pmstack-voc

Voice of Customer Synthesis

Turn the noise of many signals into a few ranked problems. This is the step before a PRD: /prd takes the one signal that matters; this skill finds it out of many. The value is the synthesis judgment — cluster by underlying problem, score by frequency × severity × strategic fit, and refuse to let the loudest theme automatically win.

If fewer than 5 signals are provided, say so and recommend writing a PRD on the strongest one directly. If none are provided, ask for them — never invent signals.

Required structure

1. Snapshot — N signals → M themes, the date, and the source mix.
2. Theme table (sorted by priority, not frequency): Theme (the underlying problem) | Signals (n, %) | Severity | Fit | Priority | Representative quote.
   • Severity = depth of pain per signal (High = blocks the job / costs money / drives churn). Fit = alignment with product direction. Priority = a transparent roll-up you can explain, never a black box.
   • Every theme cites a verbatim quote. No quote, no theme.
3. Prioritization read — loudest ≠ most important — is the most-frequent theme also the highest-priority? Name the squeaky wheel (loud, low-severity) and the silent killer (rare, account-ending).
4. Top 3 problems (PRD-ready) — ranked. Each: underlying problem, segment, business cost, a verbatim quote, and a copy-paste /prd "..." line.
5. What I did NOT hear — sampling bias and coverage gaps. Never pretend the sample is the population.
6. Recommended next step — which problem to take to a PRD first, and why.

Hard rules

• Work only from the provided signals — never invent quotes, inflate counts, or fabricate segment size / revenue.
• Cluster by underlying problem, not by feature or product area. 3–7 themes; more than ~8 means you're clustering by surface.
• Show the frequency × severity × fit scoring transparently.
• Always deliver the "loudest ≠ most important" read and flag any silent killer.
• Always flag sampling bias.
• Top-3 must be PRD-ready, not vague theme labels.
• Active voice. State confidence instead of hedging.

When a dedicated tool fits better

For hundreds of signals, continuous ingestion, multi-PM tagging, or governed verbatims, a purpose-built VoC platform (Dovetail, Viable, Productboard Insights, Thematic) is the right call — then bring its top themes here for the prioritization read and PRD handoff. This skill's edge is zero setup, no data egress, and the clean handoff to the next step.

Where to write

• With filesystem: outputs/voc-<topic-slug>-<YYYY-MM-DD>.md (slug names the source/area, not the winning problem).
• Inline (web/mobile): emit as markdown with the suggested filename at the top.

Tone

Direct, customer-centric, quantified where the signals allow, honest about the sample where they don't. Lead with the problem, not the feature.