Product Strategy
Generate a full product strategy document before committing engineering time, using a structured 9-section canvas instead of ad-hoc vision slides.
Overview
Product Strategy is an agent skill most often used in Validate (also Idea, Build) that produces a comprehensive Product Strategy Canvas across nine sections—vision through defensibility—for solo builders defining how a p
Install
npx skills add https://github.com/phuryn/pm-skills --skill product-strategyWhat is this skill?
- 9-section Product Strategy Canvas: vision, segments, costs, value props, trade-offs, metrics, growth, capabilities, defe
- JTBD-oriented market segments defined by problems, not demographics
- Explicit trade-offs and defensibility prompts to avoid feature-list strategies
- Growth and metrics sections tied to strategic choices, not vanity KPIs
- Structured input checklist: positioning, market context, constraints, and business data
Adoption & trust: 1.1k installs on skills.sh; 12.3k GitHub stars; 3/3 security scanners passed (skills.sh audits).
What problem does it solve?
You have fragments of market research and positioning but no single strategic document that ties vision, segments, trade-offs, and growth into decisions you can ship against.
Who is it for?
Solo builders validating a SaaS or product idea who need a serious strategy doc before writing specs or code.
Skip if: Teams that already have an approved strategy and only need tactical sprint tasks, or builders who want competitor scraping without strategic synthesis.
When should I use this skill?
Building a product strategy, creating a strategic plan, or defining product direction; triggers include product strategy, strategy canvas, strategic plan, product strategy document.
What do I get? / Deliverables
You get a structured nine-section strategy canvas you can use to narrow scope, align metrics, and hand off to implementation or roadmap planning with explicit trade-offs and defensibility.
- Completed Product Strategy Canvas document (9 sections)
- Defined first market segment and JTBD framing
- Documented strategic trade-offs, metrics, and defensibility narrative
Recommended Skills
Journey fit
Spans multiple journey phases - primary shelf plus alternate fits below.
Product strategy is the canonical validate artifact: it turns research into scoped direction, trade-offs, and metrics before build. Scope subphase is where solo builders decide what to build, for whom, and how to win—exactly what the Product Strategy Canvas captures.
Where it fits
After competitor and audience notes, run the canvas to turn research into a first winning segment and vision narrative.
Before prototyping, fill trade-offs and metrics so you know what not to build in v1.
Use costs and value proposition sections to sanity-check pricing against positioning.
Revisit growth and capabilities sections when roadmap priorities drift mid-build.
How it compares
Use instead of one-shot chat “write my product strategy” prompts that skip trade-offs, JTBD segments, and defensibility.
Common Questions / FAQ
Who is product-strategy for?
Indie and solo product builders who wear strategy and execution hats and need a repeatable canvas before they invest in build or launch.
When should I use product-strategy?
During validate when scoping what to build; also in idea when synthesizing research into direction, and early build when realigning strategy after learning from a prototype.
Is product-strategy safe to install?
It is procedural planning guidance with no inherent shell or network requirements; review the Security Audits panel on this skill’s Prism page before installing from any third-party repo.
SKILL.md
READMESKILL.md - Product Strategy
# Product Strategy Canvas ## Metadata - **Name**: product-strategy - **Description**: Generate a comprehensive product strategy using the 9-section Product Strategy Canvas. Covers vision, market segments, costs, value propositions, trade-offs, metrics, growth, capabilities, and defensibility. - **Triggers**: product strategy, strategy canvas, strategic plan, product strategy document ## Instructions You are an experienced product strategist developing a comprehensive product strategy for $ARGUMENTS. Your task is to create a detailed Product Strategy Canvas that outlines how the product will compete, win, and grow in the market. ## Input Requirements - Product description and current positioning - Market context, competitors, and customer insights - Company resources, constraints, and priorities - Any relevant business or market data ## Product Strategy Canvas Template ### 1. Vision - How can we inspire people? - What are we aspiring to achieve? - What values do we uphold? ### 2. Market Segments - Market defined by people's problems (not demographics) - Jobs to Be Done (JTBD), desired outcomes, constraints - Who is our first segment? - Why this segment first? ### 3. Relative Costs - Do we optimize for low cost (like Southwest Airlines)? - Or do we emphasize unique value (like Starbucks)? - What's our cost position relative to competitors? ### 4. Value Proposition For each target segment: - **What before**: The customer's current situation, pain, or need - **How**: How your product delivers the solution - **What after**: The improved outcome or future state - **Alternatives**: What customers use today instead ### 5. Trade-offs - What will we NOT do? - What features or markets are out of scope? - How does saying "no" create focus and amplify our value? ### 6. Key Metrics - **North Star Metric**: Single metric that drives overall business success - **OMTM (One Metric That Matters)**: The one metric we optimize for this quarter ### 7. Growth - Sales-Led Growth or Product-Led Growth? - Primary acquisition channels - How do we scale? - What's our unit economics? ### 8. Capabilities - What competencies and resources do we need? - What do we build vs. partner for? - What capabilities must we develop to win? ### 9. Can't/Won't - Why can't competitors easily copy this? - What defensibility do we have (network effects, switching costs, IP)? - What barriers to entry exist for new competitors? ## Output Process 1. Define the vision and aspirational impact 2. Identify 2-3 target market segments with their JTBD 3. Establish cost positioning (low cost vs. premium value) 4. Develop value propositions for each segment 5. List explicit trade-offs (what we won't do) 6. Set North Star and quarterly OMTM 7. Outline growth strategy and channels 8. Document required capabilities and partnerships 9. Explain defensibility and barriers to competition 10. Validate strategy coherence: ensure elements reinforce each other 11. Surface critical hypotheses that must be true for success 12. Suggest low-effort experiments to test key assumptions ## Notes - Ensure all 9 elements fit together logically - Identify what must be true for this strategy to work (hypotheses) - Propose validation experiments with minimal effort - Strategy guides decisions; clarity enables faster execution - Revisit quarterly as market conditions change --- ### Templates - [Product Strategy Canvas (PPTX)](https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1xRBqSOISvAKzwM_z5tC8fiuO5O2YhboB/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=111307342557889008106&rtpof=true&sd=true) --- ### Further Reading - [Product Strategy Canvas: From Vision to Action](https://www.productcompa