Foundation Sprint Differentiation

Quick facts

Classification: tool | Version: 1.0.0 | Category: problem-framing | License: Apache-2.0

Try it: /pm-skills:tool-foundation-sprint-differentiation "Your context here"

Day 1 afternoon of a Foundation Sprint. The team converts the morning’s Basics frame (customer, problem, advantage, competitors) into a defensible strategic position. The output is a one-page Mini Manifesto that the team and Decider sign as the Day 1 strategic summary.

Family contract: docs/reference/skill-families/foundation-sprint-skills-contract.md. This skill is a member of foundation-sprint-skills.

When to Use

• Day 1 afternoon of a Foundation Sprint, immediately after lunch.
• The Basics bundled artifact is signed by the Decider; the customer, problem, advantage, and competitor map are committed.
• The team is ready to commit to a strategic position the product will occupy.

When NOT to Use

• Basics is unresolved or under negotiation. Differentiation depends on a stable input frame.
• The team has already pre-chosen differentiators and just wants ratification. The skill is built for genuine decision-making; ratification theater wastes the afternoon.
• The team has lost the room: low energy, no Decider, time pressure. Postpone or split into shorter blocks rather than rush.
• This is a follow-up sprint and the existing differentiation still holds. Use Magic Lenses directly with the existing position.

How to Use

Invoke the skill by name (/pm-skills:tool-foundation-sprint-differentiation on Claude Code, $tool-foundation-sprint-differentiation on Codex):

/pm-skills:tool-foundation-sprint-differentiation "Your context here"

Or reference the skill file directly: skills/tool-foundation-sprint-differentiation/SKILL.md

What This Skill Produces

A single bundled artifact with five sections:

1. Scored differentiator candidates: a table of 8-15 candidate differentiators scored on three customer-perceived dimensions (customer pull, team can deliver, hard to copy). The top scorers advance to the 2x2 chart.
2. Two chosen differentiators: the two the team commits to as the strategic position.
3. 2x2 differentiation chart: a customer-perceived chart plotting the chosen differentiators against the competitor set from Basics. The team’s product position is named.
4. Decision principles: 3-5 principles operationalizing the differentiation. Each principle is a future-product rule (“we will always prefer X over Y”).
5. Mini Manifesto: a one-page strategic summary written in the team’s voice, naming the customer, problem, position, and what the product is NOT.

See references/TEMPLATE.md for the canonical structure and references/EXAMPLE.md for the Brainshelf example.

Sequence (150 minutes)

Step 1: Generate differentiator candidates (15-25 min)

Each team member produces 3-5 candidate differentiators silently. Cluster duplicates, then surface the full set (8-15 candidates is typical). The candidates can be classic (speed, price, simplicity, breadth, depth, trust) or custom (specific to this product or market).

Step 2: Score candidates (25-40 min)

Score each candidate on three dimensions, 1-5 scale:

• Customer pull: would this customer-perceived dimension actually drive a switch?
• Team can deliver: can this team build and operate at this dimension competitively?
• Hard to copy: how durable is the advantage if a competitor pivots?

Sum the three for a rough score. Top 5-7 candidates advance.

Step 3: Choose two differentiators (30-45 min via note-and-vote)

The team narrows to two differentiators through tool-note-and-vote. The two MUST be observable to the customer (not internal-team values) and deliverable by the team (not aspirational). The Decider supervotes if scoring produces a tie or the team is split.

Step 4: Plot the 2x2 chart (15-25 min)

Place the two differentiators as the chart axes. Plot the competitor set from Basics (including “do nothing”). Position the product where it can occupy unoccupied space. If the unoccupied position is too far from where competitors cluster, the team may be drifting into a niche that customers don’t recognize; if the position overlaps with a strong competitor, the differentiation is not strong enough.

Step 5: Write decision principles (20-30 min)

Convert the two differentiators into 3-5 operational principles. Examples:

• “Capture is the first-class action. Every other feature waits behind a fast capture path.”
• “Private by default. Sharing is opt-in.”
• “Surface what’s relevant when it matters. Not on a notification schedule.”

Principles are NOT marketing copy. They are decision-making rules for future product calls.

Step 6: Mini Manifesto (15-25 min)

The Decider drafts a one-page Mini Manifesto in the team’s voice. Tone is plain, declarative, and direct about what the product is NOT (this is the part teams skip and shouldn’t).

Inference Inputs

Input	What the skill does with it
Basics bundled artifact	Reads target customer (for “customer-perceived” check), problem (for “would this differentiator solve the problem”), advantages (for “can the team deliver”), and competitor map (for chart plotting)
Differentiation candidates	If pre-supplied, pre-populates the silent ideation board; otherwise the team generates them in Step 1

Common Pitfalls

• Marketing-claim differentiators the product cannot deliver. “Best in class,” “AI-powered,” “delightful” are not differentiators; they are aspirations. The skill rejects these and prompts for evidence the team can deliver.
• Differentiators that are not customer-perceived. “Beautifully architected code” matters to engineers, not customers. The skill enforces a “would a customer notice this in 30 seconds?” check.
• Generic decision principles. “Simple” and “fast” do not operationalize anything. Principles must be actionable: “we will choose X over Y.”
• Treating chart, principles, and manifesto as separable artifacts. The chart positions the product; the principles operationalize the position; the manifesto communicates it. Without coherence, the Day 1 PM output is a pile of decks rather than a strategic summary.
• Skipping the Mini Manifesto. Many teams stop after the chart. The manifesto matters because it forces the team to write what the product IS NOT, which is the test of whether the differentiation is real.

