problem-statement v1.1.0A

Immutable. This exact content never changes and is served at /api/v1/blob/d2981c1413469c86.

---
name: problem-statement
description: >-
  Write a user-centered problem statement with who is blocked, what they are trying to do,
  why it matters, and how it feels. Use when framing discovery, prioritization, or a PRD.
slug: problem-statement
version: 1.1.0
displayName: problem-statement
---

# Problem Statement

## Purpose
Articulate a problem from the user's perspective using an empathy-driven framework that captures who they are, what they're trying to do, what's blocking them, why, and how it makes them feel. Use this to align stakeholders on the problem before jumping to solutions, and to frame product work around user outcomes rather than feature requests.

This is not a requirements doc—it's a human-centered problem narrative that ensures you're solving a problem worth solving.

## Input

**Works best with:** Who the user is and what they're struggling to do.
**Also useful:** What's blocking them, why it matters, how it feels, and supporting evidence.

Anything supplied with the invocation itself — text after the skill name, a pasted context dump, or an appended `ARGUMENTS:` line — counts as answers already given. Use it and skip whatever it covers; don't re-ask.

**Arriving empty-handed? That works too.** The skill asks for the user and their goal first — a problem statement without a specific 'who' is a solution looking for cover.

**Example invocation:** `Problem statement: clinic schedulers double-book exam rooms because the calendar doesn't show equipment availability.`

## Key Concepts

### The Problem Framing Framework
Based on Jobs-to-be-Done and empathy mapping, the framework structures problems as:

**Problem Framing Narrative:**
- **I am:** [Describe the persona experiencing the problem]
- **Trying to:** [Desired outcomes the persona cares about]
- **But:** [Barriers preventing the outcomes]
- **Because:** [Root cause of the problem]
- **Which makes me feel:** [Emotional impact]

**Context & Constraints:**
- [Geographic, technological, time-based, demographic factors]

**Final Problem Statement:**
- [Single, concise, empathetic summary]

### Why This Structure Works
- **Persona-centric:** Forces you to see the problem through the user's eyes
- **Outcome-focused:** "Trying to" emphasizes desired results, not tasks
- **Root cause analysis:** "Because" pushes past symptoms to underlying issues
- **Emotional validation:** "Makes me feel" humanizes the problem and builds empathy
- **Contextual:** Constraints acknowledge real-world limitations

### Anti-Patterns (What This Is NOT)
- **Not a solution in disguise:** "The problem is we lack AI-powered analytics" = sneaking in a solution
- **Not a business problem:** "Our revenue is down" isn't a user problem (it's a symptom)
- **Not a feature request:** "Users need a dashboard" isn't a problem (what are they trying to do?)
- **Not generic:** "Users want better UX" is too vague to be actionable

### When to Use This
- Kicking off discovery or problem validation work
- Aligning stakeholders before solutioning
- Socializing a problem with engineering, design, or exec teams
- When you have feature requests but unclear underlying problems
- Pitching why a problem is worth solving

### When NOT to Use This
- When you haven't done any user research yet (don't guess—interview first)
- For internal operational problems (this is for user-facing problems)
- As a substitute for a PRD (this frames the problem; PRD defines the solution)

---

## Application

Use `template.md` for the full fill-in structure.

### Step 1: Gather User Context
Before drafting, ensure you have:
- **User interviews or research:** Direct quotes, observed behaviors, pain points
- **Jobs-to-be-Done insights:** What users are "hiring" your product to do (reference [`jobs-to-be-done`](../jobs-to-be-done/SKILL.md))
- **Persona clarity:** Who specifically experiences this problem (reference [`proto-persona`](../proto-persona/SKILL.md))
- **Constraints data:** Geographic, tech, time, demographic limitations

**If missing context:** Run discovery interviews, contextual inquiries, or user shadowing. Don't fabricate problems.

---

### Step 2: Draft the Problem Framing Narrative

Fill in the template from the persona's point of view:

```markdown
## Problem Framing Narrative

**I am:** [Describe the key persona, highlighting 3-4 key characteristics]
- [Key pain point or characteristic 1]
- [Key pain point or characteristic 2]
- [Key pain point or characteristic 3]

**Trying to:**
- [Single sentence listing the desired outcomes the persona cares most about]

**But:**
- [Describe the barriers preventing the persona from achieving outcomes]
- [Job-to-be-done or outcome obstruction 1]
- [Job-to-be-done or outcome obstruction 2]
- [Job-to-be-done or outcome obstruction 3]

**Because:**
- [Describe the root cause empathetically]

**Which makes me feel:**
- [Describe the emotions from the persona's perspective]
```

**Quality checks:**
- **"I am" specificity:** Can you picture this person? Or is it generic ("busy professionals")?
- **"Trying to" clarity:** Is this an outcome (measurable) or a task (activity)?
- **"But" depth:** Are these real barriers or just inconveniences?
- **"Because" honesty:** Is this the root cause or just a symptom?
- **"Makes me feel" authenticity:** Do these emotions come from research or assumptions?

---

### Step 3: Document Context & Constraints

```markdown
## Context & Constraints

- [Enumerate geographic, technological, time-based, or demographic factors]
- [e.g., "Must work offline in rural areas with limited connectivity"]
- [e.g., "Used by non-technical users unfamiliar with complex software"]
- [e.g., "Time-sensitive: decisions must be made within 24 hours"]
```

**Quality checks:**
- **Relevance:** Do these constraints directly impact the problem?
- **Specificity:** Are they concrete enough to inform design decisions?

