pm-skills/pm-product-discovery/commands/discover.md

description, argument-hint

description	argument-hint
Run a full product discovery cycle — from ideation through assumption mapping to experiment design	<product or feature idea>

/discover -- Full Discovery Cycle

Run a structured product discovery process that moves from divergent thinking to focused validation. This command chains multiple skills into a single end-to-end workflow.

Invocation

/discover Smart notification system for our project management tool
/discover New product: AI writing assistant for non-native speakers
/discover                    # asks what you're discovering

Workflow

Step 1: Understand the Discovery Context

Determine whether this is:

• Existing product — continuous discovery on a known product with real users
• New product — initial discovery for a concept without validated demand

Ask the user:

• What are you exploring? (product idea, feature area, opportunity space)
• What do you already know? (prior research, customer feedback, data)
• What decisions will this discovery inform? (build/kill, prioritize, pivot)

Accept context from uploaded files (research, PRDs, transcripts, data), links, or conversation.

Step 2: Brainstorm Ideas (Divergent Phase)

Apply the brainstorm-ideas-existing or brainstorm-ideas-new skill:

• Generate ideas from PM, Designer, and Engineer perspectives
• Present the top 10 ideas with brief rationale
• Ask the user to select 3-5 ideas to carry forward, or accept all

Checkpoint: "Here are 10 ideas. Which ones should we stress-test? Pick 3-5, or I can carry all forward."

Step 3: Identify Assumptions (Critical Thinking Phase)

For each selected idea, apply the identify-assumptions-existing or identify-assumptions-new skill:

• Surface assumptions across risk categories:
  • Value: Will users want this?
  • Usability: Can users figure it out?
  • Feasibility: Can we build it?
  • Viability: Does the business case work?
  • Go-to-Market (new products only): Can we reach and convert users?
• Use devil's advocate multi-perspective analysis
• Compile a master list of all assumptions across all ideas

Step 4: Prioritize Assumptions (Focus Phase)

Apply the prioritize-assumptions skill:

• Map assumptions on an Impact × Risk matrix
• Identify the "leap of faith" assumptions — high impact, high uncertainty
• Rank assumptions by test priority
• Group related assumptions that can be tested together

Checkpoint: "Here are your riskiest assumptions. Which ones feel most critical to validate first?"

Step 5: Design Experiments (Validation Phase)

For the top-priority assumptions, apply brainstorm-experiments-existing or brainstorm-experiments-new skill:

• Design 1-2 experiments per critical assumption
• For existing products: A/B tests, fake doors, prototypes, user tests, data analysis
• For new products: XYZ hypotheses, pretotypes, landing pages, concierge MVPs
• Include success criteria, timeline, and effort for each
• Sequence experiments by dependency and effort

Step 6: Create Discovery Plan

Compile everything into a discovery plan document:

## Discovery Plan: [Topic]

**Date**: [today]
**Product Stage**: [existing/new]
**Discovery Question**: [what we're trying to learn]

### Ideas Explored
[Summary of brainstormed ideas with brief descriptions]

### Selected Ideas for Validation
[3-5 ideas carried forward with rationale]

### Critical Assumptions
| # | Assumption | Category | Impact | Uncertainty | Priority |
|---|-----------|----------|--------|-------------|----------|

### Validation Experiments
| # | Tests Assumption | Method | Success Criteria | Effort | Timeline |
|---|-----------------|--------|-----------------|--------|----------|

### Experiment Details
[For each experiment: hypothesis, setup, measurement, decision criteria]

### Discovery Timeline
Week 1: [experiments]
Week 2: [experiments]
Week 3: [analysis and decision]

### Decision Framework
- If [experiment] succeeds → proceed to [next step]
- If [experiment] fails → [pivot/kill/investigate further]

Save the plan as a markdown file to the user's workspace.

Step 7: Offer Next Steps

• "Want me to create a PRD for the top idea?"
• "Should I design an interview script to supplement these experiments?"
• "Want me to set up metrics to track the experiments?"
• "Should I estimate effort and create user stories for the MVP?"

Notes

• This is a 15-30 minute structured workflow — let the user know upfront
• At each checkpoint, the user can redirect, skip, or go deeper
• If the user has research data, pull insights from it before brainstorming
• The discovery plan should be a living document — offer to update it as experiments run
• For new products, emphasize desirability validation before feasibility
• For existing products, check if there's usage data that can inform assumptions