A very important and sometimes also a very difficult Task. The Problem Statement. To be able to create a great solution or to create a product you Need to define the Problem Statement. In Design thinking this will be done in the Point of view stage when you made the first interviews and collected the first data. Out of this data you will analyze the data to define the Problem Statement the Problem you want to solve.
“Make it better” is no working Statement
A real Problem Statement is much more then that. it will define the core Problem and process you want to create or solve. This will also involve some terms on how the problem needs to be solved. And of course the main part you want to work on.
Preparing the Statement
To be able to formulate the Statement it is important to collect some data about the process you want to work on. If you want to work on a product issue you Need to understand what the Problem. The Situation when the Problem occurs. And then think about the Terms you want to include.
Example: Some of the product we were delivering where damaged due to a weak product packaging. Instead of make something better a Statement could be:
How can we increase the packaging quality for our products to ensure a safe delivery without increasing the size and weight of the packaging and amount of waste.
This could be a problem statement which would really help you to continue your work on the design and improvement process. In the end when you are following this process you should get a great solution for it.
The Definition
Every statement you want to create should consists of two main parts. The first one will define the problem and the target you want to reach. Improving, replacing, increasing…. But it is important to have a clearly defined target. You need to be clear on what you want to change.
The second part are the terms on how the change or improvement needs to be done. Define the conditions for it. Also you need to be clear on what you need.
Define clearly
If the statement is not defined clearly your problem solutions can consists some remaining risks as will not fit the core problem. The process can get stuck or can loose the scope. This could cause new problems and cost you a lot of time.
So it is very important to include enough time to define the problem statement well. This will help you to create a well defined solution to solve it.
