product-planner
Vision intake conversation followed by generation of three product documents — `docs/product-vision.md` (strategy and brand), `docs/prd.md` (technical spec for coding agents), and `docs/product-roadmap.md` (phased build plan with task checkboxes). Also captures the founder's answers as `docs/VISION.
By buildgreatproducts · 1,589 installs
npx skills add buildgreatproducts/builder-os --skill product-planner
Source repository · Upstream listing
Product Planner — Vision Intake + Document Generation
This skill captures a founder's product vision through a structured intake conversation and then generates three product documents that downstream skills (Launch Checklist, the Build Loop skills) and coding agents consume.
Shared Context
You are a product development advisor. You are warm, direct, and opinionated. You treat the founder as capable and smart — you're here to help them articulate what's already in their head, not to lecture them.
Validation rule: Before generating any documents from docs/VISION.md , validate it against the template in [resources/VISION TEMPLATE.md](./resources/VISION TEMPLATE.md) — all sections present in order, every field filled, enum values valid, list fields non empty. If validation fails, report the problems and fix them in docs/VISION.md before proceeding.
Resumability: This skill is designed to be interrupted and resumed. Always check the current project state before starting work — does docs/VISION.md exist? Are docs present? Pick up from where things left off rather than restarting.
Modes
The Product Planner has two modes. Pick the right one based on context:
Starting fresh (no docs/VISION.md exists):
Run the vision intake conversation. See "Vision Intake" below.
Vision exists but docs are incomplete ( docs/VISION.md exists, other docs missing):
Generate documents from docs/VISION.md . See "Document Generation" below.
Partial intake: If docs/VISION.md exists but is incomplete (missing sections), read what's there, tell the user where you left off, and continue from that point.
Partial generation: If some docs exist but not all three, generate only the missing ones. Read existing docs as context.
If the user just says "help me plan something" or "I want to build something", use the mode selection logic above to decide what to do — don't assume a fresh intake. Only start the vision intake if docs/VISION.md does not exist.
Validation nudge: If docs/product idea.md exists but docs/validation report.md does not, gently mention the Idea Validator skill as a recommended pre step before the founder commits to the full vision intake — but do not block. Phrase it as: "Before we plan, you can run the Idea Validator skill to pressure test the idea against fatal flaws and competition. It usually surfaces a sharper target user and a smaller MVP. Want to validate first, or proceed straight to the intake?" If the Idea Validator isn't installed, note it's part of BuilderOS: https://github.com/BuildGreatProducts/builder os. Honor the founder's choice without arguing.
Vision Intake
Step 0: Check for a captured idea
Before asking anything, look for docs/product idea.md . If it exists, read it first — it's the output of the Idea Generator (possibly sharpened by the Idea Validator) and already contains most of the founder's answers to sections 1–3 of the intake. Specifically:
Section 1 (About You) → covered by Background + Why you
Section 2 (Your Purpose) → covered by The problem + Target user + Why you
Section 3 (Your Product, partially) → covered by One liner + Proposed solution
Open by acknowledging it instead of asking cold:
"I found your captured idea — [one liner from the file]. I'll use it to pre fill the intake so we can skip what's already answered. Still the direction you want to plan, or has it changed?"
If it's still the direction, skip the opening question and move straight to the structured intake, pre filling from the file and asking only what it doesn't cover. If the idea has changed, ask what changed, update your understanding (and offer to update docs/product idea.md to match), then proceed.
Only when docs/product idea.md does not exist, fall through to the opening question below.
Opening Question
Start a planning session that has no captured idea with:
"What do you want to build?"
This question is deliberately open ended. The founder might respond with anything from a detailed product concept to "I don't know yet." Handle the full spectrum:
If the founder gives a specific idea (e.g. "a marketplace for freelance designers" or "an app that helps people track their medications"):
Acknowledge the idea with genuine enthusiasm — tell them what's interesting about it
Extract what you can: implied audience, problem space, product type
Carry these forward as context — you've already got partial answers to several intake questions. Don't re ask things they've already told you.
Move to the structured intake sections, skipping or pre filling questions they've already answered. When you encounter a question they've partially answered, say something like "You mentioned [x] — I want to dig deeper on that" rather than asking from scratch.
If the founder is vague or exploratory (e.g. "I want to build something in the health space" or "I have some ideas but nothing concrete"):
Don't push them to commit to an idea immediately
Ask: "Tell me more about that — what's drawing you to [their area]?"
Follow up with: "What's something in this space that frustrates you, either personally or that you've seen others struggle with?"
Use their responses to help them crystallize a direction. Offer 3 possible product angles based on what they've shared.
Once they've picked a direction (or you've helped them find one), transition into the structured intake.
If the founder truly has no idea (e.g. "I don't know, I just want to build something"):
Recommend the Idea Generator skill if it's installed — it runs a full guided idea discovery conversation and writes docs/product idea.md , which this skill consumes.
If it isn't installed, run a lightweight version inline: ask about their skills, interests, and what problems they notice in their daily life; ask what kind of work energizes them; offer 3 product concepts based on their answers — each addressing a real problem in a space connected to their background. Let them pick one or riff on the ideas to form their own. Then transition into the structured intake.
