UNIT –IV

FORMULATION OF PROBLEM STATEMENT

A problem statement is a clear concise description of the issue(s) that need(s) to be
addressed by a problem solving team. It is used to center and focus the team at the beginning, keep
the team on track during the effort, and is used to validate that the effort delivered an outcome
that solves the problem statement. It has a specific form-

 Vision - what does the world look like if we solve the problem?

 Issue Statement - one or two sentences that describe the problem using specific issues.

 Method - the process that will get followed to solve the problem.

The 5 ‘W’s - Who, What, Where, When and Why - is a great tool that helps get pertinent

information out for discussion.

Who: Who does the problem affect? Specific groups, organizations, customers, etc.

What: What are the boundaries of the problem, e.g. organizational, work flow, geographic,
customer,

segments, etc. - What is the issue? - What is the impact of the issue? - What impact is the issue

causing? - What will happen when it is fixed? - What would happen if we didn’t solve the problem?

When: When does the issue occur? - When does it need to be fixed?

Where: Where is the issue occurring? Only in certain locations, processes, products, etc.

Why: Why is it important that we fix the problem? - What impact does it have on the business or

customer? - What impact does it have on all stakeholders, e.g. employees, suppliers, customers,

shareholders, etc.

Each of the answers will help to zero in on the specific issue(s) and frame the ‘issue statement’.
Your problem statement should be solveable. That is, it should take a reasonable amount of time to

formulate, try and deploy a potential solution.

Five Ways to Formulate the Problem -

1. Specify the Objectives: A clear statement of objectives will help you develop

effective research. It will help the decision makers evaluate your project. It’s critical that you

have manageable objectives. Two or three clear goals will help to keep your project

focused and relevant.

2. Review the Environment or Context of the Problem: you must work

closely with your team. This will help you determine whether the findings of your project will

produce enough information to be worth the cost. In order to do this, you have to identify the

environmental variables that will affect the research project.

3. Explore the Nature of the Problem:

Problems range from simple to complex, depending on the number of variables and the
nature of their relationship. If you understand the nature of the problem , you will be able to better
develop a solution for the problem. To help you understand all dimensions, you might want to
consider focus groups of consumers, sales people, managers, or professionals to provide what is
sometimes much needed insight.

4. Define the Variable Relationships:

During the problem formulation stage, you will want to generate and consider as many
courses of action and variable relationships as possible. Such a process involves-

 Determining which variables affect the solution to the problem.

 Determining the degree to which each variable can be controlled.

 Determining the functional relationships between the variables and which variables are

critical to the solution of the problem.

5. Consequences of Alternative Courses of Action:

There are always consequences to any course of action. Anticipating and communicating the
possible outcomes of various courses of action is a primary responsibility in the process.

What is Product Design?

Product design is the process designers use to blend user needs with business goals to help

brands make consistently successful products. Product designers work to optimize the user

experience in the solutions they make for their users—and help their brands by making

products sustainable for longer-term business needs. The definition of product design

describes the process of imagining, creating, and iterating products that solve users’
problems

or address specific needs in a given market.

The key to successful product design is understanding the end-user customer, the person for

whom the product is being created. Product designers attempt to solve real problems for
real

people by using empathy and knowledge of their prospective customers’ habits, behaviors,
 frustrations, needs, and wants.

Ideally, product design’s execution is so flawless that no one notices; users can intuitively
use

the product as needed because product design understood their needs and anticipated their

usage.

Good product design practices thread themselves throughout the entire product lifecycle.

Product design is essential in creating the initial user experience and product offering, from

pre-ideation user research to concept development to prototyping and usability testing.

But it doesn’t end there, as product design plays an ongoing role in refining the customer

experience and ensuring supplemental functionality and capabilities get added in a

seamless,

discoverable, and non-disruptive manner. Brand consistency and evolution remain an

essential product design responsibility until the end of a product’s lifespan.

Product design is sometimes confused with (and certainly overlaps with) industrial design,

and has recently become a broad term inclusive of service, software, and physical product

design. Industrial design is concerned with bringing artistic form and usability, usually

associated with craft design and ergonomics, together in order to mass-produce goods.

