1/9/2019 Problem Statement in Design Thinking: Definition & Example | Study.

com

Problem Statement in Design Thinking: De nition & Example

A problem statement helps the design team identify customer needs. In this lesson, you'll learn more about the
problem statement in the second stage of the design thinking process, the De ne stage.

Finding the Problem

Albert Einstein was a pretty smart guy. He developed the theory of relativity and earned the Nobel
Prize for Physics. He once famously said, ''If I were given one hour to save the planet, I would spend
59 minutes de ning the problem and one minute resolving it.''

He meant that he would devote much more time to spelling out the problem than working to x it.

Einstein understood the principle of the second stage of design thinking, which focuses on de ning
the problem faced by consumers from the research you gathered in the empathize stage.
Essentially, now that you have all this data that helps you understand your consumers, what are
you going to do with it?

You need to synthesize your data and write a problem statement that explains your customers'
most critical needs.

Explaining A Problem Statement

A problem statement is a human-centered description of an obstacle or concern developed from
what you learned about your customers' needs in the initial stage. It drills down through this data
to de ne what the core problems are that need addressing. From there, a design team can use the
problem statement to guide how they build a product or process, such as which features to include
or how to make it functional and most valuable to its audience.

Gathering information for a problem statement usually comes from research, studies or
observations performed in the empathy stage of design thinking. One common tool, an empathy
map, serves as a visual representation of what your customers say, think, do and feel about your
product.

Developing A Problem Statement

In developing a problem statement, rst remember that it should be short. These are not lengthy
explanations; the whole goal is to identify the primary problem consumers are faced with so that
you can implement solutions.

https://study.com/academy/lesson/problem-statement-in-design-thinking-definition-example.html 1/2
1/9/2019 Problem Statement in Design Thinking: Definition & Example | Study.com

Think about the problem statement from the viewpoint of the consumer, rather than the company.
You may be accustomed to coming up with business-centered statements like, ''We want to
increase sales of our organic baby food by 15 percent.'' This is YOUR problem, not your customers'
problem.

Instead, your customers' problem might read in a statement like this, ''Babies need safe, nutritious
foods to support their growth and development.'' A problem statement like this is human-
centered. It illustrates that your consumers' need is to provide safe and nutritious foods to their
children. Why? Because it helps them grown stronger physically and supports brain development.

Register to view this lesson

Are you a student or a teacher?
 I am a student  I am a teacher

Problem Statement in Design Thinking: De nition & Example Related Study Materials

Create an account to start this course today

Try it risk-free for 30 days!

Create An Account

https://study.com/academy/lesson/problem-statement-in-design-thinking-definition-example.html 2/2