Competitive Teardown

Process

1. Define the Comparison Set

• Direct competitors — Same problem, same audience
• Indirect competitors — Same audience, different approach
• Aspirational references — Different category, similar quality bar

2. Experience the Product (don't just screenshot it)

• Complete the onboarding flow
• Try the core use case end-to-end
• Hit an error state
• Try to cancel/delete/undo
• Use it on mobile
• Read their support docs

3. Analyze Systematically

UX Patterns

Design Quality

• Visual hierarchy clarity (1-5)
• Typography quality (1-5)
• Color system coherence (1-5)
• Interaction feedback (1-5)
• Accessibility (1-5)
• Mobile experience (1-5)
• Loading/performance (1-5)

Positioning

• What do they claim to be?
• What are they actually?
• Who are they really serving?
• What's their pricing strategy?
• How do they differentiate?

4. Identify Opportunities

Gaps — What do all competitors do poorly? Conventions — What patterns are consistent (probably necessary)? Differentiators — Where could we be meaningfully different? Risks — What are competitors doing that we should worry about?

Output Format

## Competitive Teardown: [Category]

### Landscape Summary
[2-3 sentences on the competitive landscape]

### Competitor Profiles
[One paragraph per competitor: who they are, what they do well, where they're weak]

### Pattern Comparison Matrix
[Table comparing key UX patterns across competitors]

### Design Quality Scores
[Radar chart or scored table]

### Opportunities
[Ranked list of opportunities based on gap analysis]

### Strategic Recommendations
[2-3 specific recommendations with rationale]