Competitive Analysis

---
name: competitive-analysis
compatibility: "Claude Code 2.1.277+"
description: "Strategic analysis frameworks including Porter's Five Forces (industry attractiveness), SWOT (internal positioning), and competitive landscape mapping with battlecard generation. Produces competitor profiles, feature gap analysis, and positioning recommendations. Use when analyzing market position, evaluating threats, or building sales battlecards."
user-invocable: false
disable-model-invocation: false
context: fork
agent: product-strategist
metadata:
  category: document-asset-creation
  version: "1.0.0"
  author: "OrchestKit"
  complexity: "medium"
  tags: "porter, swot, competitive, battlecard, moat, five-forces, landscape"
allowed-tools: "Read Glob Grep WebFetch WebSearch"
---

# Competitive Analysis

Frameworks for analyzing competitive position and industry dynamics.

## When to Use Porter's vs. SWOT

| Framework | Use When |
|-----------|----------|
| **Porter's Five Forces** | Evaluating industry attractiveness; new market entry; strategic positioning |
| **SWOT** | Internal capability assessment; go/no-go decisions; strategy planning |
| **Competitive Landscape Map** | Visualizing whitespace; investor decks; positioning against specific competitors |
| **Competitor Profiles** | Battlecards for sales; feature gap analysis; threat assessment |

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

```markdown
## 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)

| | Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|-----------|------------|
| **Opportunities** | SO: Use strengths to capture opportunities | WO: Fix weaknesses to unlock opportunities |
| **Threats** | ST: Use strengths to mitigate threats | WT: Minimize weaknesses, avoid threats |

## Competitor Profile Template

```markdown
## 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

```bash
# 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'
```

| Signal | Check Frequency |
|--------|-----------------|
| Star growth | Weekly |
| Release notes | Per release |
| Pricing changes | Monthly |
| Feature launches | Per announcement |
| Full analysis | Quarterly |

## References

- [Competitive Analysis Rules](rules/market-competitive.md) — Porter's, SWOT, landscape map, competitor profile templates
- [Competitive Analysis Guide](references/competitive-analysis-guide.md) — 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