Opportunity Solution Tree (OST)

Transform interview data into a structured Opportunity Solution Tree following Teresa Torres's method.

When to Use

When synthesizing user research into a structured view of opportunities.

Key Concepts

Opportunity: A customer need, pain, or desire - phrased from user perspective, not a solution.

Moment in time: A distinct point in the customer journey.

Tests:

• Distinctness (siblings): Can we pursue one without addressing the other? If yes, they're distinct.
• Parent-child: Does solving the child partially solve the parent? If not, reframe.

The Process

1. Extract Opportunities

From interviews, capture:

• Verbatim quotes
• Reframed user-need statement
• Which journey moment it belongs to

2. Organize by Journey Moments

Group opportunities under their primary moment in time.

3. Structure Within Each Moment

• Cluster similar opportunities
• Create parent nodes where needed
• Run distinctness checks across siblings
• Run parent-child checks down branches
• Remove generic parents with single children
• Combine near-duplicates

4. Track Evidence

For each opportunity, capture:

• Representative quotes
• Frequency count
• Confidence level (low/med/high)

5. Prioritize Leaves

Score leaf opportunities:

• Impact (1-5)
• Frequency (1-5)
• Alignment to outcome (1-5)
• Priority = Impact x Frequency x Alignment

Output Format

Opportunity Inventory Table: | ID | Moment | Opportunity | Parent ID | Quotes | Frequency | Confidence |

Tree View (per moment):

## [Moment Name]
- [Parent opportunity]
  - [Child opportunity]
    - [Grandchild]

Prioritized Leaf Backlog: Ranked list with scores and rationale.

Rules

• All opportunities from user perspective
• No solutions in the tree
• Keep distinct across siblings
• Prefer specific over generic
• Preserve verbatim quotes for evidence

When Not to Use

Do not use this skill when the request is unrelated, low-stakes, or better handled by a simpler direct response.