Product Operations Skill – Quick Reference

This skill turns Claude into an operator, not a lecturer.

Everything here is:

Executable: templates, checklists, decision flows
Decision-first: measurable outcomes, explicit trade-offs, clear ownership
Organized: resources for depth; templates for immediate copy-paste

Modern Best Practices (Jan 2026):

Evidence quality beats confidence: label signals strong/medium/weak; write what would change your mind.
Outcomes > output: roadmaps are bets with measurable impact and guardrails, not feature inventories.
Metrics must be defined (formula + timeframe + data source) to be actionable.
Privacy, security, and accessibility are requirements, not afterthoughts.
Hybrid decision loops: AI surfaces anomalies, patterns, and forecasts; humans apply context, ethics, and long-term strategy.
Revenue ownership: Product now owns business outcomes (92% of PM leaders per 2025 State of PM Report).
Portfolio diversification: 70% core products, 20% adjacent opportunities, 10% transformational bets.
Optional: AI / Automation is allowed only when explicitly requested and policy-compliant.

When to Use This Skill

Claude should invoke this skill when the user asks to do real product work, such as:

“Create / refine a PRD / spec / business case / 1-pager”
“Turn this idea into a roadmap” / “Outcome roadmap for X”
“Design a discovery plan / interview script / experiment plan”
“Define success metrics / OKRs / metric tree”
“Position this product against competitors”
“Run a difficult conversation / feedback / 1:1 / negotiation”
“Plan a product strategy / vision / opportunity assessment”

Claude should NOT use this skill for:

Book summaries, philosophy, or general education
Long case studies or storytelling

Quick Reference

Task	Template	Domain	Output
Discovery interview	`customer-interview-template.md`	Discovery	Interview script with Mom Test patterns
Opportunity mapping	`opportunity-solution-tree.md`	Discovery	OST with outcomes, problems, solutions
Outcome roadmap	`outcome-roadmap.md`	Roadmap	Now/Next/Later with outcomes and themes
OKR definition	`okr-template.md`	Metrics	1-3 objectives with 2-4 key results each
Product positioning	`positioning-template.md`	Strategy	Competitive alternatives → value → segment
Product vision	`product-vision-template.md`	Strategy	From→To narrative with 3-5 year horizon
1:1 meeting	`1-1-template.md`	Leadership	Check-in, progress, blockers, growth
Post-incident debrief	`a3-debrief.md`	Leadership	Intent vs actual, root cause, action items

Decision Tree: Choosing the Right Workflow

User needs: [Product Work Type]
    ├─ Discovery / Validation?
    │   ├─ Customer insights? → Customer interview template
    │   ├─ Hypothesis testing? → Assumption test template
    │   └─ Opportunity mapping? → Opportunity Solution Tree
    │
    ├─ Strategy / Vision?
    │   ├─ Long-term direction? → Product vision template
    │   ├─ Market positioning? → Positioning template (Dunford)
    │   ├─ Big opportunity? → Opportunity assessment
    │   └─ Amazon-style spec? → PR/FAQ template
    │
    ├─ Planning / Roadmap?
    │   ├─ Outcome-driven? → Outcome roadmap (Now/Next/Later)
    │   ├─ Theme-based? → Theme roadmap
    │   └─ Metrics / OKRs? → Metric tree + OKR template
    │
    └─ Leadership / Team Ops?
        ├─ 1:1 meeting? → 1-1 template
        ├─ Giving feedback? → Feedback template (SBI model)
        ├─ Post-incident? → A3 debrief
        └─ Negotiation? → Negotiation one-sheet (Voss)

Do / Avoid (Dec 2025)

Do

Start from the decision: what are we deciding, by when, and with what evidence.
Define metrics precisely (formula + timeframe + data source) and add guardrails.
Use discovery to de-risk value before building; prioritize by evidence, not opinions.
Write “match vs ignore” competitive decisions, not feature grids.

Avoid

Roadmap theater (shipping lists) without outcomes and learning loops.
Vanity KPIs (raw signups, impressions) without activation/retention definitions.
“Build-first validation” (shipping MVPs without falsifiable hypotheses).
Collecting customer data without purpose limitation, retention, and access controls.

What Good Looks Like

Evidence: 5–10 real user touchpoints or equivalent primary data for material bets.
Scope: clear non-goals and acceptance criteria that can be tested.
Learning: post-launch review with metric deltas, guardrail impact, and next decision.

Optional: AI / Automation

Use only when explicitly requested and policy-compliant.

PRD templates: ../docs-ai-prd/assets/prd/prd-template.md and ../docs-ai-prd/assets/prd/ai-prd-template.md
AI system lifecycle: assets/ai/ai-lifecycle-template.md
Agentic workflow docs: assets/ai/agentic-ai-orchestration.md
AI product patterns: references/ai-product-patterns.md

Navigation

Resources

Templates

Related Skills

../docs-ai-prd/SKILL.md — PRD, stories, and prompt/playbook templates
../software-architecture-design/SKILL.md — System design guidance for specs and PRDs
../software-frontend/SKILL.md — UI implementation considerations for product specs
../software-backend/SKILL.md — Backend/API implications of product decisions

Operational Guide

See references/operational-guide.md for detailed patterns, template walkthroughs, example flows, and execution checklists. Keep SKILL.md as the navigation hub; use assets/ when producing artifacts.

External Resources

See data/sources.json for official frameworks (Lean Startup, OST, PR/FAQ, OKRs) and AI/LLM safety references.

Use the quick reference and decision tree above to choose a template, then follow the operational guide for depth.

Trend Awareness Protocol

IMPORTANT: When users ask recommendation questions about product management tools, frameworks, or practices, you MUST use WebSearch to check current trends before answering.

Trigger Conditions

"What's the best tool for [roadmapping/product analytics/discovery]?"
"What should I use for [OKRs/metrics/customer feedback]?"
"What's the latest in product management?"
"Current best practices for [discovery/roadmaps/prioritization]?"
"Is [framework/tool] still relevant in 2026?"
"[Linear] vs [Jira] vs [other]?" or "[Amplitude] vs [Mixpanel]?"
"Best approach for [AI product management/agentic products]?"

Required Searches

Search: "product management best practices 2026"
Search: "[specific tool] vs alternatives 2026"
Search: "product management trends January 2026"
Search: "[discovery/roadmap/OKR] frameworks 2026"

What to Report

After searching, provide:

Current landscape: What PM tools/frameworks are popular NOW
Emerging trends: New tools, methods, or patterns gaining traction
Deprecated/declining: Frameworks/tools losing relevance
Recommendation: Based on fresh data, not just static knowledge

Example Topics (verify with fresh search)

Product management tools (Linear, Productboard, Notion, Coda)
Analytics platforms (Amplitude, Mixpanel, PostHog)
Discovery and research tools (Maze, UserTesting, Dovetail)
Roadmapping approaches (outcome-based, theme-based, now/next/later)
AI product management patterns
Prioritization frameworks (RICE, ICE, opportunity scoring)
OKR and metrics tools

product-management