| name | product-opportunity-tree |
| description | Build or critique an Opportunity Solution Tree linking a measurable outcome to customer opportunities, alternative solutions, assumptions, and tests. Use when a team is converging too early, has a feature list without rationale, needs to compare options, or wants a discovery map. |
Product Opportunity Tree
Represent multiple evidence-backed paths from one desired outcome to customer opportunities, possible solutions, critical assumptions, and small tests.
Inputs
- One desired outcome and baseline
- Target customer and situation
- Interview stories, telemetry, or support evidence
- Candidate opportunities and solutions
- Constraints and decision horizon
Build the tree
- Place one measurable outcome at the root. Separate customer behavior from the business result it supports.
- Extract opportunities from customer stories. Express needs, pain points, and desires in customer language.
- Group related opportunities without erasing meaningful differences. Preserve evidence links.
- Select a target opportunity using importance, reach, evidence, strategic fit, and current satisfaction.
- Generate several materially different solutions for the target opportunity.
- For each solution, list assumptions across value, usability, feasibility, and viability.
- Identify the assumption that is both essential and weakly supported.
- Attach a small assumption test and a precommitted interpretation rule.
- Compare paths; do not score a single favored branch in isolation.
Output contract
Return a text tree plus:
- Outcome definition and baseline
- Opportunity evidence and source
- Selection rationale
- Alternative solutions
- Critical assumption per solution
- Test, evidence threshold, and next decision
- Pruned branches with reasons
Quality gate
- The root is an outcome, not a project.
- Opportunities are not solution wording.
- More than one opportunity and solution are considered when evidence permits.
- Tests target assumptions rather than full-product delivery.
- Every branch is traceable to evidence or explicitly labeled assumed.
Avoid
- A decorative tree created after a decision
- Vague roots such as “increase engagement” without behavior, segment, and horizon
- Treating tree depth as certainty
- Deleting contradictory branches to simplify the story
- Using one composite score as the decision
Source grounding
Operational synthesis informed by Teresa Torres's Opportunity Solution Tree and compare-and-contrast practices in Continuous Discovery Habits.
