product-feasibility-scout

name	product-feasibility-scout
description	Systematic API landscape and feasibility research for product concepts. Use when evaluating a product idea's technical viability, researching platform APIs, mapping competitor landscapes, or assessing legal/regulatory constraints. Trigger phrases: 'research APIs for', 'is this technically feasible', 'what APIs exist for', 'competitor landscape for', 'feasibility assessment'.

Product Feasibility Scout

Systematically research the technical landscape for a product concept — platform APIs, competitor analysis, legal framework, and emerging approaches — producing a structured feasibility report with strategic recommendations.

When to Use

• Evaluating whether a product idea is technically viable
• Researching what platform APIs exist for a use case
• Mapping the competitor landscape for a product category
• Assessing legal/regulatory constraints for a target market
• Before writing a spec or building a prototype

The Research Framework

8 Research Axes

Every product feasibility assessment covers these axes. Skip any that don't apply, but consider all before skipping.

#	Axis	Question Answered
1	Platform APIs	What data/capabilities do relevant platforms expose?
2	Data Access	What can you actually get vs. what's blocked?
3	Client-Side Alternatives	Browser extensions, device agents, on-device ML?
4	Competitor Landscape	Who exists? What do they do well? What gaps remain?
5	Legal/Privacy	What regulations apply? What consent architecture is needed?
6	Pricing & Limits	Rate limits, API costs, scaling economics?
7	Emerging Approaches	New APIs, standards, or techniques on the horizon?
8	Strategic Synthesis	What's the highest-feasibility architecture?

Per-API Research Template

For each platform API investigated, capture:

## [Platform] API

### Access Status
[Open | Application-required | Restricted | Blocked]

### What IS Accessible
- [Data point]: [endpoint/method] — [scope/permission required]

### What is NOT Accessible
- [Data point]: [reason blocked, any workarounds]

### Rate Limits & Pricing
- Default: [X requests/day, free/paid]
- Scaling: [quota increase process]

### Restrictions for [Target Demographic]
- [Age-specific, geographic, or use-case restrictions]

### Recent Changes (past 12 months)
- [Deprecations, new endpoints, policy changes]

### Honest Assessment
[1-2 sentences: is this viable for the product? What's the critical gap?]

Competitor Analysis Template

| Product | Approach | Strengths | Gaps | Pricing |
|---------|----------|-----------|------|---------|
| [Name]  | [Method] | [Best at] | [Missing] | [$/mo] |

After the table, answer: "What gap does our product fill that no competitor occupies?"

Legal Framework Template

For each jurisdiction:

• Key law/regulation and effective date
• Requirements specific to the product category
• Consent architecture needed
• Penalties for non-compliance
• Practical implementation notes

Output: Feasibility Matrix

Produce a summary matrix:

| Data Source | Key Capability | Difficulty | Access | Viability |
|------------|---------------|------------|--------|-----------|
| [Platform] | [What you get] | [LOW/MED/HIGH] | [Open/Restricted/Blocked] | [YES/PARTIAL/NO] |

Output: Strategic Recommendations

End with 5-7 numbered recommendations, ordered by priority:

1. [The backbone] — What's the primary technical approach?
2. [Best enrichment] — Which API gives the richest supplementary data?
3. [Hidden gem] — Any unexpected data source worth pursuing?
4. [Architecture] — On-device vs. cloud vs. hybrid?
5. [Differentiator] — What makes this technically distinct from competitors?
6. [Skip for MVP] — What platforms/features to defer?
7. [Legal priority] — What compliance to build in from day one?

Execution

Launch a general-purpose Task agent with the research prompt. Structure the prompt as:

Research the current landscape of [APIs/technologies] for [product concept].

Context: [What the product does, who it serves, what data it needs]

Research these specific areas:
1. [Platform API 1] — [specific questions]
2. [Platform API 2] — [specific questions]
...
N. Competitor landscape — [category]
N+1. Legal/privacy — [jurisdictions]
N+2. Emerging approaches — [technologies]

For each API, note:
- Current access status
- Key data points available
- Rate limits and pricing
- Restrictions for [target demographic]
- Recent changes (2025-2026)

This is RESEARCH ONLY — do not write any code.
Return a comprehensive, well-organized report.

Quality Criteria

A complete feasibility report should:

• Cover all relevant platform APIs with honest assessments (not just feature lists)
• Distinguish between "technically possible" and "practically viable"
• Include at least 3 competitors with gap analysis
• Cover legal requirements for target jurisdictions
• Produce a feasibility matrix with clear YES/PARTIAL/NO ratings
• End with actionable strategic recommendations
• Cite sources (documentation URLs, blog posts, regulatory texts)

Anti-Patterns

• The Optimist: Listing API features without noting what's blocked or restricted
• The Pessimist: Dismissing platforms without investigating workarounds
• The Theorist: Describing architectures without checking if APIs actually support them
• The Copycat: Describing competitors without identifying the unfilled gap
• The Lawyer: Over-indexing on legal constraints without practical implementation paths

Origin

Distilled from Luciernaga feasibility research session (Feb 2026). Original session investigated YouTube Data API v3, TikTok Research API, Instagram/Meta APIs, Discord API, Chrome Extension APIs, 8+ competitors (Bark, Qustodio, BrightCanary, Canopy, etc.), COPPA 2025/GDPR/Panama Law 81, and on-device ML approaches.

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Part of Claude Code Skills -- reusable skills extracted from real AI-assisted development sessions.