- Tags:: 🗞️Articles , Software Documentation, One Pager
- Author:: John Cutler (Product@ Amplitude)
- Link:: Great One-Pagers. Tips for writing great one-pagers | by John Cutler | Medium
- Source date:: 2018-12-10
- Finished date:: 2022-03-21
The motivation of the one-pager is the conversation:
As with most things, it is the “conversation that counts”…you’ll know one-pagers are “working” when they inspire a lot of interesting banter, edits, challenges, clarifications, etc
A one-pager describes a data-informed bet on risk and return (the typical idea of Thinking In Bets). And we will select those based on expected return and path to learning:
Option 1: Addresses a $5,000,000 a month opportunity Confident that 5–10% capture is realistic near term Clear path to learning in 1–2 months
Option 2: A “sure thing“ $50,000 a month opportunity
If given a choice between the two, which one do you pick? Option 1, of course, provided you have confidence in your ability to learn, adapt, and figure it out
A one-page will at most cover a Q:
In general (a guideline, not a rule), one-pagers should cover a timeframe of between one week and three months. Why the limit? In short, it is dangerous to go more than three months without showing a meaningful outcome, or at least progress towards that outcome.
Duration is not only effort:
When considering “duration”, think about the big picture. An effort that takes one month to build — but that does not generate meaningful value for fourteen months — is not a “small” effort. A two-month, leading-indicator-producing bet may be a better choice.
And it contains a huge list of properties and questions a one-pager should be able to answer.