Why should you care about the frame used to define the problem to be solved by an IT project?
A project is a unique solution to a defined problem. If you define the wrong problem, you’ll develop a solution that solves the wrong problem and might ultimately cause more issues than it solves.
Even though at the point you’re assigned to a project you may already have the identified solution in your hands, it doesn’t mean you should skip the critical steps of defining the problem, identifying all potential solutions that address the stated problem, and finding the best alternative that fits both the problem and desired outcome(s).
And when defining the problem statement for an IT initiative–be it a new application, a system enhancement, or improved infrastructure–it helps to think like Goldilocks from the children’s story The Three Bears, making the problem definition “just right”; not too narrow, but not too broad either.
To illustrate the benefits of applying this principle, consider the first exercise of the course Understanding the Problem, where participants are asked to translate a couple of “solution ideas” into a problem to be solved using the template “How can we [achieve a desired outcome]?”.
Imagine that you’re in charge of the requirements for an online store. A business stakeholder asks you to specify the requirements for a new feature: an email alert to be sent to customers when a sold-out product they are interested in buying is back in stock.
Through strategic questioning, you learn that the idea is to use the email alert as a tool to recover revenue lost due to inventory shortages.
MAKING THE PROBLEM DEFINITION “TOO NARROW”
A “too narrow” frame would summarize the problem as something like,
How can we quickly and efficiently notify customers when a sold-out product they wish to buy is back in stock?
About 70% of the participants of the course choose a problem definition like that. While this frame has the benefit of opening up the solution space beyond email alerts, it still gives the problem a a frame that is too narrow (more on that below).
And no one should feel ashamed of starting to define a problem from a “too narrow” frame. Despite all efforts, I too catch myself doing that in my projects from time to time.
The reason so many of us make this mistake is that avoiding a narrow frame requires identifying and challenging the perceived limitations or rules we are dealing it, which isn’t always easy to do. I’ll show how that works in a moment, but let’s look at the other extreme of the spectrum first.
USING A FRAME THAT’S “TOO BROAD”
More rare, but equally important to recognize, is the issue of using too broad a frame to define the problem. This typically happens when project objectives are conflated with business objectives. Consider the business objective “recover revenue lost due to a depleted inventory”. Defining your problem as How can we recover revenue lost due to a depleted inventory? is inappropriate for an IT project supporting this business objective because no technology-based solution, alone, will be able to deliver the desired outcome.
Allowing customers to opt in to receive alerts, prompting the customer to buy now and receive later, creating control mechanisms to ensure items are reordered when they reach a low inventory threshold—those are things that can contribute to the stated business objective and that technology can enable. But to actually treat “revenue recovery” as the mission of an IT project creates a disconnect between the problem statement and the outcomes the project is capable of delivering, making it impossible for the team to claim victory when the project ends.
Another example of frame that is too wide, submitted by a course participant:
How can we help customers satisfy their need when a product they want is out-of-stock?
With this kind of frame, we’re vastly expanding the solution space compared to the original problem definition. And this could be a valuable thing to do if we’re operating from the perspective of solving the customer problem even if it doesn’t help recover revenue.
With the problem framed this way, potential solutions might include keeping a list of other online stores that carry the same product to recommend to customers as alternative suppliers. It’s possible that using this wider lens to shift the focus from solving the immediate business problem (recover revenue) to solving the customer problem (help them get the product they want) the business could generate more value in the long run. For example, if customers become so grateful for the links to other sellers that they continue to treat the online store as their first stop in future purchases, this could bring high-potential revenue opportunities. But as we’ll see below, for this kind of problem definition to be considered valid, we’d have to confirm the related assumptions first.
ARRIVING AT A PROBLEM DEFINITION THAT’S “JUST RIGHT”
A good technique to help us arrive at a “just right” problem definition is to challenge the perceived limitations or rules associated with our initial frame. Ask, “What are all of the assumptions we’re using here?”. Make a list and then think about what would need to be true for them to be right.