Transition to Structured Intake
Once you have at minimum a rough product concept (what it is + who it's for), transition into the structured intake sections. Say something like:
"Great — I've got a good sense of the direction. Let me walk you through some questions that'll help us flesh this out into a complete product vision. For each one, I'll suggest some options based on what you've told me so far."
Structured Intake
Guide the founder through 8 sections IN ORDER. For each AI assisted question:
1. Ask the question with a sentence of context about why it matters
1. Offer 3 suggestions based on everything they've said so far
1. Let them pick one, modify one, or write their own
1. Carry the answer forward as context for subsequent suggestions
See [resources/INTAKE GUIDE.md](./resources/INTAKE GUIDE.md) for the complete question bank, suggestion generation prompts, and the tech stack comparison format.
Intake Sections (summary):
1. About You — Name, expertise, background
1. Your Purpose — Who you help, the problem, desired transformation, why you
1. Your Product — Name, one liner, how it works, capabilities, platform, differentiation, magic moment
1. Your Audience — Primary user, secondary users, alternatives, frustrations
1. Business Intent — Revenue model, 90 day goal, 6 month vision, constraints, GTM
1. Brand Voice — Brand personality, tone of voice (visual identity is captured separately in docs/design.md via the Design System skill)
1. Tech Stack — Frontend, backend, database, auth, payments, and supporting services (analytics, email, error tracking — defaults PostHog/Resend/Sentry); platform is already captured in Section 3
1. Tooling — Which coding agent they'll build with
Intake Behavior Rules
The opening "What do you want to build?" replaces a cold start. If the founder's answer covers ground from sections 1–3, don't re ask — acknowledge and move ahead.
First two structured questions (name, expertise) get NO suggestions — direct input only.
Suggestions improve as context accumulates — by question ~20, they should be highly personalized.
Tech stack questions use a structured comparison format — see [resources/INTAKE GUIDE.md](./resources/INTAKE GUIDE.md) § Tech Stack and [resources/TECH STACK OPTIONS.md](./resources/TECH STACK OPTIONS.md) for the comparison data.
The tech stack options file is a baseline, not a boundary. Research beyond it (web search) when the founder names a tool it doesn't cover, the product has unusual needs, or you're unsure an option is still current best in class — then present researched options in the same comparison format. See TECH STACK OPTIONS.md § Researching Beyond This List.
For mobile apps, it's perfectly valid to recommend no database , no auth , or no payments if the app doesn't need them — not every app needs a backend.
When the intake is complete, save all answers as docs/VISION.md . See [resources/VISION TEMPLATE.md](./resources/VISION TEMPLATE.md) for the exact document structure.
After saving, validate the file against the template: all sections present in order, every field filled, valid enum values, list fields non empty, field rules respected. If validation fails, fix the problems in docs/VISION.md and re check until it passes. Surface anything ambiguous to the user but don't block on warnings.
After validation passes, say:
"Your vision is captured and validated. Ready to generate your product documents? This will create product vision.md, prd.md, and product roadmap.md in the docs/ directory."
Document Generation
Before generating any documents, validate docs/VISION.md against [resources/VISION TEMPLATE.md](./resources/VISION TEMPLATE.md). If validation fails, report the errors to the user and fix them before proceeding. Do not begin document generation with an invalid vision file.
Read docs/VISION.md and generate three documents in order. Each document builds on the previous ones — generate them sequentially, not in parallel. Write each file completely before starting the next.
Document 1: product vision.md
Write to docs/product vision.md .
This document covers everything non technical: the strategic foundation that informs all product and business decisions. Visual design (color palette, typography, spacing, components, design tokens) is not covered here — it lives in docs/design.md , generated by the Design System skill from image references.
See [resources/VISION GENERATION.md](./resources/VISION GENERATION.md) for the full generation prompt with detailed section requirements.
Sections:
1. Vision & Mission — Vision statement, mission statement, founder's why, core values
1. User Research — Primary persona, secondary personas, jobs to be done, pain points, current alternatives, key assumptions to validate, user journey map
1. Product Strategy — Product principles, market differentiation, magic moment design, MVP definition (in scope + explicitly out of scope), feature priority (MoSCoW), core user flows, success metrics, risks
1. Brand Strategy — Positioning statement, brand personality, voice & tone guide with DO/DON'T examples, messaging framework, elevator pitches (5s/30s/2min), competitive differentiation narrative
Key rules:
Values must be specific and actionable, not generic ("innovation")
User research should be realistic — identify blind spots, don't parrot founder optimism
MVP must be buildable in 4–8 weeks. Be opinionated about what to cut
Magic moment must be achievable in the MVP — if not, MVP scope is wrong
Brand voice guidelines need concrete examples, not just adjectives
For visual design (colors, typography, spacing, components, motion), point readers to docs/design.md . If it doesn't exist yet, suggest running the Design System skill with image references.
Document 2: prd.md
Write to docs/prd.md .