WOW. I just found an older thread last night, while researching the topic of “problem statements” and found this nugget! Thanks to rkuchinsky for participating in the discussion and offering a wealth of information about the subject. Thank you!!! Sorry I didn’t find it earlier as I was looking in the wrong place.
This part in particular was the MOST helpful:
- _Define your problem. You need a solid problem statement. This can come from research. Read articles, interview kids, parents and teachers, find out what issues currently exist in the realm of kids carrying things to school. The problem may be how to better carry a large amount of stuff. The problem may be how to protect the stuff they have from damage. The problem may be how to store the stuff when at school safely? The problem may be carrying food that doesn’t go bad or get squished. Find a concrete problem and define it in a succinct yet open way. It helps to use open ended definitions. For example, it is not about designing a backpack per se, but maybe a “carrying device”. That will allow more freedom and prevent you from defining the solution in your problem statement. In that example, maybe the solution is not a backpack, but a hat with straps, a wheelbarrow, a trolley, a coat with built in pockets, etc.
\ - Do useful research. useful research is based on the scientific method of defining a problem, setting up a hypothesis and gathering research to prove or disprove a hypothesis or get more information to define the problem. Avoid open ended surveys that ask a bunch of random info. It won’t help and you will just get tons of data that has no meaning.
\ - Explore solutions that are based on your problem and research. It should all follow logically. Problem is A, research shows B, therefore a solution X solves A by doing/avoiding/preventing/assisting B._