A problem involves a person in the context of a specific predicament. The problem is the target, the raison d'être, for any solution and, by extension, solution designer/marketer.

A person experiencing a problem expresses it through an emotion. Describing the circumstances that are causing that emotion, in words a user would use however strong or subtle, provides a foundation of empathy through which to envision an ideal solution. It is important to not overlook the emotion because it creates personal resonance with the problem and with the solution being marketed.

From a marketing perspective, borrowing a concept from Pragmatic Marketing, a “market” is a group of people who share the same problem. Therefore, understanding and clearly defining the problem is the cornerstone of any solution to be created and/or marketed. This makes a highly refined problem statement all the more valuable.

Who needs a solution statement? Solution designers need to understand the context under which a problem occurs. The more empathy the designer has for the person experiencing the problem the better. Product managers need to know out of all the problem statements that exist, which ones are urgent and pervasive. That set represents the high potency candidate problems for which to design and market solutions.

A problem statement is a sentence or two that contains these descriptive elements:

1. A description of the person 
   Name or describe the business role or life role of the person.
2. When or under what conditions the problem occurs
   Describe what goal they are trying to achieve or when does it happen?
3. An emotion they experience
   Describe this so that an empathetic sense of connection to the person experiencing the problem is established.
4. A description of the affect the problem has on their quality of life
   Use language that the person would use in their business or life context.​​

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​Mad-Lib Style Templates
To help demonstrate what this might look like in the abstract, her are some templates:

• As a       (1)      , when       (2)      , I am       (3)        because       (4)      .
  
  
• As a       (1)      , I am       (2)      , when       (3)        because       (4)      .

​Examples
Here are two examples of problems statements based on conversations I've or observations I've had in just the past day:

• As an iPhone user, when I can't find my AirPod case I panic and scramble looking all over and retracing my steps because they are so hard to locate and costly to replace.
• As a coach, in a live practice or game setting when tensions are already high to begin with, someone lets something denigrating fly out of their mouth to one of the players. In that moment, I’m flustered because I’m supposed to lead here and I draw a blank on what to say or do. I’m unsure of what to do in response because I’m not experienced in how to handle something like this. Over the long-haul, letting this kind of communication go unchallenged affects the team, our institution, our relationships and our friendships.

Best Practices and Pitfalls to Avoid

• Do use first person
• Do use descriptive statements that you have actually observed people saying
• Do create multiple statements rather than trying to blend multiple problems into one
• Don't describe the solution or use solution jargon
• Don't embellish using false emotion or projection (do keep your BS detector on)

Not all problems have solutions. But every problem has a resolution that can be framed, conversationally speaking, in an ideal solution statement, Any marketing conversation naturally goes towards the solution.

Ideal Solution Statement
An ideal solution statement is an aspirational statement expressed in the language of the person experiencing the problem. It provides a target to aim for in terms of value delivered by a solution.

This typically describes an improvement in the quality of life of the person experiencing the problem who employs the solution. It describes the affect of the solution (what it does) without describing the solution (how it does it).

Who needs an ideal solution statement? This description is very useful target for a solutions designer. It influences product design as they develop candidate solutions that aspire to the expressed value. It provides a marketer with clarity of context and guidance to influence product positioning, persona development, user stories, messaging and other product management deliverables.

An ideal solution statement is a sentence or two that:

• Begins with the phrase, "The ideal solution would..."
• May contains the phrase "so that" or "the ability to"

​Examples
Here are ideal solution statements based on the aforementioned problem statements:

• The ideal solution would provide me the ability to know where my AirPod case is located right now so that I can find it easily.
• The ideal solution would give me the know-how and confidence to respond appropriately in the moment and over the long-haul so that values of personal respect and dignity are established and reinforced in our team and in our institution.

​Best Practices and Pitfalls to Avoid

• Do use first person
• Do describe the business or quality-of-life improvement delivered
• Do write the first draft of the statement soon after producing the problem statement because it so naturally flows afterwards
• Do create one ideal solution statement per problem statement
• Don't describe components of the solution or use solution jargon

​Subscribe to my free blog updates to receive content that vividly describes the techniques and leadership skills that embody the practice of agile design methods. The blog contains not only my ideas on the topic, but the insight of others who actively work and thrive wholeheartedly in the realms of collaborative creativity and solution design.

