Positioning Framework Selection - AFPS Tracker

Stage 1 review page for $positioning research/afps-tracker. Stage-zero interrogation is complete, and this page proposes the market-positioning framework set only. No framework research, run manifest, working packet, canonical positioning artifact, or framework intermediate has been created.

Alignment statusreview

Alignment date2026-06-26

Product pathresearch/afps-tracker

Skill stateState E - framework selection

Proposed Scope

Scope is limited to AFPS Tracker as a research-stage workflow-state tracker for AFPS power users and multi-day AFPS operators. The explicit command argument resolves the active product path to research/afps-tracker, even though research/.progress.yaml also lists research/exec-loop-tracker as active.

Out of scope for this positioning run: exec-loop-tracker, development execution tracking, generic PM replacement, broad research repository positioning, active recommendation engines, and final pricing or packaging decisions.

Scope evidence, not findings: the repo contains approved ICP, competitive-analysis, journey-map, and idea-brief artifacts for AFPS Tracker, plus completed Stage 0 interrogation answers. These sources justify the framework-selection boundary but do not yet create positioning conclusions.

Required gate: approve the AFPS Tracker positioning scope?

Approve AFPS Tracker-only positioning scope with exec-loop-tracker excluded. Approve with explicit caveat that execution-tracking language must remain excluded. Other / None of the above Need clarification

Stage 0 Coverage Consumed

Interview area	Status	Established input	Stage 1 impact
Target segment	covered	Current AFPS power users and multi-day AFPS operators struggling with context switching and handoff.	Keep framework work focused on source-native workflow-state pain.
Actual alternatives	covered	Source-native files, alignment index, progress YAML, `$afps-status`, generic PM tools, research repositories, and AI agents.	Compare against both internal AFPS status/audit behavior and external adjacent tools.
Value wedge	research target	The user asked to research the differentiator closely rather than locking the wedge in Stage 0.	Select frameworks that test job, competitive factors, and category narrative.
Mode	covered	Market-positioning mode confirmed.	Use market-positioning frameworks rather than product-positioning shortcut.
Category frame	covered	Provisional category language: AFPS workflow-state tracker.	Treat the category as language to validate, not a final category-design conclusion.
Customer language	covered	Context switching, project switching, agent-to-agent sessions, and keeping up with AI speed.	Anchor positioning research in this phrasing.

Mode Detection

Detected mode: Market positioning. The command did not include product, post-launch, or obviously-awesome; no scoped customer-feedback.md exists; no production app files were found in the shallow repo scan; and Round 2 confirmed market mode.

Hard prerequisiteresearch/afps-tracker/icp.md exists.

Hard prerequisiteresearch/afps-tracker/competitive-analysis.md exists.

Strong defaultresearch/afps-tracker/journey-map.md exists.

Missing post-launch evidenceNo scoped customer-feedback file was found.

Required gate: approve market-positioning mode?

Approve market-positioning mode. Treat as product-positioning mode because real customer evidence should be considered. Other / None of the above Need clarification

Available Source Categories

Category	Observed scope evidence	Stage 1 impact
ICP and pain map	`research/afps-tracker/icp.md`	Defines the AFPS operator, pains, alternatives, trigger events, and WTP caveats.
Competitive synthesis	`research/afps-tracker/competitive-analysis.md`	Frames substitutes, market gaps, and trust/provenance pressure.
Journey synthesis	`research/afps-tracker/journey-map.md`	Defines aha moment, first successful source-linked read-through, and journey gaps.
Interrogation answers	`research/afps-tracker/_working/interrogation-positioning-r1.yaml`; `research/afps-tracker/_working/interrogation-positioning-r2.yaml`	Adds customer language, `$afps-status` alternative, category language, and wedge-as-research-target.
Product code evidence	No production app package or source tree found in the shallow scan.	Supports market-positioning mode.
Customer feedback	No `research/afps-tracker/customer-feedback.md` found.	Keeps the run out of product-positioning shortcut mode.

