product-methodology

Product Management Methodology

Canonical Output

The canonical proof of work for every engagement is an artifact pyramid — a three-layer progressively-disclosable structure at an absolute filesystem path. Every methodology and framework in this skill feeds into one of the three layers.

Respond to any caller with the absolute path to 00-index.md at the pyramid root. Not a summary. Not a handoff paragraph. A path.

The layer mapping is at references/artifact-pyramid-mapping.md.

Production Flow

Build the pyramid in this order. Each phase gates the next.

Phase 1: Scaffold

mkdir -p <pyramid-root>/{01-summary,02-analysis,03-dossiers}

Copy assets/pyramid-template.md to <pyramid-root>/00-index.md and fill in the overview.

Phase 2: Build L3 Dossiers

For each source (interview, competitive analysis, market data):

1. Create a flat file directly in 03-dossiers/ — no subdirectories, no README files acting as folder indexes. A dossier is a single markdown file. If a topic has multiple sources, create multiple flat files (e.g., customer-interviews.md, competitive-analysis.md).
2. Include source attribution metadata at the top:

   **Source:** URL or transcript identifier
   **Captured:** YYYY-MM-DD
   **Author:** Person or organization
   **Title:** Original document title
   

3. Extract faithfully — no cherry-picking. Include counter-evidence.
4. Add a NOTES section with any methodology context (how the data was collected, processed, etc.)

Gate C check: Every dossier has source metadata. Extracts are faithful. Methodology is documented.

Phase 3: Build L2 Analysis Files

From dossiers, compose one file per analysis dimension (problem, stories, scope, risk, etc.):

1. Each file is self-contained — makes sense read alone

2. Each file has a clear thesis, evidence, and conclusion

3. Each file ends with a SOURCES section:

   SOURCES (LAYER 3 NAVIGATION)
   ../03-dossiers/customer-interviews/transcript-001.md
    -> Primary user pain evidence supporting Section 2
   
   ../03-dossiers/competitive-analysis/feature-matrix.md
    -> Competitor feature comparison referenced in Scope section