competitor-scan_skill

Overview

This skill researches best-in-class products to surface UI/UX patterns, flows, and teardown insights using Browser MCP for screenshots and WebSearch for analysis. It targets competitive domains relevant to FinOps, invoices, onboarding, and collaboration so teams can make informed design and product decisions. The output is a concise competitor scan with captured screenshots, pattern tables, and actionable design recommendations.

How this skill works

The skill identifies target competitors from a domain table, then walks key flows in-browser to capture entry points, screens, edge cases, and micro-interactions via Browser MCP. It augments screenshots with WebSearch-driven teardowns, case studies, and pattern research to verify why designs work. Finally, it extracts layout, navigation, action, feedback, and copy patterns and emits a structured competitor scan for product and design teams.

When to use it

• At the start of the DIVERGE Loop (L1) to set benchmarks
• When evaluating new UI or onboarding patterns for invoices and billing
• Before major redesigns to avoid reinventing common solutions
• When creating product requirements or UX specs
• To validate micro-interactions and error handling approaches

Best practices

• Pick 5–8 direct competitors across relevant domains and prioritize flows that mirror your product goals
• Capture full flow context: entry point, happy path, empty/error states, and edge cases
• Combine screenshots with external teardowns to understand intent and tradeoffs
• Extract patterns under consistent headings: Layout, Navigation, Actions, Feedback, Copy
• Record short notes with each screenshot: why it works, potential pitfalls, and relevance to our product

Example use cases

• Benchmarking billing subscription flows against Stripe and Chargebee to improve conversion
• Studying onboarding flows (Plaid, Ramp) to reduce activation time for finance users
• Comparing invoice extraction UIs and copy across tools to improve extraction accuracy and trust
• Capturing micro-interactions in collaboration apps (Notion, Slack) to inform notification and invitation designs
• Auditing admin/settings pages (Vercel, PlanetScale) to simplify access controls and billing visibility