The app for independent voices
This is how Anthropic decides what to build next—and it's brilliant.
Instead of endless spec documents and roadmap debates, the Claude Code team has cracked the code on feature prioritization: prototype first, decide later.
Here's their process (shared by Catherine Wu, Product Lead at Anthropic):
Step 1: Idea → Prototype
Got a feature idea? Skip the spec. Build a working prototype using Claude Code instead.
Step 2: Internal Launch
Ship that prototype to all Anthropic engineers immediately. No polish required—just functionality.
Step 3: Watch & Listen
Track usage religiously. Collect feedback actively. Let real behavior, not opinions, guide decisions.
Step 4: Data-Driven Prioritization
- High usage + positive feedback → roadmap priority
- Low engagement or complaints → back to iteration
This "prototype-first product shaping" flips traditional product development on its head. Instead of guessing what users want, they're measuring what users actually use.
The beauty? They're dogfooding their own tool to build their own tool. The feedback loop is immediate, honest, and impossible to ignore.
The takeaway: Your best product decisions come from real user behavior, not theoretical frameworks. Sometimes the fastest way to validate an idea isn't a survey or interview—it's a working prototype.
—
Post credits: Sachin Rekhi on X (x.com/sachinrekhi/statu…)
I couldn’t say it better.
—
This perfectly aligns with the insights from AI engineering leaders:
“But after helping 30+ companies build AI products, I’ve discovered the teams who succeed barely talk about tools at all. Instead, they obsess over measurement and iteration”
—Hamel Husain on AI Evals, no paywall: productcompass.pm/p/ai-…
“In AI, feasibility prototypes aren’t enough. You must build real pipelines to test your assumptions. Discovery and delivery streams merge. You run a significant portion of experiments in production-like environments.”
—Bryan Bischof on Building AI Product Teams, no paywall: productcompass.pm/p/how…
Hope that helps!
—
You might also benefit from:
AI Evals Cohort on Maven (#1 AI Evals, 2K+ students). 24 hour left. A last-minute $1,330 discount: bit.ly/aievals35
AI PM Learning Program (free for subscribers): productcompass.pm/p/c10…
Introduction to AI Product Management: productcompass.pm/p/int…
A Guide to Context Engineering for PMs: productcompass.pm/p/con…
The Rise of Vibe Engineering: Free Courses, Guides, and Resources: productcompass.pm/p/vib…
