The problem statement is a theoretical magic concept, a simple, accurate, unbiased statement that can theoretically advance layer by layer until it reaches the core and interrupts irrelevant statements with precise solutions.
But if you've ever worked on a team, or across teams, you've probably found yourself in an environment where feedback is coming in from all directions, you're juggling it, and you're Number List juggling it. Various groups are watching you like an audience, and they don't applaud you, if you know what I'm talking about.
Problem statement: A problem statement, simply put, is a problem faced by a group of people or a single person. In the academic field, problem statements are generally used to express research purposes; in the teaching field, problem statements are mainly used to raise mathematical or other teaching problems. In the process of daily planning, the problem statement is to express the existing problems more concretely, and the purpose is to find methods and ways to solve the problem.
Marketing operations wants you to handle the reviews feature, customer service wants you to add a feature that allows everyone to express opinions, and the CEO wants to see this new feature as soon as possible. Where are you going to find time to write a problem statement?
I've read countless articles on how to write a problem statement, and given that, most of the problem statement is described as "how should we", does the beginning of "how should we..." really clarify the source of the problem? When in the process did I actually create the problem statement?
We live in a world with tons of new tools to gather feedback. But how do these tools fit together for us to use?
How does feedback become a problem statement?
In 2020, I'm trying to solve this problem on my own team; and there's some progress, which is still in progress, and I'm finding this progress useful in how to deal with the feedback coming in from all directions, dealing with disputes.
Before we get to the core, I want to outline what some of the other articles are about, but it will help you understand my topic today, and it will be blunt and difficult to follow if you follow it.
I think there are three different types of problem statements.