Competitive Analysis

---
name: competitive-analysis
description: Compare competitors and alternatives using current evidence on positioning, capabilities, pricing, distribution, strengths, weaknesses, and strategic implications.
---
# Competitive Analysis

Use when a product or strategy decision depends on understanding alternatives in the market.

## Procedure
1. Define the decision the analysis must inform and the relevant competitive set, including non-obvious substitutes.
2. Gather current primary evidence from products, pricing, documentation, announcements, and credible market sources.
3. Compare competitors against decision-relevant dimensions rather than generic feature counts.
4. Separate observed facts from interpretation and avoid assuming marketing claims equal product capability.
5. Identify patterns in positioning, target customer, distribution, business model, and defensibility.
6. Highlight gaps, threats, and opportunities without turning imitation into strategy.
7. State what evidence is weak or likely to become stale.

## Quality gate
The output must help make a decision. A competitor matrix with no strategic implication is incomplete.