Guide product managers through a comprehensive product strategy session by orchestrating positioning, problem framing, customer discovery, and roadmap planning skills into a cohesive end-to-end process. Use this to move from vague strategic direction to concrete, validated product strategy with clear positioning, target customers, problem statements, and prioritized roadmap—ensuring alignment across stakeholders before committing to execution.
This is not a one-time workshop—it's a repeatable process for establishing or refreshing product strategy, typically spanning 2-4 weeks with multiple touchpoints.
A product strategy session is a structured, multi-phase process that takes a product from strategic ambiguity to validated direction. It orchestrates:
When running this workflow as a guided conversation, use workshop-facilitation as the interaction protocol.
It defines:
Other (specify) when useful)This file defines the workflow sequence and domain-specific outputs. If there is a conflict, follow this file's workflow logic.
Use template.md for the full fill-in structure.
This workflow orchestrates 6 phases over 2-4 weeks, using multiple component and interactive skills.
Goal: Define target customer, problem space, and differentiation.
1. Run Positioning Workshop
skills/positioning-workshop/SKILL.md (interactive)2. Define Proto-Personas
skills/proto-persona/SKILL.md (component)3. Map Jobs-to-be-Done
skills/jobs-to-be-done/SKILL.md (component)If YES: Proceed to Phase 2 (Problem Framing)
If NO: Run additional discovery:
skills/discovery-interview-prep/SKILL.md (interactive)Goal: Frame the core customer problem and validate it's worth solving.
1. Run Problem Framing Canvas
skills/problem-framing-canvas/SKILL.md (interactive - MITRE)2. Create Formal Problem Statement
skills/problem-statement/SKILL.md (component)3. Map Customer Journey (Optional)
skills/customer-journey-mapping-workshop/SKILL.md (interactive)If YES: Proceed to Phase 3 (Solution Exploration)
If NO: Run customer discovery interviews:
skills/discovery-interview-prep/SKILL.md (interactive)Goal: Generate solution options, prioritize based on feasibility/impact, and select POC.
1. Generate Opportunity Solution Tree
skills/opportunity-solution-tree/SKILL.md (interactive)Alternative: Use Lean UX Canvas
skills/lean-ux-canvas/SKILL.md (interactive)2. Define Epic Hypotheses
skills/epic-hypothesis/SKILL.md (component)3. Create User Story Map (Optional)
skills/user-story-mapping-workshop/SKILL.md (interactive)If YES (high uncertainty): Run experiments:
skills/opportunity-solution-tree/SKILL.md outputIf NO (low uncertainty): Proceed to Phase 4 (Prioritization)
Goal: Prioritize initiatives and sequence into executable roadmap.
1. Choose Prioritization Framework
skills/prioritization-advisor/SKILL.md (interactive)2. Score & Prioritize Epics
3. Sequence Roadmap by Release
4. Map TAM/SAM/SOM (Optional)
skills/tam-sam-som-calculator/SKILL.md (interactive)Goal: Present strategy to stakeholders, gather feedback, refine.
1. Create Visionary Press Release (Optional)
skills/press-release/SKILL.md (component)2. Present Strategy to Stakeholders
3. Refine Based on Feedback
Goal: Break epics into user stories, plan first sprint/release.