Decider Role

The Decider’s responsibilities during Differentiation:

1. Confirm Basics is signed before this skill begins.
2. Listen during scoring without telegraphing preferences.
3. Supervote the two committed differentiators with rationale if the team is split.
4. Author or co-author the Mini Manifesto (it carries the Decider’s voice).
5. Sign off on the bundled artifact before Day 1 ends.

Canonical Sources

• Character Capital. “Foundation Sprint guide.” Differentiation agenda and Mini Manifesto framing.
• Knapp, J., and Zeratsky, J. Click. Day 1 afternoon sequence and differentiation discipline.
• Knapp, J., and Zeratsky, J. “Introducing the Foundation Sprint.” Lenny’s Newsletter. Differentiation section and chart logic.

Cross-Skill Usage

Prerequisites: tool-foundation-sprint-basics. The Basics bundled artifact is the load-bearing input.

The skill invokes tool-note-and-vote at least once (to choose the two differentiators). Additional note-and-vote invocations may happen for the principles list if the team is split.

Next invocation: tool-foundation-sprint-approach-options on Day 2 morning. The chosen differentiators and the decision principles constrain which approach options are in-scope.

Decider Checkpoint

This skill ends with a Decider Checkpoint in references/TEMPLATE.md. The Decider signs off on the two differentiators, the 2x2 position, the principles, and the Mini Manifesto as the Day 1 strategic summary. Without sign-off, Day 2 starts on an unstable strategic foundation.

Output Template

Foundation Sprint Differentiation: [Initiative name] (Day 1 Afternoon)

Scored Differentiator Candidates

Score scale: 1 (weak signal) to 5 (very strong signal).

Differentiator	Customer pull	Team can deliver	Hard to copy	Score
[Candidate 1]	_	_	_	_
[Candidate 2]	_	_	_	_
[Candidate 3]	_	_	_	_
[Candidate 4]	_	_	_	_
[Candidate 5]	_	_	_	_
[Candidate 6]	_	_	_	_
[Candidate 7]	_	_	_	_
[Candidate 8]	_	_	_	_

[Top 5-7 advance to the note-and-vote in Step 3.]

Chosen Two Differentiators

1. [First chosen differentiator]. [One paragraph naming the differentiator, what makes it customer-perceived, and why the team can deliver. Evidence from Basics: cite the specific customer pain or advantage this responds to.]

2. [Second chosen differentiator]. [One paragraph; same structure.]

2x2 Differentiation Chart

                  HIGH [Differentiator 1]
                          |
                          |
                          |          [Our product position]
                          |              .
                          |
                          |
  HIGH [Differentiator 2] +  LOW [Differentiator 2]
                          |
                          |              [Competitor X]
                          |              [Competitor Y]
                          |
       [Competitor Z]     |
                          |              [Competitor W]
                          |
                          |
                  LOW [Differentiator 1]

Customer plotted alternatives:

• [Competitor 1]: [position rationale]
• [Competitor 2]: [position rationale]
• [Substitute or paper alternative]: [position rationale]
• “Do nothing” baseline: [position rationale; often off-chart or at origin]

[The product occupies the quadrant: [name the unoccupied quadrant]. The team commits to defending this position.]

Decision Principles

The team committed to [3-5] principles that operationalize the differentiation:

1. [Principle 1]. [One-line operational rule. Names an explicit “we will choose X over Y” trade-off.]
2. [Principle 2]. […]
3. [Principle 3]. […]
4. [Principle 4]. (Optional fourth principle)
5. [Principle 5]. (Optional fifth principle)

Principles are decision-making rules for future product calls, not marketing copy.

Mini Manifesto

[Product name] is for [target customer] who want a tool that respects that.

[One paragraph naming the strategic belief that drives the team. Tone is plain, declarative, and direct.]

[One paragraph naming what the product IS: the two differentiators expressed as customer-perceived outcomes.]

[One paragraph naming what the product IS NOT. This is the part teams skip and shouldn’t. It says explicitly what the team is choosing against.]

[Optional fourth paragraph: closing line for the customer.]

Note-and-Vote Trace (Decisions Made This Afternoon)

Decision	Options considered	Outcome
Two differentiators to commit to	[list]	[Two chosen; Decider supervote rationale if non-obvious]
Decision principles count	3 / 5 / 7	[Chosen count; Decider call]

Decider Checkpoint

Decider sign-off required before Day 1 ends.

• Decider confirms the two committed differentiators.
• Decider confirms the 2x2 chart is the canonical positioning artifact for Day 2.
• Decider confirms the [3-5] decision principles are non-negotiable for Approach Options tomorrow.
• Decider signs the Mini Manifesto as the Day 1 strategic summary.

