Practice : Opportunity Solution Trees
Purpose and Strategic Importance
Opportunity Solution Trees (OST) provide a structured visual framework for connecting customer problems (opportunities) with potential solutions. By linking opportunities directly to desired outcomes, teams ensure decisions are evidence-based and aligned with strategy.
This practice shifts teams away from solution-first thinking to problem-first exploration, improving learning and reducing risk of wasted investment.
Without OSTs, teams risk chasing isolated ideas without understanding whether they address real needs or contribute to outcomes.
Description of the Practice
- The tree starts with a desired outcome at the top.
- Branches represent opportunities (customer needs, pain points).
- Each opportunity has sub-branches of potential solutions.
- Experiments are designed to validate solutions before scaling.
How to Practise It (Playbook)
1. Getting Started
- Define a clear, measurable outcome.
- Gather opportunities from interviews, journey mapping, or contextual inquiry.
- Build the tree collaboratively, linking opportunities to the outcome.
2. Scaling and Maturing
- Use the OST as a living artefact updated with new insights.
- Add experiment results to validate or eliminate branches.
- Integrate OST reviews into sprint planning and strategy discussions.
3. Team Behaviours to Encourage
- Curiosity about opportunities before jumping to solutions.
- Collaborative exploration across product, design, and engineering.
- Willingness to prune branches and pivot.
4. Watch Out For…
- Starting with solutions instead of outcomes.
- Treating the tree as static rather than evolving.
- Overcomplicating the tree with too many branches.
5. Signals of Success
- Qualitative: Teams consistently link work back to desired outcomes.
- Quantitative: Increase in validated opportunities vs discarded ones.