Elaborate on the problem context first

Taking information from the collective knowledge of the team and the stakeholders and documenting it is a key aspect of design thinking. It ensures information silos are avoided and facilitates the identification of potentially risky assumptions. Identifying and decomposing the main problem that punches those who experience it in the guts is possibly one of the most challenging tasks that sets the ground for the project.

The most important step to ensure we are tackling the right problem is to put down the context of the problem in which the problem exists:

  • Who has this problem?
  • In what circumstances (space-time) does the problem exist?
  • What is the ultimate goal of the person who experiences the problem?
  • What are the obstacles and hurdles that the person who experiences the problem encounters?
  • Why does this problem matter to the user?
  • How much does the problem cost the user in terms of time, money and effort?
  • What's the frequency with which this problem arises for the user? Daily? Weekly? Monthtly? Yearly?
  • What value or benefits does solving the problem bring to the user?

Once all this information has been documented it will already appear evident how little we know about the context of the problem and how many assumptions we have about it. This is certainly not enough to determine whether this is the root problem, but it is enough to create the first draft of the problem statement.

A template for defining the problem statement

Our _______ (who has the problem) has the problem that _________(the problem) + (circumstances of space and time in which the problem exists)

Our solution should find a way for _________(the users) to ___________(define the ultimate value or benefits the user is seeking from resolving the problem).

An example:

Our tennis coaches have a problem managing effectively the number of athletes in training and during the matches in other clubs. Our solution should find a way for the coaches to keep track of their performances and their opportunities to improve.

This step of the design process ensures everyone in the team is clear about the problem, who experiences it, when and where it arises and what is the objective the user is trying to achieve. Like most outputs of the design process, the problem statement and the problem context should be repeated iteratively.