#problem statements

https://medium.com/@MattPLavoie/what-s-your-problem-part-1-the-value-of-a-problem-statement-97e4e0d58b05#.fni727o2m

Part 1: The value of a Problem Statement

It’s crucial to understand problems that you aim to fix. It’s also really important that the process is communicated all the way down to the ppl implementing the solution

“By going past a proposed solution to seek a deeper understanding, you gain insight that will help you reach a successful outcome.”

Continuing to add new features is called “feature creep.” You can avoid this as a bad thing by always keeping the desired outcome in mind, like what are you aiming for, and how does the new feature fit into that? In general it’s bad due to delays and widening the scope of the project unhealthily. Problem statements help prevent feature creeps.

“Problem statements value outcomes over outputs.”

Outcomes include “measurements”

https://medium.com/@MattPLavoie/what-s-your-problem-e45b31bf08dd#.adly44bps 

Problem statement should be: (1) laser focused and (2) to the point (3) provides context (4) has a clear outcome (5) gives a sense of ownership (6) aware of business constraints

Four things a problem statement should not be: (1) provide a solution (2) assign blame (3) get too large (4) address multiple problems

1. A problem statement allows you to define assumptions with clarity and confidence. Know that the assumptions are at least in the right direction. 2. The word “Experiment” instead of build is to reinforce the permission to fail. No one gets it right on the first go. 3. Measure and Learn are pretty obvious. 4. Adapt shows that we iterate over the process while taking in what we learned. 5. Finally, we succeed by doing so.

https://wiki.fluidproject.org/display/fluid/Problem+Statements+and+Design+Goals

“Problem Statements and Design Goals help work through problem and solution definition. ”

“The problem definition should be a living document that is revisited and updated often as the problem becomes better understood. ”

“Design goals help us stay focused on what we've determined to be most important in a project.”

https://robots.thoughtbot.com/writing-effective-problem-statements 

Make it visible

Writing Effective Problem Statements

Importance of PS: “This statement provides clarity and focus for the whole life of the product. It imposes constraint, and gives us a better understanding of what it is that we’re building, and why we’re building it. Most importantly, it helps us say no.” Interesting that it focuses on saying no…

Important article: https://blog.intercom.com/product-strategy-means-saying-no/