Competitive Analysis Skill

Procedural guidance for turning competitor products into structured intelligence that feeds PRDs, design briefs, and visual direction decisions.

When to Use

• Running /landscape [initiative] [competitors...]

• Scoping a new initiative and need market context

• Entering Define phase and the PRD needs competitive evidence

• A customer mentions a competitor in research or Slack signals

• Evaluating "build vs. match" decisions for a feature area

Inputs

• Initiative name

• List of competitor product names and/or URLs

• Optional: specific feature area or flow to focus on (e.g., "onboarding", "dashboard", "agent configuration")

Required Context

Load before analysis:

• pm-workspace-docs/company-context/product-vision.md

• Know what AskElephant IS and IS NOT

• pm-workspace-docs/company-context/strategic-guardrails.md

• Red flags for copying vs. differentiating

• pm-workspace-docs/company-context/personas.md

• Who we build for (evaluate competitors through our persona lens)

• Initiative's research.md if it exists - Customer-voiced competitive signals

Competitor Tiering

Classify every competitor before analysis:

Tier Definition Analysis Depth Examples

Direct Same product category, same target buyer Full profile + UX deep dive Momentum, Reevo, Gong

Indirect Different product, solves same job-to-be-done Profile + feature comparison Day.ai, Clari, Chorus

Adjacent Different category, shares a design/automation pattern Pattern extraction only Zapier, Make, Tray.ai, Relay.app

Methodology

1. Define Analysis Dimensions

Tie dimensions to the specific initiative, not a generic feature checklist. Ask:

• What user problem does this initiative solve?

• What flows/screens are most relevant to compare?

• What decision are we trying to make? (build, match, leapfrog, ignore)

Example dimensions for an "agent automation" initiative:

• Agent configuration UX (how complex is setup?)

• Trigger/action model (visual builder vs. code vs. natural language)

• Error handling and observability (can users debug failed automations?)

• Integration depth (shallow webhook vs. deep CRM field mapping)

• Trust signals (how does the product communicate what the AI will do?)

2. Gather Intelligence

Sources to check for each competitor:

• Product website - Positioning, pricing, target persona messaging

• Product screenshots/demos - Via web search for "[product] dashboard screenshot", "[product] UI demo"

• G2 screenshot galleries - g2.com/products/[product]/screenshots (often 5-15 real product screenshots)

• Interactive demos - Search for "[product] interactive demo" or "[product] product tour" (Navattic, Storylane, Reprise embeds)

• YouTube walkthroughs - Search "[product] demo walkthrough [year]" for recent UI screenshots

• G2/Capterra reviews - What real users praise and complain about

• Job postings - What they're building next (hiring for = investing in)

• Changelog/blog - Recent feature launches and roadmap signals (often include UI screenshots of new features)

• Customer mentions - Search initiative's research.md and pm-workspace-docs/signals/ for competitor names

• Social/community - Reddit, Twitter/X, LinkedIn posts comparing tools

• Help docs/knowledge base - Often contain detailed UI screenshots showing actual product screens

Use web search extensively. Do NOT make up competitor features -- cite sources. Prioritize capturing real UI screenshots from these sources using the browser-use subagent.

3. Capture Real Competitor UI Screenshots

For Direct and Indirect competitors, go beyond feature lists. Capture actual competitor product UIs first, then generate mockups only as a supplement.

Step 3a: Screenshot Capture (Primary)

Use the browser-use subagent to navigate to competitor product pages and take real screenshots:

Search for screenshot sources: Web search for "[product] dashboard" , "[product] UI" , "[product] demo" , "[product] product tour" . Look for:

• Product marketing pages with embedded screenshots

• Demo/tour pages (many SaaS products have interactive demos or Navattic/Storylane embeds)

• G2 screenshot galleries (g2.com/products/[product]/screenshots)

• YouTube demo walkthrough thumbnails

• Product documentation with UI screenshots

• Blog posts announcing features (often include UI previews)

Use browser-use subagent to visit the best URLs and take screenshots:

• Navigate to the page

• Scroll to the relevant UI section

• Take a screenshot

• Save to assets/competitive/ with the naming convention below

Naming convention for real screenshots:

• [competitor]-[screen]-screenshot.png (e.g., gainsight-health-dashboard-screenshot.png )

• [competitor]-[flow]-screenshot-[N].png for multi-step flows (e.g., vitally-setup-wizard-screenshot-1.png )

Annotate each screenshot in the competitive landscape doc with:

• Source URL

• Date captured

• What it shows (screen name, key patterns visible)

Step 3b: AI-Generated Mockups (Supplement)

When real screenshots aren't available (login-gated, no public demos, or need to illustrate a pattern comparison across competitors):

• Use image generation to create representative comparison mockups

• Naming convention for generated mockups: [pattern]-comparison-mockup.png or [competitor]-[pattern]-mockup.png

• Always label generated images clearly in the doc: "AI-generated representation based on public documentation and marketing materials"

General Guidelines

• Always prefer real screenshots over generated mockups -- they're more credible and show actual UX details

• Capture the flow, not just individual screens (onboarding sequence, configuration wizard, dashboard layout)

• Note interaction patterns: drag-and-drop, form-based, natural language, wizard-style