---

### Step 4: Craft the Final Problem Statement

Synthesize the narrative into one powerful sentence:

```markdown
## Final Problem Statement

[Single, concise statement that provides a powerful and empathetic summary]
```

**Formula:** `[Persona] needs a way to [desired outcome] because [root cause], which currently [emotional/practical impact].`

**Example:** "Enterprise IT admins need a way to provision user accounts in under 5 minutes because current processes take 2+ hours with manual approvals, which causes project delays and frustrated end-users."

**Quality checks:**
- **One sentence:** If it requires multiple sentences, the problem isn't crisp yet
- **Measurable:** Can you tell if you've solved it?
- **Empathetic:** Does it resonate emotionally?
- **Shareable:** Could you say this in a meeting and have stakeholders nod?

---

### Step 5: Validate and Socialize

- **Test with users:** Read it aloud to people who experience the problem. Do they say "Yes, exactly!"?
- **Share with stakeholders:** Product, engineering, design, exec. Does it align everyone?
- **Iterate based on feedback:** If anyone says "I don't think that's the real problem," dig deeper.

---

## Examples

See `examples/sample.md` for full examples (good and bad problem statements).

Mini example excerpt:

```markdown
**I am:** A software developer on a distributed team
**Trying to:** Communicate in real-time with my team without losing context
**But:** Email is too slow and IM is ephemeral
**Because:** No tool combines real-time chat with searchable history
**Which makes me feel:** Frustrated and disconnected
```

---

## Common Pitfalls

### Pitfall 1: Solution Smuggling
**Symptom:** "The problem is we don't have [specific feature]"

**Consequence:** You've predetermined the solution without validating the problem.

**Fix:** Reframe around the user's desired outcome, not the feature. Ask "What are they trying to achieve?"

---

### Pitfall 2: Business Problem Disguised as User Problem
**Symptom:** "Users want to increase our revenue" or "The problem is our churn rate"

**Consequence:** These are company problems, not user problems. Users don't care about your metrics.

**Fix:** Dig into *why* users churn or *what* would make them spend more. Frame it from their perspective.

---

### Pitfall 3: Generic Personas
**Symptom:** "I am a busy professional trying to be more productive"

**Consequence:** Too broad to be actionable. Every product claims to help "busy professionals."

**Fix:** Get specific. "I am a sales rep managing 50+ leads manually in spreadsheets, trying to prioritize follow-ups without missing high-value opportunities."

---

### Pitfall 4: Symptom Instead of Root Cause
**Symptom:** "Because the UI is confusing"

**Consequence:** You're describing a symptom, not the underlying issue.

**Fix:** Ask "Why is the UI confusing?" Keep asking "why" until you hit the root cause (e.g., "Because users have no mental model for how the system works").

---

### Pitfall 5: Fabricated Emotions
**Symptom:** "Which makes me feel empowered and delighted"

**Consequence:** These sound like marketing copy, not real user emotions.

**Fix:** Use actual quotes from user interviews. Real emotions: "frustrated," "overwhelmed," "anxious," "stuck."

---

## References

### Related Skills
- [`jobs-to-be-done`](../jobs-to-be-done/SKILL.md) — Informs the "Trying to" and "But" sections
- [`proto-persona`](../proto-persona/SKILL.md) — Defines the "I am" persona
- [`positioning-statement`](../positioning-statement/SKILL.md) — Problem statement informs positioning
- User stories — Problem statement guides story prioritization

### External Frameworks
- Clayton Christensen, *Jobs to Be Done* — Origin of outcome-focused problem framing
- Osterwalder & Pigneur, *Value Proposition Canvas* — Customer pains/gains/jobs
- Dave Gray, *Empathy Mapping* — Emotional framing techniques

### Dean's Work
- [Link to relevant Dean Peters' Substack articles if applicable]

### Provenance
- Adapted from `prompts/framing-the-problem-statement.md` in the `https://github.com/deanpeters/product-manager-prompts` repo.

---

## Failure Exits & Edge Cases

- **No user research at all:** stop before drafting. Exit: "run discovery interviews first" (see When NOT to Use). Do not fabricate quotes or emotions — that is Pitfall 5 in its worst form.
- **Input too scattered to draft:** do not force a narrative from noise. Reply: "Please reorganize — I need (1) who is blocked, (2) what they try to do, (3) what stops them." Then re-check.
- **Internal/operational problem framed as user problem:** if the "user" is the company itself (revenue, churn, costs), say so explicitly and redirect — this skill is for user-facing problems only.
- **Missing files:** `template.md` or `examples/` referenced but absent → use the inline templates in Steps 2–4 of this document.

## FAQ

**One user or a segment?** One specific persona per statement. If two personas share the statement, write two statements — "I am" fails quality check when it's plural.

**Where does the "Because" come from?** From root-cause analysis on real evidence (interviews, logs, support tickets) — never from the room's best guess. If you can't cite a source, mark it `[assumed]`.

**Can I reuse this directly in a PRD?** As the problem-framing section, yes. The PRD still owns requirements and solution definition (see When NOT to Use).

**Is "makes me feel" mandatory?** Yes — it's the empathy check, but only with real emotions from research, not marketing adjectives.

## 快速参考（中文速览）

- **五段叙事**：**I am**（具体到能想象其人）→ **Trying to**（想要的结果，不是任务）→ **But**（真实障碍）→ **Because**（根因，连续追问 why）→ **Which makes me feel**（访谈里的真实情绪）。
- **最短用法**：一句话给出"谁被卡住＋想做什么"即可开始；信息混乱时会被要求重新组织这三件事。
- **完成标准**：最终问题陈述一句话、可判定是否解决、当事人听完说"对，就是这样"。

**Skill type:** Component
**Suggested filename:** `problem-statement.md`
**Suggested placement:** `/skills/components/`
**Dependencies:** References [`jobs-to-be-done`](../jobs-to-be-done/SKILL.md), [`proto-persona`](../proto-persona/SKILL.md)