--- title: "Value Curve Analysis Template for Strategy" description: "A value curve analysis template with the competing factors axis explained, how to plot your product against competitors, and an example strategy canvas." canonical_url: "https://builderscamp.com/guides/template-library/value-curve-analysis-template" date_published: "2026-09-15" date_modified: "2026-09-15" author: "Andre Albuquerque" publisher: "Builders Camp" guide_class: "template-library" --- # Value Curve Analysis Template **TL;DR:** A value curve, also called a strategy canvas, is a chart from W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne's Blue Ocean Strategy that plots how an industry competes across a shared set of factors, then draws each competitor's offering as a line connecting its score on every factor. The shape of that line, not any single data point, is what reveals whether a product looks like everyone else's or genuinely differentiates. The horizontal axis lists the factors buyers actually use to compare offerings in a category, kept to ten to fifteen factors so the chart stays readable; more than that turns into noise and hides the pattern the chart is meant to show. The vertical axis scores each factor from low to high investment or offering level. Each competitor, including your own product, gets plotted as one continuous line across all the factors, and where every line in the industry tracks closely together, that flat, similar shaped bundle of lines is the visual signature of a crowded, undifferentiated market. An example for online PM education: factors might include price, live instructor access, cohort size, certification rigor, self-paced flexibility, and community access. If every competitor's line sits roughly the same height on price and self-paced flexibility but a specific competitor's line spikes on live instructor access and certification rigor while dropping on price, that shape is the visual argument for where that competitor is actually choosing to differentiate rather than compete on every factor equally. Use this template before running a Four Actions Framework exercise, since the value curve gives a team a shared, visual baseline of the current competitive landscape that the eliminate, reduce, raise, create questions can then act on directly. It works best when built from real competitor research and real customer feedback about what factors matter, not from internal assumptions about the market. Fill in the factors axis first, drawing from actual buyer research about what people compare when choosing between options in the category, not from an internal list of everything the product happens to do. Plot at least two to three real competitors alongside your own product, since a value curve with only one line on it cannot show the pattern of sameness or differentiation the tool is built to reveal. The most common mistake is including factors that sound impressive internally but that buyers do not actually use to compare options, which produces a chart that looks thorough but does not reflect real purchase decisions. A second common mistake is stopping at the chart itself and never following through with a Four Actions Framework exercise to decide what to actually do about the shape the curve reveals. Builders Camp's Product Strategy bootcamp teaches this exact competitive mapping method, paired directly with the Four Actions Framework template for turning the chart into a strategic decision. Both templates live in the Builders Camp templates library, included in every Membership alongside the rest of the catalog. ## Frequently asked questions ### What is another name for a value curve? A strategy canvas, the term used in the original Blue Ocean Strategy framework by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne. ### How many factors should a value curve chart include? Ten to fifteen buyer relevant factors; more than that turns the chart into noise and hides the pattern of sameness or differentiation it is meant to reveal. ### What does it mean when every competitor's line looks similar? It signals a crowded, undifferentiated market where offerings compete on the same factors at similar levels, which is exactly the pattern the Four Actions Framework is used to break. ### Should the factors come from internal brainstorming or customer research? Customer research. Factors should reflect what buyers actually compare when choosing between options, not an internal list of everything a product happens to include. ### Which Builders Camp bootcamp teaches value curve analysis? Product Strategy, which pairs this template directly with the Four Actions Framework for turning the chart into a strategic decision. ## Sources - [Blue Ocean Strategy: Strategy Canvas, official tool page](https://www.blueoceanstrategy.com/tools/strategy-canvas/) - [Builders Camp: Product Strategy bootcamp page](https://builderscamp.com/bootcamps/product-strategy) - [Builders Camp: Membership page (templates and frameworks included)](https://builderscamp.com/membership) ## How this guide was made Researched from Builders Camp's bootcamp, track and masterclass material and the sources listed on this page, drafted with AI, and fact-checked against every source cited.