The Challenge

After our 3D Visualization team went through a reorganization, we found ourselves with overlapping initiatives, limited capacity, and growing uncertainty about what truly mattered. Each group had its own version of “the most important problem,” and priorities were shifting week to week.

As a UX Lead, I could sense the frustration — talented people were working hard, but not necessarily in the same direction. I needed a way to help the team reconnect around our shared vision and make smarter, outcome-driven decisions together.

That’s when I turned to Teresa Torres’s Opportunity Solution Tree (OST) — a visual framework designed to help teams move from broad problem statements to focused priorities and measurable outcomes.

By mapping user pains, opportunities, and potential experiments in one shared space, we built not just alignment, but clarity — a collective understanding of why we’re building, not just what we’re building.

Applying the OST Framework

I adapted the OST framework for our 3D View product — an enterprise digital twin visualization tool — to help the team identify what truly mattered to users and the business.

We started by defining a clear UX outcome:

“Improve Twin View usability for faster, more accurate task completion.”

From there, we mapped user frustrations (opportunities), potential design directions (solutions), and validation steps (experiments). Below are two examples of how we prioritized opportunities after discussing potential solutions with stakeholders.

We used a Value–Risk Matrix to evaluate each idea — mapping initiatives by high value / low risk and high value / high risk. Every item went through multiple rounds of discussion, review, and iteration to ensure we were balancing innovation with feasibility. The Opportunity Solution Tree became a living document — evolving as our understanding deepened. We pivoted when new insights emerged, and that flexibility helped us keep alignment even as priorities shifted. Instead of chasing fixed plans, the team learned to focus on learning fast and delivering value continuously.

Outcome

The Opportunity Solution Tree quickly became our decision-making anchor. It turned ambiguous discussions into concrete trade-offs.

1. Prioritization improved — everyone could see which solutions tied directly to our UX outcomes.
2. Cross-functional alignment strengthened — engineers, designers, and product leads shared the same visual roadmap.
3. The team regained focus — moving from firefighting to intentional design iterations.