To effectively solve a problem, knowing and defining the problem that needs to be solved is essential. Problem discovery, problem framing, and problem scenarios and alternatives help to define the problem and prepare for solution design planning.

Description

Everyone collaborating on the product, from stakeholders to the delivery team, should have a common answer to these questions before the solution is designed.

• "What is the problem to be solved?"
• "Are we solving the right problem?"

Too frequently, when teams are asked what problem their product solves, they immediately jump to talking about the solution.

Problem definition leads to a clear vision for the product. It pinpoints the target customer, it lays out the product roadmap, and prepares for planning the MVP. Articulating the problem leads to better ideas and better solutions. It is essential for the team to prioritize accurately, prototype, and plan a valuable MVP, MMF, MMR or MMP. These will help answer:

• "Is there a problem worth solving?"
• "Does everyone involved understand the problem?"
• "What alternatives are currently in place to accommodate the problem?"

Problem definition starts with intimately understanding the customer. Insights are assessed to identify the target customer and articulate their problems to be solved. Insights are generated from:

• Personas,
• Customer journey mapping,
• Empathy mapping,
• Interviews,
• Observation, and
• Intelligent Learning through data analysis.

Problem definition invokes compassion for the customer. It stimulates design ideas for hypotheses and experimentation. It reveals risks and assumptions. Whether it is a product, process, or service, the team must be able to clearly state the problem to be solved, validate with analysis, and evaluate the ideas or opportunities to design a solution that adds exceptional value.

Problem discovery, problem framing, and problem scenarios and alternatives are problem-structuring exercises that help the team to:

• Define and answer critical questions,
• Validate a problem, and
• Define a problem that is worth pursuing.

The outcome of problem definition is a shared understanding and well- articulated problem statement.

Elements of Problem Definition and Analysis

Customer: Problem definition revolves around the customer and helps to identify the target customer. It leads to creating a shared vision and designing innovative solutions aimed at delivering value to that target customer.

Problem Discovery

Most customers have more than one problem that needs a solution. Product Owners probably cannot and do not want to solve all their problems, so decisions need to be made.

The Cynefin framework offers decision-makers a "sense of place" from which to view their perceptions. In agile product or service development, this framework can be used for a variety of decision-making efforts, including:

• MVP planning,
• Feature or user story prioritization,
• User story estimating, or
• Tool selection.

Using this framework creates an opportunity to:

• Ask more questions,
• Ask different questions,
• Capture assumptions and perceptions, and
• Reveal things that need further attention.

It fosters meaningful conversations within the team. It leads the team from uncertainty to certainty around the right problem to solve with the product or service and provides the additional research to gain clarity.

Considerations for the product or service include:

Simple/Obvious

• Simple problem,
• The solution is evident,
• Maybe a quick win, and
• May not be innovative enough to wow the customer.

Complicated

• Need input from experts or analysis,
• Questions are known,
• Usually worth investigating further, and
• Potential to wow the customer.

Complex

• Start here!
• Need to identify and resolve unpredictability,
• Safe to fail experiments or prototypes may help move out of this zone,
• Risk of failure if “complicated and simple”are done first,
• Understand technical implications and requirements, and
• Potential to wow the customer at a high cost if not resolved.

Chaotic

• Extreme innovation zone.

Disorder

• Not knowing where one is.

After applying the Cynefin Framework, the team are out of a state of disorder, know where they are, and are ready to identify good problems to pursue as well as ignore the problems not worth solving. If there are multiple problems and the priority is not clear, it may be necessary to use a prioritization exercise to choose the top problems for framing.

Problem-Framing

Framing the problem using the 4W's will help the team collaboratively reflect, synthesize, and articulate the problem. The problem framing canvas provides structured guidance for thoughtful conversations.


Example of a problem-framing team exercise:

	Action	Time Alloted
Reflect	Each person on the team completes the problem-framing canvas.	10 min.
Synthesis	Team members present their canvas, taking note of duplicates. They use dot voting to identify the two most relevant and most revealing problems for the customer.	20 min.
Reflect	Each person on the team writes a brief problem statement in their voice (a paragraph), emphasizing the who, what, why, and where.	10 min.
Synthesis	Team members present their problem statement. They use dot voting to identify the strongest statement or combine useful information from multiple statements. The problem statement will change through the outcomes of further analysis and solution evaluation.

Problem Scenarios and Alternatives

When Product Owners have a handle on customers' problem, needs, and desires, that is a good time for them to write some problem scenarios and expand their understanding of the alternatives that customers employ. Their current alternatives can provide another view of what is valuable to them.

This information can be gleaned from personas, empathy maps, journey maps, and the problem-framing canvas.

Extract scenarios where customer pain points arise and the path, they take to alleviate their pain. The current alternatives may be the competition for the product or service.

Product <name of product>

<describe the problem scenario>	<describe the current alternative>	<describe the value proposition of the current alternative>

Begin to articulate the value propositions. They do not have to be formal. Generate ideas of potential customer value that the product or service may provide, focusing on any differentiators from competing alternatives.

Considerations for Problem Definition

Strengths	Limitations
Builds a shared understanding across the team. Prepares for hypothesizing, experimentation, and product visioning. Reveals risks and assumptions. Stimulates meaningful conversations. Creates clarity and focus.	A poor understanding of the customer can impact the quality of the problem definition.

Tips for Success

• Elicit information about customers in their own environment to aid in a deeper understanding of the customer problem.