Defining the Problem in Design Thinking

What do you hate most about the website you love? What do you love most about the app you hate? User experience is all about meeting the user’s need, also known as solving their problem. In the UX Design Thinking process, the first step to problem-solving is understanding what the user is experiencing. Gaining insight into the user’s experience is achieved by finding ways to empathize with them. The empathy stage involves various research methods, including conducting interviews, taking surveys, observing users in their environment, empathy mapping, and more. These research findings assist UX professionals with transitioning into the next step of the process: define. 

The Define Stage

Why Define?

The define stage of the Design Thinking process identifies a specific user problem that needs to be solved. This stage determines what you want to address before committing time and resources to execute other design thinking steps, including ideation, prototyping, and testing. Within this stage, you fixate on a particular challenge and set a goal you can actively work toward realizing. The result of the define stage is a clear objective, better known as a problem statement. 

Analysis vs. Synthesis

Defining the problem is accomplished by synthesizing the data gathered in the preceding step. In Design Thinking, analysis and synthesis can occur within any stage. However, the general rule of thumb is that the empathize stage is achieved through analysis, while the define stage is achieved through synthesis. 

“The relationship between the empathize and define stages can best be described in terms of analysis and synthesis. In the empathize phase, we use analysis to break down everything we observe and discover about our users into smaller, more manageable components—dividing their actions and behavior into ‘what’, ‘why’ and ‘how’ categories, for example. In the define stage, we piece these components back together, synthesizing our findings to create a detailed overall picture.”

Emily Stevens, How To Define A Problem Statement: Your Guide To The Second Step In The Design Thinking Process, Career Foundry

Developing a Problem Statement

A problem statement is an essential component of a Design Thinking project. It serves as the guiding light, as it provides a focus on the user’s needs, maintains direction and structure, and encourages optimism. It can also be called a user needs statement, a how might we statement, or a point-of-view (PoV) statement. UX professionals aim to write clear problem statements that foster ideation and support finding a solution. 

Though problem statement formats vary, Aaron Benjamin of Prototypr.io recommends formatting a direct, solution-seeking problem statement, using minimal characters, like so:  [Action verb]  is a challenge for  [user]  because  [insight] . 

Problem Statements in Action

In a previous blog post, I walked through an empathy mapping exercise. While watching an episode of Undercover Boss, I observed the CEO of Build-A-Bear Workshops, Sharon Price John, as she shadowed her employees to gain insight into how guests and employees experience her company. 

In my exercise, I created two empathy maps to analyze the experiences of Sharon and Leney, a Build-A-Bear associate. Empathy mapping is a way to observe a user by taking note of what they say, do, think, and feel while interacting with a product or service. My empathy mapping exercise also covered what each user heard, saw, their pains, and their gains. 

This week, I revisited the Undercover Boss episode, and my two Build-A-Bear empathy maps to craft problem statements. Using Aaron Benjamin’s problem statement format, here are my findings:

• Using the Smile-with-Me station is a challenge for Build-A-Bear guests because there are no clear directions to communicate how to utilize the station. During Sharon’s Discovery store model visit in Northridge, CA, she asks Bear Builder Leney what she thinks of the new store model in comparison to the old, Heritage model. Due to Leney’s childhood experiences with the store, Leney identifies most with Build-A-Bear’s old store model, the Heritage model, as opposed to Sharon’s new Discovery model. Leney especially loved the Fluff Me station, where kids could give their stuffed animals an air bath. Unfortunately, this memorable step in the bear-making process was replaced with new Smile-with-Me station. Leney explained that the station was confusing and misleading for guests because there are no clear instructions. Parents assume that the store will take a photo of their guests, and fail to understand that the station is actually intended for them to take the picture themself. Altogether, the new station is less special and engaging for guests than the Fluff Me station.

• Stuffing bears is challenging for Sharon because it requires experience and mastery.  During the same store visit, Leney challenges Sharon with using the stuffer machine. This machine involves a foot pedal that starts the machine when stepped on, and a hose which shoots out stuffing. As soon as Sharon starts stuffing, she misses the inside of the bear she is holding, and stuffing shoots out everywhere, startling guests and making a mess within the station. Sharon struggles while stuffing bears because mastering the stuffer machine requires experience. Various stations at the store require hands-on learning, which may not be suitable for every employee. There are not clear instructions on how much pressure to put on the foot pedal or what angle employees should hold the bears over the hose to direct the stuffing appropriately. 

• Preparing a palette in Build-A-Bear’s “bearhouse” is a challenge for warehouse employees because the steps are inefficient. During Sharon’s distribution warehouse visit in Colombus, OH, Bearhouse employee Solomon, gathers boxes on his cherry picker alongside Sharon. After cherry picking, his coworkers slide all of his boxes down a metal ramp as he goes to the loading dock to manually re-stack and rescan his boxes on a palette as they come down the ramp. Solomon explains that the boxes need to be scanned and stacked on the palette quickly, in a particular way to avoid the lines backing up. The steps of cherry picking, scanning, stacking, sliding, rescanning, and re-stacking are inefficient, as steps are repeated unnecessarily. These repeated steps slowdown the warehouse workers at the time they need to move fast the most.

• Learning the register is challenging for new employees, including Sharon because there is no established training method. Sharon visits a Heritage model store in Whitehall, PA and meets Nick, a Build-A-Bear Bear Builder who walks her through the entire bear-making process. The final step of the process is checking the guest out. Nick gives Sharon his own crash course for using the register and then tasks her with checking out a few guests so that she can get some practice. As Sharon checks customers out, she mistakingly rings items up multiple times and forgets to complete a register step to process a customer’s payment. The expressions of confusion and frustration on the customers’ faces indicate that the store may need to update their register training with a training mode so that employees can practice safely instead of learning as they go.

• Training new employees is a challenge for Kendall because Build-A-Bear’s training manual does not suit everyone’s learning style. While training Sharon, Kendall, a Build-A-Bear Assistant Manager in Alpharetta, GA, shares that she has crafted and customized her own training manual using the store’s old and new manuals. Although she often refers back to the store’s latest manual, she maintains key principles from both manuals to help new associates learn better. Sharon has an issue with this because she believes that Kendall should only be following the new training manual. After further discussion with Kendall, Sharon learns that Kendall is being inclusive and considerate of her employees. Sharon devises a good solution to this problem that entails crafting a quick start manual suitable for all employees and all learning styles. 

Final Thoughts

Defining the problem is a vital step in the Design Thinking process. Without a solid problem statement, your team will lack focus, direction, and purpose in meeting your user’s needs. Although it may seem like identifying a problem is easy to accomplish, before jumping into ideation, prototyping, and testing, it is important to slow down and commit time to formulate a notable problem statement. A well formulated problem statement results in an effective solution, so take your time!