February 23: How Amazonians share their ideas: 1-pager and 6-pager

Amazon’s writing culture enables employees to express their thoughts and vision, build consensus, and move a project forward.

Danny Sheridan

Feb 23, 2022

Source: The Writer’s Kitchen
Published: February 2022

How Amazonians share their ideas: 1-pager and 6-pager

Amazon’s writing culture enables employees to express their thoughts and vision, build consensus, and move a project forward. Most commonly, the author uses a narrative format. Ideas are typically separated into the following two stages of development:

1-pager

Single page
Gives a high-level overview of a product, service, or business
Includes a purpose (executive summary), background, opportunity, and next steps

6-pager

Six pages or fewer
Explains a project or plan, presents the consolidated results of a deep dive, or recommends a solution to an operational issue
Grows the 1-pager to include more details, a pros and cons comparison, and alternatives

These documents can be longer with appendices, which commonly include the following:

Wireframes and designs
Projected financial statements
Calendars with a schedule
Testimonials or feedback from customers
Goals and risks for the project
RACI chart

Note: Like its people, Amazon docs are diverse and vary by organization and region. Have another document type your team uses? Share it with me.

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