What is continuous discovery?

Continuous discovery, as practiced by Teresa Torres, means product teams maintain a weekly habit of talking to customers rather than doing research as a one-off phase. The team interviews every week, synthesizes each interview separately into a snapshot, and updates its opportunity solution tree every three or four interviews.

What is an opportunity solution tree?

An opportunity solution tree is a visual map that connects a desired business outcome to the customer needs, pain points, and desires (opportunities) discovered in interviews, and then to the solutions and assumption tests that address them. Torres recommends updating it every three or four interviews so it reflects what customers actually say.

How often should you interview customers?

Weekly. In Torres's ideal cadence, a product team interviews every week and synthesizes that interview the same week. She acknowledges most teams fall behind — which is exactly why she frames discovery as small recurring habits rather than a big research project.

Teresa Torres: Continuous Discovery Habits

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