We want to use a simple scraper tool like Playwright to extract public operational pain points from our competitors' online reviews to adjust our V/TO. How do we practically assign this as a 90-day Rock on our Accountability Chart without needing a full-time software developer?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

You do not need a full-time software developer or an expensive tech agency to run a simple web scraping project. Doing so is an expensive mistake that often leads to over-engineered systems. Instead, you can execute this as a targeted 90-day Rock.

Assign this Rock to a tech-savvy manager on your Accountability Chart, such as your marketing manager or an operations specialist. The goal of the Rock is not to write code, but to deliver the extracted data.

Have them hire a freelance developer on a contract basis to write a simple, thirty-line script using an open-source tool like Playwright. This script should target public forums, industry review boards, and competitor job ads to extract common complaints about competitor service delivery.

Keep the scope of the project narrow. The freelancer should deliver the raw text output in a basic spreadsheet within the first four weeks of the quarter.

During the remaining weeks of the quarter, your manager will use a standard AI assistant to analyze the spreadsheet and categorize the operational pain points.

By the end of the ninety days, your team will have a clear, data-driven report outlining your competitors biggest service gaps. Use this valuable insight to refine your target market and three-year picture on your V/TO during your next quarterly planning session.