Strategy Canvas

Purpose

Complete a 9-section Product Strategy Canvas that connects vision to defensibility in one coherent artifact. Use this for quarterly strategy reviews, new initiative kickoffs, or exec alignment — when you need a single document that shows the full picture, not a multi-week workflow.

The canvas forces coherence: each section constraints the next. If your vision doesn't match your capabilities, or your growth model contradicts your value prop, the canvas surfaces the tension.

Input

Works best with: The product, feature, or initiative you're building strategy for. Also useful: Competitive context, customer research, revenue data, capability assessments.

Anything supplied with the invocation counts as answers already given. Use it and skip whatever it covers.

Arriving empty-handed? The canvas starts at vision and builds section by section — you can fill gaps as you go.

Example invocation: Build a strategy canvas for our AI-powered code review product — here are our current segments and pricing model.

Key Concepts

The 9 Sections

Coherence Test

Each section must be consistent with the others. Common violations:

• Vision is "democratize X" but pricing is premium-only → segment contradiction
• Growth depends on PLG but capabilities don't include onboarding → capability gap
• Value prop is "simplicity" but road is full of features → tradeoff violation

Application

This interactive skill asks up to 9 adaptive questions (one per section), offering context-aware options at each step. You can skip sections that are already clear.

Section 1 — Vision

Agent asks: "What is the vision for this product? One sentence."

1. New market creation — "We believe [user] should be able to [do X] that currently isn't possible"
2. Category consolidation — "We're bringing [features A, B, C] into one integrated experience"
3. Democratization — "We're making [capability] accessible to [segment that can't afford it today]"
4. Displacement — "We're replacing [incumbent approach] with a fundamentally better model"
5. Describe your own vision.

Section 2 — Target Segments

Agent asks: "Who has the job to be done, and how do they segment?"

Based on Q1, agent suggests likely segments with JTBD framing. User selects or customizes.

Segments should be:

• Identifiable — You know who they are and how to reach them
• Differentiable — Each segment has distinct needs
• Sizable — Enough total addressable market

Section 3 — Relative Costs

Agent asks: "What is your cost advantage vs. alternatives?"

1. Technology advantage — We can deliver at lower cost due to proprietary tech
2. Scale advantage — We benefit from network effects or volume economics
3. Process advantage — Our operations are leaner or more automated
4. No cost advantage — We compete on value, not price
5. Not applicable — We're premium, costs don't drive buying decision

Section 4 — Value Propositions

Agent asks: "What does each segment buy from you?"

For each segment identified in S2, define:

• Outcome — What the customer achieves
• Differentiator — Why they buy from you vs. the alternative
• Proof — Evidence that this works (testimonial, metric, case study)

Section 5 — Tradeoffs

Agent asks: "What are you explicitly choosing NOT to do?"

1. We won't serve [segment] — Even though they could use it
2. We won't build [feature category] — Even though competitors have it
3. We won't compete on [dimension] — Price, speed, breadth, etc.
4. We won't support [use case] — Even though users might ask for it

Why this matters: A strategy without tradeoffs is a wish list. Tradeoffs make strategy real because they imply scarcity: you can't do everything, so you choose wisely.

Section 6 — North Star & OMTM

Agent asks: "What is the one metric that matters most right now?"

1. Acquisition — New users / signups
2. Activation — Users reaching the "aha moment"
3. Retention — D1/D7/D30/W52 retention
4. Revenue — MRR, ARR, LTV
5. Engagement — DAU/MAU, sessions per user

North Star is the long-term metric that captures the value you deliver. OMTM (One Metric That Matters) is the short-term leading indicator you're optimizing now.

Section 7 — Growth Model

Agent asks: "How do you acquire and expand customers?"

1. PLG (Product-Led Growth) — Freemium, free trial, self-serve → viral
2. SLG (Sales-Led Growth) — Outbound, enterprise, demo-led
3. Hybrid — PLG for acquisition, SLG for expansion/enterprise
4. Channel/Partnership — Resellers, integrations, marketplace
5. Community-Led — Open source, user groups, word of mouth

Section 8 — Capabilities

Agent asks: "What do you need to build vs. buy vs. partner?"

Section 9 — Defensibility

Agent asks: "What prevents a competitor from copying you tomorrow?"

1. Network effects — More users = more value (direct, data, or platform)
2. Switching costs — Hard to leave (data lock-in, workflow integration, training)
3. Scale economies — Unit costs drop as you grow
4. IP / proprietary tech — Patents, trade secrets, hard-to-replicate algorithms
5. Brand / trust — Reputation, compliance, enterprise trust
6. Ecosystem — Integrations, APIs, developer community that orbits your platform

Output

After completing all sections, the agent produces:

# Strategy Canvas: <Product/Initiative>

## 1. Vision
<one sentence>

## 2. Target Segments
| Segment | JTBD | Size estimate | Priority |
|---------|------|---------------|----------|
| | | | |

## 3. Relative Costs
<Cost advantage statement>

## 4. Value Propositions
| Segment | Outcome | Differentiator | Proof |
|---------|---------|----------------|-------|
| | | | |

## 5. Tradeoffs
- We won't: ...

## 6. North Star & OMTM
- North Star: <long-term metric>
- OMTM: <next quarter's metric>

## 7. Growth Model
<Primary + secondary growth motion>

## 8. Capabilities
| Capability | Build / Buy / Partner | Rationale |
|------------|----------------------|-----------|
| | | |

## 9. Defensibility
<Primary moat + secondary moats>

---

### Coherence Check
- <Tension 1 found between sections X and Y>
- <Riskiest assumption:>
- <Recommended first validation:>

Examples

Example: AI Code Review Tool

Vision: "Every developer ships better code by having an AI code reviewer in their PR workflow."

Segments:

• Startups (1-50 devs): JTBD — "Ship faster without hiring a senior reviewer"
• Mid-market (50-500 devs): JTBD — "Standardize code quality across teams"

Growth: PLG (GitHub marketplace integration) → hybrid for enterprise

Defensibility: Data network effects (more PRs reviewed = better model) + deep GitHub/GitLab integration (switching cost)

Coherence tension: "Vision is 'every developer' but pricing is per-seat enterprise → missing PLG tier for individual developers."

Common Pitfalls

Pitfall 1: Vision Without Constraints

Symptom: Grand vision with no tradeoffs or capability gaps acknowledged Consequence: Strategy is aspirational but not actionable — team can't prioritize Fix: If you haven't identified 3+ explicit tradeoffs, the canvas is incomplete. Go back to Section 5.

Pitfall 2: Segment Proliferation

Symptom: 8 segments listed in Section 2 Consequence: You can't serve all of them well. Strategy is watered down. Fix: Max 3 segments. The rest is future scope. Move them to a "future consideration" note.

Pitfall 3: Defensibility Through Wishful Thinking

Symptom: "First-mover advantage" is listed as the primary moat Consequence: First movers rarely win without another moat (network effects, switching costs) Fix: First-mover advantage doesn't count. Pick a real moat from the list in Section 9.

References

Related Skills

• positioning-statement — Feeds Section 4 (value propositions)
• tam-sam-som-calculator — Feeds Section 2 (segment sizing)
• product-strategy-session — Full strategy workflow (2-4 weeks) if you need depth
• growth-plg-advisor — Feeds Section 7 (growth model), deep PLG design

External Frameworks

• Geoffrey Moore, Crossing the Chasm — Segment-driven strategy
• Marty Cagan, Empowered — Outcome-based product strategy
• James Currier, "The 16 Types of Defensibility" (NFX) — Deep moat taxonomy
• Hamilton Helmer, 7 Powers — Full defensibility framework