Continuous Discovery Habits

Product discovery is not a phase you complete and move on from. It is a continuous habit. Teresa Torres, author of Continuous Discovery Habits, defines it as: "Weekly touchpoints with customers, by the team that is building the product, conducting small research activities, in pursuit of a desired outcome."

The Product Trio

Continuous discovery is led by the Product Trio:

• Product Manager (evaluates business viability and value)
• Product Designer (evaluates usability and desirability)
• Tech Lead / Engineer (evaluates technical feasibility)

By working together on discovery, the trio aligns on the problem space early, preventing hand-off delays and building shared empathy for the user.

The Opportunity Solution Tree (OST)

An OST is a visual aid that helps the trio map out the path to their goal. It has four levels:

1. Outcome: A clear, measurable business goal (e.g., Increase user retention by 10%).
2. Opportunities: Customer pain points, needs, or desires that, if addressed, will drive the outcome (e.g., "I get lost in the onboarding flow").
3. Solutions: Potential ways to resolve an opportunity (e.g., "Interactive onboarding checklist").
4. Assumption Tests: Quick experiments to validate if a solution actually works (e.g., "Run a smoke test for onboarding Checklist click-rates").

By structuring discovery this way, teams avoid falling in love with a single solution. Instead, they frame solutions as experiments designed to solve specific customer opportunities that serve a business outcome.