An Opportunity Solution Tree, Filled In

A worked example for Teresa Torres's Opportunity Solution Trees. Read that first. This page skips the theory and shows one tree, mid discovery.

ProductReel, a video streaming app

TeamThe browse and discovery trio

Business outcomeReduce monthly churn

Input11 interviews starting with "Tell me about the last time you watched something on Reel"

The tree

Outcome Opportunity Solution Assumption test

The outlined opportunity is the one the team chose to focus on. Faded opportunities are real but not in focus. "3 of 11" counts the interview stories where an opportunity came up.

Product outcomeIncrease the share of sessions where a member starts a title within 3 minutes of opening the app, from 48% to 55%
- "I had a show in mind but couldn't find it fast" 3 of 11
- "I lose track of which episode I'm on" 4 of 11
- "The rows show the same titles every visit" 5 of 11
- "I don't know what I'm in the mood for" 4 of 11
- "I can't tell if a title is worth my evening" 5 of 11
- "We can't agree on what to watch together" 6 of 11
  - SolutionMatch night. Both people swipe through picks on their phones and Reel reveals the titles they both liked.
    - Riskiest assumptionBoth people will reach for a phone while on the couch.Prototype test with 8 couples at home7 of 8 found a match, median 2m 10s. Refine for delivery.
  - SolutionShared shortlist. A household list either person fills during the week, ready for movie night.
    - Riskiest assumptionPeople save titles ahead of time.Data mining on the existing My List featureOnly 9% of households add a title in a typical week. Throw away.
  - SolutionBlended row. Pick two profiles at launch and get one row tuned to both histories.
    - Riskiest assumptionA blended row feels like both people's taste.Hand built blended lists sent to 10 couples4 of 10 found a pick they both wanted. Throw away.

Why it looks this way

A product outcome at the root Churn is the business outcome, but the trio can't move it directly. Time to first play is a member behavior they can move, and it ladders up to churn. "Match night usage" would be a traction metric, far too narrow to discover against.

Choosing the target Sizing, 6 of 11 stories and nearly every couple. Market, no rival handles group decisions well. Company, Reel's strategy is to own household viewing. Customer, the current workaround is texting trailer links, and nobody likes it. Effort was left out on purpose.

A solution in disguise Three people asked for a shuffle button. Asking why surfaced "I'm tired of scrolling" and "I don't want to decide tonight." Shuffle became a candidate solution, not an opportunity.

The decision Match night moves on toward delivery. The shortlist and the blended row are thrown away. If all three had failed, the next move would be a new target, likely "The rows show the same titles every visit."

Keeping it alive The trio revisits the opportunity space every 3 to 4 interviews. Hitting 55% and raising the goal to 60% keeps this tree. A pivot to growing signups would start a new one.