In our example, if we started by defining the problem as How can we notify customers via email when a sold-out product they want becomes available? as step toward recovering revenue lost due to lack of inventory, some of the assumptions would be:
- At least a percentage of customers turned away due to a depleted inventory will be willing and able to make the purchase at a later date.
- Among all possible alternatives we have to increase the likelihood of these customers purchasing later, notifying them via email when the inventory is replenished has been identified as the optimal solution.
In order to confirm assumption #1, we’d need to establish that at least some of the customers who came to the online store, found an item he liked, realized it’s out-of-stock, and left without buying anything, could end buying the item later if notified when the inventory is replenished. That covers “willingness to buy later”. We’d also need to validate that that the opportunity would exist to buy later–meaning the online store typically has the ability to replenish depleted inventory.
In order to confirm assumption #2, we’d need evidence that the business already explored a broader problem statement for revenue recovery, and determined that email notification is the best alternative to make it possible. Without evidence that this investigation already happened, we’d have a firm indication that we haven’t arrived at a “just right” problem definition yet.
Let’s consider the “too broad” alternative:
How can we help customers satisfy their need when a product they want is out-of-stock?
As previously mentioned, framing the problem like that widens the solution space to include options that don’t necessarily contribute to recovering lost revenue. Here, we can easily identify the following assumption:
- The business intent is to help customers satisfy their need in case of depleted inventory even if it doesn’t translate into short-term revenue recovery.
While a business decision could make this assumption true (e.g., a decision-maker resolved to shift the focus from short-term revenue to long-term customer satisfaction and loyalty), this is not a valid statement in light of the stated objective of helping recover revenue lost due to inventory shortages.
Next we’d try to adjust the problem definition again. Here are two suggestions from participants of the course:
How can we encourage customers to return and purchase items that were sold-out in a previous visit?
or
How can we increase the likelihood that a customer interested in a sold-out product will make the purchase once the product is back in stock?
The assumptions here include:
- The business intent is to recover revenue lost due to an inventory shortage (i.e., we’re not trying to prevent inventory shortage at this point).
- At least a percentage of customers who were turned away because of an inventory shortage will be willing and able to make the purchase at a later date.
If we don’t find any fault with the identified assumptions, we can move forward with confidence that we’ve arrived at a good problem statement to work from. Note how using this frame also expands the solution space to include:
- Any form of notification (email, text, voice, browser alert) to let the customer know when the product is back in stock.
- A mechanism to allow the customer to add the sold-out product to their shopping cart right away and provide a payment method with the understanding that it will only be charged when the product is available and ready to be shipped.
Alternatives to prevent inventory shortage from happening in the first place, like automatically reordering the product or sending an alert to the inventory manager when an item reached a low inventory threshold, are a excluded from the solution space based on how we defined the problem. This makes it easier to look for a variety of creative solution ideas that fit both the problem and desired outcomes without veering away from the reality of the situation.
Armed with a valid problem statement and list of potential solutions, you can now proceed with identifying the best solution to the defined problem and the desired outcomes, and defining the right mission statement for your project.
This is one of the key ways business analysts help optimize organizational performance–by testing and validating projects before they move forward. In most organizations, you will have the opportunity to clarify and provide additional information to change the project parameters so that you and the project can be successful. And even if you have zero leverage to get the project modified, by going through all these steps you’ll at least know what you’re up against and how close or far the assigned project is from reality.
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Understanding the Problem: A Key Step to Being a Successful Problem-Solver
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- This self-study course allows you to fit the lessons into your already busy life and make progress at your own pace. In this limited-edition version, as a bonus you can still ask questions and receive customized feedback from Adriana Beal, in addition to having access to solution keys and detailed feedback for typical mistakes course participants make. This feedback loop is where the magic happens — as you can see in the testimonials on the course page, the ability to reflect upon your work and identify where you could have improved your problem statements is the secret to becoming a more effective problem solver.