Framing the problem you are trying to solve is a way of gaining a clearer understanding of the problem. It is a technique that helps ensure you are clear about:

• why you are doing a piece of work

• what benefits or outcomes you want

• what your solution you are aiming for

It helps you to avoid:

• focusing on a solution too soon

• missing opportunities

• wasting time and money

• developing initiatives that don’t line up with strategies

Use this template Approach to frame a problem (Home Office internal link).

There are five areas that you need to answer as a team, do not do this on your own.

The five areas to think about are:

• Why are we doing this work?

• Who are our users?

• What outcomes will users get?

• What outcomes are we looking for?

• How will me measure success?

Consider the outcomes

This also gives you a set of outcomes that you can measure your success against.

The outcomes you want to achieve also provides useful reference points which:

• helps to focus team activity

• provides opportunities for evaluation as you develop the service

When to do this

Carry these activities out as you start your product delivery work, or in early discovery.

You should also revisit this as your delivery progresses and the team learns. This can help with prioritisation, validation and decision-making.

If you are not using Agile processes

If you are not running an Agile delivery, or you have skipped the discovery phase, then it’s still useful to carry out these tasks as it helps you to fully understand the scope of your work and to know when it’s complete.

Related reading

https://www.gov.uk/service-manual/design/map-a-users-whole-problem https://www.gov.uk/service-manual/design/scoping-your-service