How to Compose a Problem Statement (DDN2-J06)

Point-of-view (POV) problem statement

This job aid is a guide to composing point-of-view (POV) problem statements to better frame a problem from the perspective of the various stakeholders involved.

A point-of-view (POV) problem statement is a structured, actionable description of a problem based on the needs of the stakeholders involved in relation to their user experience.

Purpose

Point-of-view problem statements can be used to:

• frame a problem by identifying pre-research assumptions and focusing on the design goals
• summarize the main pain points of users and stakeholders and the reasons for them

Desired outcome

A clear, actionable description of a problem from various perspectives that provides a basis for developing opportunity statements (that is, how-might-we statements) and generating ideas.

When to use

• At the beginning of the building or redesign of a product, service or program to better understand the problem from different perspectives and focus on the right problem to solve.
  • Please note: Any POV problem statement done before doing design research and consulting stakeholders should be considered as being based on assumptions.
• After conducting design research and data synthesis to adjust any POV problem statements in response to the research data, for validation purposes.

Pairs well with these job aids

• Identifying Common Product and Service Design Problems (DDN2-J02)
• Journey Mapping: Visualizing the User Journey (DDN2-J04)
• Empathy Mapping (DDN2-J03)
• User Persona Checklist (DDN2-J12)
• How to Compose a "How Might We" Question (DDN2-J15)

How to use

1. Collect the necessary information
2. Apply the POV problem statement structure: Insert the information you have gathered about your users and other stakeholders on these five elements:
   1. a stakeholder
   2. an action or goal
   3. a pain point
   4. the cause
   5. a feeling or an emotion
3. The structure looks like this:
   • I am [a stakeholder] and I am trying to [an action or goal] but [a paint point] because [the cause], which makes me feel [a feeling or an emotion].

Here is an example of a POV problem statement:

Note: Your POV problem statement should not contain any specific solutions, but rather be broad enough in scope to open opportunities for alleviating the users' and stakeholders' pain points.