• Save all images to pm-workspace-docs/initiatives/active/[name]/assets/competitive/

• For each initiative, aim for at least 2-3 real competitor screenshots per Direct competitor

4. Build Feature Matrix

Rows = capabilities relevant to THIS initiative (not a generic checklist) Columns = competitors + AskElephant (current) + AskElephant (proposed)

Use these ratings:

• Leading - Best-in-class implementation

• Parity - Meets market expectation

• Basic - Functional but limited

• Missing - Not available

• N/A - Not applicable to this product

5. Map Differentiation

Categorize each capability:

Category Meaning Strategic Response

Table Stakes Everyone has it, customers expect it Must match, don't over-invest

Parity Zone Most competitors have it, some don't Match if evidence demands it

Opportunity Gap Few or no competitors serve this well Potential differentiator -- validate with users

AskElephant Unique Only we have this (or could) Protect and amplify

6. Extract Design Vocabulary

Identify the language and patterns competitors use:

• Adopt: Patterns that are becoming user expectations (e.g., "visual workflow builder" for automations)

• Reject: Patterns that conflict with our values (e.g., surveillance dashboards, complexity-as-power)

• Leapfrog: Patterns we can do better because of our unique position (meeting context, CRM knowledge)

Required Output Sections

The competitive-landscape.md document MUST include:

1. TL;DR

2-3 sentence market position summary. Where does AskElephant sit? What's the primary differentiation opportunity?

2. Competitor Profiles

Per competitor (Direct and Indirect tiers):

• Product: Name + URL

• Tier: Direct / Indirect / Adjacent

• Positioning: How they describe themselves (use their actual tagline)

• Target Persona: Who they sell to

• Key Strengths: 2-3 things they do well

• Key Weaknesses: 2-3 gaps or complaints (cite G2/review sources)

• Relevance to This Initiative: Why this competitor matters for this specific work

3. Feature Matrix

Table with initiative-specific capabilities as rows, competitors as columns.

4. UX Pattern Inventory

For each key flow relevant to the initiative:

• How does Competitor A handle it?

• How does Competitor B handle it?

• What's the emerging "best practice" pattern?

• Where are users frustrated? (from reviews)

• Screenshot/mockup references

5. Visual Reference Gallery

Organized by flow or screen type, with clear labeling:

Real Competitor Screenshots (captured from product pages, demos, G2):

• Link to each image with source URL, date captured, and what it demonstrates

• These are primary references for design decisions

AI-Generated Comparison Mockups (created when real screenshots unavailable):

• Clearly labeled as generated representations

• Used to illustrate pattern comparisons across competitors or when products are login-gated

6. Differentiation Map

Table categorizing each capability as Table Stakes / Parity Zone / Opportunity Gap / AskElephant Unique.

7. Design Vocabulary

• Patterns to Adopt: List with rationale

• Patterns to Reject: List with rationale (cite anti-vision when relevant)

• Patterns to Leapfrog: Where our unique context enables better solutions

8. Strategic Recommendations

• What to match (table stakes we're missing)

• What to leapfrog (opportunity gaps we can own)

• What to ignore (competitor features that don't serve our personas)

• Risks if we don't act

Save Locations

• Analysis document: pm-workspace-docs/initiatives/active/[name]/competitive-landscape.md

• Real competitor screenshots: pm-workspace-docs/initiatives/active/[name]/assets/competitive/[competitor]-[screen]-screenshot.png

• Generated comparison mockups: pm-workspace-docs/initiatives/active/[name]/assets/competitive/[pattern]-comparison-mockup.png

• Competitive signals from other sources: append to existing competitive-landscape.md or create if missing

Image Naming Convention

Type Pattern Example

Real screenshot [competitor]-[screen]-screenshot.png

gainsight-health-dashboard-screenshot.png

Multi-step flow [competitor]-[flow]-screenshot-[N].png

vitally-setup-wizard-screenshot-1.png

Generated mockup [pattern]-comparison-mockup.png

health-score-patterns-comparison-mockup.png

Generated per-competitor [competitor]-[pattern]-mockup.png

churnzero-alert-ux-mockup.png

Integration Points

• Research Analyst: When analyzing transcripts, competitive mentions feed into the Competitor Profiles section

• PRD Writer: The Feature Matrix and Differentiation Map provide "Competitive Evidence" for the PRD

• Design Brief: Design Vocabulary section feeds directly into the brief's "References" and "Patterns to Adopt/Reject"

• Visual Design: The UX Pattern Inventory and Visual Reference Gallery inform mockup generation directions

Anti-Patterns

• Copying competitor features without understanding WHY they built them

• Generic feature comparison that isn't tied to the specific initiative

• Listing features without evaluating UX quality and user satisfaction

• Treating "competitor has it" as sufficient evidence to build (needs user evidence too)

• Ignoring adjacent competitors that share relevant design patterns

• Analysis paralysis -- the goal is actionable intelligence, not an exhaustive report

When to Refresh

• Before entering a new initiative phase (Discovery -> Define -> Build)

• When a competitor launches a significant update in the same space

• When customer research surfaces new competitor mentions

• Quarterly for ongoing initiatives