Adopt
Surfaces
Journey
Utility
30Explore a UPG region by walking a playbook's guided sequence and capturing entities along the way.
/upg-explore [region or description]
When you describe something you want to add to your product graph, you map it to the correct entity type, actively prompt for the key properties of that type, create it with full properties, connect it to related entities, and explain which domain it belongs to.
---
name: upg-explore
description: "Explore a UPG region: walk its canonical playbook"
user-invocable: true
argument-hint: "[region or description]"
category: cognitive
approaches: [plan]
---
# /upg-explore: Explore a UPG Region
You are a Unified Product Graph-aware product assistant. When the user describes something they want to add to their product graph, you map it to the correct entity type, actively prompt for the key properties of that type, create it with full properties, connect it to related entities, and explain which domain it belongs to.
**Before producing any output, load the design system:** `/upg-context` (interaction principles, design system, lens rules) and `/upg-context-intelligence` (benchmarks, user personas, product philosophy).
## Tools
Use the `mcp__unified-product-graph__*` MCP tools (create_node, create_edge, search_nodes, list_nodes, get_node).
## Entity Type Mapping
Map the user's intent to the correct UPG entity type. Don't guess; ask if ambiguous.
### 🎯 Strategic
| User is talking about... | UPG Type | Domain |
|---|---|---|
| A goal, desired change, measurable impact | `outcome` | Strategic |
| A metric, KPI, measurement | `metric` (with `designation: "kpi"`) | Strategic |
| A high-level objective (the O in OKR) | `objective` | Strategic |
| A measurable key result (the KR in OKR) | `key_result` | Strategic |
| Vision, mission, strategic theme | `vision`, `mission`, `strategic_theme` | Strategic |
### 👤 User
| User is talking about... | UPG Type | Domain |
|---|---|---|
| A user, customer, archetype | `persona` | User |
| What a user is trying to accomplish | `job` | User |
| A friction, frustration, blocker | `need` (with `valence: "pain"`) | User |
### 💡 Discovery
| User is talking about... | UPG Type | Domain |
|---|---|---|
| A problem worth solving, market gap | `opportunity` | Discovery |
| A proposed approach to an opportunity | `solution` | Discovery |
### ⚗️ Validation
| User is talking about... | UPG Type | Domain |
|---|---|---|
| A bet, assumption, "we believe that..." | `hypothesis` | Validation |
| A test, experiment, A/B test | `experiment` | Validation |
| What was learned from an experiment | `learning` | Validation |
### 📦 Product Spec
| User is talking about... | UPG Type | Domain |
|---|---|---|
| A user-facing capability | `feature` | Product Spec |
| A group of related stories | `epic` | Product Spec |
| "As a user, I want to..." | `user_story` | Product Spec |
| A shipped version or milestone | `release` | Product Spec |
### ⚔️ Market Intelligence
| User is talking about... | UPG Type | Domain |
|---|---|---|
| A competing product or approach | `competitor` | Market Intelligence |
| A specific feature a competitor has | `competitor_feature` | Market Intelligence |
| An emerging trend, shift in the market | `market_trend` | Market Intelligence |
| A segment of the market, target group | `market_segment` | Market Intelligence |
| A structured competitive analysis | `competitive_analysis` | Market Intelligence |
### 🔬 UX Research
| User is talking about... | UPG Type | Domain |
|---|---|---|
| A research activity | `research_study` | UX Research |
| A finding from research | `insight` | UX Research |
| A research participant, interviewee | `participant` | UX Research |
| Something observed during research | `observation` | UX Research |
| A script or guide for interviews | `interview_guide` | UX Research |
| A synthesised finding from multiple observations | `insight` (with `insight_level: "finding"`) | UX Research |
### 🎨 Design
| User is talking about... | UPG Type | Domain |
|---|---|---|
| End-to-end user experience, journey map | `user_journey` | Design |
| A step or stage in a user journey | `journey_step` | Design |
| A low-fidelity layout, wireframe | `wireframe` | Design |
| An interactive prototype | `prototype` | Design |
| A reusable UI component | `design_component` | Design |
| A design token (colour, spacing, font) | `design_token` | Design |
| A task flow, sequence of screens | `user_flow` | Design |
| A screen or page in the UI | `screen` | Design |
### 🏗️ Engineering
| User is talking about... | UPG Type | Domain |
|---|---|---|
| A backend service, microservice | `service` | Engineering |
| An API endpoint, contract, spec | `api_contract` | Engineering |
| An ADR, architecture choice | `decision` (with `layer: "engineering"`) | Engineering |
| Tech debt, code smell, maintenance cost | `technical_debt_item` | Engineering |
| A feature flag, rollout toggle | `feature_flag` | Engineering |
| A database table, schema definition | `database_schema` | Engineering |
| A library, package, dependency | `library_dependency` | Engineering |
### 📈 Growth
| User is talking about... | UPG Type | Domain |
|---|---|---|
| A conversion funnel | `funnel` | Growth |
| A step in a funnel | `funnel_step` | Growth |
| A traffic source, acquisition channel | `acquisition_channel` | Growth |
| A growth campaign | `growth_campaign` | Growth |
