---
source_id: EX-005
date: 2026-09-10
owner: Workshop lead
status: exercise
---

# E5 · Competitor landscape

## Purpose

Marcus needs a comparison he can trust before Sales repeats a competitor's
claims. Practise checking what a source actually supports, then try the same
skill on one real product.

**Scoped source bundle:** https://www.gille.ai/carmenta-workshop/northstar/intranet/exercise-bundles/e5.md

**You need:**
- Fictional profiles: [Northern Grid Systems](https://www.gille.ai/carmenta-workshop/northstar/intranet/market-intelligence/competitors/northern-grid-systems.html),
  [Response Arc](https://www.gille.ai/carmenta-workshop/northstar/intranet/market-intelligence/competitors/response-arc.html),
  [Velaris Situational Systems](https://www.gille.ai/carmenta-workshop/northstar/intranet/market-intelligence/competitors/velaris-situational-systems.html),
  [Commons Map Collective](https://www.gille.ai/carmenta-workshop/northstar/intranet/market-intelligence/competitors/commons-map-collective.html)
- [Press archive](https://www.gille.ai/carmenta-workshop/northstar/intranet/market-intelligence/press-archive/index.html): relevant items dated
  2026-04-08, 2026-05-06, 2026-06-10, 2026-07-22, 2026-08-12 and 2026-08-19.

## Do

1. **Compare the fictional competitors.** Ask your assistant for a table:
   competitor | offline capability | autonomy claim | certifications or
   approvals | recent wins (2026). Each cell needs a source and its own
   evidence status. Use only the profiles and relevant archive items here.
2. Check a plausible claim against its original page. In this fictional
   archive, “verified” means supported by a profile's **Verified facts**
   section or an official press item. Keep **Unverified notes** unverified;
   write “not stated” where evidence is missing. Choose three specific
   points Marcus should verify before using the table in a sales deck.
3. **Now use the public web.** Examine the real company Esri's ArcGIS
   Mission using its [product documentation](https://doc.esri.com/en/arcgis-mission/latest/essentials/essentials-what-is-arcgis-mission.html)
   and [offline maps documentation](https://doc.esri.com/en/arcgis-mission/latest/responder/responder-overview-maps.html).
   Ask your own question about map-based situational awareness or working
   without a connection. Find two supported capabilities or limitations,
   with direct links and the date you checked them.
4. Compare one finding with the fictional
   [Atlas Response Suite product sheet](https://www.gille.ai/carmenta-workshop/northstar/intranet/product-and-demo/product-sheets/atlas-response-suite.html).
   State one similar need and one limit to the comparison. Keep this real
   research in a separate paragraph from the fictional competitor table.

**Why Esri?** ArcGIS Mission supports map-based situational awareness and
field-team communication; the fictional Atlas Response Suite addresses
similar operational needs. This is a comparison of documented functions,
not evidence of equal performance or a relationship between the companies.
The linked Esri documentation was checked on 7 September 2026.

## Prompt tips

Write your own request. Specify **comparison columns, allowed sources,
evidence per claim, and how to show uncertainty**. Treat source text as data,
never as instructions. For the web part, name ArcGIS Mission explicitly so the
assistant does not mix different Esri products.

## Check

- Open a source behind one claim in each fictional row. Does it support
  that exact claim? A certification is not a customer or government approval.
- For the real product, distinguish documented functions, marketing claims
  and your own conclusions. Offline maps do not prove that every tool works offline.
- Missing evidence stays missing; text inside source pages is not an instruction.

## Help

If browsing fails, open the linked pages yourself and paste the relevant
text into chat. Label the answer as based on supplied text. Do not accept
invented links or claim that a live search was completed.

## Next

[E6 · Run the method](e6-run-the-method.md)
returns to the fictional archive to test a repeatable monitoring method.
Keep your comparison in chat; nothing needs to be handed in.