Harry himself was one of Voldemort’s horcruxes. As shocking as that might be for him to swallow, it changes the approach drastically.

In the working backwards method, the team identifies the journey —which might be:

1. All horcruxes must be destroyed.

2. Voldemort must be left without any anchor to life.

3. Harry’s sacrificial act is necessary to defeat Voldemort.

With that clear end state in mind, the path from Point A to Point B gets a lot more direct.

Lesson:

• Outline your path forward. When your team knows exactly what a good outcome is, they can map out steps more efficiently.

• Accept the hard truths early. If an unpleasant or difficult reality (like the need for a sacrificial act) is discovered late, it often leads to last-minute pivots that cost time and resources. Identifying these realities up front helps the team plan around them.

Prioritise Ruthlessly & Iterate Quickly

Harry might have pursued the same route for altruistic reasons—he’s a noble guy, after all—but businesses aren’t often so forgiving. Product failures or missteps can be costly in time, budget, and reputation. Much like discovering Harry is a horcrux early, once you have that final “press release” or definition of success, the tasks become more straightforward. Then you can prioritise features, identify risks, and allocate resources more confidently.

Lesson:

• Don’t fear revelations; seek them early. Identifying tough truths can help you fail fast (or realise success quickly), pivot swiftly, and stay aligned with overall strategic goals.

Practical Tips for Using the Working Backwards Method

1. Start with the 'End Scene': Write down a hypothetical scenario where your product is finished. Who’s using it, and why are they thrilled about it?

2. Detail Your ‘Horcruxes’: Identify the blockers, constraints, and resources you need to “vanquish.” These might be technology limitations, budget constraints, or knowledge gaps.

3. Map Out the Journey: Instead of random brainstorming, structure your steps so each milestone directly contributes to the final vision.

4. Prioritise Ruthlessly: Like hunting horcruxes, some steps are less critical than others. Focus on what profoundly moves you closer to the goal.

5. Iterate Quickly: If an assumption is wrong, fail fast and course correct. Harry might have saved time if he’d uncovered truths earlier. Apply that logic to your product cycle.

Conclusion

In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Harry’s cryptic inheritance— “I open at the close”—represents the uncertainty that teams often face at the start of a project. Yet the story also underscores the power of a clear, unwavering goal. If Harry had used a working backwards approach from the outset, he might have developed a much more focused strategy to find and destroy the horcruxes, defeating Voldemort more swiftly.

In our non-wizarding world, businesses benefit tremendously from applying the same mindset: define success, unearth difficult truths early, and plan the journey with precision. While the stakes may not be life and death, the quest to deliver a successful product or project is no less critical to our teams and companies. Working backwards ensures that no matter how cryptic the clue at the start, we’re prepared to “open at the close” with the right solution—and even experience a little magic along the way.