An opportunity hypothesis is the first manifestation of a specific opportunity identified by a scout while exploring. It is the output of the on-going exploration process. A scout should be able to produce 3-6 OH's a week without much trouble.

The following shows the general structure of an Opportunity Hypothesis.


Each OH is created during the exploration process. Some guidelines for OH creation are:

• Emphasize needs rather than solution or technology
• Don't name the OH after a solution. Name it after the need
• Follow the OH Template
• Give more attention to "why" rather than "who/what/how"
• Include at least 3 to 5 links to supporting evidence & indicators
• Create and leverage Generators
• Try to generate a back-of-the-envelope estimate of market need