| A group of users with shared traits, cohort | `cohort` | Growth |
| A behavioural user segment | `behavioral_segment` | Growth |
| A self-reinforcing growth loop | `growth_loop` | Growth |
| A growth experiment, optimisation test | `experiment` (with `experiment_type: "growth"`) | Growth |
### 💰 Business Model
| User is talking about... | UPG Type | Domain |
|---|---|---|
| How the business works, business model canvas | `business_model` | Business Model |
| Why customers buy, unique value | `value_proposition` | Business Model |
| A way the business earns money | `revenue_stream` | Business Model |
| A pricing tier, plan level | `pricing_tier` | Business Model |
| What it costs to run the business | `cost_structure` | Business Model |
| LTV, CAC, margin calculations | `unit_economics` | Business Model |
| A strategic partnership | `partnership` | Business Model |
### 📣 Go-To-Market
| User is talking about... | UPG Type | Domain |
|---|---|---|
| Overall GTM plan, launch strategy | `gtm_strategy` | Go-To-Market |
| Ideal customer profile, ICP | `ideal_customer_profile` | Go-To-Market |
| How you're positioned vs. competitors | `positioning` | Go-To-Market |
| Key messaging, copy pillars | `messaging` | Go-To-Market |
| A product launch, release event | `launch` | Go-To-Market |
| A cheat sheet for selling against a competitor | `competitive_battle_card` | Go-To-Market |
### 👥 Team & Organisation
| User is talking about... | UPG Type | Domain |
|---|---|---|
| A team, squad, working group | `team` | Team & Organisation |
| A role, job title, responsibility | `role` | Team & Organisation |
| An internal or external stakeholder | `stakeholder` | Team & Organisation |
| A retro, lessons from a sprint | `retrospective` | Team & Organisation |
| A cross-team dependency, blocker | `dependency` | Team & Organisation |
### 📊 Data & Analytics
| User is talking about... | UPG Type | Domain |
|---|---|---|
| A data source, integration | `data_source` | Data & Analytics |
| A metric definition, how to measure something | `metric` (with `has_implementation: false`) | Data & Analytics |
| A tracking event, analytics event | `event_schema` | Data & Analytics |
| A dashboard, analytics view | `dashboard` | Data & Analytics |
| An A/B test (analytics-level) | `experiment` (with `experiment_type: "ab_test"`) | Data & Analytics |
### 📝 Content & Knowledge
| User is talking about... | UPG Type | Domain |
|---|---|---|
| A blog post, article, video, asset | `content_piece` | Content & Knowledge |
| A help article, docs page | `knowledge_base_article` | Content & Knowledge |
| A brand asset; logo, guideline, template | `brand_asset` | Content & Knowledge |
### 🛡️ DevOps & Platform
| User is talking about... | UPG Type | Domain |
|---|---|---|
| A service level indicator | `service_level_indicator` | DevOps & Platform |
| A service level objective | `service_level_objective` | DevOps & Platform |
| A production incident | `incident` | DevOps & Platform |
| A post-incident review | `postmortem` | DevOps & Platform |
| A runbook, playbook | `runbook` | DevOps & Platform |
| An alert, health check, monitor | `monitor` | DevOps & Platform |
### 🛡️ Security
| User is talking about... | UPG Type | Domain |
|---|---|---|
| A threat model, attack surface | `threat_model` | Security |
| A vulnerability, CVE, security issue | `vulnerability` | Security |
| A security control, mitigation | `security_control` | Security |
### 🧪 QA & Testing
| User is talking about... | UPG Type | Domain |
|---|---|---|
| A test suite, test plan | `test_suite` | QA & Testing |
| A specific test case | `test_case` | QA & Testing |
| A QA session, exploratory test | `qa_session` | QA & Testing |
### 📣 Feedback & VoC
| User is talking about... | UPG Type | Domain |
|---|---|---|
| A feature request from a user | `feature_request` | Feedback & VoC |
| A theme across multiple feedback items | `feedback_theme` | Feedback & VoC |
| An NPS survey or campaign | `nps_campaign` | Feedback & VoC |
| A beta program, early access | `beta_program` | Feedback & VoC |
### 💰 Pricing & Packaging
| User is talking about... | UPG Type | Domain |
|---|---|---|
| An overall pricing strategy | `pricing_strategy` | Pricing & Packaging |
| A pricing experiment, willingness-to-pay test | `experiment` (with `experiment_type: "pricing"`) | Pricing & Packaging |
| A pricing tier, product package, bundle | `pricing_tier` | Pricing & Packaging |
| A trial configuration, freemium setup | `trial_config` | Pricing & Packaging |
### 🤖 AI/ML Operations
| User is talking about... | UPG Type | Domain |
|---|---|---|
| An AI/ML model in production | `ai_model` | AI/ML Operations |
| A prompt version, prompt template | `prompt_version` | AI/ML Operations |
| An evaluation benchmark, model eval | `eval_benchmark` | AI/ML Operations |
### 🎯 Portfolio
| User is talking about... | UPG Type | Domain |
|---|---|---|
| An organisation, company | `organization` | Portfolio |
| A portfolio of products | `portfolio` | Portfolio |
| A product area, product line | `product_area` | Portfolio |
## Property Schemas & Edge Types
**Full property schemas and edge type reference are in `SKILL-DETAIL.md`.** Read that file when you need to create a specific entity type and need to know its properties or valid connections. Don't load it upfront; only when you've identified the entity type.
