By Teresa Torres · producttalk.org · @ttorres on X · LinkedIn
Teresa Torres argues that opportunity mapping, the first step of building an opportunity solution tree, breaks down when teams generate opportunities from memory, which produces vague, unactionable ideas. Actionable opportunities are specific: they happen at a particular moment, in a particular context, to a particular customer. Those specifics come from collecting detailed stories of past behavior rather than abstract preferences. Torres explains that skilled story-based interviewing, which walks a customer through a specific past experience step by step, is what makes opportunity mapping workable. The piece frames this as the first of three steps and previews the next: uncovering the hidden structure of the opportunity space.
01Key takeaways
- Don't generate opportunities from memory; collect them from real customer conversations.
- A specific opportunity names a moment, context, and customer, which makes it far more actionable.
- Ask customers to tell a story about a specific past experience rather than describe general habits.
- Interviewers should help the customer situate themselves in the moment and recall details step by step.
- Opportunity mapping gets easier as story-based interviewing skill improves, so treat it as a practiced skill.
02Key sections
- Why opportunity mapping stalls
- Teams get stuck because they try to generate opportunities from what they think customers want. The result is vague ideas that are hard to act on.
- What makes an opportunity actionable
- Torres contrasts vague statements with specific ones, showing that a well-framed opportunity is tied to a moment, context, and individual customer, and so opens up the solution space.
- Collecting opportunities from customer stories
- Specific opportunities emerge from detailed stories about past behavior, which means interviewers must help customers recall and narrate the particulars of a real experience.
- Building the skill of story-based interviewing
- Story-based interviewing takes practice. The interviewer situates the customer in the moment, draws out details, and reassures them that every detail matters.
- Recap and what comes next
- The three steps of opportunity mapping are identifying, framing, and uncovering structure. Torres promises a follow-up on the hidden structure of the opportunity space.
03From the post
“The opportunity solution tree is a visual representation of your continuous discovery work. It helps you keep track of your high-level outcomes, the unmet needs, desires, and pain points (or what I collectively refer to as “opportunities”) you’re hearing about from customers, the solutions you’re considering, and”
04Frameworks mentioned
Summary and takeaways written by PM Atlas; quotes are short excerpts. © the original author.