For entrepreneurs, design thinkers, and startup enthusiasts, crafting a precise problem statement can be the difference between launching a groundbreaking product and fading into obscurity. It defines the “why” behind your efforts, guiding every aspect of the development process—from ideation to execution—and ensuring alignment with user needs and market demand.
Take the example of Uber: at first glance, the problem seemed straightforward—people needed rides. On the surface, this need was already addressed by traditional taxi services. However, a closer examination revealed deeper, more nuanced issues with the existing solutions. Taxis were notoriously unreliable, with long wait times and unpredictable availability and high costs.
Uber reframed the problem, shifting the focus to a more specific challenge: “How can we provide fast, affordable, and convenient transportation at the tap of a button?” This reframing allowed the company to think beyond just offering rides and instead envision a seamless user experience and set the stage for an entirely new approach to urban transportation.
Uber's success underscores the power of a precise, user-centred problem statement in driving innovation and reshaping industries. In this post, we’ll delve into the intricate process of developing problem statements that set the stage for transformative solutions.
What Exactly Is a Problem Statement?
A problem statement is a clear and concise description of a specific issue that needs to be addressed. It serves as the cornerstone of ideation and innovation, providing a focused direction for creative and strategic efforts. A well-crafted problem statement not only defines the problem but also highlights its impact on users or society and establishes the boundaries for developing effective solutions.
When crafting a problem statement, it's crucial to maintain a user-centered perspective by considering who is affected, how they are impacted, and what their needs and pain points are. This ensures that you're addressing real issues users face, not just creating solutions searching for a problem. A well-formed problem statement should identify a gap or pain point, describe the context (when, where, who it impacts), measure the issue in terms of cost, size, or quality, and explain its significance. Let's have a look at both bad and good example:
Poor Statement: “People don’t have an easy way to shop online.”
Strong Statement: “Urban professionals aged 25–45 face difficulty finding sustainable grocery delivery options, resulting in wasted time, increased costs, and lower adoption of eco-friendly practices.”
However, crafting a meaningful problem statement requires more than just identifying the issue. To truly understand the problem, we must first delve into the contextual ecosystem in which it exists—the Discovery Problem Space. This broader perspective lays the groundwork for framing the problem effectively, ensuring it is deeply rooted in real-world needs and opportunities.
Understanding the Discovery Problem Space
The Discovery Problem Space is the larger context in which a problem exists, encompassing various factors that influence and impact it. It includes user needs, market demand, societal trends, technological advancements, and competitive landscape, among others.
To gain a deeper understanding of the Discovery Problem Space, it's essential to conduct thorough research through methods such as user interviews, surveys, data analysis, and market research. This allows you to gather insights into users' pain points and motivations while also identifying any gaps or opportunities in the market.
In short, there are some key areas to consider when exploring the Discovery Problem Space:
- Users: Who are the people affected by the problem? What are their demographics, behaviours, preferences, and values?
- Market: How does the issue impact the market? Are there any current solutions available? How do users
You've Collected Data, Now What?
Understanding your Discovery Problem Space begins with gathering data about users, their pain points, and the broader market context. However, raw data alone is not enough. The next step is transforming this information into actionable insights that will guide you toward a precise, user-centred problem statement.
Synthesise It
Data collection often results in a mix of observations, feedback, and metrics that can feel overwhelming. Synthesis is the process of turning this abundance of information into a coherent narrative. Rather than viewing each data point in isolation, synthesis involves connecting the dots to uncover recurring patterns and relationships.
For example, if multiple user interviews highlight frustrations with long response times and additional research reveals high abandonment rates, these insights likely point to a core issue: inefficiency in the customer support process. By identifying these connections, synthesis allows you to see the bigger picture.
This narrative becomes the backbone of your problem statement, enabling you to articulate the “why” behind the problem in a way that inspires creative and targeted solutions.
Visualise It
To fully grasp the connections within your data, visualisation is a critical step. Known as "space saturation" in Design Thinking, this process involves externalising your data into visual formats such as sticky notes, whiteboards, or digital tools like Miro.
Visualising your data makes it easier to spot patterns and relationships that may not be obvious when reviewing written notes or spreadsheets. For instance, grouping similar feedback into clusters might reveal recurring pain points, while mapping user journeys can highlight bottlenecks in specific stages of a process. Visualisation not only clarifies insights for you but also fosters collaboration among your team, ensuring everyone shares a unified understanding of the problem space.
Cluster It
Once data is visualised, clustering becomes a natural next step. This involves grouping related insights to identify themes or areas of alignment. For example, organising information into categories such as emotional reactions, pain points, and observed behaviours can reveal critical nuances about the user experience. Whether you use an empathy map to explore what users say, think, do, and feel, or break down journeys into distinct stages through process mapping, clustering helps refine your understanding.
Through this layered process of gathering, synthesising, visualising, and clustering, your data evolves from a collection of disconnected pieces into a clear and insightful framework. From this foundation, a precise problem statement can emerge. It will reflect not just surface-level observations, but the deeper truths about what your users need and where they face challenges. This alignment ensures your problem statement becomes a powerful guide for innovation, connecting real-world insights to actionable goals.