1. Break Down Top Epic
skills/epic-breakdown-advisor/SKILL.md (interactive - with Richard Lawrence's 9 patterns)2. Write User Stories
skills/user-story/SKILL.md (component)3. Plan First Sprint/Release
Week 1:
├─ Day 1-2: Positioning & Market Context
│ ├─ skills/positioning-workshop/SKILL.md (90 min)
│ ├─ skills/proto-persona/SKILL.md (60 min)
│ └─ skills/jobs-to-be-done/SKILL.md (60 min)
│
├─ Day 3-5: Problem Framing & Validation
│ ├─ skills/problem-framing-canvas/SKILL.md (120 min)
│ ├─ skills/problem-statement/SKILL.md (30 min)
│ └─ [Optional] skills/customer-journey-mapping-workshop/SKILL.md (90 min)
│
└─ Decision: Validate problem? (if NO, +1 week discovery)
Week 2:
├─ Day 1-3: Solution Exploration
│ ├─ skills/opportunity-solution-tree/SKILL.md (90 min)
│ ├─ skills/epic-hypothesis/SKILL.md (60 min per epic)
│ └─ [Optional] skills/user-story-mapping-workshop/SKILL.md (120 min)
│
├─ Decision: Test solutions? (if YES, +1-2 weeks experiments)
│
└─ Day 4-5: Prioritization & Roadmap
├─ skills/prioritization-advisor/SKILL.md (30 min)
├─ Score & prioritize epics (90 min)
├─ Sequence roadmap (60 min)
└─ [Optional] skills/tam-sam-som-calculator/SKILL.md (60 min)
Week 3:
└─ Stakeholder Alignment
├─ [Optional] skills/press-release/SKILL.md (60 min)
├─ Present strategy (60 min)
└─ Refine based on feedback (1-2 days)
Week 4:
└─ Execution Planning
├─ skills/epic-breakdown-advisor/SKILL.md (90 min)
├─ skills/user-story/SKILL.md (30 min per story)
└─ Plan first sprint (60 min)
Total Time Investment:
See examples/sample.md for a full strategy session example.
Mini example excerpt:
**Target:** Non-technical SMB owners
**Problem:** Onboarding drop-off due to jargon
**Priority:** Guided onboarding (RICE)
Symptom: Jump from positioning to solution exploration without validating problem
Consequence: Build solutions to unvalidated problems
Fix: Force decision point after Phase 2: "Is problem validated?" If NO, run discovery interviews.
Symptom: PM runs strategy session alone, presents finished strategy to team
Consequence: No buy-in, team doesn't understand rationale
Fix: Include cross-functional participants in workshops (design, eng, sales, CS)
Symptom: Run full strategy session, execs don't show up for Phase 5 alignment
Consequence: Strategy doesn't get resourced or prioritized
Fix: Secure exec commitment upfront; schedule Phase 5 presentation before starting.
Symptom: Blindly follow all 6 phases without checking if discovery/experiments are needed
Consequence: Waste time on low-uncertainty activities
Fix: Use decision points after Phase 2 and Phase 3 to adapt workflow.
Symptom: Team spends 6 weeks in strategy mode, never executes
Consequence: Analysis paralysis, no delivery
Fix: Time-box strategy session to 2-4 weeks; after Phase 6, move to execution.
Phase 1:
skills/positioning-workshop/SKILL.md (interactive)skills/proto-persona/SKILL.md (component)skills/jobs-to-be-done/SKILL.md (component)Phase 2:
skills/problem-framing-canvas/SKILL.md (interactive)skills/problem-statement/SKILL.md (component)skills/customer-journey-mapping-workshop/SKILL.md (interactive, optional)skills/discovery-interview-prep/SKILL.md (interactive, if validation needed)Phase 3:
skills/opportunity-solution-tree/SKILL.md (interactive)skills/lean-ux-canvas/SKILL.md (interactive, alternative)skills/epic-hypothesis/SKILL.md (component)skills/user-story-mapping-workshop/SKILL.md (interactive, optional)Phase 4:
skills/prioritization-advisor/SKILL.md (interactive)skills/tam-sam-som-calculator/SKILL.md (interactive, optional)Phase 5:
skills/press-release/SKILL.md (component, optional)Phase 6:
skills/epic-breakdown-advisor/SKILL.md (interactive)skills/user-story/SKILL.md (component)Skill type: Workflow
Suggested filename: product-strategy-session.md
Suggested placement: /skills/workflows/
Dependencies: Orchestrates 15+ component and interactive skills across 6 phases