Skip to content
framework
Product & metrics

Opportunity Solution Tree

Connect a business outcome to user opportunities, solutions and experiments.

⏱ 11 minIntermediateBy Teresa TorresSince 2016
Use it when

Connecting research to what the team builds.

You'll walk away with

A tree from outcome to experiments.

Step 1 · The idea

Connect every idea to a customer need and a business outcome

The Opportunity Solution Tree was created by product coach Teresa Torres and explained in her book Continuous Discovery Habits (2021). It's a visual map with four levels: Outcome → Opportunities → Solutions → Assumption tests.

It stops teams from jumping straight from a goal to a feature. Every solution must connect to a real customer need, and every need to the outcome you're trying to move.

If someone asks “why are we building this?”, you can point to the branch: this solution → this customer need → this outcome.
The model

Four levels

1

Outcome

One measurable result the team owns. Not a feature.
Example: Increase repeat orders per month.
2

Opportunities

Customer needs, pain points and desires found in research. Written in their words.
Example: “I can never decide what to eat.”
3

Solutions

Ideas that address one opportunity. Aim for at least three per opportunity you target.
Example: Reorder favourites; mood-based picks; “Surprise me”.
4

Assumption tests

Small, fast experiments that test what must be true for a solution to work.
Example: A fake-door “Surprise me” button to see who taps it.
Step 3 · The process

Building a tree, week by week

A fictional product trio (PM, designer, engineer) at a food delivery app, “Thali”.

Our outcome
Increase repeat orders per month
Not “build a recommendations tab”
Step 1

Agree on the outcome

The team is given an outcome, not a feature list. That leaves room to discover the best solution.
Outcome
Interview #14
“Last Friday I scrolled for 20 minutes, couldn't pick anything, and just made Maggi.”
Step 2

Interview every week

Torres recommends talking to customers every week, asking about specific past experiences.
Research
“I can never decide what to eat”
“Ordering for the family is a hassle”
“Fees make small orders not worth it”
Step 3

Map opportunities

Needs heard across interviews become opportunities. The team picks one to focus on.
Opportunities
For “I can never decide what to eat”
Reorder favourites
Mood-based picks
“Surprise me” button
Step 4

Compare solutions

Three ideas, not one. Comparing them makes the choice better and less political.
Solutions
Fake-door test
Surprise me 🍛
31% of undecided browsers tapped it in a week
Step 5

Test assumptions fast

Before building a recommendation engine, a simple button tests the riskiest assumption: do people even want the app to choose for them?
Assumption test

Fictional example; numbers are illustrative.

Step 4 · Try it

Tree builder

Select a node, then add a child to it. The example tree is loaded to start.

Watch out

Common mistakes

✓ Do

  • Start with one clear, measurable outcome
  • Write opportunities in the customer's words
  • Break big opportunities into smaller ones
  • Compare at least three solutions
  • Test the riskiest assumption first

✗ Avoid

  • Putting features in the opportunity row
  • Outcomes that are really outputs (“launch X”)
  • A tree built once and never updated
  • Only one solution per opportunity
  • Skipping assumption tests and building straight away
Cheat sheet

Opportunity Solution Tree in one screen

OUTCOME            one measurable result the team owns
  └ OPPORTUNITIES  customer needs, pains, desires (from interviews)
      └ SOLUTIONS  ≥3 ideas per target opportunity
          └ TESTS  small experiments on risky assumptions

HABITS  interview weekly · keep the tree visible · update it as you learn
ASSUMPTION TYPES  desirability · viability · feasibility · usability · ethics
Use it at work

Figma template

A ready-made canvas for running this framework with your team. Free, editable, and it works in Figma and FigJam.

Preview of the Opportunity Solution Tree template
Figma & FigJam · free

Opportunity Solution Tree

  • Outcome → opportunities → solutions tree
  • Riskiest assumptions
  1. 1Download the SVG, or copy it to your clipboard.
  2. 2In Figma or FigJam, drag the file onto the canvas — or paste with ⌘V / Ctrl V.
  3. 3Everything arrives as editable layers: type in the boxes, add stickies, duplicate rows.
Download SVGOpen in Figma ↗
Check yourself

Quick quiz

Get all three right to complete the lesson.

Question 1

1. What sits at the top of an opportunity solution tree?

Question 2

2. Where do opportunities come from?

Question 3

3. Why compare several solutions for one opportunity?

Saved

Notes are private and stored in this browser.

Sources and further reading

Keep going

Related frameworks

Jobs To Be Done13 min · IntermediateDouble Diamond12 min · BeginnerRICE Scoring9 min · Beginner
Next lesson

MoSCoW

Must, Should, Could, Won't: a simple way to agree on scope.

Start lesson →