From Insights to a Problem Statement
With a clear understanding of your users' experiences and challenges, you're ready to tackle the next step—crafting a problem statement.
In human-centered design approaches like customer development and design thinking, a problem statement often takes the form of a point of view (POV). This POV is a meaningful and actionable statement that clarifies who the potential user is, what their needs are, and why those needs exist. A well-constructed POV helps ensure that your design and innovation efforts stay sharply focused on solving real user problems. A compelling POV includes three essential components:
- Description of the User – Who is experiencing the problem?
- User Needs – What do they need?
- Insight – Why is this need compelling?
A well-crafted problem statement reflects the data you've gathered, aligns with your users' definition of value, and remains solution-agnostic. It should be actionable and inspire your team to develop creative solutions.
This structured approach helps you capture the essence of your user’s challenges and guides you toward creating solutions that resonate. A typical POV might look like this:
[A description of your user] needs [specify the primary need or most important needs] because [insert your compelling insights].
To illustrate, imagine the POV that Dropbox’s founders might have crafted as they sought to address their users' need for seamless file sharing:
As you develop your POV, keep these qualities in mind to make it truly impactful:
- Data-driven: Reflects the insights and data gathered about your potential customers or users.
- User-centred: Embodies the customer’s or user’s definition of value.
- Solution-agnostic: Avoids specific technologies, products, or service features, keeping the focus on the user.
- Actionable: Serves as a guide for your innovation efforts.
- Evaluative: Helps establish criteria for comparing different ideas.
- Inspiring: Excites you and your team, sparking motivation to dive into solution development.
If your problem involves multiple stakeholders, it’s beneficial to create a POV for each one. Crafting a strong POV isn’t always straightforward and may require multiple iterations, especially as you explore various root causes of the identified needs.
A compelling POV emerges when you begin to see your users’ needs from a fresh, empathetic perspective—often uncovering hidden, implicit needs beneath the surface. When you start envisioning endless solutions and can’t wait to dive into ideation, you’ll know you’ve nailed a powerful POV.
Common Pitfalls When Making a Problem Statement
As with any process, there are common pitfalls to avoid when crafting a problem statement. Here are some things to keep in mind and watch out for:
Jumping to Solutions Too Soon
It’s tempting to dive straight into brainstorming solutions after identifying a problem, but this rush can lead to superficial or misaligned outcomes. For instance, imagine a ride-sharing company receives complaints about delayed pickups. Without exploring the underlying cause, they immediately implement a feature that shows drivers’ real-time locations to reassure users. However, further investigation might reveal that traffic congestion near common pickup points is the real issue—a problem the new feature doesn’t solve.
Overly Specific Or Too Vague:
A problem statement must be specific enough to provide direction but not so narrow or complex that it becomes confusing or restrictive. Take this a vague statement, “People find shopping online difficult.” Overall this simply lacks clarity. What makes it difficult—poor navigation, slow loading times, or a lack of payment options? Without further detail, the team has no clear path to follow.
Conversely, being overly specific can also be problematic. A statement such as, “Users aged 30–35 in suburban areas struggle to locate eco-friendly shoe options on websites that lack advanced search filters and green product tags,” includes too many restrictive details. While the problem might be valid, its complexity could unnecessarily limit the scope of potential solutions.
A balanced problem statement might be, “Online shoppers face challenges finding eco-friendly products due to limited search and filtering options.” This version is actionable, clear, and allows room for creative exploration while still focusing on a specific issue.
Feature Focused Rather Than User
Getting caught up in a specific feature or technology can divert attention from the real needs of users. For example, a wearable fitness tracker company might prioritise developing a feature to monitor blood oxygen levels because it seems innovative and marketable. However, user feedback reveals that most users are more concerned with improving battery life and syncing accuracy. By focusing on what feels cutting-edge rather than addressing the actual pain points, the company risks launching a product that fails to resonate with its audience.
To avoid this, product development should always start with user research, ensuring that features solve real problems and enhance the user experience rather than simply showcasing new technology.
That's a Wrap
Crafting a strong problem statement is crucial to the success of any design or innovation project. It helps focus your efforts, keep a user-centered approach, and guides you towards developing meaningful solutions that truly address the needs of your users. By avoiding common pitfalls and following a structured approach, you can create a compelling POV that serves as a springboard for ideation and sets the stage for successful product development. So go ahead and dive into crafting your own powerful problem statement! Overall, remember to remain data-driven, user-centred, solution-agnostic, actionable, evaluative and inspiring in creating your POV. With this guide in hand, you'll be well-equipped to craft an impactful problem statement that
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About the Author |
EWOR Team
EWOR is a place where the most extraordinary people find the education, network, and capital to solve the world's biggest problems. Our unique combination of an entrepreneurship academy and early-stage VC (up to €150K investment) firm was built for founders by founders, creating an unparalleled community for like-minded entrepreneurs and over a dozen unicorn founders who are building impactful tech companies.
