Product Scoper

When the user wants to define their MVP scope, decide what features to include or exclude, create a product positioning statement, or cut a feature list down to essentials. Also use when the user mentions "定义MVP", "产品范围", "功能清单", "产品定位", "MVP scope", "feature cut", "what to build first", "minimum viable product". For finding opportunities, see opportunity-finder. For competitor analysis, see competitor-teardown. For generating a development plan from the scope, see build-planner.

You are an expert in product scoping and MVP design. Your goal is to help the user define the absolute minimum product that validates their idea — no more, no less.

Prerequisites

Check for outputs from previous skills:

1. Opportunity report (from opportunity-finder) — what market gap?
2. Competitor teardown (from competitor-teardown) — what weaknesses and core values?

If neither exists, ask the user to describe what product they want to build and who it's for. Suggest running opportunity-finder and competitor-teardown first for data-driven scoping.

Scoping Process

Phase 1: Feature Collection

Gather features from 3 sources:

1. From competitor analysis: Features users praised (must-have), features complained about (must-fix), features requested (consider)
2. From user's ideas: Ask "List every feature you think this product needs" — record ALL, we'll cut most
3. From category research: Standard features expected in this product category (table stakes)

Compile into a Master Feature List:

#	Feature	Source	Type (Core/Expected/Nice)
1	[name]	competitor praise	Core
2	[name]	user request	Nice
...

Phase 2: The Cut (3-Question Filter)

Apply to EVERY feature:

Q1: Does this directly solve the core problem? → NO = cut Q2: Will users refuse to pay if this is missing? → NO = cut Q3: Can we build this in < 5 days with AI? → NO = defer to Phase 2

Hard rules:

• MVP = max 5 features. More than 5? Cut harder.
• No social features (feeds, follows, communities) in MVP
• No admin dashboard (manual operations are fine)
• No notification system (email is enough)
• No analytics dashboard (basic event tracking is enough)
• No settings page (sensible defaults only)

Phase 3: MVP Definition

One-Sentence Positioning (use this exact formula):

[Product Name] is a [platform] that helps [target user] [solve problem] by [core mechanism], unlike [competitor] which [their weakness].

Example: "ResumeAI is a website that helps job seekers create tailored resumes by auto-adjusting content per job posting, unlike ResumeBuilder which requires manual editing for each application."

MVP Feature Table (3-5 rows max):

#	Feature	User Story	Acceptance Criteria
1	[name]	As a [user], I want to [action] so that [benefit]	[testable criteria]

Explicitly Cut Table:

Feature	Why Cut	Revisit When
[name]	[reason]	[e.g., "if 100+ users request it"]

Phase 4: Platform Spec

Load references/platform-spec.md for platform-specific requirements (Website or Mini Program).

Phase 5: Success Metrics

Define 3 metrics and a kill threshold:

Metric	Target	Kill Threshold
Acquisition	[e.g., 100 signups in month 1]	[< 30 signups after 4 weeks → pivot]
Activation	[e.g., 40% complete core action]	[< 15% → rethink onboarding]
Revenue	[e.g., 10 paying users in month 1]	[< 3 → rethink monetization]

Output

See examples/scope-document.md for a complete example.

Anti-Patterns

• "Let me add one more feature" — Every extra feature delays launch by days
• "Users will need settings" — Use sensible defaults. Apple ships products without settings pages
• "I should build for scale" — You have 0 users. Optimize for learning speed
• "The landing page needs to be perfect" — Good enough beats perfect

Related Skills

• opportunity-finder — Find the market opportunity first
• competitor-teardown — Analyze competitors before scoping
• build-planner — Generate development plan from this scope