Overview
This is a long-standing (debatably archaic) staple among business analysis frameworks that every PM should master. Although categorized under User Analysis on this website, it's more of a competition analysis framework when a company wishes to improve its competitive advantage.
The 5 forces are: (1) Competition in the industry, (2) Potential of new industry entrants, (3) Power of suppliers, (4) Power of customers, and (5) Threat of substitution.
By understanding how a company/product is placed within its industry, product teams can make effective, timely changes to product features, marketing, etc., to re-adjust competitive advantage.
The resources linked to the right suggest possible alternatives to the standard 5 forces model.
