/prd-v10-chasm-adoption-moore

name: prd-v10-chasm-adoption-moore
description: >
  Assess adoption-lifecycle stage, plan the chasm crossing, and build a beachhead strategy using
  Geoffrey Moore's Crossing the Chasm framework during PRD v1.0 Market Adoption. Triggers on
  requests to assess adoption stage, plan beachhead, cross the chasm, scale from early adopters,
  or when user asks "are we in the chasm?", "crossing the chasm", "beachhead strategy", "Moore",
  "whole product", "pragmatist buyers", "from early adopters to early majority". Outputs
  ADO-STAGE-*, ADO-BEACHHEAD-*, ADO-WHOLE-*, ADO-REF-* entries.
context: fork
allowed-tools:
  - Read
  - Write
  - Edit
  - Glob
  - Grep
  - WebSearch

execution_modes:
  default: deep
  supports: [quick, standard, deep]

Crossing the Chasm (Moore) — the v1.0 Spine

Position in workflow: v0.9 Feedback Loop Setup → **v1.0 Crossing the Chasm (Moore)** → all v1.0 work

Execution Mode

Default is **deep** (this is a major strategic decision; quick mode is for hypothesis pre-work only). See [`.claude/rules/08-skill-execution-modes.md`](../../rules/08-skill-execution-modes.md).

| Mode | What this skill produces | |------|--------------------------| | **quick** | Stage assessment only (ADO-STAGE-*); beachhead candidate hypothesis | | **standard** | Stage assessment + beachhead segment + top 3 whole-product gaps + reference-account candidate list | | **deep** (default) | Full stage assessment with evidence + sharpened beachhead with in/not-in criteria + complete whole-product gap analysis + reference-account cultivation plan + chasm-crossing risk register |

Framework: Moore's Technology Adoption Lifecycle

From *Crossing the Chasm* (Geoffrey Moore, 1991, updated 2014). The bestselling tech-strategy book of the 1990s, and still the canonical model for understanding why early traction doesn't predict mass adoption.

The lifecycle

| Stage | % of market | Buyer mindset | What they buy | |-------|-------------|---------------|----------------| | **Innovators** (2.5%) | Tinkerers; technology enthusiasts | Want to try new things; tolerate incomplete products | Vision, technical depth, access | | **Early Adopters** (13.5%) | Visionaries | Want strategic advantage from non-mainstream tech | Bold vision + first-mover ROI | | **— THE CHASM —** | — | — | — | | **Early Majority** (34%) | Pragmatists | Want reliable productivity gains from proven solutions | **Whole product** + segment-specific references | | **Late Majority** (34%) | Conservatives | Want safe, mature defaults | Market leadership, low risk | | **Laggards** (16%) | Skeptics | Resist change | (Generally not worth targeting) |

The chasm

The gap between **Early Adopters** and **Early Majority** is the chasm. Most products die here. The reason: visionary buyers (who got you to early traction) actively *want* the cutting-edge, while pragmatist buyers want to be the second penguin off the iceberg — they need to see peers in their segment succeeding first.

The chasm-crossing playbook

1. **Pick a beachhead segment** — A single, narrowly-defined sub-segment of the early majority. Not "small businesses." Specific: "freight-forwarding firms with 50-200 employees in the US Pacific Northwest using ERP X." 2. **Build the whole product for that beachhead** — Pragmatists don't buy your core product; they buy your core + integrations + reference customers + support + training + everything else they need to deploy. Identify and close the gaps. 3. **Cultivate references in segment** — A reference from outside the beachhead is worthless to a beachhead buyer. Three references *inside* the beachhead is the unlock. 4. **Concentrate, then expand** — Don't try to cross the chasm broadly. Win the beachhead, then use it as a reference base to win adjacent segments ("bowling alley" stage).

Consumes

• **CFD-\* customer evidence** (all stages, especially v0.9 post-launch feedback) — Composition of paying customers; stage signal
• **PER-\* personas** (sharpened by v0.9 Positioning) — Beachhead is a sharper variant of an existing PER-
• **GTM-\* positioning** (from v0.9 Positioning) — Best-fit segment is the *starting point* for beachhead selection; beachhead is usually tighter
• **GTM-\* offer card** (from v0.9 Offer Construction) — Offer must match beachhead expectations (pragmatists need different guarantees than visionaries)
• **FEA-\* features** (from v0.3) — Whole-product gap analysis cross-references current feature set
• **KPI-\* baseline metrics** (from v0.3 + v0.9) — Stage assessment uses retention shape, NPS by segment, conversion rate
• **BR-PRICING-\*** (from v0.3 + v0.9) — Pragmatist buyers expect different pricing/contract terms than visionaries

Produces

• **ADO-STAGE-\* entries** in `SoT/SoT.ADOPTION.md` — Current adoption-stage assessment with evidence
• **ADO-BEACHHEAD-\* entries** — Beachhead segment definition with strict in/not-in criteria
• **ADO-WHOLE-\* entries** — Whole-product gaps (one per gap, with owner and close date)
• **ADO-REF-\* entries** — Reference-account targets (one per candidate, with consent + placement status)
• **CFD-\* gaps surfaced** — When stage evidence is thin or beachhead selection lacks data, log as research gaps

Execution

Step 1: Assess current adoption stage

Audit current paying-customer composition. For each customer, classify by stage indicators:

| Indicator | Innovator/Early Adopter | Early Majority | |-----------|------------------------|-----------------| | Sales motion | Direct founder relationship | Asked for demo / pricing / case studies | | Setup tolerance | "I'll figure it out" | "Show me the integration with X" | | Reference need | None | Asked "who else in my industry uses this?" | | Renewal motivation | "We're betting on this" | "It saves us $X/month" | | Procurement | Single buyer | Procurement / SOC2 / contracts review |

Stage signal:

• **Innovators / Early Adopters**: >70% of paid customers show visionary indicators
• **At the chasm**: M