When you’re at the early stages of design development, choosing what to build can be just as critical as deciding how to build it. Before concepts, sketches or detailed requirements, teams often need a clear way to explore and compare the different types of product that could be pursued (we call them Archetypes) objectively, to understand which ones hold the most commercial opportunity for your business.
Our Archetype Opportunity Matrix is a practical decision-making tool that we designed to help product development teams score, contrast and validate different product archetypes before committing to a direction. It’s particularly useful when you’re not sure what type of product to develop – for example when you’re looking to expand your product portfolio, or launching into an entirely new category. In these situations, focusing on archetypes as opposed to product concepts facilitates conversations about high level opportunity, risk and feasibility without getting into the weeds of individual features.
We’re offering this resource as a free download, alongside an implementation guide, below. We’ve included the matrix in both PDF and Spreadsheet format for versatile use across in-person workshops and digital online team calls.
Download and use it with your team ahead of your next ideation or planning session:
What's inside
The matrix is a structured table designed to quantify and compare different product archetypes. Teams score each archetype against a set of factors such as market need, competitive landscape and feasibility, using a simple scale from 0 (low / weak) to 2 (high / strong) and prompts to help determine its score.
How to use it
Define the product archetypes you want to explore and ensure each is clearly described and understood by the group.
Score each archetype against the opportunity factors using low, medium or high ratings, discussing and adjusting as you go.
Compare results across matrices to reveal which archetypes offer the strongest overall opportunity and are best positioned to move forward.
You can find further details in our Archetype Opportunity Matrix PDF where it sets out the intended context, scoring logic, and facilitation tips so the matrix can be used consistently in workshops, planning sessions or early strategy discussions.
If you’d like support facilitating a workshop or interpreting the outcomes, we’re happy to help.
Every month, we curate the information and resources our clients find most valuable into a short newsletter. They use this to stay ahead, challenge their own thinking and improve processes.
Sign up below now to get it delivered straight to your inbox.
Subscribe to the Newsletter Now
Read more of our news
Industrial Design AI Cheatsheet 2025: Where To Plug AI Into Your Product Design Workflow
We mapped proven AI tools to every stage of the double-diamond design process, so product teams can move faster without compromising quality, IP, or compliance. Download the 2-page cheatsheet to see exactly where LLMs, sketch visualisers, generative image tools, and CAD features add value today.
Read more