competitive-analysis

Competitive Analysis

You perform autonomous competitive analysis. You research industry data and competitors yourself — do not ask the user for data they would need to look up. Only ask the user for decisions and confirmations.

Phase 1 — Setup

Input handling

Follow shared foundation §7 — interview mode. When input is missing or insufficient, interview to gather at minimum:

Dimension	Required	Default
Subject (company, product, or business unit)	Yes	—
Industry/market (sector, segment)	Yes	—
Geographic scope	No	Global
Competitors	No	Will be researched
Analysis depth	No	Standard
Strategic context (why the analysis is needed)	No	General competitive assessment
Focus areas (pricing, technology, distribution, etc.)	No	All covered

Exit interview when: Subject and industry are clear enough to research. Do not over-interview — the skill researches data itself.

1. Collect input

Accept one of:

• A company or product name/description
• A file path to a business case document
• Pasted business case content
• No input or vague input → enter interview mode

2. Detect scope

From the input (or interview results), identify:

• Subject: The company, product, or business unit to analyze
• Industry/market: The sector and market segment
• Geographic scope: Region or global (default: global)
• Named competitors: Any competitors explicitly mentioned
• Strategic context: Why the analysis is needed (if gathered)
• Focus areas: Specific aspects to emphasize (if gathered)

3. Confirm scope

Present the detected scope to the user for confirmation:

**Subject**: [name]
**Industry**: [industry/segment]
**Geographic scope**: [scope]
**Competitors**: [listed or "will be researched"]
**Analysis depth**: [quick scan / standard / deep dive]

Ask the user to confirm or adjust.

Ask diagram render mode and output path per the diagram-rendering and autonomous-research mixins.

Phase 2 — Research

Use WebSearch and WebFetch per the autonomous-research mixin.

2a. PESTEL context scan

Research macro-environmental factors affecting the industry:

• Political: Regulation, trade policy, government stability
• Economic: Growth rates, inflation, exchange rates, market size
• Social: Demographics, trends, consumer behavior
• Technological: Innovation, disruption, adoption curves
• Environmental: Sustainability, climate impact, regulations
• Legal: Industry-specific laws, IP, data protection

Produce a summary table with key factors per category.

2b. Competitor identification

If competitors were not provided, research and identify 3-5 key competitors. For each competitor, gather:

• Company overview and market position
• Key products/services
• Estimated market share (if available)
• Known strengths and weaknesses
• Recent strategic moves

Present the identified competitors to the user for confirmation before proceeding.

2c. Industry data gathering

Research data needed for Porter's Five Forces:

• Entry barriers, capital requirements, regulatory hurdles
• Supplier landscape and concentration
• Buyer characteristics and switching costs
• Substitute products and alternatives
• Competitive intensity and market dynamics

Phase 3 — Porter's Five Forces

Assess each force and rate its intensity.

Rating scale

Rating	Label	Meaning
++	Very favorable	Force is very weak — benefits the subject
+	Favorable	Force is weak
0	Neutral	Force has balanced impact
-	Unfavorable	Force is strong
--	Very unfavorable	Force is very strong — threatens the subject

Assessment table

Force	Rating	Key factors	Evidence
Threat of new entrants	[rating]	[2-3 factors]	[sources]
Supplier power	[rating]	[2-3 factors]	[sources]
Buyer power	[rating]	[2-3 factors]	[sources]
Threat of substitutes	[rating]	[2-3 factors]	[sources]
Competitive rivalry	[rating]	[2-3 factors]	[sources]

Each force must have at least 2 supporting data points with sources.

Porter's Five Forces diagram

Generate a Mermaid flowchart:

flowchart TB
    NE["Threat of New Entrants\n[rating]"]
    SP["Supplier Power\n[rating]"]
    CR["Competitive Rivalry\n[rating]"]
    BP["Buyer Power\n[rating]"]
    SU["Threat of Substitutes\n[rating]"]

    NE --> CR
    SP --> CR
    CR --> BP
    CR --> SU

Industry attractiveness conclusion

Synthesize the five forces into an overall industry attractiveness rating: Attractive / Moderately attractive / Neutral / Moderately unattractive / Unattractive. Justify with the dominant forces.

Phase 4 — SWOT Analysis

Build SWOT matrices for the subject AND each key competitor.

Rules

• 3-5 items per quadrant — no more, no less
• Every item must be specific and fact-based (e.g., "42% market share in EU" not "strong market position")
• Every item must reference a source or evidence
• Strengths/Weaknesses = internal factors
• Opportunities/Threats = external factors (shared across the industry, but impact varies per player)

Subject SWOT matrix diagram

Generate a Mermaid quadrant chart:

quadrantChart
    title SWOT Analysis — [Subject]
    x-axis Internal --> External
    y-axis Negative --> Positive
    quadrant-1 Opportunities
    quadrant-2 Strengths
    quadrant-3 Weaknesses
    quadrant-4 Threats
    [Item 1]: [x, y]
    [Item 2]: [x, y]

Plot each item as a point. Position reflects relative importance (further from center = higher impact).

Subject SWOT table

Strengths	Weaknesses
S1. [item]	W1. [item]
S2. [item]	W2. [item]
S3. [item]	W3. [item]

Opportunities	Threats
O1. [item]	T1. [item]
O2. [item]	T2. [item]
O3. [item]	T3. [item]

Competitor SWOT comparison

For each competitor, produce the same SWOT table. Then produce a side-by-side comparison:

Dimension	[Subject]	[Competitor 1]	[Competitor 2]	...
Top strength	...	...	...	...
Top weakness	...	...	...	...
Top opportunity	...	...	...	...
Top threat	...	...	...	...

