stelow-product-discovery

name	stelow-product-discovery
description	[stelow] Complete expert in the short-cycle product learning method, based on the e-book "Guide to Creating Products with Short Learning Cycles" by calionauta. Use this skill whenever the user asks about: idea validation, customer discovery, product experimentation, jobs to be done, pricing strategies, business models, marketing channels, early adopters, MVP, product-market fit, pre-sales, launch strategies, product innovation, product lifecycle, building customer trust, marketplace, open source as strategy, or any concept related to creating and validating digital products with low risk and fast learning. This skill contains ALL the method details — do not skip any detail.
metadata	{"frequency":"monthly","category":"product","context-cost":"low","author":"calionauta","author-url":"https://github.com/calionauta"}

Product with Short Learning Cycles

This guide is a method to replace speculation with evidence, step by step. Core principle: experiment before building. Reduce uncertainty with small, fast, and cheap experiments.

"Life is too short to build something that nobody wants." — Ash Maurya

Method Structure

The process has 8 stages (not necessarily linear):

1. Find and understand the audience
2. Define the market
3. Define and prioritize solutions
4. Develop and evaluate the offer
5. Assess commitment
6. Discover the process
7. Evolve to a viable business
8. The pulse of the system: signals in tension

→ Read reference files as needed:

• references/01-experimentation-principles.md — criteria for reliable data + 6 principles
• references/02-stages-1-to-3.md — audience, market, solutions
• references/03-stages-4-to-6.md — offer, commitment, manual process
• references/04-stage-7.md — viable business, product-market fit, channels
• references/05-stage-8-signals.md — pulse of the system, signals in tension
• references/06-appendix-business-models.md — business models, open source, pricing
• references/07-appendix-strategies.md — marketplace, solutions, trust, bonuses, promotions, ads, lifecycle

When to Read Each Reference

User asks about...	Read...
How to validate an idea / experiment	01, 02
Target audience, market, jobs to be done	02
Solution, product, features	02, 03
Offer, advertisement, early adopters	03
Pre-sale, commitment, waitlist	03
MVP, manual process, concierge, wizard of oz	03
Product-market fit, channels, viable business	04
Metrics, retention, growth	04, 05
Pricing, pricing models	06
Business models, revenue, costs	06
Open source as strategy	06
Marketplace, supply and demand	07
Trust, guarantees, social proof	07
Bonuses, launch promotions	07
Online ads, stages of awareness	07
Product lifecycle, innovation	07

Interaction Tool Guidelines

IMPORTANT: When the user needs to choose between predefined options, ALWAYS use the question tool (if available) with enumerated format:

• Options with short label and description
• Examples: topic selection, next steps, etc.

When question tool is not available, use enumerated text in chat (A/B/C/D or 1/2/3).

Note for this skill: This is primarily a reference/exploratory skill. If the user wants to explore a specific concept, you may ask clarifying questions to understand context before recommending which references to read or which stage to focus on.

---

Rules for Using This Skill

1. Never omit details — the e-book is already concise; every detail matters.
2. Use concrete examples from the method when explaining concepts.
3. Reference specific tools and tactics mentioned in the method.
4. Preserve the order and logic of stages when guiding the user.
5. Combine stages when context demands (e.g., stages 4 and 5 often go together).

---

Attribution

This skill is based on the e-book "Guia para criar produtos com aprendizado em ciclos curtos" (Guide to Creating Products with Short Learning Cycles) by calionauta.

Author: calionauta
Substack: Practical Guide to Validate Ideas
GitHub: @calionauta

This skill was translated and adapted by permission and attribution to the original author.

---

Original Repository: github.com/calionauta/my-opencode-config

---

Extended Deep-Dives (Optional)

For specialized analysis, these standalone skills are available at github.com/calionauta/agent-sync-public:

Skill	Description	Lines
stelow-product-health	Product health monitoring via signals in tension	~100
stelow-product-pricing	Pricing strategy: Exchange Base, Consumption Control, Interest Alignment, Trust Pact	~100
stelow-product-open-source	OSS as business strategy: Proprietary Problem, Org Structures, Competition Protection	~60
stelow-product-trust-building	10 pillars of trust, guarantees, perception, commitment	~60
stelow-product-promotions	MAGIC framework, 4 launch strategies, bonuses	~60
stelow-product-business-models	Cost reduction & revenue generation models	~80
stelow-product-ads	5 awareness stages, ad categories	~50

Install (if you don't have it yet): ... Note: These are optional enhancements. The core method works without them — the references/ contain all the necessary content.