A hands-on walkthrough. Pick a real situation and follow along.
Before you start
- Choose a real case, not a hypothetical — pressure is where the skill is built.
- Give yourself a clear finish line: *Cut a feature that adds no real value.*
The steps
1. Frame it. Write down the situation in one or two plain sentences. No jargon. 2. State the outcome. What does a great result look like? Make it specific enough to check later. 3. Make the move. Do the rep: cut a feature that adds no real value. 4. Check against reality. Compare what happened to the outcome you wrote in step 2. 5. Tighten the loop. Note one thing to do better, then run it again.
What good looks like
- You separate the literal request from the underlying job.
- You can name who the user is and what they're really trying to do.
- You prioritize by impact, not by what's easy.
Done when
You can do this without the checklist — and earn the Value Designer mark by landing it for real.
Next: see applying it on the job for a realistic scenario and the traps to dodge.