Crafting a Strong Problem Statement

<aside> ‼️ It is important to really understand the problem you are trying to solve before you tackle developing a solution.

Until you can fully complete all the elements of the Design Briefs and you’ve robustly tested all the elements of that Design Brief through conversations with team members, peers and Community Representatives and Experts – we strongly suggest that you are NOT ready to move on to the Design Stage!!!

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<aside> 🗣️ Let’s start with a little advice from previous students…

First, we encourage you to listen to this short audio from a previous student explaining the value of understanding the problem first.

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Transcript

Second, we encourage you to watch this short video of a group of previous students sharing their advice on how to most effectively engage in the unique learning experience. You will see that they too emphasise the importance of understanding the problem you are tackling before rushing to develop a proposed solution.

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<aside> ❓ Now in our own words… why is a strong problem statement important?

It is essential that you have a strong problem statement because it acts as a cornerstone for your project. You should reference your problem statement throughout the bootcamp, to ensure that you stay focused on your priorities. A well-defined problem statement forces you to articulate the issue precisely.

From our experience across thousands and thousands of students, we have found repeatedly that students who take the time to create a really strong and intentional problem statement, supported with detailed understanding of the Stakeholders and clear Design (Success) Criteria, are much better equipped when preparing their Proposed Solution Report.

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<aside> 🗺️ What makes a strong problem statement?

What you are presented with during this bootcamp are 'wicked' societal challenges that do not have one simple solution. These challenges are complex and multi-faceted. (You can re-read From ‘Grand Societal Challenge’ Frameworks to the structure of your Challenge for this Bootcamp to review why we start from these types of challenges.)

It is up to you and your team to identify and carefully define the narrower problem within your challenge that you want to work on.

<aside> 💡 What is a problem statement?

Your team’s problem statement should provide a concise and effective summary of the narrower issue that you are focusing on in your local context.

In two or three sentences (and less than 150 words), your team’s problem statement should clearly explain the problem’s focus, including introducing the geographic context of the problem and the most important stakeholders.

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What makes a strong problem statement?

**A strong problem statement is clear, focused and specific
- What problem are you trying to solve? Describe it and, wherever possible, ensure you quantify it!
- Who is it a problem for? Be specific about the people impacted, including relevant geographic and demographic focus.
A strong problem statement is contextualised
- While it can (and often should) briefly identify the broader ‘wicked’ problem (e.g. climate change), it is important to stay focused on the specific narrower problem you are tackling.
A strong problem statement NEVER mentions a specific potential solution!
- You should be able to hand a strong problem statement to 10 different teams of inventive people and get 10 diverse and equally impactful ideas back!
- The thought experiment at the start of the Guidance on Design (or ”Success”) Criteria resource is worth reviewing in this context.
A strong problem statement is concise – your final version should accomplish all of the above in just 2 or 3 sentences!

<aside> 🔁 Do not expect a strong problem statement the first time you write it down!

The first time you write down a draft problem statement, it will be missing a lot of detail and information. How could it be otherwise?

You need a first draft of a problem statement to get going on more detailed research. Until you have that more detailed research, you can’t effectively begin speaking with Community Representatives and Experts who have local knowledge, and have possibly even lived experience with your chosen problem.

As you collect all that information and engage all those different perspectives, your understanding of the problem can, should and will evolve considerably… and your first draft problem statement can, should and will look weak by comparison to what you then know.

Strong problem statements come from iteratively writing and rewriting your problem statement many times!

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<aside> 🤔 You will likely even iterate and improve your problem statement after you’re team has started working on your proposed solution!

While the Explore Stage of the bootcamp is designed to help your team ask all the right questions, that does not mean you will have all the answers to those questions by the mid-point of the bootcamp.

Teams that continue to iterate their understanding of the problem even while working on their proposed solution almost invariably achieve a strong problem-solution fit by the end of the process. This is because, invariably, the best solutions are ones that clearly address a well defined and understood problem!

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