Product Skill
Router skill for product management workflows. Detects task type and routes to appropriate workflow.
When This Skill Activates
You're working on:
- Competitive analysis or market positioning
- Product requirements documentation
- Goal setting and metrics definition
- User research synthesis
- Cohort and retention analysis
- PRD quality evaluation
- Technical debt prioritization
- Game-changing feature ideation
Pre-Work Spec Gate
Before proceeding, score the incoming request (5 dimensions, 0-2 each, max 10):
| Dimension |
0 |
1 |
2 |
| Problem |
"Make it better" |
"Improve onboarding" |
"Reduce signup dropout by 20%" |
| Audience |
None stated |
"Our users" |
"B2B SaaS teams >50 employees" |
| Constraints |
None stated |
"This quarter" |
"No new hires, <$10k budget" |
| Success |
None stated |
"More engagement" |
"NPS +10, churn <5%" |
| Done |
Implied |
"When shipped" |
"Customer interviews confirm" |
Decision:
- ≥8: Proceed with workflow
- 5-7: Colleague mode — confirm understanding before analysis
- <5: Run
/hope:intent first — spec too vague
See fit-decision.md for full scoring guidance.
Workflow Selection
Announce which workflow you're using:
| Task Type |
Workflow |
Reference |
| Competitive analysis, market gaps, win/loss |
Competitive Analysis |
references/compete.md |
| Feature specs, requirements, MVP scoping |
PRD Generation |
references/prd.md |
| Goals, OKRs, KPIs, tracking systems |
Metrics & Goals |
references/metrics.md |
| User interviews, qualitative data, insights |
Research Synthesis |
references/research.md |
| Retention, LTV, churn, cohort data |
Cohort Analysis |
references/cohort.md |
| PRD review, completeness check, scoring |
PRD Evaluation |
references/prd-eval.md |
| Tech debt triage, remediation planning |
Debt Prioritization |
references/debt.md |
| Breakthrough features, innovation ideation |
Game-Changing Features |
references/game-changing-features.md |
| TAM/SAM/SOM, market opportunity sizing |
Market Sizing |
references/market-sizing.md |
| A/B tests, controlled experiments |
Experimentation |
references/experimentation.md |
Related Thinking Tools
From hope/skills/soul/references/tools/:
From this skill's references/:
| Tool |
When to Use |
| Jobs To Be Done |
Understand what customers hire products for |
| Systems Archetypes |
Recognize "limits to growth", "shifting burden" patterns |
Usage
- Detect which workflow applies based on user's task
- Announce: "I'm using the product skill for [workflow]"
- Load the appropriate reference file
- Execute the workflow with confirmation gates (see below)
Confirmation Gates
Multi-step workflows pause at checkpoints to prevent wasted work when intent drifts.
Gate Points:
| Phase |
Gate |
| After research/discovery |
⚠️ CHECKPOINT: "Does this understanding match your intent?" |
| After approach selection |
⚠️ CHECKPOINT: "Here's my proposed approach. Should I proceed?" |
| Before final artifact |
⚠️ CHECKPOINT: "Ready to generate final output. Confirm?" |
Skip gates: Say "proceed without confirmation" to run uninterrupted.
In workflows: Each reference file should pause at these points:
### Phase 2: Analysis
[... phase content ...]
⚠️ **CHECKPOINT**: Present findings summary. Ask: "Does this capture the key insights? Any adjustments before I continue?"
Rules
- Use Ask tool to gather input before proceeding
- Ground recommendations in evidence
- Use story points, never time estimates
- Challenge assumptions and cut scope by default
- Quality footer required after each workflow completes — see quality-footer.md
Boundary
Product intuition is yours. Claude structures, not strategizes.
- Analysis surfaces patterns in data; user decides meaning
- Recommendations are hypotheses, not directives
- Market insights are inferences, not facts — always confidence-tagged
Product skill organizes thinking. Business judgment remains human.
1---2name: product3description: Product workflows router. Use when validating product ideas, writing specs, analyzing competitors, or tracking metrics. Triggers on "PRD", "competitive analysis", "metrics", "OKRs", "cohort", "requirements", "tech debt", "game-changing features", market positioning, retention analysis, or product strategy tasks.4---5
6# Product Skill
7
8Router skill for product management workflows. Detects task type and routes to appropriate workflow.
