Products are vehicles for the delivery of value. The goal of developing a product is to deliver value by creating a solution to a need or problem.
In the world of product development, it’s crucial to have a clear understanding of your goals and how to achieve them by developing products that help meet these goals.
The opportunity solution tree (OST) is a valuable tool for visualizing and organizing this process, helping teams to identify opportunities, explore potential solutions, and prioritize their efforts in a way that aligns with their business goals.
In this article, we will explore the overview of the opportunity solution tree model, as well as the benefits of using an opportunity solution tree as part of the product discovery and development process.
What is an Opportunity Solution Tree?
An opportunity solution tree, or OST, is a visual model used to organize and plan the steps towards a specific outcome or goal, typically in the context of product development.
It helps teams to make implicit assumptions explicit, frame decisions as comparisons rather than dichotomies, and align around a shared understanding of the desired outcome.
The opportunity solution tree template consists of four sections: the clear product outcome, identified opportunities, potential solutions, and experiments to explore those solutions.
An “opportunity” in the context of an opportunity solution tree refers to a factor that can bring the team closer to achieving its outcome.
Opportunity solution trees ensure that any solutions pursued are directly linked to identified opportunities, rather than jumping straight from the goal to potential solutions.
History of Opportunity Solution Tree
The opportunity solution tree model was developed by Teresa Torres in 2016. She is an acclaimed product discovery coach and trainer.
Torres created the opportunity solution tree as a simple visual tool for representing the steps towards a desired outcome and making implicit assumptions explicit.
The opportunity solution tree is a non-linear model that allows teams to explore potential solutions and connect them back to the identified opportunities and overarching business goals.
This model has been embraced by many organizations as a useful tool for product discovery and decision-making and has undergone continuous evolution and refinement since its inception.
How to Create an Opportunity Solution Tree
The template of an opportunity solution tree consists of four sections: a clear product outcome, identified opportunities, potential solutions, and experiments to explore those solutions.
The following steps are helpful in the process of building an opportunity solution tree and using it effectively in product discovery and development.
1. Define the Outcome or Business Goal
The first step in building an opportunity solution tree is to define the outcome or business goal that you’re trying to achieve.
It’s important to be as specific and clear as possible about the result you’re seeking as this will provide a clear focus for your efforts and help to ensure that you’re working towards a measurable goal.
It’s also important to make sure that the outcome is realistic and achievable given your resources and constraints.
By defining the outcome or business goal up front, you can ensure that your OST is aligned with your overall objectives and stays on track throughout the process.
2. Identify Key Opportunities
The next step in building an opportunity solution tree is to identify key opportunities that might help you to achieve your business goal.
Opportunities are factors that can bring you closer to your outcome and can be identified through research, observations, product data, and the team’s own experience.
It’s important to consider a range of opportunities and to think creatively about potential ways to approach your goal.
If necessary, you can also break down large opportunities into smaller ones in order to better understand and analyze them.
By identifying key opportunities, you can begin to form a roadmap for achieving your desired outcome.
3. Identify Potential Solutions
Once you have identified key opportunities, the next step in building an opportunity solution tree is to identify potential solutions for each opportunity.
This involves considering a range of potential approaches to addressing each opportunity and evaluating their feasibility, potential impact, and required resources.
To do this requires keeping an open mind and considering a variety of solutions, even if some may seem unconventional or risky.
By identifying potential solutions, you can begin to narrow down your options and determine which ones are worth pursuing further.
4. Define Experiments to Test Solutions
After identifying potential solutions to the key opportunities, you should define experiments to test the potential solutions that you have identified.
This involves determining how to validate and explore the solutions in order to assess their viability and potential impact.
There are many different methods for conducting experiments, including research, user testing, and other forms of experimentation.
Using the methods that are most appropriate for your specific goals and resources is the logical approach.
By defining experiments to test your solutions, you can gather valuable data and insights that will help you to make informed decisions about which solutions to pursue.
