product-context-template

Product Context Template

Purpose

This template guides the creation of product context skills - strategic information about product vision, goals, constraints, and positioning that helps Claude understand the "why" behind technical decisions. Replace all [PLACEHOLDER] values with actual product information.

SKILL.md Frontmatter Template

---
name: [product-name]-context
description: Product context for [PRODUCT_NAME] including vision, goals, and constraints when discussing [FEATURE_AREA_1], [FEATURE_AREA_2], or [USE_CASE]. Auto-invoke when user mentions [PRODUCT_NAME], [KEY_FEATURE], or [TARGET_USER_SEGMENT]. Do NOT load for general [DOMAIN] discussions unrelated to [PRODUCT_NAME].
allowed-tools: []
version: 1.0.0
category: Product
tags: [[product-name], [domain], product-context, strategy]
product-version: [VERSION_OR_RELEASE]
last-updated: [YYYY-MM-DD]
---

Description Engineering Guidance:

✅ DO include:

• Product name and key features
• Specific feature areas covered
• Target user segments
• Strategic positioning keywords

❌ DON'T use:

• Generic descriptions ("Information about product...")
• No product scope boundaries
• Missing trigger terms users will actually mention

Example Good Description:

Product context for EasyPay payment processing including merchant onboarding, flexible leasing, and international support when discussing payment flows, compliance requirements, or merchant experience. Auto-invoke when user mentions EasyPay, merchant setup, or leasing options. Do NOT load for general payment discussions outside EasyPay.

Product Context Content Structure

1. Product Vision & Mission

Purpose: Core purpose and long-term aspiration

Product Vision

[ONE_SENTENCE_VISION_STATEMENT]

Example: "Enable every restaurant to offer flexible payment options that increase customer purchasing power while maintaining financial security."

Mission Statement

[ONE_TO_TWO_SENTENCE_MISSION]

Target Outcome: [MEASURABLE_GOAL_OR_IMPACT]

• Example: "Increase average transaction value by >30%"
• Example: "Reduce merchant setup time from weeks to <24 hours"

Strategic Positioning

• Market Position: [WHERE_PRODUCT_FITS_IN_MARKET]
• Differentiation: [WHAT_MAKES_THIS_UNIQUE]
• Competitive Advantage: [KEY_ADVANTAGE_OVER_ALTERNATIVES]

2. Target Users & Personas

Purpose: Who the product serves and their key characteristics

Primary Persona: [PERSONA_NAME]

Role: [JOB_TITLE_OR_ROLE]

Key Characteristics:

• Goals: [PRIMARY_GOAL_1], [PRIMARY_GOAL_2]
• Pain Points: [PAIN_POINT_1], [PAIN_POINT_2]
• Technical Proficiency: [LOW/MEDIUM/HIGH]
• Decision Authority: [WHAT_THEY_CAN_DECIDE]

Success Metrics (for this persona):

• [METRIC_1]: [TARGET_VALUE]
• [METRIC_2]: [TARGET_VALUE]

Secondary Persona: [PERSONA_NAME]

(Repeat structure for secondary/tertiary personas)

3. Product Goals & Success Metrics

Purpose: Measurable objectives and KPIs

Current Release Goals [RELEASE_VERSION]

Goal	Success Metric	Target	Current	Status
[GOAL_1]	[METRIC_NAME]	[TARGET_VALUE]	[CURRENT_VALUE]	[ON_TRACK/AT_RISK/ACHIEVED]
[GOAL_2]	[METRIC_NAME]	[TARGET_VALUE]	[CURRENT_VALUE]	[ON_TRACK/AT_RISK/ACHIEVED]
[GOAL_3]	[METRIC_NAME]	[TARGET_VALUE]	[CURRENT_VALUE]	[ON_TRACK/AT_RISK/ACHIEVED]

Long-Term Strategic Goals (12-24 months)

1. [STRATEGIC_GOAL_1]: [DESCRIPTION_AND_WHY]
2. [STRATEGIC_GOAL_2]: [DESCRIPTION_AND_WHY]
3. [STRATEGIC_GOAL_3]: [DESCRIPTION_AND_WHY]

4. Product Constraints & Trade-offs

Purpose: Known limitations and strategic trade-off decisions

Technical Constraints

• Performance: [CONSTRAINT_DESCRIPTION]

  • Example: "Must support 10,000 transactions/second"
  • Rationale: [WHY_THIS_MATTERS]

• Scalability: [CONSTRAINT_DESCRIPTION]

  • Example: "Architecture must scale to 100M users without redesign"
  • Rationale: [WHY_THIS_MATTERS]

• Integration: [CONSTRAINT_DESCRIPTION]

  • Example: "Must integrate with legacy POS systems via REST API"
  • Rationale: [WHY_THIS_MATTERS]

Business Constraints

• Budget: [CONSTRAINT_DESCRIPTION] (use relative terms, no specific amounts)
• Timeline: [CONSTRAINT_DESCRIPTION]
• Resources: [CONSTRAINT_DESCRIPTION]
• Compliance: [REGULATORY_REQUIREMENTS]

Strategic Trade-offs (Decisions Made)

Trade-off: [WHAT_WAS_DECIDED]
We chose: [OPTION_A]
Over: [OPTION_B]
Because: [RATIONALE]
Date decided: [YYYY-MM-DD]
Revisit if: [CONDITION_THAT_WOULD_CHANGE_DECISION]

5. Core Features & Capabilities

Purpose: What the product does (high-level, not implementation details)

Feature Category: [CATEGORY_NAME]

Features:

1. [FEATURE_NAME]

   • Purpose: [WHY_THIS_EXISTS]
   • User Value: [BENEFIT_TO_USER]
   • Status: [AVAILABLE/IN_DEVELOPMENT/PLANNED]
   • Priority: [MUST_HAVE/SHOULD_HAVE/NICE_TO_HAVE]

2. [FEATURE_NAME] (Repeat structure)

Feature Roadmap (High-Level)

Quarter	Theme	Key Features	Goal
[Q1 YYYY]	[THEME]	[FEATURES]	[OBJECTIVE]
[Q2 YYYY]	[THEME]	[FEATURES]	[OBJECTIVE]
[Q3 YYYY]	[THEME]	[FEATURES]	[OBJECTIVE]

Note: Roadmap is directional, subject to change based on customer feedback and market conditions.

6. User Experience Principles

Purpose: Design philosophy and UX standards

Core UX Principles

1. [PRINCIPLE_1]: [DESCRIPTION]

   • Example: "Simplicity over features - every screen should have single clear purpose"
   • Application: [HOW_THIS_APPLIES_TO_DECISIONS]

2. [PRINCIPLE_2]: [DESCRIPTION]

   • Example: "Progressive disclosure - show basics first, advanced options on demand"
   • Application: [HOW_THIS_APPLIES_TO_DECISIONS]

3. [PRINCIPLE_3]: [DESCRIPTION]

   • Example: "Mobile-first design - optimize for smallest screen, enhance for larger"
   • Application: [HOW_THIS_APPLIES_TO_DECISIONS]

Accessibility Standards

• Compliance Level: [WCAG_LEVEL] (e.g., WCAG 2.1 AA)
• Key Requirements: [SPECIFIC_REQUIREMENTS]
• Testing Approach: [HOW_ACCESSIBILITY_IS_VALIDATED]

7. Integration & Ecosystem

Purpose: How product fits in broader ecosystem

Key Integrations

System	Integration Type	Purpose	Status
[SYSTEM_1]	[API/WEBHOOK/SDK]	[WHY_INTEGRATED]	[ACTIVE/PLANNED]
[SYSTEM_2]	[API/WEBHOOK/SDK]	[WHY_INTEGRATED]	[ACTIVE/PLANNED]

Ecosystem Position

Upstream Dependencies: [SYSTEMS_WE_DEPEND_ON]
Downstream Consumers: [SYSTEMS_THAT_DEPEND_ON_US]
Lateral Partners: [PEER_SYSTEMS_WE_COORDINATE_WITH]

8. Assumptions & Risks

Purpose: Known assumptions and tracked risks

Key Assumptions

1. [ASSUMPTION_1]

   • If wrong, impact: [WHAT_WOULD_CHANGE]
   • Validation approach: [HOW_WE_TEST_THIS]

2. [ASSUMPTION_2] (Repeat structure)

Risk Register

Risk	Probability	Impact	Mitigation	Owner
[RISK_1]	[LOW/MEDIUM/HIGH]	[LOW/MEDIUM/HIGH]	[MITIGATION_STRATEGY]	[ROLE_NOT_NAME]
[RISK_2]	[LOW/MEDIUM/HIGH]	[LOW/MEDIUM/HIGH]	[MITIGATION_STRATEGY]	[ROLE_NOT_NAME]

Validation Checklist

Before finalizing product context skill, verify:

Content Quality:

• All [PLACEHOLDERS] replaced with actual values
• Zero PII (no names, emails, phone numbers)
• Zero business-confidential data (revenue, pricing, specific budgets)
• Vision and goals are clear and measurable
• Constraints are documented with rationale

Strategic Clarity:

• Vision statement is one sentence and inspiring
• Success metrics are specific and measurable
• Trade-offs are documented with reasoning
• Assumptions are testable
• Risks have mitigation strategies

User Focus:

• Primary personas clearly defined
• User goals and pain points specific
• UX principles actionable (not generic)
• Accessibility requirements clear

Metadata & Tracking:

• product-version field indicates current release
• Last updated date is current
• allowed-tools: [] set (product context is read-only reference)
• Category and tags aid discovery

Security & Scope:

• File location matches scope (product context in .claude/skills/projects/[product-name]/)
• No competitive intelligence or confidential strategy exposed
• Reviewed by product owner

Usage Examples

Creating New Product Context Skill:

User: "Create a product context skill for EasyPay"

Claude: [Loads this template skill, uses structure to create EasyPay-specific context]

Feature Development Guidance:

User: "Should we add advanced analytics to the merchant dashboard?"

Claude: [Loads product context skill, checks against vision, user personas, and goals]
Response: "Based on product vision of 'simplicity over features' and primary persona being small restaurant owners with low technical proficiency, advanced analytics might violate UX principle #1. Consider progressive disclosure - basic metrics by default, advanced analytics opt-in."

Do NOT Use This Template For:

• Actual product work (use project-specific skills instead)
• Technical implementation details (use ground truth for specs)
• Stakeholder information (use stakeholder template)
• Frequently changing tactical plans (product context is strategic)

Maintenance & Freshness

Update Triggers:

• New product vision or strategic pivot
• Major release with significant feature changes
• Quarterly goals update
• New competitive positioning
• Persona evolution based on user research

Review Cadence:

• Vision/Mission: Annually or on strategic pivot
• Goals/Metrics: Quarterly
• Features/Roadmap: Monthly
• Constraints/Risks: Ongoing as they change

Version Control:

• Update product-version field with product release version
• Track changes in git with reference to product release notes
• Use semantic versioning for template (1.0.0 → 1.1.0 for additions)

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Template Source: Phase 2 requirements + product management best practices Template Version: 1.0.0 Last Updated: 2025-10-20 Validation: Ready for Phase 2 implementation