9
10## When This Skill Activates
11
12You're working on:
13
14- Competitive analysis or market positioning
15- Product requirements documentation
16- Goal setting and metrics definition
17- User research synthesis
18- Cohort and retention analysis
19- PRD quality evaluation
20- Technical debt prioritization
21- Game-changing feature ideation
22
23## Pre-Work Spec Gate
24
25Before proceeding, score the incoming request (5 dimensions, 0-2 each, max 10):
26
27| Dimension | 0 | 1 | 2 |
28|-----------|---|---|---|
29| **Problem** | "Make it better" | "Improve onboarding" | "Reduce signup dropout by 20%" |
30| **Audience** | None stated | "Our users" | "B2B SaaS teams >50 employees" |
31| **Constraints** | None stated | "This quarter" | "No new hires, <$10k budget" |
32| **Success** | None stated | "More engagement" | "NPS +10, churn <5%" |
33| **Done** | Implied | "When shipped" | "Customer interviews confirm" |
34
35**Decision:**
36- **≥8:** Proceed with workflow
37- **5-7:** Colleague mode — confirm understanding before analysis
38- **<5:** Run `/hope:intent` first — spec too vague
39
40See [fit-decision.md](../../hope/skills/soul/references/fit-decision.md) for full scoring guidance.
41
42## Workflow Selection
43
44Announce which workflow you're using:
45
46| Task Type | Workflow | Reference |
47| ------------------------------------------- | -------------------- | ----------------------------------- |
48| Competitive analysis, market gaps, win/loss | Competitive Analysis | `references/compete.md` |
49| Feature specs, requirements, MVP scoping | PRD Generation | `references/prd.md` |
50| Goals, OKRs, KPIs, tracking systems | Metrics & Goals | `references/metrics.md` |
51| User interviews, qualitative data, insights | Research Synthesis | `references/research.md` |
52| Retention, LTV, churn, cohort data | Cohort Analysis | `references/cohort.md` |
53| PRD review, completeness check, scoring | PRD Evaluation | `references/prd-eval.md` |
54| Tech debt triage, remediation planning | Debt Prioritization | `references/debt.md` |
55| Breakthrough features, innovation ideation | Game-Changing Features | `references/game-changing-features.md` |
56| TAM/SAM/SOM, market opportunity sizing | Market Sizing | `references/market-sizing.md` |
57| A/B tests, controlled experiments | Experimentation | `references/experimentation.md` |
58
59## Related Thinking Tools
60
61From `hope/skills/soul/references/tools/`:
62
63| Tool | When to Use |
64| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------- |
65| [Second-Order Thinking](../../hope/skills/soul/references/tools/second-order.md) | Predict consequences of product decisions |
66| [Pre-Mortem](../../hope/skills/soul/references/tools/pre-mortem.md) | Anticipate launch failures |
67| [Impact-Effort](../../hope/skills/soul/references/tools/impact-effort.md) | Focus on high-impact, low-effort features |
68
69From this skill's `references/`:
70
71| Tool | When to Use |
72| ------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------- |
73| [Jobs To Be Done](references/jobs-to-be-done.md) | Understand what customers hire products for |
74| [Systems Archetypes](references/systems-archetypes.md) | Recognize "limits to growth", "shifting burden" patterns |
75
76## Usage
77
781. Detect which workflow applies based on user's task
792. Announce: "I'm using the product skill for [workflow]"
803. Load the appropriate reference file
814. Execute the workflow with confirmation gates (see below)
82
83## Confirmation Gates
84
85Multi-step workflows pause at checkpoints to prevent wasted work when intent drifts.
86
87**Gate Points:**
88
89| Phase | Gate |
90|-------|------|
91| After research/discovery | ⚠️ CHECKPOINT: "Does this understanding match your intent?" |
92| After approach selection | ⚠️ CHECKPOINT: "Here's my proposed approach. Should I proceed?" |
93| Before final artifact | ⚠️ CHECKPOINT: "Ready to generate final output. Confirm?" |
94
95**Skip gates:** Say "proceed without confirmation" to run uninterrupted.
96
97**In workflows:** Each reference file should pause at these points:
98
99```
100### Phase 2: Analysis
101
102[... phase content ...]
103
104⚠️ **CHECKPOINT**: Present findings summary. Ask: "Does this capture the key insights? Any adjustments before I continue?"
105```
106
107## Rules
108
109- Use Ask tool to gather input before proceeding
110- Ground recommendations in evidence
111- Use story points, never time estimates
112- Challenge assumptions and cut scope by default
113- **Quality footer required** after each workflow completes — see [quality-footer.md](../../hope/skills/soul/references/quality-footer.md)
114
115---
116
117## Boundary
118
119**Product intuition is yours. Claude structures, not strategizes.**
120
121- Analysis surfaces patterns in data; user decides meaning
122- Recommendations are hypotheses, not directives
123- Market insights are inferences, not facts — always confidence-tagged
124
125Product skill organizes thinking. Business judgment remains human.
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