<aside> 📝 A problem statement is a clear, concise, and specific description of a problem that needs to be addressed through the design process. The problem statement serves as a guide for the project team and helps them to focus on the right problem and develop effective solutions.

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Why, What, How

How Might We

How to Proof

A well-crafted problem statement should include the following elements:

1. The background of a problem. Which organization or department has the problem and what is the problem? Why has the problem arisen? Note that in some cases you may not know the exact causes of the problem. This is what discoveries are for: to uncover root causes. (In this case, you may add this aspect once you’ve done your research)
2. The people affected by the problem. There could be multiple user groups affected by a specific problem in different ways. In the problem statement, you should call out how the problem affects users. In some cases, internal employees (particularly customer-support staff) can be affected by a problem, as they often bear the brunt of poor user experiences –- for example, by handling disgruntled customers.
3. The impact of the problem on the organization. If the problem is not fixed, what will be the effect on the organization? Reputational damage? Paying unavoidable costs? Losing out-of-market share? In some cases, you may want to quantify the impact in order to convince your organization to fix the problem. Your discovery could involve working out how much this problem costs the organization, and this information could end up in your problem statement.

To gather the relevant facts for your problem statement, you can use a simple technique called the 5 Ws, which involves answering the questions below. This activity can be included in a discovery kick**-**off ****workshop with your team and stakeholders.

1. Who is affected by the problem?
2. What is the problem?
3. Where does this problem occur?
4. When does the problem occur?
5. Why does the problem occur? Why is the problem important?

If you don’t have all the answers to the above, don’t panic! While you should know what the problem is, you may not know exactly why it came about. This is what your discovery should tackle. Throughout the discovery process, you can return to your problem statement and add to it.

It’s important that problem statements are written well to serve their purpose. A problem statement should:

✦ Not be a laundry list of unrelated problems. A discovery effort should have one problem statement, and the problem statement should be focused on one problem. Of course, a single problem could cause further problems, and those related problems can be added to your problem statement. But listing many unrelated problems is a sign that you’re tackling too much.

✦ Not contain a solution. Leave solutions out of your problem statement. At the beginning of discovery, there are too many unknowns, so the best solution is not obvious. At the end of your discovery, you’ll be in a good position to confidently put forward solution ideas that address the problem and take into account what you’ve learned.

✦ Be brief. Problem statements are effective when they’re concise. If you can condense your problem statement down to a few sentences, others will quickly understand what you focus on and why, and what’s out of scope. Spend some time drafting and redrafting the problem statement with your team.

A well-crafted problem statement helps the project team to stay focused on the problem at hand and ensure that the solutions developed are relevant and effective. It also helps to ensure that the project team has a shared understanding of the problem and its impact on users and the business.

Overall, a problem statement is a concise description of the problem to be solved. Writing problem statements at the beginning of the discovery process can create alignment and buy-in around the problem to be solved and provide direction in subsequent discovery activities. To construct problem statements, focus on who the problem affects, how it does so, and why it’s important to solve the problem.