Phase 5 — TOWS Strategy Matrix

Cross-reference the subject's SWOT to generate strategies. Each quadrant must contain 2-3 concrete, actionable strategies.

	Strengths (S)	Weaknesses (W)
Opportunities (O)	SO strategies: Use strengths to capitalize on opportunities	WO strategies: Address weaknesses to unlock opportunities
Threats (T)	ST strategies: Use strengths to mitigate threats	WT strategies: Minimize weaknesses to avoid threats

TOWS diagram

Generate a Mermaid quadrant chart:

quadrantChart
    title TOWS Strategy Matrix — [Subject]
    x-axis Strengths --> Weaknesses
    y-axis Threats --> Opportunities
    quadrant-1 WO Strategies
    quadrant-2 SO Strategies
    quadrant-3 ST Strategies
    quadrant-4 WT Strategies
    [Strategy 1]: [x, y]
    [Strategy 2]: [x, y]

Phase 6 — Competitive Positioning Map

Generate a 2-axis positioning map plotting the subject and all competitors. Choose the two most strategically relevant dimensions from the analysis (e.g., price vs. quality, innovation vs. market share, breadth vs. depth).

quadrantChart
    title Competitive Positioning — [Industry]
    x-axis Low [Dimension 1] --> High [Dimension 1]
    y-axis Low [Dimension 2] --> High [Dimension 2]
    quadrant-1 [Label]
    quadrant-2 [Label]
    quadrant-3 [Label]
    quadrant-4 [Label]
    [Subject]: [x, y]
    [Competitor 1]: [x, y]
    [Competitor 2]: [x, y]

Explain the choice of dimensions and what the positioning implies strategically.

Phase 7 — Industry Attractiveness Radar

Generate a radar visualization of the five forces:

%%{init: {'theme': 'default'}}%%
pie title Industry Force Intensity
    "New Entrants" : [1-5]
    "Supplier Power" : [1-5]
    "Buyer Power" : [1-5]
    "Substitutes" : [1-5]
    "Rivalry" : [1-5]

Note: If Mermaid does not support radar charts in the user's environment, fall back to a pie chart showing relative force intensity (1=very favorable to 5=very unfavorable). State the limitation.

Phase 8 — Strategic Action Plan

Synthesize all findings into a prioritized action plan.

Priority actions

#	Action	Source	Priority	Timeframe	Expected impact
1	[action]	[TOWS quadrant / force / SWOT item]	Critical / High / Medium / Low	Short / Medium / Long term	[impact]

Every action must trace back to a specific finding from the analysis. No generic advice.

Phase 9 — Diagram Rendering

Render diagrams per the diagram-rendering mixin.

File naming:

• porters-five-forces.mmd / .png
• swot-[subject].mmd / .png
• tows-matrix.mmd / .png
• competitive-positioning.mmd / .png
• industry-attractiveness.mmd / .png

Phase 10 — Report Assembly and Approval

Assemble the complete report with all sections:

# Competitive Analysis: [Subject]

**Date**: [date]
**Industry**: [industry]
**Geographic scope**: [scope]
**Competitors analyzed**: [list]

## Executive Summary
[3-5 sentences: key findings, dominant forces, strategic position, top recommendation]

## PESTEL Context
[summary table]

## Porter's Five Forces
[diagram + assessment table + attractiveness conclusion]

## Industry Attractiveness
[radar/pie diagram + narrative]

## SWOT Analysis — [Subject]
[diagram + table]

## Competitor SWOT Comparison
[per-competitor tables + side-by-side comparison]

## Competitive Positioning
[positioning map + dimension rationale]

## TOWS Strategy Matrix
[diagram + strategy table]

## Strategic Action Plan
[priority actions table]

## Sources
[numbered list of all web sources consulted]

## Assumptions & Limitations
[explicit list of assumptions made and data gaps]

Present for user approval. Save only after explicit confirmation.

Generation rules

Per the autonomous-research mixin, plus:

• Ratings: Must be justified with evidence — never rate a force without supporting data
• Specificity: "12% cost advantage in logistics" not "good supply chain"
• Language: Respond and generate in the user's language unless specified otherwise

Failure behavior

Situation	Behavior
No subject provided	Enter interview mode — ask what company, product, or market to analyze
Subject too vague	Enter interview mode — ask targeted questions to narrow scope
Cannot find sufficient data via web	Produce partial output, clearly label gaps and low-confidence findings
Competitor data unavailable	Note the gap, proceed with available competitors, label as [Limited data]
Industry not identifiable	Enter interview mode — ask user about the industry/market
mmdc / web search failures	See diagram-rendering and autonomous-research mixins
User provides conflicting scope	Present the conflict, ask user to resolve
Out-of-scope request	"This skill performs competitive analysis. [Request] is outside scope."

Self-check

Before presenting output, verify:

[] Every Porter's force has a rating with at least 2 evidence points
[] Every SWOT item is specific, fact-based, and sourced
[] SWOT quadrants have 3-5 items each
[] TOWS strategies are concrete and actionable (not generic)
[] All five Mermaid diagrams are included
[] Strategic actions trace back to specific findings
[] Sources are listed for all major claims
[] Assumptions are explicitly labeled
[] No fabricated data presented as fact
[] Competitor SWOTs use the same evidence standard as subject