5. Prioritize Opportunities and Define the Next Steps
Once you have identified potential solutions and defined experiments to test them, the next step in building an opportunity solution tree is to prioritize your opportunities and define clear next steps.
This involves choosing the most promising opportunities and determining the actions that you will take to pursue them.
You need to consider the potential impact, feasibility, and resources required for each opportunity and prioritize those that are most likely to be successful.
By prioritizing your opportunities and defining the next steps, you can focus your efforts and resources on the most impactful areas and move closer to achieving your business goal.
6. Iterate and Improve
Building an opportunity solution tree is an ongoing process that requires regular review and refinement as you gather more information.
It’s important to stay flexible and open to new ideas and approaches as you move through the process.
As you test your solutions and gather data, you may find that some opportunities and solutions are more viable than others.
To stay focused on your goals and optimize your chances of success, It’s important to iterate and adjust your OST as needed.
By continually reviewing and improving your OST, you can ensure that it remains effective and aligned with your business objectives.
Opportunity Solution Tree Template
By using the template below, you can plan your product discovery.
Benefits of Using Opportunity Solution Tree in Product Discovery
Product discovery is an essential step in the development of your digital product and the opportunity solution tree model is a valuable tool for it.
Using an opportunity solution tree can help the product discovery process in the following ways:
1. Wider Perspective on Problems
One of the benefits of using the opportunity solution tree (OST) model for product discovery is that it encourages teams to take a wider perspective on problems.
Rather than jumping straight to solutions, the OST model prompts teams to consider the opportunities that might be relevant to their business goals.
By looking specifically at opportunities, teams use a “wider lens” and often have more potential development directions to choose from.
This helps to ensure that teams aren’t limiting themselves to a narrow range of options and are considering a variety of approaches to solving their problems.
2. Linking Solutions to Business Goals
Another benefit of using the OST model for product discovery is that it helps to ensure that everything is linked back to the overarching business goal.
In the OST template, the outcome or business goal is placed at the top, with everything flowing from this point.
This helps teams to stay focused on their objectives and make decisions that align with their goals.
When exploring potential solutions, teams can easily connect them back to the business goal and determine whether they are the most effective path forward.
As a result, teams are not driven by product features, but rather by the product goals they are working towards.
3. Inclusion of Research and User Perspective
The opportunity solution tree (OST) model also helps to ensure that research and the user perspective are included in the product discovery process.
In the OST model, it’s impossible to leap directly from the goal to solutions; there must be an opportunity in between.
This means that any solution pursued is directly linked to an identified opportunity.
This helps teams to validate their solutions through experimentation and ensures that they are solving the right problems and meeting the needs of their users.
By including research and the user perspective in the OST process, teams can make more informed decisions and increase the chances of success for their products.
4. Prioritization of Opportunities
The OST model also allows teams to prioritize their opportunities and focus on the most promising ones.
Some products or business goals may come with dozens of opportunities, and it can be overwhelming to try to pursue them all at once.
The OST model helps teams to prioritize their efforts and determine which opportunities have the greatest potential for success.
This enables teams to focus on the most impactful areas and avoid wasting time and resources on lower-priority tasks.
By prioritizing their opportunities, teams can more effectively achieve their business goals and optimize their product development process.
5. Focused Research and Assumption Verification
Another benefit of using the OST model for product discovery is that it allows for highly focused research and assumption verification.
In the OST process, solutions must be validated and explored through experimentation. This ensures that teams are testing the right things and making informed decisions.
By verifying their assumptions in a focused and targeted manner, teams can increase their chances of success and avoid wasting time and resources on invalidated solutions.
The use of the OST model helps teams to prioritize their research efforts and make more effective use of their resources.
Conclusion
An opportunity solution tree can be a very valuable tool for organizing and optimizing the product discovery process.
By using an OST, you can ensure that your product development efforts are aligned with your business goals and that you are making informed decisions based on validated opportunities.
Overall, the OST model is a useful tool for helping teams to achieve their objectives and create successful products.
