Opportunity Solution Tree template
Last reviewed
A free Opportunity Solution Tree template you can copy into any tool. It covers the four layers, prompts the five assumption categories under each solution, and leaves a slot for the experiment threshold you agree before running the test. No signup, no email required.
The template
Copy this into a document, a whiteboard or a note. Angle brackets mark the parts you replace.
# Outcome
<The measurable change in customer behaviour you are chasing>
Metric: <how you will know it moved>
Horizon: <by when>
## Opportunity 1: "<what the customer said, in their words>"
Evidence: <interview, ticket, analytic — and how strong>
### Solution 1.1: <something you could build>
- Assumption (desirability): <...>
- Assumption (viability): <...>
- Assumption (feasibility): <...>
- Assumption (usability): <...>
- Assumption (ethical): <...>
#### Experiment 1.1.a
- Tests assumption: <which one, and why it is the riskiest>
- Method: <interview / prototype / fake door / data analysis>
- Pass threshold (agreed before running): <...>
- Result: <fill in afterwards>
### Solution 1.2: <a genuinely different option>
### Solution 1.3: <a cheaper or more ambitious option>
## Opportunity 2: "<...>"
## Opportunity 3: "<...>"
Facilitation prompts
The template gives you the shape. These questions are what make the session produce something honest. Ask them out loud as you fill each layer.
Outcome
- What behaviour would have to change for our business target to move?
- Can this team plausibly influence it with our own work?
- How would we know in four weeks whether it moved at all?
Opportunity
- Could a customer have said this out loud? If not, rewrite it.
- Which conversation does this trace back to?
- Is this one need, or three tangled together?
Solution
- What is a cheaper way to address the same opportunity?
- What would we do if we could only ship one thing this month?
- Which of these would we regret not trying?
Experiment
- Which assumption, if false, kills this solution fastest?
- How much evidence do we already have for it?
- What result would make us stop, and have we written it down?
Review checklist
Run through this before you call the tree done. Most trees fail on the second and fourth items.
- The root holds exactly one outcome, and it is measurable.
- No opportunity names a feature, screen or technology.
- Every opportunity traces back to something a customer said or did.
- Sibling opportunities sit at a comparable level of abstraction.
- The target opportunity has at least three competing solutions.
- The riskiest assumption is identified, not just listed.
- Every experiment has a pass threshold written before it runs.
- Dropped branches are still visible, with the reason they were dropped.
When the template stops being enough
A Markdown tree works well for one outcome and a dozen nodes. Past that, three things break: indentation stops communicating structure, evidence has nowhere to live except inline, and keeping the document current becomes somebody's unpaid job.
That is the point where a structured tool earns its place. If you want to see the difference before committing, the worked example shows the same content with evidence attached, and the comparison pages cover the alternatives honestly.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free Opportunity Solution Tree template?
Yes. The Markdown template on this page is free to copy and use in any tool, with no signup required. It covers all four layers plus the five assumption categories and a place to record experiment thresholds and results.
What tool should I use with this template?
Anything that holds text will do for a first pass, including a plain document. The template becomes limiting once the tree grows, because indentation stops conveying structure and nothing links evidence to the node it supports.
Can I use this template in Miro or FigJam?
Yes. Paste each heading onto its own sticky note and arrange them in layers. You will lose the automatic structure but keep the prompts, which are the part that does the thinking.
Or skip the copy-paste
TreeFlow gives you the same structure with automatic layout and evidence on every node. Free plan, no credit card.