The Opportunity Solution Tree is a visual framework developed by Teresa Torres to help product teams map out the best path to their desired outcome. It serves as a “discovery roadmap” that enables teams to keep track of their options, make informed decisions, and maintain a strategic view of how to create value for both customers and the business.

Core Structure of the Tree

The Opportunity Solution Tree has a hierarchical structure with four main levels:

1. Outcome (Top of the Tree)

The outcome sits at the top and sets the scope for all discovery activities. This is not a business financial metric but rather a product outcome that the team can directly influence by changing user behavior in the product.[1]

Key characteristics of outcomes:

• Represents the value you’ll create for your business[1]
• Must be a product metric that drives business outcomes[1]
• Example: Increasing engagement (product outcome) to reduce churn (business outcome)[1]
• Established through two-way negotiation between the product leader and product trio[1]

The product trio communicates how much value they can create on what timeline, while the business leader determines if that creates sufficient business value.[1]

2. Opportunities (Customer Needs Layer)

Opportunities are customer needs, pain points, or desires that, if addressed, would drive the product outcome. This terminology is intentionally inclusive - not all products solve problems (Torres uses ice cream as an example of addressing desires rather than problems).[1]

How to discover opportunities:

• Conduct weekly customer interviews focused on understanding customer context[1]
• Ask for specific stories rather than speculative questions[1]
• Instead of “Tell me about your Netflix experience,” ask “Tell me about the last time you watched Netflix”[1]
• Mine these stories for nuance, context, and behavioral details[1]

3. Solutions (Implementation Layer)

Once opportunities are identified, teams explore multiple solutions for each opportunity. Torres strongly recommends working on one opportunity at a time and generating at least three different solutions for it.[1]

Why multiple solutions matter:

• Enables compare and contrast decision-making rather than “Is this good or not?”[1]
• Helps avoid confirmation bias and escalation of commitment[1]
• Makes it easier to see the pros and cons of each approach[1]
• Unlocks better solutions through systematic evaluation[1]

4. Assumption Testing (Validation Layer)

Rather than building entire solutions, teams break each solution down into its underlying assumptions and test these rapidly.[1]

The Five Categories of Assumptions

Torres identifies five critical assumption categories that teams should evaluate:

Desirability Assumptions

• Do people want this solution?[1]
• Are they willing to do what’s required (set up accounts, remember passwords, follow workflows)?[1]

Viability Assumptions

• Will this solution create value for the business?[1]
• Will it drive the defined outcome?[1]

Feasibility Assumptions

• Is it technically possible?[1]
• Will security, legal, and other internal teams approve it?[1]

Usability Assumptions

• Do people understand it?[1]
• Can they find and use it effectively?[1]

Ethical Assumptions

• Is there any potential harm?[1]
• Who is this solution serving and who might it leave out?[1]
• What data is being collected and how is it being used?[1]
• Are we making assumptions about user capabilities (like broadband access)?[1]

Key Principles for Implementation

Balancing Customer and Business Value

The tree structure helps align these two critical values:

• Opportunities represent customer value[1]
• Only consider opportunities that have potential to drive the business outcome[1]
• This alignment prevents teams from either creating customer value without business impact or maximizing business value at customers’ expense[1]

Continuous Cadence

• Weekly customer touchpoints with automated recruiting processes[1]
• Teams can test “half a dozen to a dozen assumptions every week”[1]
• Fast iteration allows teams to have an idea on Monday and potentially discard it by Wednesday if built on faulty assumptions[1]

Cross-Functional Collaboration

The framework is designed for product trios (product manager, designer, and tech lead) who have the authority to make decisions about what to build. The trio can flex to include other roles based on specific decisions being made.[1]

Practical Benefits

The Opportunity Solution Tree provides several key advantages:

1. Strategic Focus: Helps teams stay aligned on outcomes while exploring customer needs systematically
2. Risk Mitigation: Assumption testing prevents teams from building solutions based on false premises
3. Efficient Decision Making: Compare-and-contrast methodology leads to better solution selection
4. Continuous Learning: Weekly customer engagement ensures decisions are grounded in current customer reality
5. Value Alignment: Ensures customer value creation drives business value creation

By following this framework, product teams can “continuously ship value to customers in a way that creates value for the business” while maintaining a structured approach to discovery that balances speed with rigor.[1]

References

1. Opportunity Solution Tree - Teresa Torres