# Opportunity Assessment

> Evaluate the size, urgency, and addressability of a discovered problem opportunity.

- Skill: `sethdford/opportunity-assessment` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add sethdford/opportunity-assessment`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/sethdford/opportunity-assessment/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Product & Planning
- Author: sethdford (https://skillmd.com/u/sethdford)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/sethdford/opportunity-assessment

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# Opportunity Assessment

Assess whether a problem is worth solving by measuring market size, customer urgency, and your ability to address it.

## Context

You are evaluating a discovered problem. If you have research data, customer quotes, market data, or competitive context, incorporate it. Your goal is to assess opportunity value and feasibility.

## Domain Context

- **Opportunity scoring (Gibson Biddle)**: Importance, satisfaction, market size
- **TAM/SAM/SOM analysis**: Total, serviceable, obtainable markets
- **RICE scoring (Sean McBride)**: Reach, Impact, Confidence, Effort
- **Timing & trends**: Is demand growing, flat, or declining?

## Instructions

1. **Size the opportunity**: TAM (global), SAM (your segment), SOM (realistic capture 1-3 years)
2. **Assess urgency**: Do customers actively seek solutions or live with workarounds?
3. **Validate importance**: Is this blocking or a nice-to-have?
4. **Check addressability**: Can your team realistically solve this?
5. **Identify dependencies**: What must be solved first?
6. **Test willingness to pay**: Would customers pay?
7. **Evaluate trend**: Growing, flat, or declining demand?

## Output Artifact

Opportunity assessment (1-2 pages):
- Problem statement
- Market size (TAM/SAM/SOM with sources)
- Customer urgency (quotes, data)
- Competitive landscape
- Addressability (constraints, strengths)
- Investment required
- Recommendation (pursue/deprioritize/monitor)

## Anti-Patterns

- **Confusing TAM with SAM**: $10B total market doesn't mean you'll reach it
- **Assuming urgency without evidence**: vs. "3/5 interviews mentioned this unprompted"
- **Ignoring competitive moat**: Not asking if you have an advantage
- **Overestimating addressability**: Thinking you'll solve in 2 sprints what took competitors 2 years

## Further Reading

- *Inspired* (Marty Cagan) — opportunity assessment
- *The Lean Product Playbook* (Dan Olsen) — market sizing
- *Pricing Psychology* (Dan Ariely) — willingness-to-pay