# Product strategy and competitive requirements

Product design

This page describes the product model and requirements. Examples illustrate the model, not a guaranteed API or completed feature. Check the [application contracts](/stormtrust/apps/) and [dataset inventory](/stormtrust/product/platform-and-data/datasets-and-source-contracts/) for implemented scope. Use [operations guides](/stormtrust/engineering/operations/) for runnable procedures.

StormTrust does not aim to build a prettier version of an existing hail map. The product combines credible weather intelligence, explicit provenance, public acquisition, property intelligence, monitoring, field operations, reports, campaigns, integrations, and outcome attribution.

## HailTrace lessons

Public HailTrace research demonstrates the value of an integrated attention and conversion system:

- recurring weather media and live coverage
- human meteorologist authority
- public storm pages and transactional maps
- reports and branded contractor outputs
- annual subscriptions and direct products
- partner distribution, events, and sponsorships

StormTrust should learn from the system rather than only the map:

```txt
event
→ map
→ evidence
→ affected properties
→ report
→ account or product conversion
```

Public content and internal intelligence derive from the same event graph.

## HailTrace data-provenance boundary

Public HailTrace documentation names data categories and several suppliers. It does not disclose the underlying feeds, uncertainty models, or complete vendor contracts behind them.

| Layer                   | Confirmed source category                                                         | What stays undisclosed                                 |
| ----------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------ |
| Weather observations    | Radar, satellite, and ground observations                                         | Exact feeds and products                               |
| Storm verification      | NOAA reports, ground-truth reports, eyewitness images                             | Verification workflow                                  |
| Meteorological analysis | Meteorologist-drawn hail, wind, and tornado shapes                                | Drawing and quality-control procedure                  |
| Algorithmic hail        | Wind, storm movement, radar, and modeling combined into a ground-contact estimate | Model family and uncertainty method                    |
| Structures              | Microsoft building-footprint computer vision                                      | Source is named; release and license terms are not     |
| Prospect data           | Cole Information property and contact records                                     | Full field contract                                    |
| Building codes          | OneClick Code jurisdiction requirements                                           | Source is named; field coverage is not                 |
| Roof estimates          | RoofTrace, developed internally                                                   | Source imagery, elevation data, and model architecture |

HailTrace's public API exposes four weather-layer types (`ALGORITHM_HAIL_SIZE`, ` METEOROLOGIST_HAIL_SIZE`, ` METEOROLOGIST_WIND_SPEED`, ` METEOROLOGIST_TORNADO`) and returns processed GeoJSON shapes, not raw radar frames.

Do not ingest HailTrace shape data

HailTrace's public API terms permit temporary map discovery and visualization. They do not permit storing HailTrace shape data or using the API to reproduce HailTrace features. StormTrust builds its own severity polygons from [NOAA MRMS](/stormtrust/product/platform-and-data/datasets-and-source-contracts/#noaa-mrms) and other properly licensed sources, not from HailTrace output.

The [MRMS replay](/stormtrust/product/platform-and-data/intelligence/storm-radar/#hail-swaths) gives StormTrust an observational layer HailTrace does not publish. It still needs the same derived layers HailTrace keeps private: severity polygons with confidence, building-footprint intersection, and parcel-level exposure. See [Datasets and source contracts](/stormtrust/product/platform-and-data/datasets-and-source-contracts/) for which of these StormTrust has implemented, selected, or not yet selected.

## Hail Recon lessons

Public Hail Recon and Interactive Hail Maps research demonstrates the value of transparent pricing, direct checkout, local search, monitoring, canvassing, contact workflows, reports, embeds, lightweight integrations, and field use.

StormTrust combines this lower-friction model with cleaner provenance, better mobile browser behavior, event revisions, explicit eligibility, complete APIs, public intelligence, and closed-loop attribution.

## Product flywheel

```txt
Weather event
      ↓
Storm intelligence
      ↓
Public intelligence
      ↓
Search, social, and partners
      ↓
Free user, report, purchase, or demo
      ↓
Workspace
      ↓
Monitoring
      ↓
Field and campaign operations
      ↓
Outcomes
      ↓
Case study, retention, or expansion
      ↓
Next weather event
```