​I love this classic scene from The Office where the office staff are called into a compulsory meeting to hear the latest blah, blah, blah..

Nobody is paying attention to what is being said. Everybody is so disaffected and bored by these meetings that they gamify them by intently watching the DVD screen saver, all the while anticipating it's perfect landing in one of the corners.

As meeting facilitators, the obligation and challenge is on us to create meetings that are purposeful, well-directed and worthy of the engagement and attention of the attendees.

For further suggestions on effectively scheduling meetings, consider Meyer's Rules of Order

However, in my experience, having a glossary available to collaborators is worth the effort because it serves as an accelerator an work effort accelerator whereas the absence of a glossary causes delays and other negative side-effects.

Here is an approach I use and recommend while facilitating collaborative meetings;  

1. Prepare: Make sure that someone (you or a designated person in the meeting) serves as a scribe to record words and their meanings. When meeting in a room, I suggest having 8" x 6" Post-it Super Sticky Notes and a Sharpie permanent marker available at all times. When meeting virtually online or over the phone, I suggest having the Evernote application open at all times.
   
   
2. Listen: While facilitating the collaborative conversation, listen for concepts or notions that might not be easily understood by others not as invested in the conversation. When the you hear a word or phrase, stop the conversation briefly, "Let's capture that idea as a glossary term."
   
   
3. Record:  Typically there is one person in the conversation who can authoritatively verbalize the glossary term. Have that person state it while the scribe records it.
   
   
4. Confirm: Have the scribe read it back to the group to get confirmation. Record any refinements and then move on with the meeting.
   
   For example, in a recent cross-functional human resources effort, our team came up with these terms. One of them had a single meaning. Another had multiple meanings stated in separate sentenced.
   
   exit interview – A final meeting to collect specific assets from the employee. A survey conducted with an individual who is separating from employment.
   
   involuntary – The condition upon which separation occurs that is not initiated by the employee.
   
   line management – A set of managers in the lower layers of the management hierarchy (e.g., team leader, supervisor) that manage employees who have no supervisory responsibilities.
   
   
5. Publish: Long after the meeting, because you were intentional you now have the corporate memory to reconstruct what was said by publishing the recorded glossary terms in whatever form is appropriate (e.g., appendix in a published document, page on a collaborative website or wiki).

Making your glossary accessible to all stakeholders provides a clarifying reference resource that accelerates understanding and positively affect the progress of your collaborative work effort. I hope this has been a helpful perspective for you.

​- Chuck

Subscribe to my free blog updates to receive content that vividly describes the techniques and leadership skills that embody the practice of agile design methods. The blog contains not only my ideas on the topic, but the insight of others who actively work and thrive wholeheartedly in the realms of collaborative creativity.

​I look forward to you joining us.
​

Designing a solution without knowing what problem you're solving leads to this.

This is classic. I'll let the statement made stand on its own.

​I've been there, done that! How about you?

- Chuck

Subscribe to my free blog updates to receive content that vividly describes the techniques and leadership skills that embody the practice of agile design methods. The blog contains not only my ideas on the topic, but the insight of others who actively work and thrive wholeheartedly in the realms of collaborative creativity.

You just might benefit from joining us.

Users want solutions that cater to them. If you bring them a solution that does not respect who they are, it will not resonate with them and will ultimately not be a viable solution to their problem.

Solution designers want a clear description regarding the problem, who it affects and what the envisioned benefits of the ideal solution entail. Thy need this so that they can define a solution with respect for who it is for and how it affects them. If you bring them a solution statement, you have disrespected their opinion.

Don't disrespect users and solution designers by leading them by the nose to your envisioned solutions.

- Chuck

Subscribe to my free blog updates to receive content that vividly describes the techniques and leadership skills that embody the practice of agile design methods. The blog contains not only my ideas on the topic, but the insight of others who actively work and thrive wholeheartedly in the realms of collaborative creativity.

I hope you'll join us.