Competitive Analysis

Competitive Analysis

Frameworks for analyzing competitive position and industry dynamics.

When to Use Porter's vs. SWOT

Use Porter's to understand the structural forces shaping the industry. Use SWOT to assess your specific position within it. Combine both for a complete picture.

Porter's Five Forces Template

## Porter's Five Forces: [Industry/Market]

### 1. Competitive Rivalry — Intensity: HIGH / MEDIUM / LOW
| Factor | Assessment |
|--------|------------|
| Number of competitors | |
| Industry growth rate | |
| Product differentiation | |
| Exit barriers | |

### 2. Threat of New Entrants — Threat Level: HIGH / MEDIUM / LOW
| Barrier | Strength |
|---------|----------|
| Economies of scale | |
| Brand loyalty | |
| Capital requirements | |
| Network effects | |
| Switching costs | |

### 3. Bargaining Power of Suppliers — Power: HIGH / MEDIUM / LOW
[Key suppliers, switching cost, concentration]

### 4. Bargaining Power of Buyers — Power: HIGH / MEDIUM / LOW
[Price sensitivity, alternatives available, buyer concentration]

### 5. Threat of Substitutes — Threat: HIGH / MEDIUM / LOW
[Alternative ways customers solve the same problem]

### Overall Industry Attractiveness: X/10
[Summary: which forces are most significant and why]

SWOT Analysis

+-------------------------+-------------------------+
|       STRENGTHS         |       WEAKNESSES        |
|       (Internal +)      |       (Internal -)      |
| * What we do well       | * Where we lack         |
| * Unique resources      | * Resource gaps         |
| * Competitive advantages| * Capability limits     |
+-------------------------+-------------------------+
|      OPPORTUNITIES      |         THREATS         |
|       (External +)      |       (External -)      |
| * Market trends         | * Competitive pressure  |
| * Unmet needs           | * Regulatory changes    |
| * Technology shifts     | * Economic factors      |
+-------------------------+-------------------------+

TOWS Matrix (SWOT to Strategy)

Competitor Profile Template

## Competitor: [Name]

### Overview
- Founded: [Year] | Funding: $[Amount] | Employees: [N]
- Target customer: [Segment]
- Pricing: [Model and range]

### Strengths / Weaknesses
+ [Strength 1]
+ [Strength 2]
- [Weakness 1]
- [Weakness 2]

### Threat Assessment: HIGH / MEDIUM / LOW
- [Why this threat level]
- [Our differentiation vs. this competitor]

Competitive Landscape Map

Plot competitors on two axes that matter most to buyers (e.g., price vs. features, ease of use vs. power):

                    HIGH PRICE
                        |
     Premium Leaders    |    Luxury Niche
   +-------------+      |      +-------------+
   |  [Comp A]   |      |      |  [Comp B]   |
   +-------------+      |      +-------------+
                        |
LOW ────────────────────+──────────────────── HIGH
FEATURES                |                   FEATURES
                        |
   +-------------+      |      +-------------+
   |  [Comp C]   |      |      |    [US]     |
   +-------------+      |      +-------------+
     Budget Options     |    Value Leaders
                        |
                    LOW PRICE

Identify whitespace — quadrants with no incumbents that align with unmet buyer needs.

GitHub Signals for Competitive Tracking

# Star count and momentum
gh api repos/owner/repo --jq '{stars: .stargazers_count, forks: .forks_count}'

# Shipping velocity (recent releases)
gh release list --repo owner/repo --limit 5

# Community size
gh api repos/owner/repo/contributors --jq 'length'

References

• Competitive Analysis Rules — Porter's, SWOT, landscape map, competitor profile templates
• Competitive Analysis Guide — Research methodology, data sources, update cadence

Related Skills

• ork:market-sizing — Quantify opportunity size alongside competitive landscape
• ork:business-case — Build financial justification informed by competitive position
• ork:product-frameworks — Full product strategy toolkit (value prop, prioritization, OKRs)

Version: 1.0.0