Question 1

What is an Opportunity Solution Tree?

Accepted Answer

A visual discovery framework that connects a single desired outcome to the customer opportunities that drive it, the solutions that address them, and the experiments that test those solutions.

Question 2

Who created the Opportunity Solution Tree?

Accepted Answer

Teresa Torres, a product discovery coach, introduced it in 2016 and popularized it in her 2021 book "Continuous Discovery Habits."

Question 3

What are the four layers of an OST?

Accepted Answer

The desired outcome at the top, the opportunity space (customer needs and pains), the solutions, and the experiments or assumption tests at the bottom.

Question 4

What is the opportunity space?

Accepted Answer

The layer of customer needs, pain points, and desires that, if addressed, would drive the outcome. Opportunities are framed as problems, not solutions, and come from research.

Question 5

Why does the OST insert an opportunity layer?

Accepted Answer

Because the most common product failure is jumping straight from a goal to features. The opportunity layer forces teams to validate the customer problem before choosing a solution.

Question 6

How many outcomes should one tree have?

Accepted Answer

One. If you have multiple outcomes to improve, you build a separate tree for each, since the single outcome scopes everything below it.

Question 7

Should opportunities be written as features?

Accepted Answer

No. Opportunities must be framed as customer needs or problems. Writing a feature in the opportunity space collapses the tree’s entire logic.

Question 8

Why must you generate multiple solutions per opportunity?

Accepted Answer

So decisions become "compare and contrast" between options rather than "build this or not," which avoids the first-idea trap and produces better choices.

Question 9

Why is the tree called a living document?

Accepted Answer

Because its opportunity space is only as honest as the customer research behind it. As customer needs shift, the tree must be continuously updated, or it goes stale.

Question 10

How does the OST relate to the product trio?

Accepted Answer

The product trio, a PM, designer, and engineer, builds and works the tree together, each contributing a different perspective to the solutions they explore.

What Is an Opportunity Solution Tree (OST)?

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