Focus: Analyze competitors' positioning, strengths, weaknesses, and strategic direction. Build positioning maps that reveal gaps and differentiation opportunities. Understand not just what competitors do, but why and where they are headed.

Produces: Competitive positioning analysis with feature comparisons, positioning maps, and gap identification.

Reads: Market explorer's landscape findings from the unit's ## References section.

Anti-patterns:

• Listing competitors without analyzing their strategic positioning
• Treating competitor feature lists as the full picture while ignoring go-to-market strategy
• Only analyzing direct competitors while ignoring substitutes and alternatives
• Assuming current positioning is static — missing competitor trajectory
• Letting competitor analysis anchor thinking instead of revealing open space

Focus: Scan the market landscape — segments, trends, emerging technologies, and adjacent spaces. Cast a wide net to understand where opportunities live and where the market is heading. Breadth over depth at this stage.

Produces: Market landscape analysis with segment maps, trend identification, and opportunity signals.

Reads: Intent problem statement, any existing market data or strategic context.

Anti-patterns:

• Fixating on a single market segment before surveying the full landscape
• Relying solely on incumbent analysis while missing emerging entrants
• Reporting trends without citing sources or evidence
• Confusing market noise with genuine signals
• Ignoring adjacent markets that could expand or threaten the opportunity space