Stage 01 - Market Research

Conduct comprehensive market research and competitive analysis to validate the problem, understand the market landscape, identify competitors, and discover market gaps and opportunities.

When to Use This Skill

• User asks to start stage 01 (market-research)

• User wants to research competitors or market landscape

• User asks about market size, trends, or opportunities

Your Roles in This Skill

See dev-swarm/docs/general-dev-stage-rule.md for role selection guidance.

Role Communication

See dev-swarm/docs/general-dev-stage-rule.md for the required role announcement format.

Pre-Stage Check

Before starting, verify previous stages:

• Check if 00-init-ideas/ folder has content (not just .gitkeep )

• If previous stage is empty and has no SKIP.md :

• Ask user: "Stage 00 is not complete. Would you like to skip it or start from that stage first?"

Instructions

Step 1: Context Review

Read all files to understand the project:

• ideas.md

• 00-init-ideas/*.md

• All markdown files

Step 2: Create Stage Proposal

General Rules: See dev-swarm/docs/general-dev-stage-rule.md → "Create Stage Proposal Rules" section.

If this stage is skipped (has SKIP.md), execute the next non-skipped stage's agent skill. Otherwise, create the file 01-market-research/README.md with the following content:

2.1 Stage Goal

Brief the goal in 2-3 paragraphs:

• What this stage aims to achieve

• Why market research is critical for product success

• How this builds upon previous stages

• What deliverables will be produced

2.2 File Selection

Select files from these options based on project needs:

Market Analysis:

• competitive-analysis.md

• In-depth analysis of direct and indirect competitors

• similar-products.md

• Research on similar products in the market

• market-size-opportunity.md

• TAM, SAM, SOM analysis

Strategic Analysis:

• swot-analysis.md

• Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats analysis

• market-trends.md

• Current industry trends and market direction

• market-gaps.md

• Identified gaps in the market

Business Intelligence:

• pricing-strategy.md

• Competitor pricing research and recommended pricing models

• feature-comparison.md

• Feature comparison matrix

For each selected file, provide:

• Short description

• Why it's essential for this project

• Key information it should include

2.3 Request User Approval

Ask user: "Please check the Stage Proposal in 01-market-research/README.md . Update it directly or tell me how to update it."

Step 3: Execute Stage Plan

Once user approves 01-market-research/README.md :

3.1 Create All Planned Files

Create each file listed in the approved README:

• For .md files: Write comprehensive content based on actual web research

Quality Guidelines:

• Use web search to gather real market data and competitor information

• Cite sources where possible for credibility

• Include quantitative data when available

• Analyze at least 3-5 direct competitors

• Identify specific, actionable market opportunities

3.2 Request User Approval for Files

After creating all files:

• Provide a summary of what was created

• Highlight key market insights discovered

• Ask: "Please review the market research documents. You can update or delete files, or let me know how to modify them."

Step 4: Finalize Stage

Once user approves all files:

4.1 Documentation Finalization

• Sync 01-market-research/README.md to remove any deleted files

• Ensure all files are complete and well-formatted

• Verify research findings are accurate and well-sourced

4.2 Prepare for Next Stage

• Summarize key market insights for reference in later stages

• Identify top competitors to consider during persona development

• Note market gaps that represent strongest opportunities

4.3 Announce Completion

Inform user:

• "Stage 01 (Market Research) is complete"

• Summary of deliverables created

• Key insights discovered

• "Ready to proceed to Stage 02 (Personas) when you are"

Stage Completion Rules

See dev-swarm/docs/general-dev-stage-rule.md for stage completion, commit, and skip rules.

Key Principles

• Base research on real data, not assumptions

• Cite sources for credibility

• Connect findings to product concept

• Support smooth transition to persona development