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puaros/packages/guardian/COMPETITIVE_ANALYSIS_SUMMARY.md

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Competitive Analysis & Roadmap - Summary

Date: 2025-01-24 Prepared for: Puaros Guardian Documents Created:

  1. ROADMAP_NEW.md - Updated roadmap with reprioritized features
  2. COMPARISON.md - Comprehensive competitor comparison
  3. docs/v0.6.0-CONFIGURATION-SPEC.md - Configuration feature specification

🎯 Executive Summary

Guardian has 5 unique features that no competitor offers, positioning it as the only tool built for AI-assisted DDD/Clean Architecture development. However, to achieve enterprise adoption, we need to first match competitors' baseline features (configuration, visualization, CI/CD, metrics).

Current Position (v0.5.1)

Strengths:

  • Hardcode detection with AI suggestions (UNIQUE)
  • Framework leak detection (UNIQUE)
  • Entity exposure detection (UNIQUE)
  • Repository pattern validation (UNIQUE)
  • DDD-specific naming conventions (UNIQUE)

Gaps:

  • No configuration file support
  • No visualization/graphs
  • No ready-to-use CI/CD templates
  • No metrics/quality score
  • No auto-fix capabilities

📊 Competitive Landscape

Main Competitors

Tool Strength Weakness Market Position
SonarQube Multi-language + Security Complex setup, expensive Enterprise leader
dependency-cruiser Best visualization No hardcode/DDD Dependency specialist
ArchUnit Java architecture Java-only Java ecosystem
FTA Fast metrics (Rust) No architecture checks Metrics tool
ESLint Huge ecosystem No architecture Code quality standard

Guardian's Unique Position

"The AI-First Architecture Guardian for TypeScript teams practicing DDD/Clean Architecture"

Market Gap Filled:

  • No tool optimizes for AI-assisted coding workflow
  • No tool deeply understands DDD patterns (except ArchUnit for Java)
  • No tool combines hardcode detection + architecture enforcement

🚀 Strategic Roadmap

Phase 1: Market Parity (v0.6-v0.10) - Q1-Q2 2026

Goal: Match competitors' baseline features

Version Feature Why Critical Competitor
v0.6.0 Configuration & Presets All competitors have this ESLint, SonarQube
v0.7.0 Visualization dependency-cruiser's main advantage dependency-cruiser
v0.8.0 CI/CD Integration Kit Enterprise requirement SonarQube
v0.9.0 Auto-Fix (UNIQUE!) Game-changer, no one has this None
v0.10.0 Metrics & Quality Score Enterprise adoption SonarQube

After v0.10.0: Guardian competes with SonarQube/dependency-cruiser on features

Phase 2: DDD Specialization (v0.11-v0.32) - Q3-Q4 2026

Goal: Deepen DDD/Clean Architecture expertise

30+ DDD pattern detectors:

  • Aggregate boundaries
  • Anemic domain model
  • Domain events
  • Value Object immutability
  • CQRS validation
  • Saga pattern
  • Anti-Corruption Layer
  • Ubiquitous Language
  • And 22+ more...

After Phase 2: Guardian = THE tool for DDD/Clean Architecture

Phase 3: Enterprise Ecosystem (v1.0+) - Q4 2026+

Goal: Full enterprise platform

  • VS Code extension
  • JetBrains plugin
  • Web dashboard
  • Team analytics
  • Multi-language support (Python, C#, Java)

🔥 Critical Changes to Current Roadmap

Old Roadmap Issues

v0.6.0 was "Aggregate Boundaries" → Too early for DDD-specific features v0.12.0 was "Configuration" → Way too late! Critical feature postponed Missing: Visualization, CI/CD, Auto-fix, Metrics Too many consecutive DDD features → Need market parity first

New Roadmap Priorities

v0.6.0 = Configuration (MOVED UP) → Critical for adoption v0.7.0 = Visualization (NEW) → Compete with dependency-cruiser v0.8.0 = CI/CD Kit (NEW) → Enterprise requirement v0.9.0 = Auto-Fix (NEW, UNIQUE!) → Game-changing differentiator v0.10.0 = Metrics (NEW) → Compete with SonarQube v0.11+ = DDD Features → After market parity


💡 Key Recommendations

Immediate Actions (Next 2 Weeks)

  1. Review & Approve New Roadmap

    • Read ROADMAP_NEW.md
    • Approve priority changes
    • Create GitHub milestones
  2. Start v0.6.0 Configuration

    • Read v0.6.0-CONFIGURATION-SPEC.md
    • Create implementation tasks
    • Start Phase 1 development
  3. Update Documentation

    • Update main README.md with comparison table
    • Add "Guardian vs Competitors" section
    • Link to COMPARISON.md

Next 3 Months (Q1 2026)

  1. Complete v0.6.0 (Configuration)

    • 8-week timeline
    • Beta test with community
    • Stable release
  2. Start v0.7.0 (Visualization)

