| name | deep-research |
| description | Structured web research methodology for market analysis, competitor research, and technology evaluation. Ensures research uses live web data with source citations and confidence tags. |
Deep Research Methodology
Systematic approach to web-based research for architecture and product decisions. Use this skill whenever generating market research, competitor analysis, pitch decks, cost estimates, or technology evaluations.
When to Use This Skill
- Generating competitor analysis or market landscape
- Estimating market size (TAM/SAM/SOM)
- Validating technology choices against current ecosystem
- Producing investor-facing materials with market data
- Updating cost estimates with current pricing
Three-Phase Research Process
Phase 1: Discover (Broad Search)
Cast a wide net to identify the landscape:
-
Competitor search: Use WebSearch for:
"{product category}" alternatives"{product category}" competitors 2025"best {product category}" software"{product category}" market leaders
-
Market sizing search: Use WebSearch for:
"{product category}" market size 2025"{product category}" TAM SAM"{industry}" market report"{product category}" growth rate forecast
-
Funding/trends search: Use WebSearch for:
"{product category}" startup funding 2024 2025"{product category}" trends"{competitor name}" funding round
-
Collect 10-15 relevant URLs from search results for Phase 2.
Phase 2: Verify (Targeted Validation)
Drill into specific sources to extract and verify data:
-
For each competitor found — Use WebFetch to:
- Visit their homepage → extract value proposition, target audience
- Visit pricing page → extract pricing tiers, free tier limits
- Visit about page → extract founding date, team size, funding
-
For market size claims — Cross-reference with 2+ sources:
- Industry reports (Gartner, Statista, Grand View Research)
- Press articles citing market data
- If sources conflict, note the range and which source is more authoritative
-
For funding data — Check:
- Crunchbase profiles
- TechCrunch or press release announcements
- LinkedIn company pages for employee count estimates
-
For technology claims — Verify:
- GitHub star counts (WebFetch
github.com/{repo})
- npm download counts for packages
- Stack Overflow survey data
Phase 3: Synthesize (Structured Output)
Organize findings into a clear, actionable document:
-
Confidence tagging — Mark every data point:
[Verified] — Confirmed via direct source (pricing page, press release, report)[Estimated] — Based on partial data or extrapolation[Inferred] — Based on training data, not web-verified
-
Source citation — For every verified claim:
Market size: $4.2B in 2025 [Verified]
Source: Grand View Research, "Collaboration Software Market Report 2025"
URL: https://example.com/report
-
Data freshness — Note when data was published:
Last verified: March 2025
Source published: January 2025
-
Structured tables — Present competitor data as scannable tables:
| Competitor | Pricing | Funding | Key Feature | Weakness |
|---|
| {name} | {tier} | {$Xm} | {feature} | {gap} |
Phase 4: Advanced Analysis
Calculate quantified metrics beyond basic research:
-
Competitive Momentum Scoring (0-100 scale)
- Funding growth trajectory: How much faster are they growing in capital? (+50% = high acceleration)
- Hiring velocity: Engineers added per year relative to current team
- Release frequency: How often do they ship? (Weekly = active, Monthly = maintenance mode)
- Formula: (Funding growth × 0.35) + (Hiring velocity × 0.35) + (Release frequency × 0.3)
- Result: Identifies threats by acceleration, not just current size
-
Feature Parity Scoring (0-100 scale)
- Count features in each category vs competitors
- Calculate: (Our Features / Avg Competitor Features) × 100
- <50% = Playing catch-up
- 50-80% = Competitive, can win on execution
- 80%+ = Feature parity, differentiate elsewhere
-
Market Sizing with Confidence Intervals
- Weight multiple sources by credibility: Gartner (0.4) > Statista (0.3) > Blog (0.15) > Extrapolation (0.15)
- Calculate weighted average, not just averaging estimates
- Provide range (80% confidence): If sources suggest $3.8B-$4.8B, report the range
- Sensitivity: "If market grows 8% vs 12% vs 18% CAGR, our 3-year opportunity is..."
- Output: "$4.2B TAM ($3.8B-$4.8B range)" not "$4.2B TAM"
Research Quality Rules
- ALWAYS use WebSearch before making market size, competitor, or pricing claims
- ALWAYS cite sources with URLs for every verified data point
- NEVER present estimated data as verified fact — use confidence tags
- If WebSearch is unavailable, explicitly state:
"Note: Based on training data as of [date]. Live web search was not available. Data should be independently verified before use in investor materials."
- Prefer recent sources — prioritize data from the last 12 months
- Cross-reference critical claims with 2+ independent sources
- Use WebFetch on competitor websites directly — don't rely solely on third-party descriptions
- Note limitations — if a competitor's pricing page requires login, note "pricing not publicly available"
Output Structure Template
# [Research Topic] — Deep Research Report
**Project**: [Project name from SDL]
**Researched**: [Today's date]
**Web search**: [Used / Not available]
## Executive Summary
[3-5 key findings]
## Competitor Landscape
[Table of competitors with verified data]
## Market Sizing
[TAM/SAM/SOM with sources]
## Feature Comparison Matrix
[Our product vs competitors across key dimensions]
## Opportunity Gaps
[Underserved areas competitors miss]
## Technology Landscape
[Relevant tech trends and adoption]
## Sources
[Numbered list of all URLs referenced]
Integration with Other Commands
This skill is automatically loaded by:
/architect:deep-research — Full standalone research report/architect:cost-estimate — For verifying current cloud/service pricing- Referenced by Ideation Playbook actions (Market Research, Pitch Deck)
Other commands can reference this skill when they need web-verified data:
### Step N: Load Skills
Load **deep-research** skill for web research methodology
