The big idea: A problem statement says WHO has the problem, WHAT they need to be able to do, and WHY — with evidence.
It must not name a solution. The moment it does, every idea that follows is a variation of one idea.
The weak version first, then the three clauses built one at a time. Watch the solution disappear from the sentence.
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| Clause | What it must do | On the ward project |
|---|---|---|
| WHO | Name a group somebody else could go and recruit | Patients confined to bed who feed and drink unaided |
| NEED A WAY TO | State an outcome, never a product | reach food and drink without twisting or leaving the bed |
| BECAUSE | Give the insight from research, with its evidence | the current table tips at 4 kg placed 80 mm from the edge, and 9 of 12 patients twisted sideways to reach it |
Weak
- "I will design a better bedside table."
- Names the solution before anything is analysed
- "Better" cannot be measured, so success can never be shown
- "Patients" is not a group you could recruit
Strong
- "Patients confined to bed who feed unaided need a way to reach food and drink without twisting, because the current table tips at 4 kg placed 80 mm from the edge."
- Names an outcome, so a cantilever, a swinging arm and an over-bed rail are all still possible
- Carries its own evidence
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Three checks before you go on
Could somebody else recruit your users?
If not, the WHO clause is a category. "Patients confined to bed who feed unaided" can be found on a ward this afternoon.
Does it name an outcome, not a product?
Cross out every noun that is a thing you could buy. If the sentence stops making sense, the solution is inside it.
Is the BECAUSE something you found out?
It should carry a number or an observation. An assumption in the because clause infects everything downstream.
Would three very different ideas all satisfy it?
If only one kind of object could, the statement is too narrow, and ideation has already been decided for you.
It also tells you when you have finished: A problem statement is the thing the final evaluation is judged against.
If you cannot say, at the end, whether patients can now reach food and drink without twisting, the statement was never specific enough to be useful.
How this is tested — writing a problem statement that defines design intentions without naming a solution. It comes up two ways:
Paper 1 — multiple choice
- Identify the fault in a given problem statement.
- Pick the statement that leaves solutions open.
Paper 2 — analysing a product
- Write a problem statement for a named product and context.
- Explain why naming a solution in the statement limits the project.
The trap: Writing "I will design a…". That is a project intention, not a problem statement, and it decides the answer before the analysis has happened.
Research on a ward found that 9 of 12 bed-bound patients twisted sideways to reach a jug, that the table tips at 4 kg placed 80 mm from the edge, and that patients will not use the call button for a drink. Construct a problem statement and explain each clause.
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