/product-sense

name: product-sense
description: "Structured product sense/design framework for AI product roles. Covers: design a product, improve X, productize a capability."
argument-hint: "[interview question]"

Product Sense Skill

Apply a structured framework to PM product sense / product design questions targeting AI product roles.

When to Use

• User asks a "Design a product for X" question
• User asks "How would you improve X"
• User asks "How would you productize X capability"
• User says `/product-sense` followed by a question
• Any product design, product sense, or "build a product" interview question

Context

• **Tuned for**: AI product roles at frontier AI companies
• **What matters**: First-principles thinking, ambition, structured clarity, and taste
• **Common pitfall**: Rushing to solutions without clarifying the problem first. Always start with clarifying questions.

Framework: Product Sense (6 Sections)

Generate the answer following this EXACT structure. Each section should be substantive - not just headers.

Section 1: Clarifications (ASK FIRST, ALWAYS)

Ask 3-5 clarifying questions before proceeding. Categories:

• **Scope**: What company are we? What's the form factor? Platform constraints?
• **Users**: Who is the primary audience? B2C vs B2B vs B2B2C?
• **Business**: What stage is the company? Revenue model? Strategic priorities?
• **Technical**: What capabilities exist? What's feasible in the timeframe?
• **Constraints**: Budget, timeline, regulatory, geographic?

After listing questions, state reasonable assumptions for each and proceed.

Section 2: Product Strategy & Rationale (WHY BUILD THIS)

• **Company Mission**: How does this align with the company's stated mission? Reference the specific company's mission statement and connect your product thinking to it.
• **Trends & Tailwinds**: What macro trends make this timely? (AI adoption curves, regulatory shifts, user behavior changes)
• **Competition**: Who else is doing this? What's the gap?
• **Strategic Moat**: What unique advantage does this company have here?
• **Product Goal**: One sentence on what we're building and why NOW

Section 3: User Segmentation (WHO)

Segment users along 3 dimensions and pick a primary:

• **Reach**: How many potential users in each segment?
• **Frequency**: How often would they use this?
• **Underserved**: How poorly served are they today?

For each segment provide: persona name, description, why they'd use this, current alternatives.

**Pick primary segment** with clear rationale (usually: highest frequency + most underserved).

Section 4: User Journey & Pain Points (WHAT HURTS)

Map the user journey for the primary segment: 1. Discovery/Awareness 2. Onboarding/First Use 3. Core Usage Loop 4. Retention/Return

For each stage, identify pain points scored on:

• **Severity** (1-3): How painful is this?
• **Frequency** (1-3): How often does it occur?
• **Alternatives** (1-3): How well do current solutions address this?

**Pick top 2-3 pain points** to solve. Justify the prioritization.

Section 5: Solutions (HOW)

For each selected pain point:

**Brainstorm** (3-4 options per pain point, range from incremental to ambitious)

**Evaluate** each on:

• Impact on pain point (High/Med/Low)
• Engineering effort (High/Med/Low)
• Strategic alignment (High/Med/Low)
• Differentiation (High/Med/Low)

**Recommend** top solution with clear rationale. Describe:

• What the user sees/experiences (be concrete and specific)
• Key features for V1 vs V2
• Why this is better than alternatives

Section 6: Success Metrics

• **North Star Metric**: One metric that captures the core value delivered
• **Supporting Metrics** (3-4): Leading indicators that the NSM will grow
• **Counter/Guardrail Metrics** (2-3): What we must NOT break (safety, quality, trust)
• **How to measure**: What instrumentation is needed?

AI Company Flavor

When the question is about an AI company product, layer in:

• **Safety considerations**: How does this product avoid harm? What guardrails exist?
• **Model capabilities**: What model capabilities enable this? What's the technical frontier?
• **Scaling dynamics**: How does this get better with more users/data?
• **Mission alignment**: Tie back to the specific company's mission
• **Taste**: Match the company's culture — some labs value ambitious, creative, step-change thinking; others value careful, principled, safety-first thinking; others value scientific rigor. Research the specific company's values beforehand.

Output Format

Structure the response as a conversational walkthrough — structured but natural. Use the section headers. Aim for ~2500 words total. Flag where you'd pause for discussion or input.

Research-First Workflow

Before generating the answer: 1. **Research** — Use web search to find latest thinking from AI company blogs, PM thought leaders, market data, competitor intel. Do 5-10 searches. 2. **Cite sources** — Include `[linked source](url)` inline for major claims, data points, and trends. 3. **Display** the complete structured answer.

What Good Looks Like

• Starts with clarifying questions (CRITICAL)
• Shows strategic thinking before jumping to solutions
• User empathy is specific and grounded (not generic)
• Solutions are creative AND feasible
• Metrics are specific and tied to user value
• Mentions trade-offs and what you'd NOT build
• Ties back to company mission
• Shows taste and opinion (not just framework execution)