Day 16 - Framing a Problem Statement

More than 60% of the designers are very much struggling in choosing the right problem statement for their project. More importantly, even if they choose it, they are still not clear whether it is correct or not. They don't know how to define it. They don't know how to convince their stakeholders and boss and other people to do it. Can I tell you, problem statements are always too broad for the people or maybe they are too narrow. It is very very difficult for anybody to really start that People use lot of assumptions instead of getting a proper validated fact and insight. They are writing statements without a proper context and a user Persona well defined. They are not focusing towards a solution within that question. They are too much broadening the game. They are not testing out this with a real time user. In this video I am going to be telling about what exactly a problem statement should look like and how to exactly frame it in a proper way. This will increase your project speed at least 2x faster if you start your project right. Let's jump in. Welcome to this day 16 guys we are in the problem framing into the nervous system. Okay, so we've been learning from our body parts starting from skeletal muscular and now this week we are going deep into the nervous system. So in order to touch upon the nervous system we initially saw about the design thinking methodology and the problem, the next we are going to see is called a problem framing. So why it is very important because many people don't know how might we really think when it comes to defining a problem statement. I'll explain you the common concept for it. Problem framing is actually equal to defining a focus for your project. Many people run with a lot of vague assumptions. This will make you into actionable statements. You take any behance profile and project guys, you will see the project is completely not in a direction or maybe it is completely in a different different scattered way. They have taken some random screen from online references for a process sake. Many people done user journey mapping all this and they don't understand the real problem whether it is a validated need or not. In order to avoid this you need to create something called a problem statement. Particularly when you do it, it guides the ideation and prototyping decision in a faster way so that the project completes on time. It bridges the relationship between research and solution. It aligns exactly with your team scope. See the reason why because it is very important is Stanford and IDEO use it in their design process and they're proven to become one of the industry benchmark for problem solving. That is the main Main reason I'm recording this video because this is not a like let's say a random approach which it's occurring to me I'm teaching. This is a well proven methodology which has been followed across many institutions. Okay. In fact, how might we framework is being popularized by ideo. It is based on Reframing Psychology by Edward D. Buono. So Edward D. Buono was actually the one who used the six hats thinking, which has become a very good reasoning and critical tool to also make you think more. It is used in lean and agile approaches to find out the real world problem. It's in the discovery phases and it's taught in most important UX boot camps across the world. I think we discussed about the importance of it. So sharp problem is equal to targeted solution. It saves a lot of time, keeps your team in focus, transforms a proper research into a strategy and it is very essential for building your projects. Okay, what exactly is the structure? How exactly we have to do the framework? If you just ask me, it's a very, very, very simple example. This. Okay, first of all ask how. Like let's say if you have a case study with respect to students managing their design projects effectively. Okay, so ask how how exactly students are going to do a project efficiently for this question. If you try to find the answer, you'll be able to find out a clear problem statement for your project. Like let's say how is the question which encourages you the possibility not just sitting with assumptions and getting scared about something. Might. What does mean by might? Might opens up a lot of options and experimentation towards what are all the possibilities this problem statement can be solved. We mentions about your team, your stakeholder, your client and the other people whoever is involved in your project format to in order to build this is how might we plus goal for whom is exactly the way in which it has to be built. Like let's say example how might we help students manage the projects effectively efficiently? You can also think how might we exactly create a user journey mapping for the users who are struggling with option towards signing up easily and the might will be like how might we encourage the users to sign up easily through the possibility of AI? How might Then I'll connect the V how as a team like let's say we are a particular XYZ organization working towards making the onboarding process of the user journey very easily through the possibility of AI as an agent to solve the user experience problem to create more engagement. See. So this is how you structure a problem statement and it brings a clarity to the Start of your project. I told you More than 50% of the designers don't do it. That is why your project drips and more importantly your understanding and concept clarity itself is not there. I think I explained about the concept common mistake too much Problem statements are either broad or narrow. Using lot of assumptions. Writing statement without context. Focusing on solution. Like in the sense people don't understand the question or the assumptions and the validations and hypothesis they directly jump into making screens. This is a big problem not tested and validated with your user. See guys, I'll tell you one important thing. Why it is very important in a neurological aspect. Because without touching neurological aspect I will not take any topic in design. Brain filters out noise to create clarity for the designer who is working in the project is also important for the user is going to use the solution is also very important. This focuses questions activates solution thinking. So the focus to question always makes your brain think in a 75 percentage direction. What does it mean by 75 percentage? The moment when you ask a question or maybe somebody is asking you a question or you ask the question, you make the other person use their brain 75 percentage to think in that direction. Yeah, whenever a question is asked we have a. What do you call an inherent inbuilt even how do I say evolutionary behavior and trait to try to answer that. We will put all of our brains and energy and and mood and vibe to answer that. So when you ask a focus question, it helps you bring the solution for your project. This is a great way it frames engagement for prefrontal decision making centers. There is a amygdala and there is a prefrontal corte inside our brain. Prefrontal cortex is involved in goal visionary like execution, thinking forward, thinking positive direction and having a very, very uplifting career towards thinking in that direction. Amygdala is a animal behavior fight or flight response. You activate your prefrontal cause next when you ask right question. In fact, that is why in our community we do this activity called value determination process where there is a series of 13 questions which was asked by Dr. Demartini to make you focus on the right values and the priority in your life. Many