Continuous Discovery Habits: 9 Takeaways for Better Product Design

I came across the book Continuous Discovery Habits by Theresa Torres a few years ago.

After reading it carefully—including annotating notes directly on the pages (something I never do!)—its lessons helped shape the designer I am today. A great guide for gaining stakeholder alignment and crafting effective design, the book suggests Interview Snapshots and Opportunity Solution Trees as two key visual artifacts every designer can incorporate into their design process.

Embrace an outcome-oriented, customer-centric mindset

Continuous discovery starts with a shift in mindset. Focus on outcomes, not outputs—customers care about problems solved, not features shipped. Approach design as an ongoing learning process, challenging assumptions, testing ideas, and iterating based on feedback. Collaboration with cross-functional partners, like PMs and engineers, ensures discovery remains a shared journey rather than a siloed effort.

Explore the problem from multiple angles

The first framing of a problem is rarely the best. Start by exploring the problem space broadly, gathering insights from different perspectives. Tools like Opportunity Solution Trees (OSTs) can help you visualize opportunities and potential solutions, ensuring you don’t settle for surface-level answers.

Continuously gather insights through interviews

Regular, in-depth interviews with users are the backbone of continuous discovery. These conversations reveal pain points, needs, and workarounds, helping you identify patterns over time. To make insights actionable, document findings using interview snapshots—simple, one-page summaries capturing key quotes, user challenges, and emerging opportunities.

Why Interview Snapshots Matter: They align teams around user insights, speed up decision-making, and create a shared knowledge base for future projects. Snapshots also act as storytelling tools, helping stakeholders understand the "why" behind design decisions.

Quantity breeds quality

Creativity thrives on volume. The more ideas you generate, the higher the chance of uncovering flexible and original solutions. Prioritize idea fluency—rapidly generating concepts without judgment—before narrowing down to the strongest approaches. This mindset not only boosts innovation but prevents teams from getting stuck on the first viable solution.

Test assumptions early and often

Unchecked assumptions can derail even the most promising projects. Identify the beliefs underpinning your solutions and test them through quick, low-risk experiments. If you wouldn’t feel confident seeing your solution as a newspaper headline, it’s a sign you need further validation.

Structure discovery with opportunity solution trees

Opportunity Solution Trees (OSTs) are invaluable for structuring your discovery process. Start with the desired outcome at the top, identify opportunities in the middle, and brainstorm solutions at the bottom. This approach ensures you’re solving the right problems and avoiding premature commitment to any single solution.

Show your work and invite collaboration

Discovery is most effective when it’s visible and collaborative. Share research findings, brainstormed ideas, and solution prototypes with stakeholders throughout the process. This approach not only strengthens the final product but also fosters cross-functional buy-in, ensuring everyone is aligned around user needs.

Work backwards from customer and business outcomes

To ensure solutions drive real impact, work backward from the outcomes you want to achieve. Start by asking how a feature will improve the user’s life, then consider how that improvement aligns with business goals. This approach keeps discovery efforts focused and prevents feature bloat.

Advocate for discovery when features fall short

When a feature underperforms, it’s often a sign that deeper discovery is needed. Revisit the problem space, test new assumptions, and explore alternative solutions. Continuous discovery allows you to pivot quickly, turning underwhelming results into valuable learning opportunities.

Moving forward—Discovery is a continuous, ongoing process

Continuous discovery isn’t a phase—it’s a mindset. By focusing on outcomes, exploring problems deeply, and testing assumptions quickly, you’ll design products that truly resonate with users. Most importantly, by sharing your work and collaborating across teams, you’ll build solutions that solve the right problems and drive lasting impact.