Understanding Problems
How can we understand problems holistically, before jumping into designs?
Occasionally when a new ticket is created, I find myself jumping into designs straight away. Caused by time pressure? Sometimes. Why? Outputs are tangible. Thinking is not.
Although outputs are created fast, the thinking behind the output is heavily reduced. The design process might be shorter, but decisions are harder to substantiate. During feedback, your outputs can be reduced to rubble as fast as the process went.
Understanding the problem before the design process is therefore crucial. Thinking takes time. Getting good answers in order to understand the problem do too. However, the problem will no longer be unknown terrain where you have to muddle through.
But how can you understand a problem holistically? There are two main areas where I focus on:
Identify the nature of the problem.
Break the problem down, by identifying its main elements.
How can we identify the nature and break it down? By asking questions. Questions during discovery can vary, depending on the problem’s context. We want to touch important aspects.
Orientation and kick-off — “What do you know about the problem so far?”
The why — “Why is this a problem?”
Root cause analysis — “How did you find out about the problem?”
References and experts — “Who should I talk to, in order to learn more about the problem?”
Customers — “Which specific customers/users deal with this problem?”
Research — “What research is already performed in relation to the problem?” Research in general, and preferably customer research.
The business aspect — “How does this problem impact the business?”
Risk analysis — “What are the risks of not solving this problem?”
Outcomes and measurements — “What would you like to achieve by solving this issue? How are we going to measure the outcomes?”
By asking questions around these topics:
💡 You should get a holistic view of the problem.
💡 You understand the problem better.
💡 The insights gained feed into the design process, making your decisions more grounded.
When multiple of these questions can’t be answered effectively, it might be that the problem isn’t such a big issue as first thought of.
I found a lot of value in the book Thinking Smarter by Michael Kallet. This books is a practical guide towards critical thinking. Which is an important aspect to understand problems betters.
What questions do you ask to understand problems better?
Keep aiming for growth.
Much love, Liam.