product-lens
Use this skill to validate the "why" before building, run product diagnostics, and pressure-test product direction before the request becomes an implementation contract.
About this skill
The 'Product Lens' skill empowers AI agents to act as a strategic product advisor, ensuring that development efforts are aligned with genuine user needs and business value. It's designed to facilitate critical thinking before, during, and after the build process. Drawing inspiration from top-tier product accelerators like YC office hours, this skill automates the process of asking the hard, foundational questions necessary for successful product development. It guides the user through validating the 'why' behind features, performing product diagnostics, and meticulously converting nascent, vague ideas into actionable, well-defined specifications. By employing structured inquiry, the skill helps teams avoid wasted effort on features that lack a clear purpose or user benefit, promoting a 'think before you build' philosophy.
Best use case
To validate new product ideas or features, conduct thorough product diagnostics, resolve feature prioritization dilemmas, and transform abstract concepts into concrete, actionable product specifications.
Use this skill to validate the "why" before building, run product diagnostics, and pressure-test product direction before the request becomes an implementation contract.
Users can expect clearer, better-validated product ideas, well-defined specifications, and a deeper understanding of the problem being solved and the proposed solution's impact. It helps in making more informed product decisions and reducing wasted development effort.
Practical example
Example input
I have an idea for a new feature in our project management tool: a 'gamification badge system'. Can you apply the product lens to this idea?
Example output
Applying the Product Lens for "gamification badge system"... 1. Who is this for? (specific person, not "developers") - Is it for project managers looking to motivate their teams? - Is it for individual contributors seeking recognition? - Are there specific roles or teams this would resonate most with? 2. What's the pain? (quantify: how often, how bad, what do they do today?) - What specific problem does a lack of gamification solve? (e.g., low engagement, missed deadlines due to lack of motivation, feeling undervalued) - How often do users experience this pain? Is it daily, weekly? - How bad is this pain on a scale of 1-10? - What do users currently do to cope with this lack of motivation or recognition? 3. Why now? (what changed that makes this possible/necessary?) - Has there been a recent shift in competitor offerings? - Is there new research on team motivation or a change in user demographics? - Has internal feedback highlighted a growing need for this? 4. What's the 10-star version of this feature? - Beyond just badges, what would be the absolute ideal, transformative experience for users? (e.g., personalized growth paths, AI-driven recognition, team leaderboards with real-world rewards)
When to use this skill
- Before initiating development on any new feature to validate its underlying purpose and necessity.
- During weekly product reviews to ensure ongoing development aligns with strategic goals and user needs.
- When faced with multiple feature options and needing assistance in prioritization.
- Prior to a product launch, as a final sanity check on the user journey and overall product value.
When not to use this skill
- This skill is not suitable for purely technical debugging, writing code, executing tasks without product context, or when the 'why' behind a feature is already definitively established and requires immediate technical implementation.
Installation
Claude Code / Cursor / Codex
Manual Installation
- Download SKILL.md from GitHub
- Place it in
.claude/skills/product-lens/SKILL.mdinside your project - Restart your AI agent — it will auto-discover the skill
How product-lens Compares
| Feature / Agent | product-lens | Standard Approach |
|---|---|---|
| Platform Support | Claude | Limited / Varies |
| Context Awareness | High | Baseline |
| Installation Complexity | easy | N/A |
Frequently Asked Questions
What does this skill do?
Use this skill to validate the "why" before building, run product diagnostics, and pressure-test product direction before the request becomes an implementation contract.
Which AI agents support this skill?
This skill is designed for Claude.
How difficult is it to install?
The installation complexity is rated as easy. You can find the installation instructions above.
Where can I find the source code?
You can find the source code on GitHub using the link provided at the top of the page.
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SKILL.md Source
# Product Lens — Think Before You Build This lane owns product diagnosis, not implementation-ready specification writing. If the user needs a durable PRD-to-SRS or capability-contract artifact, hand off to `product-capability`. ## When to Use - Before starting any feature — validate the "why" - Weekly product review — are we building the right thing? - When stuck choosing between features - Before a launch — sanity check the user journey - When converting a vague idea into a product brief before engineering planning starts ## How It Works ### Mode 1: Product Diagnostic Like YC office hours but automated. Asks the hard questions: ``` 1. Who is this for? (specific person, not "developers") 2. What's the pain? (quantify: how often, how bad, what do they do today?) 3. Why now? (what changed that makes this possible/necessary?) 4. What's the 10-star version? (if money/time were unlimited) 5. What's the MVP? (smallest thing that proves the thesis) 6. What's the anti-goal? (what are you explicitly NOT building?) 7. How do you know it's working? (metric, not vibes) ``` Output: a `PRODUCT-BRIEF.md` with answers, risks, and a go/no-go recommendation. If the result is "yes, build this," the next lane is `product-capability`, not more founder-theater. ### Mode 2: Founder Review Reviews your current project through a founder lens: ``` 1. Read README, CLAUDE.md, package.json, recent commits 2. Infer: what is this trying to be? 3. Score: product-market fit signals (0-10) - Usage growth trajectory - Retention indicators (repeat contributors, return users) - Revenue signals (pricing page, billing code, Stripe integration) - Competitive moat (what's hard to copy?) 4. Identify: the one thing that would 10x this 5. Flag: things you're building that don't matter ``` ### Mode 3: User Journey Audit Maps the actual user experience: ``` 1. Clone/install the product as a new user 2. Document every friction point (confusing steps, errors, missing docs) 3. Time each step 4. Compare to competitor onboarding 5. Score: time-to-value (how long until the user gets their first win?) 6. Recommend: top 3 fixes for onboarding ``` ### Mode 4: Feature Prioritization When you have 10 ideas and need to pick 2: ``` 1. List all candidate features 2. Score each on: impact (1-5) × confidence (1-5) ÷ effort (1-5) 3. Rank by ICE score 4. Apply constraints: runway, team size, dependencies 5. Output: prioritized roadmap with rationale ``` ## Output All modes output actionable docs, not essays. Every recommendation has a specific next step. ## Integration Pair with: - `/browser-qa` to verify the user journey audit findings - `/design-system audit` for visual polish assessment - `/canary-watch` for post-launch monitoring - `product-capability` when the product brief needs to become an implementation-ready capability plan
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