Competitive Research

Conduct systematic competitive research using the competitor-researcher agent. Analyzes each competitor thoroughly and synthesizes findings into actionable insights.

Inspired by Teresa Torres' workflow for systematic competitive intelligence.

Entry Point

When this skill is invoked, start with:

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 COMPETITIVE RESEARCH
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Systematic competitive intelligence that compounds over time.

What competitors do you want to analyze?
(Names or URLs)

What's your focus?
  • Pricing
  • AI features
  • UX/product experience
  • Go-to-market
  • All of the above

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Usage

/competitive-research

Then provide:

• Competitors to analyze (names or URLs)
• Focus areas (pricing, AI features, UX, etc.)

What Happens

1. Gathers input - Which competitors? What focus?
2. Researches sequentially - Each competitor analyzed thoroughly (10-15 min each)
3. Saves individual files - One markdown file per competitor
4. Synthesizes findings - Comparison tables and strategic recommendations
5. Creates Linear issue (optional) - Track insights in your workflow

First-Time Setup

On first run, you'll be asked where to save research:

Where should I save competitive research files?

Recommendation: Create a directory OUTSIDE your company codebase, like:
- ~/Documents/pm-work/competitive-research
- ~/pm-research
- ~/competitive-intel

This keeps sensitive competitive analysis separate from your company's git repos.

The Compound Effect

This is your FIRST analysis - thorough and time-consuming. Next time you update this research? Minutes, not hours. That's how systems compound.

Analysis Round	Time	What Happens
First	1 hour	Thorough, structured research
Second	15 min	Update existing files
Third	15 min	Compare to previous versions

Output Structure

[research-dir]/
└── YYYY-MM-DD-[topic]/
    ├── competitor-1.md      # Individual analysis
    ├── competitor-2.md      # Individual analysis
    ├── competitor-3.md      # Individual analysis
    └── synthesis.md         # Comparison & recommendations

Synthesis Contents

The synthesis file includes:

• Executive Summary - What did you learn?
• Strategic Positioning Comparison - How competitors position
• Feature/Capability Comparison - Side-by-side table
• Pricing Comparison - Models and tiers
• Strategic Gaps & Opportunities - Where can we win?
• Recommended Actions - Now, next, later

Linear Integration (Optional)

If Linear MCP is configured:

• Creates issue with executive summary
• Links to research files
• Highlights top 3 recommended actions
• Labels with "competitive-intel"

Related Commands

• /strategy-session "competitive positioning" - Discuss findings strategically

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Philosophy (Teresa Torres):

• Sequential reliability - Process one competitor at a time
• Compounding system - First analysis is thorough, updates are fast
• Data ownership - Everything stored locally
• Synthesis matters - Raw research isn't useful without insights