Signed: [Decider name, role], [ISO date and local time]

Example Output

Foundation Sprint Differentiation: Brainshelf (Day 1 Afternoon)

Foundation Sprint Differentiation: Brainshelf (Day 1 Afternoon)

The Brainshelf team’s Day 1 PM output. Customer-perceived differentiation chosen, plotted, and turned into a Mini Manifesto.

Scored Differentiator Candidates

The team scored 11 candidate differentiators along customer-perceived dimensions.

Differentiator	Customer pull	Team can deliver	Hard to copy	Score
Capture speed (sub-3-second log)	5	5	3	13
Private-by-default	4	5	4	13
Personal recall (read this before?)	5	4	4	13
Offline-first	3	5	4	12
Beautiful visual library	3	4	2	9
Cross-format (audio, paper, digital)	4	3	2	9
Curated recommendations	4	2	1	7
Social book club tools	2	3	1	6
Reading stats and gamification	2	4	1	7
Annotation export	3	4	2	9
Voice-first capture	4	2	3	9

Top scorers advancing to note-and-vote: capture speed, private-by-default, personal recall, offline-first.

Chosen Two Differentiators

1. Capture speed: sub-3-second log from any context. The single biggest pain among the 22-interview cohort is the friction of opening Goodreads, searching, adding, tagging, exiting. Brainshelf wins if the team can get from “I just finished or want to remember this book” to “logged” in under three seconds, including book metadata resolution. Sam’s mobile and offline-first engineering background makes this deliverable.

2. Personal recall: surface what you’ve read and what you thought. The second consistent pain is “did I already read this?” at the bookstore or “what did I think of that book my friend recommended?” later. Brainshelf wins if it answers those questions faster and more confidently than any alternative, including memory and paper journals. The 22 interviews repeatedly named recall friction; Riley’s network confirms the same pattern.

2x2 Differentiation Chart

                  HIGH Personal Recall
                          |
                          |
                          |          [Brainshelf]
                          |              .
                          |
                          |
  HIGH Capture Speed  +  LOW Capture Speed
                          |
                          |              [Goodreads]
                          |              [StoryGraph]
                          |              [LibraryThing]
       [Bookly]           |
       (capture speed     |
        decent, low       |              [Paper journal]
        personal recall)  |              (HIGH personal recall via re-reading
                          |               notes, but LOW capture)
                          |
                  LOW Personal Recall

Customer plotted alternatives:

• Goodreads, StoryGraph, LibraryThing: clustered low-speed, low-recall. The social-feed gravity pulls away from both axes.
• Bookly: stats-focused; reasonable capture, but no recall.
• Paper journal: high recall via re-reading; very low capture speed.
• “Do nothing” baseline: off-chart; zero on both axes.

Brainshelf occupies the unoccupied upper-right quadrant: high capture speed AND high personal recall.

Decision Principles

The team committed to five principles that operationalize the differentiation:

1. Capture is the first-class action. Every other feature waits behind a fast capture path.
2. Private by default; sharing is opt-in. No feed, no friend graph, no public profile in v1.
3. Personal recall over social validation. The product’s success metric is “did I find what I needed when I needed it,” not “how many friends saw my activity.”
4. Surface what’s relevant when it matters. At the bookstore. At a recommendation moment. After finishing. Not on a notification schedule.
5. Beautiful only if it’s also fast. Visual library is a wish-list feature; if it slows capture, it doesn’t ship.

Mini Manifesto

Brainshelf is for people who read a lot and want a tool that respects that.

We believe reading is a personal practice. We don’t think your reading should be a feed. We don’t think your library should be public unless you want it to be. We don’t think tracking should feel like a gym log.

We’re building the fastest way to capture a book and the most useful way to recall what you’ve read. Nothing more. Nothing that gets in the way of those two things.

If you read 25 books a year and want them to stay with you, this is for you. If you want social validation around your reading, there are good tools for that, and we’re not one of them.

Note-and-Vote Trace (Decisions Made This Afternoon)

Decision	Options considered	Outcome
Two differentiators to commit to	Capture speed / Private-by-default / Personal recall / Offline-first / Visual library	Capture speed + Personal recall (Decider supervote after 4-way tie at score 13)
Decision principles count	3 / 5 / 7	5 (Decider call)

Rationale for Decider supervote on differentiators: “private-by-default” was scored equally but operationally is encoded in the decision principles. Choosing “capture speed + personal recall” makes the chart legible to customers, who care about outcomes (speed, recall) more than mechanics (private).

Decider Checkpoint

Decider sign-off required before Day 1 ends.

• Jamie confirms capture speed + personal recall as the two committed differentiators.
• Jamie confirms the 2x2 chart is the canonical positioning artifact for Day 2.
• Jamie confirms the 5 decision principles are non-negotiable for Approach Options tomorrow.
• Jamie signs the Mini Manifesto as the Day 1 strategic summary.

Signed: Jamie (founder, PM), 2026-05-13 16:55 PT