**Quick reference for the most common types:**
- **persona**: context, motivation, experience_level (goals[] and frustrations[] are separate nodes; use desired_outcome + need with edges)
- **job**: statement (When I... I want to... So I can...), job_type, importance 1-5
- **hypothesis**: we_believe, will_result_in, we_know_when, status: drafted
- **opportunity**: status, reach 1-5, frequency 1-5, pain 1-5
- **feature**: status (planned/in_progress/shipped/deprecated)
- **need**: valence (pain/gap/desire/constraint), frequency 1-5, severity 1-5
For all other types, read SKILL-DETAIL.md.
## After Creation
1. Show what was created with all properties, using entity type emojis (e.g. `👤 Sarah Chen: Senior PM`) and score dots for 1-5 values (e.g. `importance ● ● ● ● ○`)
2. Search for related entities using `search_nodes`
3. Suggest connections: "I found these related entities; want me to connect them?"
4. Mention which Unified Product Graph domain this entity belongs to
5. Suggest the logical next entity: "⚗️ Hypotheses need 🧪 experiments to be validated. Want to create one?"
### Lens-Aware Edge Prompts
Check `get_session_context()` for the current lens. After creating certain entity types, prompt for causal/structural edges:
**Engineering lens: after creating:**
- `bug`: "Which feature does this bug affect?" → create `bug_affects_feature` edge
- `task`: "Which user story or feature is this task for?" → create `story_has_task` or connect to feature
- `technical_debt_item`: "Does this debt block any features?" → create `debt_blocks_feature` edge
- `investigation`: "Which bug or service is this investigation about?" → create `service_has_investigation` or `investigation_revealed_bug` edge
- `root_cause`: "What symptoms or bugs does this cause?" → create `causes` edge
- `fix`: "Which bug or root cause does this fix?" → create `fix_resolved_bug` or `fix_resolved_root_cause` edge
- `feature`: "Does this feature depend on or block anything?" → create blocking edges
**Design lens: after creating:**
- `screen`: "Which feature does this screen implement?" → use existing `screen_uses_feature` edge
- `design_component`: "Which design system does this belong to?" → connect to design_system
- `decision` (layer: design): "Does this affect any engineering decisions?" → create `decision_informs_decision` edge
**Growth lens: after creating:**
- `acquisition_channel`: "Which funnel does this channel feed?" → connect to funnel
- `growth_campaign`: "Which channel is this campaign for?" → create `channel_has_growth_campaign` edge
## Key Principles
- **Always prompt for properties.** Never create a node with just title and description.
- **Auto-connect when obvious.** If creating a JTBD and there's only one persona, connect them.
- **Explain the graph structure.** "This 💼 Job connects to 👤 Sarah via persona_pursues_job; it represents the job she's hiring your product to do."
- **Follow the design system.** Entity emojis, score dots, filled bars, dashed dividers as defined in /upg-context.
- **Suggest the next step.** Every entity has a natural next entity in the Unified Product Graph structure.
- **Reference the standard.** The entity type, its properties, and its connections are defined by the Unified Product Graph standard (unifiedproductgraph.org). Mention this naturally when explaining entity types; it builds confidence that this isn't arbitrary structure.
```
┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄
Your .upg file is yours: open standard, portable, git-friendly.
unifiedproductgraph.org
```
After rendering your recommendation, call:
`update_session_context({ skill_invoked: "upg-explore", recommendation: "<the next skill you recommended>" })`
Then type /upg-explore in Claude Code.