Framework Selection

Market-mode defaults are pre-checked. The selected set becomes the approved scope for the parent positioning loop. Each selected framework will run inline in a later invocation, one framework per session, after final compiled YAML approval.

JTBD Positioning default

Identifies the primary job, functional/social/emotional dimensions, and outcome-centered position. Recommended because Stage 0 preserved the differentiator as a research target and the customer language centers on context switching and handoff.

Strategic Canvas default

Compares competing factors against source-native files, $afps-status, generic PM tools, research repositories, and AI agents. Recommended because the wedge depends on how AFPS Tracker differs from actual alternatives.

Moore Positioning default

Builds the Geoffrey Moore template and exposes the weakest evidence link. Recommended because the ICP and alternatives are known, but market confidence and WTP remain unproven.

Category Design optional

Develops a category POV and ecosystem map. Optional now because Stage 0 selected "AFPS workflow-state tracker" as provisional language, but did not approve a new category narrative as the wedge.

Required gate: approve selected framework set?

Approve the currently checked framework set. Add category-design to the selected set. Other / None of the above Need clarification

Output Paths And Loop Plan

Path	When written	Status now
`research/afps-tracker/_working/interrogation-positioning-r2.yaml`	Stage 0 consumption	Written from the approved checkpoint YAML.
`research/afps-tracker/_working/interrogation-positioning-handoff.md`	Stage 0 to Stage 1 transition	Written so State E resolves from disk.
`alignment/positioning-afps-tracker.html`	Stage 1	Review page created for approval.
`alignment/index.html`	Stage 1	Updated to include this review page.
`research/afps-tracker/_working/positioning-run.yaml`	After final compiled YAML approves framework selection	Not created in Stage 1.
`research/afps-tracker/_working/preliminary-positioning-research.md`	Later framework or synthesis review when applicable	Not created in Stage 1.
`research/afps-tracker/positioning-{framework}.md`	After each framework findings page is approved	Not created in Stage 1.
`research/afps-tracker/positioning.md`	After synthesis review is approved	Not created in Stage 1.

Required gate: approve the staged file-change boundary?

Approve staged boundary: run manifest after framework-selection approval, canonical artifacts only after later artifact approvals. Approve page only; revise output paths before future stages. Other / None of the above Need clarification

Assumptions And Source Gaps

Assumption or gap	Status	What could change the plan
AFPS Tracker remains research-stage only.	Evidence-backed by approved idea brief, ICP, competitive analysis, journey synthesis, and Stage 0 coverage.	User approval expands the product boundary.
Market positioning is the right mode.	Supported by missing customer-feedback and production app evidence.	New customer evidence is supplied or the user intentionally selects product-positioning shortcut.
The value wedge should be researched, not asserted.	User-directed research target from Stage 0.	User approves a narrower wedge before framework work.
Direct AFPS user demand and WTP remain unproven.	Source gap across ICP, competitive analysis, and journey map.	Customer interviews, dogfooding metrics, design-partner evidence, or monetization research are added.
`$afps-status` is a meaningful internal alternative.	Stage 0 user input.	Later framework work shows it behaves as a complement rather than an alternative.

Required gate: is this source plan sufficient for Stage 2 framework work?

Sufficient for hypothesized market-positioning framework research. Needs additional source context before Stage 2. Other / None of the above Need clarification

Stage 2 Preview

After final compiled YAML approval, the next invocation of the parent orchestrator writes research/afps-tracker/_working/positioning-run.yaml with only the approved framework slugs, then runs the first pending framework inline at its research stage. The parent loop then stops again for framework findings approval.

Future framework findings pages will render the complete non-canonical working packet as structured HTML, with evidence matrix, assumptions/confidence register, source gaps, proposed canonical file changes, and artifact approval gates. Canonical intermediates are written only after each framework findings page is approved. Unified research/afps-tracker/positioning.md is written only after all selected intermediates exist and synthesis review is approved.

Compile Responses

Answer required gates or select section feedback, then compile YAML. Complete approval requires all required gates answered with no unresolved rejection or clarification feedback.