Agent Extend

Strategy Coach Agent Extension Skill

Extends the Strategy Coach agent following the Product Strategy Research Playbook methodology.

When to Use

Activate when user requests:

• "add coaching phase"
• "new research pillar"
• "extend agent"
• "add strategic output"
• Enhancing AI coaching methodology

Agent Location

All agent files are in src/lib/agents/strategy-coach/:

Current Methodology

Four Coaching Phases

1. Discovery - Understanding context and goals
2. Research - Exploring the three pillars
3. Synthesis - Developing strategic hypotheses
4. Planning - Creating actionable outputs

Three Research Pillars

1. Macro Market - Industry trends, competition, technology
2. Customer - Segments, JTBD, pain points
3. Colleague - Internal capabilities, constraints

Strategic Bets Format

We believe [trend/customer need]
Which means [opportunity/problem space]
So we will explore [hypothesis/initiative direction]
Success looks like [leading indicator metric]

Extension Patterns

Adding a New Phase

1. Update framework-state.ts:

export interface FrameworkState {
  phase: 'discovery' | 'research' | 'synthesis' | 'planning' | 'new_phase';
  // ...
}

export function calculateProgress(state: FrameworkState): number {
  // Add new phase to progress calculation
}

2. Update system-prompt.ts:

const NEW_PHASE_GUIDANCE = `
## New Phase: {Phase Name}

### Purpose
{What this phase accomplishes}

### Key Activities
- {Activity 1}
- {Activity 2}

### Transition Criteria
Move to next phase when:
- {Criterion 1}
- {Criterion 2}
`;

Adding a Research Pillar

1. Update framework-state.ts:

export interface ResearchProgress {
  macroMarket: PillarProgress;
  customer: PillarProgress;
  colleague: PillarProgress;
  newPillar: PillarProgress;  // Add new pillar
}

interface PillarProgress {
  started: boolean;
  completed: boolean;
  insights: string[];
}

2. Update system-prompt.ts:

const NEW_PILLAR_SECTION = `
### Pillar 4: {Pillar Name}

#### Core Questions
- {Question 1}
- {Question 2}

#### Key Areas to Explore
| Area | Focus |
|------|-------|
| {Area 1} | {Focus description} |
| {Area 2} | {Focus description} |

#### Insight Format
Capture insights as:
- **Observation**: What was discovered
- **Implication**: What it means for strategy
- **Evidence**: Supporting data points
`;

Adding Strategic Output Types

1. Update framework-state.ts:

export interface CanvasCompletion {
  marketReality: boolean;
  customerInsights: boolean;
  organizationalContext: boolean;
  strategicSynthesis: boolean;
  strategicContext: boolean;
  newOutputType: boolean;  // Add new output
}

2. Update system-prompt.ts:

const NEW_OUTPUT_TEMPLATE = `
## {Output Name} Template

### Purpose
{What this output provides}

### Structure
1. **Section 1**: {Description}
2. **Section 2**: {Description}

### Example
{Concrete example of the output}
`;

Coaching Tone Guidelines

When extending the agent, maintain:

• Socratic questioning - Guide through questions, don't prescribe
• Empathetic acknowledgment - Validate challenges
• Structured exploration - Follow methodology phases
• Actionable synthesis - End with clear next steps

Example prompt patterns:

const QUESTIONING_PATTERNS = [
  "What patterns are you seeing in...",
  "How might this affect...",
  "What would need to be true for...",
  "Who else in your organization might have insight on...",
];

State Persistence

State is stored in framework_state JSONB column in conversations table.

Update state through the agent:

export function updateFrameworkState(
  currentState: FrameworkState,
  update: Partial<FrameworkState>
): FrameworkState {
  return {
    ...currentState,
    ...update,
    lastUpdated: new Date().toISOString(),
  };
}

Testing Extensions

Add tests in tests/unit/lib/agents/strategy-coach/:

describe('New Phase', () => {
  it('should calculate progress correctly', () => {
    const state = createStateWithNewPhase();
    expect(calculateProgress(state)).toBe(expectedProgress);
  });

  it('should transition from previous phase', () => {
    // Test phase transition logic
  });
});