consulting-analysis

# Professional Research Report Skill ## Overview This skill produces professional, consulting-grade research reports in Markdown format, covering domains such as **market analysis, consumer insights, brand strategy, financial analysis, industry research, competitive intelligence, investment research, and macroeconomic analysis**. It operates across two distinct phases: 1. **Phase 1 — Analysis Framework Generation**: Given a research subject, produce a rigorous analysis framework including chapter skeleton, per-chapter data requirements, analysis logic, and visualization plan. 2. **Phase 2 — Report Generation**: After data has been collected by other skills, synthesize all inputs into a final polished report. The output adheres to McKinsey/BCG consulting voice standards. The report language follows the `output_locale` setting (default: `zh_CN` for Chinese). ## Data Authenticity Protocol **Strict Adherence Rule**: All data presented in the report and visualized in charts MUST be derived directly from the provided **Data Summary** or **External Search Findings**. - **NO Hallucinations**: Do not invent, estimate, or simulate data. If data is missing, state "Data not available" rather than fabricating numbers. - **Traceable Sources**: Every major claim and chart must be traceable back to the input data package. ## Core Capabilities - **Design analysis frameworks** from scratch given only a research subject and scope - Transform raw data into structured, high-depth research reports - Follow the **"Visual Anchor → Data Contrast → Integrated Analysis"** flow per sub-chapter - Produce insights following the **"Data → User Psychology → Strategy Implication"** chain - Embed pre-generated charts and construct comparison tables - Generate inline citations formatted per **GB/T 7714-2015** standards - Output reports in the language specified by `output_locale` with professional consulting tone - Adapt analytical depth and structure to domain (marketing, finance, industry, etc.) ## When to Use This Skill **Always load this skill when:** - User asks for a market analysis, consumer insight report, financial analysis, industry research, or any consulting-grade analytical report - User provides a research subject and needs a structured analysis framework before data collection - User provides data summaries, analysis frameworks, or chart files to be synthesized into a report - User needs a professional consulting-style research report - The task involves transforming research findings into structured strategic narratives --- # Phase 1: Analysis Framework Generation ## Purpose Given a **research subject** (e.g., "Gen-Z Skincare Market Analysis", "NEV Industry Competitive Landscape", "Brand X Consumer Profiling"), produce a complete **analysis framework** that serves as the blueprint for downstream data collection and final report generation. ## Phase 1 Inputs | Input | Description | Required | |-------|-------------|----------| | **Research Subject** | The topic or question to be analyzed | Yes | | **Scope / Constraints** | Geographic scope, time range, industry segment, target audience, etc. | Optional | | **Specific Angles** | Any particular angles or hypotheses the user wants explored | Optional | | **Domain** | The analytical domain: market, finance, industry, brand, consumer, investment, etc. | Inferred | ## Phase 1 Workflow ### Step 1.1: Understand the Research Subject - Parse the research subject to identify the **core entity** (market, brand, product, industry, consumer segment, financial instrument, etc.) - Identify the **analytical domain** (marketing, finance, industry, competitive, consumer, investment, macro, etc.) - Determine the **natural analytical dimensions** based on domain: | Domain | Typical Dimensions | |--------|--------------------| | Market Analysis | Market size, growth trends, market segmentation, growth drivers, competitive landscape, consumer profiling | | Brand Analysis | Brand positioning, market share, consumer perception, marketing strategy, competitor comparison | | Consumer Insights | Demographic profiling, purchase behavior, decision journey, pain points, scenario analysis | | Financial Analysis | Macro environment, industry trends, company fundamentals, financial metrics, valuation, risk assessment | | Industry Research | Value chain analysis, market size, competitive landscape, policy environment, technology trends, entry barriers | | Investment Due Diligence | Business model, financial health, management assessment, market opportunity, risk factors, exit pathways | | Competitive Intelligence | Competitor identification, strategic comparison, SWOT analysis, differentiated positioning, market dynamics | ### Step 1.2: Select Analysis Frameworks & Models Based on the identified domain and research subject, select **one or more** professional analysis frameworks to structure the reasoning in each chapter. The