Continuous Discovery¶
Continuous Discovery is Teresa Torres's framework for integrating customer research into the daily product development process through weekly touchpoints, opportunity solution trees, and assumption testing.
When to Use¶
Use Continuous Discovery when:
- You want to stay connected to customers continuously, not just during research phases
- You need to reduce risk before building by testing assumptions
- You want a structured approach to discovery that integrates with delivery
- You're working with a product trio (PM, Design, Engineering)
Core Concepts¶
| Concept | Description |
|---|---|
| Weekly Touchpoints | Talk to customers every week |
| Opportunity Solution Tree | Visualize path from outcome to solutions |
| Assumption Testing | Test risky assumptions before building |
| Story-Based Interviews | Collect stories (past behavior), not opinions |
| Compare and Contrast | Test multiple solutions in parallel |
The Continuous Discovery Flow¶
1. OUTCOME
Define a clear, measurable outcome
↓
2. OPPORTUNITIES
Discover customer needs through weekly interviews
↓
3. SOLUTIONS
Generate multiple solution ideas per opportunity
↓
4. ASSUMPTIONS
Map assumptions by type, prioritize by risk
↓
5. EXPERIMENTS
Test riskiest assumptions with small experiments
↓
6. LEARNINGS
Update OST based on what you learn
↓
(repeat weekly)
Key Artifacts¶
Opportunity Solution Tree (OST)¶
Visual map from outcome to opportunities to solutions to experiments.
[Outcome: Increase activation to 60%]
|
+-- [Opportunity: Users don't understand value]
| |
| +-- [Solution: Interactive tutorial]
| | +-- [Experiment: Prototype test]
| |
| +-- [Solution: Personalized onboarding]
| +-- [Experiment: A/B test]
|
+-- [Opportunity: Setup is too complex]
|
+-- [Solution: Wizard flow]
Discovery Snapshot¶
Weekly summary of discovery activities:
- Interviews conducted
- Stories collected
- Opportunities discovered/updated
- Assumptions tested
- Key learnings
- Decisions made
Assumption Map¶
Assumptions organized by type:
| Type | Question |
|---|---|
| Desirability | Will customers want this? |
| Viability | Will it work for the business? |
| Feasibility | Can we build this? |
| Usability | Can users figure it out? |
| Ethical | Should we build this? |
Prioritize: High importance + Low confidence = Test first
Using the Continuous Discovery Profile¶
Initialize a Project¶
Create an Opportunity Solution Tree¶
Create Weekly Discovery Snapshot¶
Create Assumption Map¶
Evaluate Discovery Snapshot¶
Story-Based Interviews¶
In Continuous Discovery, we collect stories, not opinions.
| Bad (Opinion) | Good (Story) |
|---|---|
| "What do you want?" | "Tell me about the last time you..." |
| "Would you use this?" | "What happened when you tried to..." |
| "Is this important to you?" | "Walk me through how you..." |
Story Structure¶
| Element | Question |
|---|---|
| Situation | What was the context? |
| Behavior | What did you do? |
| Outcome | What happened? |
| Emotions | How did you feel? |
| Pain Points | What was frustrating? |
| Workaround | How did you work around it? |
Assumption Testing¶
Risk Matrix¶
CONFIDENCE
Low High
┌───────────┬───────────┐
High │ TEST │ MONITOR │
IMPORTANCE │ FIRST │ │
├───────────┼───────────┤
Low │ TEST │ SKIP │
│ LATER │ │
└───────────┴───────────┘
Test Methods¶
| Method | Best For | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Prototype test | Usability | 1 week |
| Fake door | Desirability | 1-2 weeks |
| Survey | Quantifying | 1 week |
| Interview | Exploring | Ongoing |
| Data analysis | Validation | 1 week |
| A/B test | Comparing | 2+ weeks |
Example Workflow¶
# 1. Initialize project
multispec init user-activation --profile continuous-discovery
# 2. Create OST with outcome
multispec draft ost -p user-activation
# Set outcome: "Increase user activation rate to 60%"
# 3. Week 1: Start discovery
multispec draft discovery-snapshot -p user-activation
# Conduct interviews, capture stories, identify opportunities
# 4. Update OST with opportunities
# Add opportunities discovered from interviews
# 5. Generate solutions for top opportunity
# Add 3+ solution ideas to the OST
# 6. Map assumptions for top solution
multispec draft assumption-map -p user-activation
# 7. Test riskiest assumption
# Run small experiment, capture results
# 8. Week 2: Continue discovery
multispec draft discovery-snapshot -p user-activation
# More interviews, more learning, update OST
# 9. Evaluate discovery cadence
multispec eval discovery-snapshot -p user-activation
# Ensure weekly touchpoints are happening
# 10. Once validated, synthesize PRD
multispec synthesize prd -p user-activation
Rubric Categories¶
Discovery Snapshot Evaluation¶
| Category | Weight | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly Touchpoints | 25% | At least one interview per week |
| Story Capture | 25% | Stories with situation-behavior-outcome |
| Opportunity Tracking | 20% | Opportunities discovered and prioritized |
| Assumption Testing | 20% | Tests running with clear hypotheses |
| Decision Making | 10% | Evidence-driven decisions |
Assumption Map Evaluation¶
| Category | Weight | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Assumption Coverage | 25% | All types considered |
| Risk Assessment | 25% | Importance and confidence rated |
| Prioritization | 20% | Riskiest assumptions identified |
| Test Planning | 20% | Tests designed with success criteria |
| Document Quality | 10% | Clear and actionable |
Principles¶
- Weekly Touchpoints - Talk to customers every week
- Outcome-Driven - Start with a clear, measurable outcome
- Opportunity Mapping - Map customer needs, pains, desires
- Solution Trees - Visualize the path from outcome to solutions
- Assumption Testing - Test assumptions before building
- Small Experiments - Run small, fast experiments
- Story-Based Interviews - Collect stories, not opinions
- Collaborative Discovery - Product trio works together
- Compare and Contrast - Test multiple solutions in parallel
- Iterate on Learning - Let learnings drive next experiment