PlanMySaaSDocs
AV
Abhi Verma
Getting Started 10 min read

Understanding the planning wizard

A deep look at each of the 10 wizard steps, what information to include, and how each step shapes your entire blueprint.

Why the wizard matters

The planning wizard is the foundation of your entire blueprint. Every AI generation — research, architecture, feature specs, and prompts — is built on top of what you enter here. Poor wizard input → generic output. Detailed wizard input → a highly specific, immediately useful blueprint.

The wizard takes ~15 minutes to fill out thoroughly. That 15 minutes determines the quality of 5+ hours of AI-generated planning output. Slow down and be precise.

Deep dive: each of the 10 steps

Each step adds a layer of context to your product blueprint. Here's exactly what to write in each field:

Step 1: Idea

Write at least 4–6 sentences. Describe the problem, your solution, who it's for, and what makes it different. Treat it like an executive summary. This is Nova's most important input.

Step 2: Category

Pick the closest SaaS category. This affects how Nova frames competitor analysis and what technical patterns it recommends.

Step 3: Target Users

Be specific. Avoid 'everyone'. Name the job title, industry, company size, and technical level. The more detail, the better Nova can tailor feature workflows.

Step 4: Core Modules

List your core functional areas — these become the modules in Feature Specs and the categories in your Prompt Pack. 5–8 modules is the sweet spot.

Step 5: Technical Preferences

Specify stack explicitly: 'Next.js frontend, Node.js API with Express, PostgreSQL via Prisma, deployed to Railway.' Vague answers produce generic recommendations.

Step 6: Monetisation

Include billing cycle, price points if known, free trial length, and Stripe usage. This shapes the Billing module spec.

Step 7: Key Differentiators

What do you have that competitors don't? Speed, price, vertical focus, integrations, UX? This feeds your positioning and feature priorities.

Step 8: Competitors

Name 2–5 real tools. Even if they're only partial competitors. Nova analyses their patterns to identify gaps your product can fill.

Step 9: Constraints

Solo founder? 3-month runway? HIPAA compliance? India-only launch? These constraints change everything from tech stack to feature scope.

Step 10: Additional Context

Anything else: existing codebase, third-party APIs to integrate, specific infrastructure, design inspiration, or regulatory requirements.

Updating wizard steps later

Your wizard data is not locked in. As your product thinking evolves, return to any step and update it. After updating, navigate to the section you want to refresh and click Regenerate.

  • Update Technical Preferences → regenerate Architecture + Prompts
  • Add a new competitor → regenerate Research + Analysis
  • Change your monetisation model → regenerate Feature Specs + Phase Plan
  • Refine your target user → regenerate Research for better audience profiling