| name | competitive-research |
| description | Systematic competitive intelligence with parallel agent analysis. Analyzes competitors thoroughly and synthesizes into actionable insights. |
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
- Gathers input - Which competitors? What focus?
- Researches sequentially - Each competitor analyzed thoroughly (10-15 min each)
- Saves individual files - One markdown file per competitor
- Synthesizes findings - Comparison tables and strategic recommendations
- 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
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