people don't understand this. They just randomly learn design here and there. They don't even ask any questions in their project, in their life, in anything. These people are going nowhere. So when you ask a question, you activate your prefrontal cortex. When you activate your prefrontal cortex, you ask a meaningful solution for your problem. You also drive a drift up project in A more meaningful direction. Thereby you complete a project which is more meaningful for the user. Reputation in the framing creates pattern recognition. When you start reframing again and again, your brain builds a very systematic pattern. This helps you also get alignment to the project very easily. It clearly reduces a mental fatigue when the problem statement is clear, see how easily it is available. You can take any example like let's say a hospital UX tackled. Hospital UX team tackled a long waiting times. How might we produce patience anxiety while waiting? See, this is a great way to ask. It shifted the focus from speed to creating more experience in a meaningful direction. Introduced a real time queue display and content. There could be an interactive board, there could be a dashboard, there could be some tablet, There could be some mobile app which is going to manage the system. And anxiety can even reduce to 35% or even more. This is an example case study I'm taking. This is not a real world case study. I'll put example. But when you do a real world project, this value can be easily attained. This is the power of having a proper problem statement defined. You can use Chat GPT is one of the best best amazing tool. See, I'll show you an example like let's say when you go for Chat GPT. Okay. In fact I would also introduce you to another tool called Care to Think. Because Care to Think is a more advanced reasoning tool. Okay, you can. You can go about here and trying to bring a little clarity over here. Okay. Okay, now we have logged in here. Let's take Chat GPT as well. That will be also on one line. Okay, so let us understand using this dictate, can you exactly bring me 100 different problem statement with respect to medical and FinTech and SAS based industries. How as a user experienced designer, I can able to design it. More importantly, I wanted this clear problem statement defined in the how might we format provide the output in a tabular column format very clearly. For example, see, I'm asking Char GPT a simple dictation of the voice for my problem statement. I'm just giving an example the reason because if I give one example. No, you guys can even take hundreds and hundreds of examples. See, I'm going to be pasting the same thing here. Can all of you see here it is producing with a how might we format For Medical, for UI UX, for SAS, for FinTech, for Edutech, for anything. Definitely it is a very very easy template so that you can start focusing on your output. Can all of you see here? Even K2 think is the most, most, most powerful tool. See how much problem statement it has taken. Electronic health record for disease management, for telepath, for usability, for booking process, for interface, for post surgery, for confusion. For all the systems it is more and more and more detail available. Don't worry, this I'll be sharing it with you in this video. Can all of you see this? How many examples have come? Style GPD is still exploring. So the point is we can find out a lot of examples using this tool and we can use Miro. Miro is an amazing tool. You can just give this prompt and Miro will also produce the same output for you. You can use Notion, another digital brain tool. You can use this tool called figjam. It will create an amazing affinity mapp and grouping also based on the problem statement, what we are defining. You can use this thing called Lucid Spark. This is an amazing tool to also explore. And I also suggest you another tool which is called Lumen 5. Okay, I'll also suggest you another tool. You can use this tool called K2 think. Okay, you can use this tool called. You can also use this tool called Lottie AI Remote. These are more reasoning tools. So the point is we can able to use all these tools to get more clarity. We can use this IDEO design kit. I would highly recommend you to use this IDEO design kit, guys. Okay, I think ideo, if you just go and click in Google, you will just see this. Everybody can download it. It's free. Idea has created as an open source for all the people to go and download this. Using this method you can download this case studies and read. You can just read all of the case studies. It's very, very useful. And they have kept it open for the public. See, very, very important and very easy. And these people have documented all of their learnings and see 20 weeks they did the project of water and sanitation, they did it in Ghana. And what are the outcome? What are the inspirations, what are the implementation, what are the rapid prototyping? In fact they have taken a lot of pictures to also study. So go to this methods. You can also find out the methods, what these people have created. Card sorting, collage. All these methodologies are very, very, very easy. And if you click this, you can go and study that method. It's very, very, very simply available. It's an open source. You can also click this mindset and you can also take and understand how the designers are thinking about the approach towards problem solving. So it's all about how you define this. You can also use this tool called GameStop. You can also read this book called GameStopping by Gray and Watt. You can also read this mindset by Carol Dweck. You can also have this book called Lean ux. No, this is a very different material. Sorry guys, I'm not sure about it. Okay, I took some references but it's proven to be a good resource. So you can read this Lean UX canvas by Jeff Gothil. Also you can read this article in Nielsen Norman Group for problem statement course. This is really, really a nice source. I would say this is amazing source. Very, very depth articles are available for you. So what I'm telling you is why don't you just click HMW in the chat box. We will also send you this framework worksheet which we have prepared for you and we can able to give you the clarity to build your case studies over there. More importantly, try framing three real world user problems. What you're facing in and around your house, in and around your vicinity. Try that. This might help you to build a very good concept clarity for your project and the problem statement. Apply it in your office, apply it in yourself projects. With that clarity you start the case study. It will go next level faster. Tomorrow I will cover about the other method more importantly like ideation and all these things. But I would also ask you click the link for the four hours design verse workshop. Okay. I would highly recommend this workshop. I will not only teach you design concepts and clarity, here is what I will put you into a very good learning curve where I will also tell you how I can build a 3x formula portfolio and a job search strategy for the same. I will, I will put that. Can I tell you something? You will also get a worth of 10,000 rupees bonuses in Indian rupees when you attend this live workshop. The link is available below. Please click that and you will get a three day accelerator program. You will also get 250 AI prompts. You will also get 100 AI tools and suggestions. So this is going to be a next level amazing activity for you to start working on it. Thank you so much. And tomorrow we'll see about ideation and thinking process. Take care. All the best. We are in the nervous system of the week.