mssm2025

Week 1: AI Product Landscape & Company Deep Dive

Objective: Build awareness of the current AI product ecosystem.

Assignment:

• Choose an AI-first company (e.g., OpenAI, Anthropic, GitHub/Copilot, Glean, Perplexity, Replit, etc.).

• Research and write about:

  • Product offerings
  • Key features and capabilities
  • Market differentiators and USP
  • Target users and segments
  • Business model
  • Funding, valuation or market cap
  • Key competitors

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Week 2: User Journey Mapping

Objective: Develop empathy for users and understand user-product interaction.

Assignment:

• Choose one core product from the Week 1 company.

• Define the three user personas.

• Map out the user journey:

  • Entry point: How do users discover and access the product?
  • Core flows: Key actions and decision points
  • JTBDs for that persona
  • Pain points and delight moments
  • Opportunities for improvement

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Week 3: AI Capabilities & Differentiators

Objective: Identify and articulate the role of AI in product differentiation.

Company: Intuit

Assignment:

• Analyze how the products use AI/ML:

  • What models or techniques are mentioned/used (e.g., LLMs, embeddings, retrieval)?
  • Is the AI productizing something previously manual or non-scalable?
  • Where does AI create the most value for the user?
  • Provide detailed context about how AI is integrated into Intuit's products and services. Consider including:
    • Specific examples of AI-powered features or tools within Intuit's product suite.
    • The impact of AI on user experience, such as automation of tasks, personalization, or improved decision-making.
    • How AI enhances or streamlines existing workflows for users or businesses.
    • Notable innovations, strategies, or unique approaches Intuit employs in leveraging AI.
    • Any challenges, limitations, or future opportunities related to AI integration into Intuit products.

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Week 4: Competitive & SWOT Analysis

Objective: Improve market awareness and strategic thinking. Compare two Chat LLM products, example ChatGPT vs Claud, Copilot vs Glean, Gemini vs Perplexity, or any cross combination. Remember to study the enterprise or paid version (don't actually buy or pay for it).

Assignment:

• Conduct a competitive analysis between your chosen product and one direct competitor (2 companies total):
  • Use both products directly if possible. Take and include screenshots of key features, user flows, and any notable differences you observe.
  • Create a detailed feature comparison table highlighting similarities and differences.
  • Clearly identify and discuss the key market differentiators between the two products.
  • Summarize the main strengths and weaknesses of each product, focusing on what sets them apart in the market.
• Create a SWOT analysis for your chosen product, using your hands-on experience and research.
• Be sure to highlight how the user experience, feature set, and market positioning differ between the two companies.

Note: If you cannot access the products directly, use publicly available screenshots, demo videos, or user reviews to illustrate your findings.

Assignment Expectation:
Participants are expected to gain firsthand experience with the products being analyzed. Ideally, this means directly using (dogfooding) the product to understand its capabilities and user experience. If direct access is not possible (e.g., due to paywalls or enterprise restrictions), participants should creatively leverage alternative resources—such as public documentation, user-written blogs, YouTube demos, published case studies, or any other publicly available materials—to inform their competitive analysis. The goal is to demonstrate resourcefulness and a thorough, well-reasoned comparison, even when direct product access is limited.

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Week 5: Porter's Five Forces Analysis

Objective: Analyze industry structure and competitive dynamics.

Assignment:

• Conduct a Porter's Five Forces analysis for the product/company:

  • Threat of new entrants
  • Bargaining power of suppliers
  • Bargaining power of buyers
  • Threat of substitute products/services
  • Rivalry among existing competitors

• Rate each force (High/Medium/Low) with justification

• Identify key implications for product strategy

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Week 6: Feature Prioritization

Objective: Learn to identify and prioritize product features using data-driven frameworks.

Assignment:

• Identify 4 potential new features for the product.
• For each feature, calculate RICE score:
  • Reach: Estimate number of users impacted
  • Impact: Rate potential impact (3=high, 2=medium, 1=low)
  • Confidence: Rate certainty level (100%, 80%, 50%)
  • Effort: Estimate engineering quarters needed
• Prioritize features based on RICE scores
• Document rationale and assumptionss

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Week 7: Feature Pitch / PRD Lite

Objective: Practice feature ideation and product requirement thinking.

Assignment:

• Using the highest-priority feature from Week 5, write a 1-page PRD-lite:

  • Problem Statement
  • User Story
  • Why Now?
  • Feature Scope
  • Expected Outcome & Metrics
  • Optional: Wireframe/mock (textual or visual)

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Week 8: Monetization & GTM Strategy

Objective: Think through business viability and go-to-market strategy.

Assignment:

• Explore the current monetization model (if any).

• Suggest 1 new monetization lever (pricing model, tiering, upsells, etc.).

• Make a basic GTM strategy:

  • Target segments
  • Acquisition channels
  • Key partnerships
  • Launch tactics (beta, community, influencer, etc.)

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