Solutions do grow on product opportunity trees.. but so should HMWs.
Let’s talk about reframing user insights into “opportunity/problem areas” before jumping into solutions within the scope of “product opportunity solution trees.”
If you’re not familiar with what an opportunity solution tree looks like and its purpose, feel free to check it here.
Throughout this article, I will be referring a lot to “opportunity/problem areas”.
I do believe (and please take it with a grain of salt) that there’s a grey area in differentiating between an opportunity and a problem. In fact, an opportunity can be a problem in disguise and vice versa. (Debatable, I know) but hear me out..
Now that we set that point straight, moving on with our main subject..
One of the challenges (or problems) I encounter while building opportunity solution trees is going from the “I want to”s (the insights generated by user research) to “solutionizing” directly. Not allowing myself to further explore the space of the problem led me to defining narrow solutions.
One thing that helped me (and hopefully would also help you) is adding an intermediate HMWs (How might we) layer between user insights and product solutions. Adding this layer, creates an opportunity/problem area that helps in building a more holistic approach when it comes to exploring solutions.
And believe me, never underestimate (or in Michael Scott’s lingo, maybe estimate?) the power of reframing and challenging an opportunity/problem.
To bring this concept to life, let’s dive into Bernie Roth’s exercise as mentioned in Terresa Torres’ article “Why This Opportunity Solution Tree is Changing the Way Product Teams Work”:
He asked attendees to identify something that they wanted in their life. He gave a few examples, a house, a better job, more leisure time.
He gave us a minute to write down our answers. Then he asked us another question. He said, “If you had whatever you wrote down today, what would that do for you?”
For example, if you had a house today or a better job today, why would you be better off?
This was a powerful question.
He explained why by extending his example. If you wrote down that you wanted a house, you might have answered the second question with something along the lines of, “If I had a house today, I would feel more grounded in my community.”
He then used this next answer to ask an even more powerful question.
“How else might you feel more grounded in your community?”
This final question is powerful because it disrupts our fixation on a single solution — owning a house — and helps us to think expansively about other ways we might get the same benefit — feeling grounded in our community.
Bernie’s “widening your lens” approach could be applied at the top level of the opportunity tree, as well as mid-process. This gives us the chance to challenge and re-challenge our solutions to that one specific need or pain point.
So let’s go over the layers that form that slightly-modified opportunity tree..
Level 1: Here is where your desired outcome lies. (Is it conversions that you’re trying to drive? Is it retention?) You could also summarize this by stating the following: “as a business, I want to..”
Level 2: At this level, you can list all users’ needs & pain points collected from user research in the form of: “as a user, I want to..”.
Feel free to refer back to my previous article on “5 Noteworthy things I learned from user discovery sessions” to better capture insights and opportunities at this level.
Level 3: *drum rolls* Now is the time to introduce the HMWs layer which we’re discussing throughout this article. This will challenge further the needs and pain points of that previous layer by reframing them into HMWs (or opportunity/problem areas). The statement would follow the structure below:
“How might we <what>, for <whom>, on <when/where>?”
example: How might we <make this feature discoverable> for <signed in users> right after <they sign up>
Feel free to reformulate the structure according to whatever serves your exploration better. But the most important thing, is to have a consistent and defined structure. This helps in relating it back to the user and framing it within the product’s journey.
I’d highly recommend reading more about how to to use the HMWs in this article.
Level 4: Yes, you know it. This is the layer where you brainstorm solutions and experimentations. By answering the HMW questions above, you will have more space to explore new solutions. Remember, having a house is a solution to feel grounded in the community but so is joining a social club. The solutions to one problem could be limitless and better yet might not be exploited by others.
Heck, let’s see that tree now in action..
I hope this was helpful! Let me know if you try this in your next opportunity tree exercise and how it impacts your outcome.
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