    • Design graph system
    • Choose visualization library
    • Prototype SVG/Mermaid output
  3. Marketing & Positioning

    • Create comparison blog post
    • Submit to Product Hunt
    • Share on Reddit/HackerNews

Next 6 Months (Q1-Q2 2026)

  1. Complete Market Parity (v0.6-v0.10)

    • Configuration
    • Visualization
    • CI/CD Integration
    • Auto-Fix (UNIQUE!)
    • Metrics
  2. Community Growth

    • 1000+ GitHub stars
    • 100+ weekly npm installs
    • 10+ enterprise adopters

📈 Success Metrics

v0.10.0 (Market Parity Achieved) - June 2026

Feature Parity:

  • Configuration support (compete with ESLint)
  • Visualization (compete with dependency-cruiser)
  • CI/CD integration (compete with SonarQube)
  • Auto-fix (UNIQUE! Game-changer)
  • Metrics dashboard (compete with SonarQube)

Adoption Metrics:

  • 1,000+ GitHub stars
  • 100+ weekly npm installs
  • 50+ projects with guardian.config.js
  • 10+ enterprise teams

v1.0.0 (Enterprise Ready) - December 2026

Feature Completeness:

  • All baseline features
  • 30+ DDD pattern detectors
  • IDE extensions (VS Code, JetBrains)
  • Web dashboard
  • Team analytics

Market Position:

  • #1 tool for TypeScript DDD/Clean Architecture
  • Top 3 in static analysis for TypeScript
  • Known in enterprise as "the AI code reviewer"

🎯 Positioning Strategy

Target Segments

  1. Primary: TypeScript developers using AI coding assistants (GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Windsurf, Claude, ChatGPT, Cline)
  2. Secondary: Teams implementing DDD/Clean Architecture
  3. Tertiary: Startups/scale-ups needing fast quality enforcement

Messaging

Tagline: "The AI-First Architecture Guardian"

Key Messages:

  • "Catches the #1 AI mistake: hardcoded values everywhere"
  • "Enforces Clean Architecture that AI often ignores"
  • "Closes the AI feedback loop for cleaner code"
  • "The only tool with auto-fix for architecture" (v0.9+)

Differentiation

Guardian ≠ SonarQube: We're specialized for TypeScript DDD, not multi-language security Guardian ≠ dependency-cruiser: We detect patterns, not just dependencies Guardian ≠ ESLint: We enforce architecture, not syntax

Guardian = ESLint for architecture + AI code reviewer


📚 Document Guide

ROADMAP_NEW.md

Purpose: Complete technical roadmap with reprioritized features Audience: Development team, contributors Key Sections:

  • Current state analysis
  • Phase 1: Market Parity (v0.6-v0.10)
  • Phase 2: DDD Specialization (v0.11-v0.32)
  • Phase 3: Enterprise Ecosystem (v1.0+)

COMPARISON.md

Purpose: Marketing-focused comparison with all competitors Audience: Users, potential adopters, marketing Key Sections:

  • Feature comparison matrix
  • Detailed tool comparisons
  • When to use each tool
  • Use case recommendations
  • Winner by category

v0.6.0-CONFIGURATION-SPEC.md

Purpose: Technical specification for Configuration feature Audience: Development team Key Sections:

  • Configuration file format
  • Preset system design
  • Rule configuration
  • Implementation plan (8 weeks)
  • Testing strategy

🎬 Next Steps

Week 1-2: Planning & Kickoff

  • Review all three documents
  • Approve new roadmap priorities
  • Create GitHub milestones for v0.6.0-v0.10.0
  • Create implementation issues for v0.6.0
  • Update main README.md with comparison table

Week 3-10: v0.6.0 Development

  • Phase 1: Core Configuration (Week 3-4)
  • Phase 2: Rule Configuration (Week 4-5)
  • Phase 3: Preset System (Week 5-6)
  • Phase 4: Ignore Patterns (Week 6-7)
  • Phase 5: CLI Integration (Week 7-8)
  • Phase 6: Documentation (Week 8-9)
  • Phase 7: Beta & Release (Week 9-10)

Post-v0.6.0

  • Start v0.7.0 (Visualization) planning
  • Marketing push (blog, Product Hunt, etc.)
  • Community feedback gathering

Questions?

For technical questions:

For strategic decisions:

  • Review sessions: Schedule with team
  • Roadmap adjustments: Create GitHub discussion

📝 Changelog

2025-01-24: Initial competitive analysis and roadmap revision

  • Created comprehensive competitor comparison
  • Reprioritized roadmap (Configuration moved to v0.6.0)
  • Added market parity phase (v0.6-v0.10)
  • Designed v0.6.0 Configuration specification

Status: Analysis complete, ready for implementation

Confidence Level: HIGH - Analysis based on thorough competitor research and market positioning