Problem Statement:
A problem statement describes the user’s needs that should be addressed. Problem statements align the team on which user problem to focus on, giving everyone a clear goal.
A strong problem statement is human-centered. It should be broad enough to allow for creative freedom but narrow enough for a design solution to solve it. Problem statements can be written using a simple formula.
(user name) is a (user characteristics) who needs (user need) because (insight)
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Start with the name of the user.
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Add a short description of the user’s characteristics.
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Clearly describe the user’s need.
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Explain why the user has that need. In other words, it gives an insight into the user.
Example: a mall is the name of the user. His user characteristic is that he’s an athlete. His user need is that he wants to sign up for a workout class, and the insight or why he has the market is that the workout classes are filling up quickly.
Amall is an athlete who needs to sign up for workout classes because the class he wants to participate in fills up fast.
What can we learn from an effective problem statement?
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Problem statements help us establish goals. An effective problem statement tells you what the user needs to define. The plan clearly and concisely gets everyone on the design team on board and focused on the same thing.
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Second problem statements help us understand constraints. We want to know what’s keeping users from satisfying their needs.
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Third, problem statements help us define deliverables. When we finally solve the problem, what will we have to show for it? It’s helpful to know what our solution will produce.
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Finally, problem statements help us create benchmarks for success and how we will know when we will succeed.
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