In the world of Design Thinking, identifying and precisely defining a problem is a fundamental step. This task, often underestimated, is crucial for guiding teams towards innovative and relevant solutions. This article explores the “why” of this approach, highlighting its essential impact on the success of design projects.
Defining a problem, why is it important?
Those who have already spoken with me or attended my conference during UX-Conf' entitled “How to define your added value in the era of AI” know how much I care about careful investigation of the problem and to its most precise and faithful definition. As a UX Strategist, I am convinced that this approach is the engine of innovation and value creation.
My multiple experiences as a Workshop Facilitator have allowed me to understand that it is essential to bring certain elements together for the magic of Design Thinking to work effectively:
- The entire team must fully understand the problem. Not just read about it, but understand each of the words and what issues it contains.
- The defined problem must make it possible to arrive at a relevant solution while respecting the scope of the project.
For a clear and well-defined problem, there is only one good solution but this can take different forms. We will return to this point later in the article.
Most of the time, the problems are poorly defined and the solutions proposed are unsuitable. It is therefore crucial in our profession to correctly formulate, or even challenge customer issues.
But if today I consider myself a “problem-finder”, that was not always the case. At the start of my career, I was focused on finding solutions to alleviate negative experiences and solving new problems. After all, I had been told very (too) often that design solves problems.
Brief. Let's return to the problem definition. Why is it so complex to precisely identify the real problem? This difficulty comes partly from the frequent confusion between causes and consequences…
What is the First Cause?
Let's start from the beginning. The root cause represents the fundamental origin of all problems, the deepest. It constitutes the initial reason behind the emergence of a problem. When there is confusion between the first cause and the consequences, we speak of “Stork Effect”.
For example, when I abandon my shopping cart on a website, it is a consequence of an underlying problem rather than a problem in itself.
Another easy example further from the world of the web: Let's imagine that I am participating in a 10km race. During the race, I stopped after the 7th kilometer, exhausted. A member of the organization comes to see me to tell me that I am eliminated from the race for this reason. Here the consequence is represented by my disqualification. But the root cause is my fatigue.
For each project, the first step will therefore be to dissect the situation to analyze the consequences and go back to the First Cause by asking the magic question “Why?” (as many times as necessary).
In this example with the race, we can ask ourselves the question “Why?” more than 5 times and then launch user research to explore certain hypotheses in more depth.
Again and again the “why”
I certainly talk about it too often and I have ended up tiring those around me with the “Why”. But obviously, this question remains the most important of all. It allows us to get out of our comfort zone, to explore the issue in greater depth and to open it up to other themes.
Insisting on “Why” is not a simple habit, but an absolute necessity in the process of Design Thinking. As expressed so well Simon Sinek in his book “Start With Why”, Understanding the “why” behind an action or decision is essential to getting to the heart of a problem. This approach pushes us to go beyond superficial answers and explore the deep motivations and needs that underlie user behavior.
Let's take the example cited earlier:
- Why was I disqualified? Because I stopped at the 7th kilometer.
- Why did I stop after the 7th kilometer? Because I was tired.
- Why was I tired? I was tired because I lacked the stamina for this race.
- Why did I lack stamina? I lacked endurance because I hadn't prepared enough to run.
- For what ? Because I hadn't planned a training program in advance.
In the example of the 10km race where fatigue leads to stopping at the 7th kilometer, I quickly identified the root cause of the problem as insufficient preparation. There single solution here is therefore to improve the preparation for the race.
When working on a project involving a complex issue, it becomes crucial to validate the hypotheses at each stage by asking the fundamental question “Why?”, and this, through user research.
After that, the solution can take on various appearances, influenced by various factors such as the time I have, the people available to assist me, the technologies available, and my own preferences.
For example, to train, I could use a mobile app, design a paper workout, or hire a personal trainer. The design will then give shape to the most relevant solution.
Conclusion
In summary, the precise definition of a problem remains fundamental in the Design Thinking process. This requires constant questioning of the “Why” to identify the initial cause of problems, thus directing our actions towards authentically innovative and adapted solutions.
Although a well-defined problem can only have one solution, this solution can take various forms. This flexibility makes it possible to adapt responses to the different constraints and requirements encountered.
Lucie Stepanian, User Experience Strategist at UX-Republic
