A market mission runs as a closed loop on the Market Research Squad. You draw the path in the mission goals: the category, the decision you need, and the rule that every figure has a source. The Mission Commander works inside that path and assigns the scan to Atlas and the brief to Brief. Steering is the approval step. The squad does not choose the market for you.
The squad you import
The template is the Market Research Squad, on /squads. Atlas, Research Analyst, scans players, size, trends, and risks, separates facts from opinion, marks confidence, and keeps a source log. Brief, Synthesis Writer, writes a one-page brief: answer first, evidence next, open questions last.
Radar and Echo get cards only if the goals include competitor profiles or customer quotes. The template has no required connection.
You do this in the xSquads desktop app, on a folder of your own files. Mac now, with Windows coming soon. The product page is xSquads for Work.
How the mission runs
Step 1. Import the Market Research Squad
Open the squad templates and import the Market Research Squad onto the mission. Keep Atlas and Brief. Remove Radar and Echo if this mission is the category scan and the one-page decision brief.
Step 2. Leave the connector list empty
This template has no required connection. Do not connect treg or Vapi. Put any sources you already trust in the mission folder so Atlas can start from them and log the rest.
Step 3. Create the mission and set the goals
Create the mission and write the goals in plain language. Those goals are the path: the category, the decision, and what the brief is not allowed to settle. Point the mission at the local folder. The commander does not get to widen that path. Goals you can start from, as written on the squad page: scan the market for this category and summarise the players, and write a one-page brief on whether to enter this segment.
Step 4. Let the Mission Commander assign the work
Save the mission. The Mission Commander creates tasks on the task board and assigns them only inside the goals you wrote. Atlas takes the scan and the source log. Brief takes the one-pager, answer first. Radar should not get weekly competitor cards unless you added that goal.
Step 5. Add a task, steer, and approve before you rely on the brief
Steering is the approval step. Add a task on the board, or correct the Mission Commander in the group chat, when a figure has no source. A useful task to add yourself: move the size estimate into open questions until the source log has a page for it. You make the enter-or-not call. Start by approving the brief only after you have opened the sources.
How much to review
Start by approving everything. Autonomy is a dial, not a switch you flip because the brief fits on one page.
Always sign off the category and the decision question yourself. Raise the dial only when briefs keep their figures inside the source log. Confidence marks are part of the draft. A size number with no citation goes back. The decision stays with you.
What the goals have to name
- The category, in your words, so Atlas does not widen it.
- The decision the brief is for. Entering a segment is the squad-page example. Write a different decision if that is the job.
- The source rule. Every claim can be re-checked in the source log. Facts and opinions are marked apart, with confidence.
- What is out: competitor weekly tracking, interview synthesis, a launch plan.
- You decide. The brief is an input, and it waits in Review.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who scans the market?
Atlas, on the Market Research Squad. Brief writes the one-page brief from that scan. The squad page order is answer, then evidence, then open questions.
Can Atlas invent a market size?
No. Figures come from cited sources and your files. If the source log has no page for a number, send that number back.
What do I check in Review?
Open the sources, read the confidence marks, and check that the answer matches the evidence. Open questions should still be open.
Who decides whether to enter?
You do. The squad gathers and summarises. The decision stays with you.
Does this squad need a connector?
No. Nothing on the Market Research Squad page is a required connection.
Related Reading
- All squads and the Market Research Squad.
- xSquads for Work and the waitlist.
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