Qualities of a Good Problem Statement

When we are trying to solve something, it helps immensely to write down what exactly it is we are trying to solve. Crafting a problem statement so it allows for innovation while still ensuring the guard rails are on can take quite a bit of experience. It is also important to make sure we’ve looked into all the right corners / under all the right rocks to discover the complete problem we want to solve. In this post I want to cover some pretty standard elements of a good problem, as well as a couple things that might be new to you. Also, I had a little fun with the writing: Hopefully the sentence examples of how these ideas fit into a conversation like a dictionary enhance the message.

Qualities of the Problem

Good problems meet stakeholder needs

The point of being a person who solves a problem is that it should somehow meet the needs of humans (or improve things humans care about). Therefore, a good problem statement should be designed to meet those human needs.

This is a great problem. It exactly captures what all the stakeholders said and implied about what they wanted and needed.

Good problems allow flexibility

There will always be some unknowns as we set up a problem. As the uncertainty is resolved, we need flexibility to adjust our approach.

That problem statement was perfect. After we started working on the problem we had some major twists, but all we had to do was change our solution strategy, the same problem still worked.

Good problems are worth solving

There is always a balance between the effort to solve a problem and the value of doing so. A good problem will be worth the effort it takes to solve it.

This was really not a good problem. Even if everything worked, it still would not have had a real effect on the business.

Qualities of the Solution

The solution to a good problem statement will meet stakeholder needs

As noted in the problem section, the point of solving a problem is to meet the needs of the people who are impacted by its solution. Therefore a solution should be judged on how it fits the needs of the stakeholders.

This problem statement was terrible. By the time we had the whole solution built, the stakeholders told us they had built something else because we took too long.

Good problem statements can, in fact, be solved

A problem statement can be “perfect” from the point of view of the problem and still be completely useless if it cannot actually be solved. A good problem statement should always be judged by the solution it will ultimately lead to.

We thought we had really nailed the “lottery prediction” problem statement, but we never made any progress on accurately predicting lottery numbers.

The solution to a good problem statement can be implemented successfully

User adoption is one of the gotchas that can sink an otherwise great project. Good problem statements ensure that any people who have to change their behaviors will be willing to do so.

They gave us this new tool to fix our problems. Fortunately they also gave us extra time to use it, which has cut our issues in half.