Problem Statement

A Problem Statement re-frames your insight(s) into an actionable point-of-view that guides you during the ideation phase. A good Problem Statement will allow your team to ideate in a focused way and is formatted as a ‘How might we’ question based on your user’s identified needs. Phrasing the Problem Statement as a question helps you generate as many ideas as possible and detect new opportunity spaces.

A Problem Statement consists of three parts:

• The actor or user
• His/ her need
• An insight from your research (e.g., constraint)

The key is to find the right balance between being too broad (not knowing where to start) and too narrow (hindering creativity). Quickly test this on your problem statement: Are you able to come up with five possible and diverse solutions in a few minutes? If yes, you have set the right direction for creating a solution that responds to your users’ problem(s)!

Watch this short video to see how you can develop a Problem Statement that is neither too broad nor too narrow.