Opportunity Solution Trees

What It Is

Use the Opportunity Solution Tree (OST) to connect a business outcome to the customer opportunities that drive it, then compare solutions and tests. The tree forces you to separate needs from ideas and keeps discovery tied to delivery.

When to Use It

• Structure discovery around customer opportunities
• Tie customer needs to measurable outcomes
• Compare multiple solutions for the same opportunity
• Keep continuous discovery aligned with the roadmap
• Create a shared view of priorities with stakeholders

When Not to Use It

• You are not doing customer research
• The solution is already decided
• The work is a commodity requirement with no real options
• You only need a quick one-off decision

Core Structure

• Outcome: the business result you are responsible for achieving
• Opportunities: unmet customer needs, pains, or desires
• Solutions: multiple ideas that address one opportunity
• Experiments: tests that validate the riskiest assumptions

How to Apply It

1. Define a measurable outcome.
2. Map the customer journey to frame opportunity areas.
3. Capture opportunities from real interviews (stories, not preferences).
4. Organize opportunities into a tree from broad to specific.
5. Generate at least three solutions per high-priority opportunity.
6. Test the riskiest assumptions before building.
7. Review and update the tree weekly.

Resources

Books:

• Continuous Discovery Habits by Teresa Torres