Reference · Phase 1 — Market Attractiveness & Fact Base

Canonical Phase Plan (Phases 1-3)

Load when the full phase-by-phase plan (objectives, inputs, outputs).

Part of the Product Strategy skill · loaded on demand from SKILL.md

Part of the product-strategy skill. See SKILL.md for the workflow spine and when to load this file.

I. Canonical Phase Plan

Phase 1 — Market Attractiveness & Fact Base

Objectives

Build the evidence base required to identify attractive opportunities.

This phase answers:

  • Which markets, segments, use cases, or customer groups are attractive?
  • What problems are underserved?
  • How large is the opportunity?
  • What are the competitive, regulatory, technology, and distribution constraints?
  • Where does the client have a credible opportunity to win?

Key Questions

  • Which markets or segments have the strongest growth and profit pools?
  • Which customer needs are frequent, painful, and underserved?
  • Where is competitive intensity low or poorly matched to customer needs?
  • What structural constraints matter?
    • Regulation
    • Technology
    • Distribution
    • Data access
    • Capital requirements
    • Partner dependency
  • What are the major risks, barriers, and assumptions?

Core Activities

Build a structured fact base and score markets or segments across 4–6 pillars, such as:

  1. Market size and growth
  2. Customer engagement and adoption
  3. Competitive intensity
  4. Monetization potential
  5. Macro and regulatory outlook
  6. Client right-to-win

Triangulate opportunity through multiple sizing lenses:

  • Top-down sizing

    • TAM, SAM, SOM, opportunity value, revenue pool

  • Bottom-up or unit-level sizing

    • Per-customer, per-account, per-seat, per-usage, or per-transaction economics

  • Behavioral or funnel-based sizing

    • Reach, conversion, activation, usage, retention, monetization

Inputs

  • Secondary research
  • Market datasets
  • Platform telemetry
  • Customer data
  • Product usage data
  • Expert interviews
  • Customer interviews
  • Surveys
  • Competitor teardowns
  • Analyst reports
  • Regulatory guidance
  • Internal financials
  • Sales, support, and win/loss data

Outputs

Typical outputs include:

  • Market attractiveness heatmap
  • Segment scorecards
  • Market rankings
  • Opportunity sizing model
  • Customer behavior snapshots
  • Jobs-to-be-done analysis
  • Competitive landscape
  • White-space map
  • Risk and feasibility assessment
  • Initial opportunity shortlist

Phase 2 — Product Recommendation & Design

Objectives

Identify product options that meet customer needs, target white space, and create defensible advantage.

This phase answers:

  • Which product archetypes are most attractive?
  • What customer need or job-to-be-done should the product address?
  • What features are required for MVP?
  • What features should be deferred?
  • What proposition is differentiated?
  • How does the product make money?
  • What must be true for adoption and profitability?

Key Questions

  • Which product archetypes best address the priority customer need?
  • What is the minimum viable product?
  • What feature set moves the needle on acquisition, activation, engagement, or monetization?
  • What is the value proposition?
  • What are the premium, expansion, or ecosystem features?
  • What economics are required for the product to be viable?
  • How differentiated is the proposition?
  • What should be built, bought, or partnered?

Core Activities

  • Translate customer needs into product concepts
  • Define product archetypes
  • Prioritize options using a structured scorecard
  • Develop MVP scope and future roadmap
  • Define value proposition and positioning
  • Assess monetization models
  • Pressure-test economics
  • Assess differentiation and defensibility
  • Validate desirability, viability, feasibility, and risk

Inputs

  • Phase 1 fact base
  • Customer insight
  • Jobs-to-be-done analysis
  • Competitor teardowns
  • Internal capability assessment
  • Financial model
  • Technology constraints
  • Regulatory constraints
  • Partner availability

Outputs

Typical outputs include:

  • Recommended product or proposition
  • Product option scorecard
  • Product archetype comparison
  • MVP feature set
  • Future feature roadmap
  • Value proposition
  • “Why we win” page
  • Pricing and packaging recommendation
  • Unit economics
  • Early adoption plan
  • Key assumptions and validation plan

Phase 3 — Go-to-Market & Execution Approach

Objectives

Define the launch path, operating model, partner approach, risk plan, and implementation roadmap.

This phase answers:

  • How should the product be launched?
  • Should the client build, buy, partner, or use a hybrid model?
  • What capabilities are required?
  • Which partners or vendors are needed?
  • What approvals, licenses, or governance are required?
  • What is the sequencing?
  • How should execution be measured and governed?

Key Questions

  • What is the preferred go-to-market model?
  • Which channels should be used?
  • What capabilities are missing?
  • Which partners should be shortlisted?
  • What regulatory or legal approvals are required?
  • What is the target operating model?
  • What are the major implementation risks?
  • What are the milestones, decision gates, and KPIs?

Core Activities

  • Select GTM route
  • Define channel strategy
  • Determine build / buy / partner choices
  • Map required capabilities
  • Identify capability gaps
  • Develop partner shortlist
  • Define target operating model
  • Define governance and decision rights
  • Build implementation roadmap
  • Establish KPIs and launch milestones

Outputs

Typical outputs include:

  • GTM route recommendation
  • Channel strategy
  • Capability map
  • Partner shortlist
  • Build / buy / partner assessment
  • Target operating model
  • Regulatory and risk checklist
  • Implementation roadmap
  • KPI tree
  • Decision gates
  • Now / Next / Later plan