chosen frameworks guide the **Analysis Logic** in the chapter skeleton (Step 1.3). #### Strategic & Environmental Analysis | Framework | Description | Best For | |-----------|-------------|----------| | **SWOT Analysis** | Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats | Brand assessment, competitive positioning, strategic planning | | **PEST / PESTEL Analysis** | Political, Economic, Social, Technological (+ Environmental, Legal) | Macro-environment scanning, market entry assessment, policy impact analysis | | **Porter's Five Forces** | Supplier bargaining power, buyer bargaining power, threat of new entrants, threat of substitutes, industry rivalry | Industry competitive landscape, entry barrier assessment, profit margin analysis | | **Porter's Diamond Model** | Factor conditions, demand conditions, related industries, firm strategy & structure | National/regional competitive advantage analysis | | **VRIO Analysis** | Value, Rarity, Imitability, Organization | Core competency assessment, resource advantage analysis | #### Market & Growth Analysis | Framework | Description | Best For | |-----------|-------------|----------| | **STP Analysis** | Segmentation, Targeting, Positioning | Market segmentation, target market selection, brand positioning | | **BCG Matrix (Growth-Share Matrix)** | Stars, Cash Cows, Question Marks, Dogs | Product portfolio management, resource allocation decisions | | **Ansoff Matrix** | Market penetration, market development, product development, diversification | Growth strategy selection | | **Product Life Cycle (PLC)** | Introduction, growth, maturity, decline | Product strategy formulation, market timing decisions | | **TAM-SAM-SOM** | Total / Serviceable / Obtainable Market | Market sizing, opportunity quantification | | **Technology Adoption Lifecycle** | Innovators → Early Adopters → Early Majority → Late Majority → Laggards | Emerging technology/category penetration analysis | #### Consumer & Behavioral Analysis | Framework | Description | Best For | |-----------|-------------|----------| | **Consumer Decision Journey** | Awareness → Consideration → Evaluation → Purchase → Loyalty | Consumer behavior path mapping, touchpoint optimization | | **AARRR Funnel (Pirate Metrics)** | Acquisition, Activation, Retention, Revenue, Referral | User growth analysis, conversion rate optimization | | **RFM Model** | Recency, Frequency, Monetary | Customer value segmentation, precision marketing | | **Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs** | Physiological → Safety → Social → Esteem → Self-actualization | Consumer psychology analysis, product value proposition | | **Jobs-to-be-Done (JTBD)** | The "job" a user needs to accomplish in a specific context | Demand insight, product innovation direction | #### Financial & Valuation Analysis | Framework | Description | Best For | |-----------|-------------|----------| | **DuPont Analysis** | ROE = Net Profit Margin × Asset Turnover × Equity Multiplier | Profitability decomposition, financial health diagnosis | | **DCF (Discounted Cash Flow)** | Free cash flow discounting | Enterprise/project valuation | | **Comparable Company Analysis** | PE, PB, PS, EV/EBITDA multiples comparison | Relative valuation, peer benchmarking | | **EVA (Economic Value Added)** | After-tax operating profit - Cost of capital | Value creation capability assessment | #### Competitive & Strategic Positioning | Framework | Description | Best For | |-----------|-------------|----------| | **Benchmarking** | Key performance indicator item-by-item comparison | Competitor gap analysis, best practice identification | | **Strategic Group Mapping** | Cluster competitors along two key dimensions | Competitive landscape visualization, white-space identification | | **Value Chain Analysis** | Primary activities + support activities value decomposition | Cost advantage sources, differentiation opportunity identification | | **Blue Ocean Strategy** | Value curve, four-action framework (Eliminate-Reduce-Raise-Create) | Differentiated innovation, new market space creation | | **Perceptual Mapping** | Plot brand positions along two consumer-perceived dimensions | Brand positioning analysis, market gap discovery | #### Industry & Supply Chain Analysis | Framework | Description | Best For | |-----------|-------------|----------| | **Industry Value Chain** | Upstream → Midstream → Downstream decomposition | Industry structure understanding, profit distribution analysis | | **Gartner Hype Cycle** | Technology Trigger → Peak of Inflated Expectations → Trough of Disillusionment → Slope of Enlightenment → Plateau of Productivity | Emerging technology maturity assessment | | **GE-McKinsey Matrix** | Industry Attractiveness × Competitive Strength | Business portfolio prioritization, investment decisions | #### Selection Principles 1. **Domain-First**: Based on the domain identified in Step 1.1, select **2-4** most relevant frameworks from the toolkit above 2. **Complementary**: Choose complementary rather than overlapping frameworks (e.g., macro-level with PESTEL + micro-level with Porter's Five Forces) 3. **Depth over Breadth**: Better to deeply apply 2 frameworks than superficially stack 6 4. **Data-Feasible**: Selected frameworks must be supportable by downstream data collection skills — if the data required by a framework cannot be reasonably obtained, downgrade or substitute 5. **Explicit Mapping**: In the chapter skeleton, explicitly annotate which framework each chapter uses and how it is applied #### Framework Selection Output Format ```markdown ## Framework Selection | Chapter | Selected Framework(s) | Application | |---------|----------------------|-------------| | Market Size & Growth Trends | TAM-SAM-SOM + Product Life Cycle | TAM-SAM-SOM to quantify market space, PLC to determine market stage | | Competitive Landscape Assessment | Porter's Five Forces + Strategic Group Mapping | Five Forces to assess industry competition intensity, Group Mapping to visualize competitive positioning | | Consumer Profiling | RFM + Consumer Decision Journey | RFM to segment customer value, Decision Journey to identify key conversion nodes | | Brand Strategy Recommendations | SWOT + Blue Ocean Strategy | SWOT to summarize overall landscape, Blue Ocean to guide differentiation direction | ``` ### Step 1.3: Design Chapter Skeleton Produce a hierarchical chapter structure. Each chapter must include: 1. **Chapter Title** — Professional, concise, subject-based (follow titling constraints in Formatting section) 2. **Analysis Objective** — What this chapter aims to reveal 3. **Analysis Logic** — The reasoning chain or framework (must reference the frameworks selected in Step 1.2) 4. **Core Hypothesis** — Preliminary hypotheses to be validated or refuted by data #### Chapter Skeleton Output Format ```markdown ## Analysis Framework ### Chapter 1: [Title] - **Analysis Objective**: [This chapter aims to...] - **Analysis Logic**: [Framework or reasoning chain used] - **Core Hypothesis**: [Hypotheses to validate] - **Data Requirements**: (see Step 1.4) - **Visualization Plan**: (see Step 1.5) ### Chapter 2: [Title] ... ``` ### Step 1.4: Define Data Query Requirements Per Chapter For each chapter, specify **exactly what data needs to be collected**. This is the bridge to downstream data collection skills. Each data requirement entry must include: | Field | Description | |-------|-------------| | **Data Metric** | The specific metric or data point needed (e.g., "China skincare market size 2020-2025 (in billion CNY)") | | **Data Type** | Quantitative, Qualitative, or Mixed | | **Suggested Sources** | Suggested source categories: Industry reports, financial statements, government statistics, social media, e-commerce platforms, survey data, news | | **Search Keywords** | Suggested search queries for data collection agents | | **Priority** | P0 (Required) / P1 (Important) / P2 (Supplementary) | | **Time Range** | The time period the data should cover | #### Data Requirements Output Format (per chapter) ```markdown #### Data Requirements | # | Data Metric | Data Type | Suggested Sources | Search Keywords | Priority | Time Range | |---|-------------|-----------|-------------------|-----------------|----------|------------| | 1 | Market size (billion CNY) | Quantitative | Industry reports, government statistics | "China skincare market size 2024" | P0 | 2020-2025 | | 2 | CAGR | Quantitative | Industry reports | "skincare CAGR growth rate" | P0 | 2020-2025 | | 3 | Sub-category share | Quantitative | E-commerce platforms, industry reports | "skincare category share cream serum sunscreen" | P1 | Latest | | 4 | Policy & regulatory updates | Qualitative | Government announcements, news | "cosmetics regulation 2024" | P2 | Past 1 year | ``` ### Step 1.5: Define Visualization & Content Structure Per Chapter For each chapter, specify the **planned visualization** and **content structure** for the final report: | Field | Description | |-------|-------------| | **Visualization Type** | Chart type: Line chart, bar chart, pie chart, scatter plot, radar chart, heatmap, Sankey diagram, comparison table, etc. | | **Visualization Title** | Descriptive title for the chart | | **Visualization Data Mapping** | Which data indicators map to X/Y axes or segments | | **Comparison Table Design** | Column headers and comparison dimensions for the data contrast table | | **Argument Structure** | The planned "What → Why → So What" narrative outline | #### Visualization Plan Output Format (per chapter) ```markdown #### Visualization & Content Plan **Chart 1**: [Type] — [Title] - X-axis: [Dimension], Y-axis: [Metric] - Data source: Corresponds to Data Requirement #1, #2 **Comparison Table**: | Dimension | Item A | Item B | Item C | |-----------|--------|--------|--------| **Argument Structure**: