---
title: "Competitive Analysis"
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."
---

<span className="badge badge-gray">Reference</span> <span className="badge badge-yellow">medium</span>

> **Auto-activated** — this skill loads automatically when Claude detects matching context.

<ContextualSkillSidebar slug="competitive-analysis" />


# 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


---

## Rules (1)

### Analyze competitive landscape using Porter Five Forces, SWOT, and positioning maps — HIGH


# Competitive Analysis

Frameworks for analyzing competition and understanding industry dynamics.

## Porter's Five Forces

```
                    +---------------------+
                    |  Threat of New      |
                    |     Entrants        |
                    |    (Barrier height) |
                    +---------+-----------+
                              |
                              v
+-----------------+    +-----------------+    +-----------------+
|   Bargaining    |    |   Competitive   |    |   Bargaining    |
|   Power of      |<---|    Rivalry      |--->|   Power of      |
|   Suppliers     |    |  (Intensity)    |    |    Buyers       |
+-----------------+    +---------+-------+    +-----------------+
                              |
                              v
                    +---------------------+
                    |  Threat of          |
                    |   Substitutes       |
                    | (Alternative ways)  |
                    +---------------------+
```

### Force Analysis Template

```markdown
## Porter's Five Forces: [Industry]

### 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 | |

### 3-5. [Supplier power, Buyer power, Substitutes]
[Same structure]

### Overall Industry Attractiveness: X/10
```

## 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      |
+-------------------------+-------------------------+
```

### SWOT to Strategy (TOWS Matrix)

| | Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|-----------|------------|
| **Opportunities** | **SO Strategies**: Use strengths to capture opportunities | **WO Strategies**: Overcome weaknesses to capture opportunities |
| **Threats** | **ST Strategies**: Use strengths to mitigate threats | **WT Strategies**: Minimize weaknesses and avoid threats |

## Competitive Landscape Map

```
                    HIGH PRICE
                        |
         Premium        |        Luxury
         Leaders        |        Niche
    +-------------+     |     +-------------+
    |  [Comp A]   |     |     |  [Comp B]   |
    +-------------+     |     +-------------+
                        |
LOW --------------------+-------------------- HIGH
FEATURES                |                   FEATURES
                        |
    +-------------+     |     +-------------+
    |  [Comp C]   |     |     |    [US]     |
    +-------------+     |     +-------------+
         Budget         |       Value
         Options        |       Leaders
                        |
                    LOW PRICE
```

## Competitor Profile Template

```markdown
## Competitor: [Name]

### Overview
- **Founded:** [Year]
- **Funding:** $[Amount]
- **Employees:** [N]

### Product
- **Core offering:** [Description]
- **Key features:** [List]
- **Pricing:** [Model]
- **Target customer:** [Segment]

### Strengths / Weaknesses
1. [Strength/Weakness]
2. [Strength/Weakness]

### Threat Assessment: HIGH / MEDIUM / LOW
```

## GitHub Signals to Track

```bash
# Star count and growth
gh api repos/owner/repo --jq '{stars: .stargazers_count}'

# Recent releases (shipping velocity)
gh release list --repo owner/repo --limit 5

# Contributor count
gh api repos/owner/repo/contributors --jq 'length'
```

## Update Frequency

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

**Incorrect — Vague competitive assessment:**
```markdown
## Competitors
- Company A: Big player, lots of features
- Company B: Cheaper option
- Company C: New entrant
```

**Correct — Structured competitive analysis with SWOT:**
```markdown
## Competitor: Company A

### Strengths / Weaknesses
+ Established brand, 60% market share
+ Enterprise features (SSO, RBAC)
- Legacy UI, poor mobile experience
- Slow release cycle (quarterly)

### Threat Assessment: HIGH
- Direct competitor in enterprise segment
- Strong sales team, existing relationships

### Our Differentiation
- Modern UX, mobile-first
- Weekly releases, faster iteration
```



---

## References (1)

### Competitive Analysis Guide

# Competitive Analysis Guide

Framework for systematic competitor research.

## Competitor Categories

```
DIRECT COMPETITORS
└── Same problem, same solution approach
└── Example: Cursor vs GitHub Copilot

INDIRECT COMPETITORS
└── Same problem, different solution
└── Example: AI coding vs traditional IDE plugins

POTENTIAL COMPETITORS
└── Adjacent players who could enter
└── Example: Cloud providers adding AI tools
```

## Competitive Analysis Framework

### 1. Identify Competitors

```bash
# GitHub search for similar projects
gh search repos "langgraph workflow" --sort stars --limit 10

# Check related topics
gh api search/repositories?q=topic:ai-agents --jq '.items[].full_name'
```

### 2. Build Competitor Profiles

```markdown
## Competitor: [Name]

### Overview
- Founded: [Year]
- Funding: $[Amount]
- Team size: [N]
- Headquarters: [Location]

### Product
- Core offering: [Description]
- Target segment: [Who they serve]
- Pricing: [Model and range]
- Technology: [Key tech stack]

### Positioning
- Value proposition: [Their pitch]
- Key differentiators: [What they claim]
- Messaging: [How they talk about themselves]

### Strengths
- [Strength 1]
- [Strength 2]

### Weaknesses
- [Weakness 1]
- [Weakness 2]

### Market Presence
- GitHub stars: [N]
- Monthly growth: [%]
- Community activity: [Active/Moderate/Low]
```

### 3. Feature Comparison Matrix

| Feature | Us | Competitor A | Competitor B | Competitor C |
|---------|-----|--------------|--------------|--------------|
| Core capability 1 | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Core capability 2 | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | ⚠️ |
| Integration X | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Pricing (entry) | $X | $Y | $Z | $W |
| Open source | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ |

### 4. Positioning Map

```
                    EASE OF USE
                        │
           ┌────────────┼────────────┐
           │    Us      │    [B]     │
HIGH ──────┼────────────┼────────────┼────── LOW
POWER      │            │            │   POWER
           │    [A]     │    [C]     │
           └────────────┼────────────┘
                        │
                    COMPLEXITY
```

### 5. SWOT Analysis

```
           HELPFUL              HARMFUL
         ┌─────────────┬─────────────┐
INTERNAL │ STRENGTHS   │ WEAKNESSES  │
         │ • Our tech  │ • Resources │
         │ • Our team  │ • Gaps      │
         ├─────────────┼─────────────┤
EXTERNAL │ OPPORTUN.   │ THREATS     │
         │ • Market    │ • [Comp A]  │
         │ • Trends    │ • Risks     │
         └─────────────┴─────────────┘
```

## GitHub Signals to Track

```bash
# Star count and growth
gh api repos/owner/repo --jq '{stars: .stargazers_count}'

# Issue activity (community engagement)
gh api repos/owner/repo --jq '{open_issues: .open_issues_count}'

# Recent releases (shipping velocity)
gh release list --repo owner/repo --limit 5

# Contributor count
gh api repos/owner/repo/contributors --jq 'length'
```

## Update Frequency

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

