What is a problem definition statement? - Design-Led Strategy: Design thinking for business

Summary

This script delves into crafting a robust problem definition statement for businesses. It emphasizes the importance of empathy mapping to understand customer needs, developing point of view statements to focus on specific customer insights, and utilizing brainstorming to generate solutions. The process concludes with formulating a concise, human-centered problem statement that guides product development, ensuring it addresses real customer issues while inspiring creativity and remaining realistic.

Takeaways

• 🔍 Conduct primary market research to inform about the problem you're trying to solve.
• 📝 Define a problem statement to set the roadmap for your company's product or service development.
• 🧐 Use empathy mapping to understand customer needs and reactions, divided into four quadrants: thinks, feels, says, and does.
• 👥 Develop empathy maps in a team setting to minimize individual bias and gain diverse insights.
• 🤔 Generate assumptions about customer needs from empathy mapping to identify and define problems.
• 👁️ Create a point of view statement that focuses on specific customers, integrating insights from empathy mapping.
• 📈 Choose a customer persona to focus on when developing a point of view statement, considering their most pressing needs.
• 💡 Use brainstorming sessions with a facilitator to generate ideas for solving the problem, encouraging all ideas without criticism.
• ⏱ Set a strict time limit for brainstorming to maintain focus and productivity.
• 🎨 Be visual during brainstorming, using different colored pens or sticky notes to connect and bring ideas to life.
• 📜 Craft a problem definition statement that is concise, human-centered, and realistic to guide and inspire your team.

Q & A

What is the primary purpose of conducting primary market research?

The primary purpose of conducting primary market research is to inform about the problem you're trying to solve, ensuring that your product or service addresses an actual problem for your customers, either internally or externally.

What is a problem definition statement and why is it important?

A problem definition statement is a concise description of the issue or problem that needs to be addressed. It is important because it sets the roadmap for the company, ensuring that the product or service is developed to solve a real problem and sparks interest, generating ideas and excitement.

How does empathy mapping help in the problem definition process?

Empathy mapping helps by enabling a deeper understanding of customers' needs. It is divided into four quadrants: thinks, feels, says, and does, allowing you to identify and define problems from the customer's perspective.

What is the relationship between empathy maps and customer personas?

Empathy maps are related to customer personas as they provide a way to determine how these personas will react to different situations, helping to identify their most obvious, relevant, and demanding needs.

How should an empathy map be developed for optimal results?

An empathy map should be developed in a team setting with colleagues working on the project to ensure that individual psychological biases do not influence the observations and to foster a comprehensive understanding of the customer or persona.

What is a point of view statement and how does it guide problem-solving?

A point of view statement is a guiding statement that focuses on specific customers or consumers, bringing together the insights and needs uncovered during the empathy mapping process. It helps to ideate and solve the problem in a goal-oriented manner, keeping the focus on the customer's needs and insights.

Can you provide an example of a point of view statement based on the script?

An example of a point of view statement from the script is: 'Rachel needs access to a reasonably priced, flexible home delivery grocery service because fresh produce is important to her, and she doesn't want to carry home heavy shopping bags.'

What role does brainstorming play in the problem definition process?

Brainstorming plays a crucial role in generating ideas to solve a problem. It is usually done with a group of people, including colleagues, stakeholders, customers, or consumers, and facilitated by an experienced person to make associations and connections between ideas.

What are some key aspects to consider for a successful brainstorming session?

Key aspects for a successful brainstorming session include having a well-defined problem statement, setting a strict time limit, being open-minded and allowing all ideas to be presented without criticism, fostering an environment where all ideas are encouraged, and being visual to bring ideas to life and connect them in different ways.

What are the characteristics of a good problem definition statement?

A good problem definition statement is human-centered, focusing on users and the people the problem is intended to solve for. It should be broad enough to inspire creativity but narrow enough to be realistic and achievable, avoiding being overly technical or operational.

How does the problem definition statement guide the development of a product or service?

The problem definition statement guides the development by aligning with the insights gathered through customer personas and primary market research. It ensures that the focus remains on the user's needs and helps in crafting a solution that is both innovative and feasible.