When you look at product design, our primary focus has to be the end
user and delivering a great user experience. We work as a central hub for
all the elements that drive product development. For example, we
connect with engineering, manufacturing, software, etc. As a result, it’s
important for us to understand all of these core functions.
Through the years, our philosophy has been that
product design and engineering must go hand in hand.
Ultimately, a great design is nothing if you can’t produce
it at the right pricepoint with the right quantity for the
market.
About a year ago, our senior design team came up with these five
elements for product design that are driven by what is most important in
products today:
Product must be authentic.
Identify a clear purpose and make that purpose apparent in its design.
Product must provide unique
experiences.
It’s not only about a product’s look and feel; it’s about the interaction
process and how users experience a product.
Effective product design goes
unnoticed.
Create a friction-free experience that becomes a part of your life.
Conversely, you avoid a negative experience where every detail is
noticeable.
Do one thing extremely well.
Find your product’s one essential function and make it really good with
emphasis on simplicity.
Solve pain points elegantly.
Make the interactions with your product expressive and interesting for its
users.

Developing a product from start to finish is a huge undertaking for any company. There are so many things to
think about when it comes to creating a product. 

Questions like “Is there a need for this in my market?”, and, “Will people actually buy my product?” are all
questions that seem to haunt every business owner in every industry.

But, once you do your research and find that there is a need for your product idea, you can begin to think
about actually designing your product for your customers.

I have been creating graphics products for awhile now, and designed stationery products for my first business,
a stationery design studio. I have also designed paper goods for brands and individuals over the last 9 years.
What I have learned over the course of my design career is that there are 3 things I feel are key components to
great product design.

The 3 key elements of product design are:

1. The Functional Use of the Product
2. The Outward Appearance Design
 3. The Quality Delivered to Your Customers

When you go shopping for something in a store or online you already have in mind what you need, and what
the product needs to do for you. Granted, there are people who like to window shop and find things they were
not necessarily looking for but have to have it (I do that all the time in Target - yep I have a light up coffee
sign to prove it), but when a customer is looking for a solution, they know what they need already. It is up to
you to fill that need and provide a functional, beautifully designed, quality solution if you want them to be
your customer.

You also have to keep delivering great solutions over and over again if you want them to stay your customer.

Let’s begin discussing these key components of outstanding product design so you can start planning
something incredible to create for your future customers.

1.) The Functional Use of the Product

Before you can start thinking about how your product should look, you need to think about how it works and
what it does for your buyer. The definition of the word Functional, is “designed to be practical and useful,
rather than attractive.” (Source -  Google's definition results box)

Think about how useful your product would be to your customer and put yourself in their shoes. Does it solve
a pain point for them? What feature can you incorporate into the design of the product that will really “wow”
them?

A great product is incredibly useful, incorporates great functionality, and usually solves a problem for your
buyer.

2.) The Outward Appearance Design

The outward design and look of your product is the surface design. Depending on what the product is, the
design can be minimal or detailed; it can apply to just a small area of the surface of the product; or it can cover
the entire product with a pattern design or artwork. To save time in developing a product,  many brands decide
to hire or license artwork and pattern designs to create the look for their products. Or they have an in-house
design team to develop the overall design of the product. Research is done to see who the ideal buyer is for
their product, and what design themes are trending in the market. Based on this information you can develop a
product the customer will fall in love with because it connects their functional product need with their
personal style, who they are, and what the product will reflect about them.

The example image above features artwork from my Orchard Park Graphics Set, and my clients save tons of
time in developing products by licensing my illustrations. 

3.) The Quality Delivered to Your Customers

Quality is probably the most important thing to get right in today’s marketplace. Care must be taken in
developing a very high quality product. I spend months developing a new product and focus on creating highly
valuable artwork and solutions for my clients first.

The quality of the product delivered to your customers is just one part of what I mean when talking about
quality. What I look for when I am buying a product is not just the quality of the product itself, but the quality
of the company, as well. A company should serve its employees and its customers in a mutually beneficial
way. 

Today’s buyer values quality companies that care. Buying from a quality company is important to me, and I
try to use companies and services that put their customers and employees happiness first whenever possible.
If you never lose sight of caring for your customers, they will feel it and you will find so much joy in their
happiness.  What a really wonderful way to earn their trust and grow your business!