Creating Opportunity Solution Trees
An Opportunity Solution Tree is a visual diagram that helps product teams map out multiple paths from a specific desired outcome to opportunities and down to potential solutions. It facilitates a structured approach to problem-solving and decision-making, ensuring that exploration is thorough and aligned with end goals.
Goal
The goal of creating an Opportunity Solution Tree is to systematically identify and evaluate different opportunities and solutions that lead to achieving a desired outcome, enabling teams to prioritise efforts that offer the highest potential impact.
Context
There are often multiple paths to achieving a desired outcome, and it's essential for product teams to explore and evaluate these paths systematically. By creating Opportunity Solution Trees, teams can ensure that they are considering a wide range of opportunities and solutions, fostering innovation and strategic thinking.
Inputs
| Artifact | Description |
|---|---|
| Research Repository | A centralised database or repository of all the outputs of the primary and secondary research. |
Outputs
| Artifact | Description | Benefits |
|---|---|---|
| Opportunities | A comprehensive list of opportunities that the team is considering, including brief descriptions. |
|
| Opportunity Solution Tree | A comprehensive visual map linking desired outcomes to opportunities and solutions. |
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Anti-patterns
- Overcomplication: Making the tree too complex, which can overwhelm the team and obscure clear paths to outcomes.
- Solution Bias: Jumping too quickly to solutions without fully exploring opportunities, potentially missing out on innovative approaches.
- Static Trees: Failing to update the tree as new information is learned, leading to outdated assumptions and missed opportunities.
- Lack of Diverse Perspectives: Creating the tree in a silo without input from various team members, limiting the breadth of explored opportunities.