Problem Statement
Understand
Boil down complex issues into one clear sentence.
The problem is that older adults in semi-urban areas recovering from heart attacks struggle to follow post-discharge care because instructions assume high health literacy and digital access, which results in missed appointments, poor medication adherence, and preventable complications. How might we support older adults in semi-urban areas recovering from heart attacks to follow post-discharge care, even when health literacy and digital access are limited?
Steps
Identify the user or group
Ask: Who is experiencing the problem?
Be specific (e.g., “rural nurses,” “teenage patients,” “new parents”).
Describe the core issue
Ask: What challenge or pain point are they facing?
Focus on what they experience.
Name the root cause
Ask: Why is this happening?
Dig beyond symptoms to identify the underlying reason.
Explain the consequence
Ask: What happens as a result of this issue?
Think in terms of outcomes, impact, or missed opportunities.
Write the problem statement
“The problem is that [user/group] is experiencing [issue] because [cause], which results in [consequence].”
Turn your perspective into action
Using "How might we" questions is a way to turn problems into open-ended, optimistic questions that spark creative solutions. It reframes challenges.
“How might we solve [a specific problem]?”
Based on the ideas of Stanford d.school.
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