Product Gap Analysis

Product Gap Analysis

Overview

Transform external research (videos, threads, articles, competitor reviews) into a structured, prioritized feature backlog with implementation cost estimates. The output is an actionable roadmap document, not a vague list of ideas.

When to Use

• Founder shares YouTube/Reddit/article insights and wants actionable features
• Competitive analysis needs translating into backlog items
• Pre-launch product audit against best practices
• User feedback needs organizing into implementation plan
• Any "improve my product" request with external input

Core Process

digraph gap_analysis {
  rankdir=TB;
  node [shape=box];

  "1. Gather sources" -> "2. Codebase audit";
  "2. Codebase audit" -> "3. Cross-reference";
  "3. Cross-reference" -> "4. Score each feature";
  "4. Score each feature" -> "5. Dependency graph";
  "5. Dependency graph" -> "6. Phase into roadmap";
  "6. Phase into roadmap" -> "7. Map skills/tools";
}

Step 1: Gather and Tag Sources

Tag every insight with its origin. This prevents losing context and enables filtering.

| Tag | Source Type | Example | |-----|-----------|---------| | CODEBASE | Gap found in code review | Missing error tracking | | YOUTUBE | Video strategy/tactic | Email onboarding sequences | | REDDIT | Community thread insight | Programmatic SEO pages | | ARTICLE | Blog/documentation | AI crawler optimization | | COMPETITOR | Competitive analysis | Feature X that rival has | | USER | Direct user feedback | "I wish I could export" | | HYBRID | Multiple sources agree | Confirmed from 2+ sources |

Step 2: Codebase Audit

Before proposing features, check what already exists. Classify each feature:

| Status | Meaning | Action | |--------|---------|--------| | NOVO | Completely new, nothing exists | Full implementation | | PARCIAL | Foundation exists, needs expanding | Build on existing code | | GAP | Should exist but doesn't | Priority fix |

Critical: Search the codebase for existing implementations. A "new" feature that already has partial support wastes effort if rebuilt from scratch.

Step 3: Cross-Reference Sources with Codebase

For each insight from sources, answer:

• Does this already exist? (skip or mark DONE)
• Is there partial support? (mark PARCIAL, scope the delta)
• Is this completely missing? (mark NOVO or GAP)
• Does this contradict another source? (flag for user decision)
• Is this relevant to the product's stage? (pre-launch vs growth vs scale)

Step 4: Score with ACR

REQUIRED: Use the estimating-agent-tasks skill for ACR scoring.

Every feature gets an ACR score (E + R + I = 3-15) with:

| Field | What to Estimate | |-------|-----------------| | E (Scope) | Files touched (1-5) | | R (Review) | Human review time (1-5) | | I (Iteration) | Round-trips to get right (1-5) | | ACR | Sum (3-15) | | Size | XS/S/M/L/XL | | Model | Haiku/Sonnet/Opus | | Tokens ~ | Estimated token usage | | Cost ~ | Estimated $ cost | | Time ~ | Wall-clock estimate |

Step 5: Dependency Graph

Identify which features block others:

• A → B means B depends on A (implement A first)
• Independent features can run in parallel
• Calculate critical path (longest sequential chain)
• Calculate parallel time (with max parallelism)

Step 6: Phase into Roadmap

Group features into phases by strategic priority:

| Phase | Purpose | Criteria | |-------|---------|----------| | Foundation | Must-have before launch | Blocks other features or users | | Growth | Acquisition & conversion | SEO, analytics, onboarding | | Retention | Reduce churn | Email sequences, notifications, trial UX | | Scale | Future needs | i18n, multi-tenant, advanced features |

Within each phase:

• Order by dependency (blockers first)
• Identify parallel opportunities
• Estimate phase timeline (critical path, not sum)

Step 7: Map Available Skills/Tools

For each feature, list which skills or tools can help implementation:

• Existing Claude Code skills (check available skills list)
• Libraries/SDKs that solve the problem
• External services (free tier first)

Features with no applicable skills need more iteration cycles (higher I score).

Output Template

The document should contain these sections in order:

1. Header — Project name, date, sources, objective, metric (ACR)
2. Skills mapping — Table of features → applicable skills
3. Legend — Source tags and status definitions
4. Executive Summary — Category totals table with ACR/tokens/cost/status
5. Feature Details — Per feature: origin, status, problem, solution, ACR table, dependencies, acceptance criteria
6. Consolidated Table — All features sorted by Master Plan score
7. Phased Roadmap — Phases with dependency/parallelism analysis
8. Cross-reference — Features already in backlog (avoid duplication)

Per-Feature Template

### X.Y `feature-slug` — Feature Title

**Origin**: SOURCE_TAG | **Status**: NOVO/PARCIAL/GAP

**Problem**: Why this matters (1-2 sentences)

**Solution**: What to build (bullet points)

**ACR**:
| E | R | I | ACR | Size | Model | Tokens ~ | Cost ~ | Time ~ |
|---|---|---|-----|------|-------|----------|--------|--------|

**Dependencies**: What must exist first
**Acceptance Criteria**:
- [ ] Concrete, testable criteria

Common Mistakes

| Mistake | Fix | |---------|-----| | Vague priority ("High/Medium/Low") | Use ACR numeric scoring | | Flat list without dependencies | Draw dependency graph, calculate critical path | | Proposing features that already exist | Audit codebase FIRST, classify as NOVO/PARCIAL/GAP | | No cost estimation | ACR includes tokens, cost, and time estimates | | Ignoring product stage | Filter features by stage (pre-launch vs growth) | | No acceptance criteria | Every feature needs testable "done" definition | | Missing source attribution | Tag every feature with its origin source | | No parallelism analysis | Calculate critical path vs parallel execution time | | Rebuilding from scratch when partial exists | Check codebase for existing foundation |

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: sennaBruno
• Source: sennaBruno/claude-skills
• License: Apache-2.0

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.