Opportunity Solution Tree
An Opportunity Solution Tree, introduced by Teresa Torres in Continuous Discovery Habits, makes a team's discovery thinking visible as one tree: a measurable outcome at the root, the customer opportunities that could move it, the solutions you might build for each, and the assumptions each solution depends on. Working top-down keeps teams solving validated customer problems instead of shipping a backlog of features.
Related terms
Assumption
A belief a solution depends on. If it turns out to be wrong, the solution fails — so the risky ones are worth testing first.
Assumption mapping
Plotting each assumption by impact (how much damage if it is wrong) and evidence to find which to test first — the high-impact, low-evidence ones.
Continuous discovery
The habit of weekly customer contact feeding product decisions, rather than a one-off research phase before a project.
Customer interview
A story-based conversation that uncovers real needs — you ask about specific past moments, not hypotheticals or opinions.
North star metric
The single metric that best captures the value customers get from your product, used to align the whole team.
Opportunity
A customer need, pain, or desire — phrased as a problem (“I can’t tell which teams are active”), never as a solution.