Problem Statements

Key Points:

Good Problem statements require data. They should be specific as to what exactly is happening, where it is happening, over what time period it is happening, and what is the business result or impact of this problem.

Answering these 4 questions will help you create a specific problem statement:

Question

Example

What is the specific problem?
Where is it happening?
When was the specific problem observed or measured?
What is the result of this problem?

30% of phone calls are not answered in the desired timeframe of 45 seconds.
Z company call center in Chicago.
January-March 2019
Customers are complaining of long waits to talk with staff.

Good problem statement example:

In the 1st quarter of 2019, 30% of the phone calls to Z's call center were not being answered within 45 seconds. This results in customer complaints and dissatisfaction.

Vague problem statement example:

Lots of our customers are complaining that they wait too long on the phone.

Tips for writing a good problem statement:

Do

Use a full sentence
Quantify the problem condition in terms of the business plan of the company and/or workplace (dolalrs, performance, safety, reliability, person-hours).
State a specific time period during which the problem condition has occured.
Include a benchmark or other comparative value.
Clearly answer the question: Why is this a problem? What is the business impact?

Dont

Express the problem as a failure to meet a target (we missed our target of...)
State an opinion (I think the problem is...)
Attempt to analyze the problem (the problem is due to..)
Embed a solution (we don't have a system to...)

A problem well-stated is a problem half-solved.

Search form

You are here