hermeticormus 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:
- [The backbone] — What's the primary technical approach?
- [Best enrichment] — Which API gives the richest supplementary data?
- [Hidden gem] — Any unexpected data source worth pursuing?
- [Architecture] — On-device vs. cloud vs. hybrid?
- [Differentiator] — What makes this technically distinct from competitors?
- [Skip for MVP] — What platforms/features to defer?
- [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.
Part of Claude Code Skills -- reusable skills extracted from real AI-assisted development sessions.