methodatlas
Facilitation

Problem Framing Workshop

Turns group input, selection, and decision into a tangible result by collecting the starting situation, clarifying affected people and impacts, and choosing a shared working definition.

Core question
Which concrete problem, for which affected people, with which impact should be worked on next?
LowWorkshop60-120 min
Open runsheetPlan sessionStart comparison
Purpose

The method helps clarify group input, selection, and decision in a concrete way. It turns individual contributions into a visible choice. The result is captured as a problem statement, scope boundaries, and an assumption list.

How it works

The team follows the steps: collect the starting situation, clarify affected people and impacts, make assumptions and boundaries visible, formulate problem statements, and choose a shared working definition. Each step is captured visibly. At the end, a problem statement, scope boundaries, and an assumption list are available so decisions, tests, or actions can follow directly.

Visual orientation

Method sketch for a quick mental model.

Problem Framing WorkshopTurn symptoms, affected people, evidence, assumptions, and boundaries into a shared workable problem statement
Problem Framing WorkshopThe visual shows how symptoms, affected groups, and evidence are condensed through shared framing into a problem statement, scope, and success criteria.Turn a diffuse topic into an actionable problem definitionThe workshop bundles raw signals, sharpens assumptions, and delays premature solutions until a shared problem statement holds.collect raw materialsharpen togetheracceptedworking definitionSymptomswhat is observable?Affected peoplewho is this relevant for?Evidencewhich data supports it?Framingsharpen assumptions, impacts, andboundaries togetherProblem statementfor whom, what problem, why now?Scope & successdefine boundaries and success criteriaPark solution ideaskeep them, but do not let them dominate

Flow

  1. 1Collect the starting situation
  2. 2Clarify affected people and impacts
  3. 3Make assumptions and boundaries visible
  4. 4Formulate problem statements
  5. 5Choose a shared working definition

The runsheet guides execution with 4 phases, timeboxes, 6 pitfalls, and clear stop criteria.

Open runsheet

Ideal for

  • Early discovery
  • Unclear initiatives
  • Cross-functional alignment

Not good for

  • Already validated problems
  • Pure action planning
  • Acute incident response

Deep dive

In detail

Problem Framing shifts attention away from solutions and back to the question of which problem should actually be solved. The method connects observations, affected people, impacts, assumptions, and success criteria into a shared working definition. That makes different mental models visible and slows down solution-first discussion. The result is a problem statement that supports decisions on scope and the next analysis.

Facilitation

Invite people with different perspectives and do not ban early solution ideas, but keep them parked visibly. Use clear prompts such as affected people, impact, evidence, boundaries, and success. End with a formulation that the group reviews and explicitly accepts.

Output artifacts
Problem StatementScope BoundariesAssumption ListNext Analysis Questions
Tags
problem-framingfacilitationalignmentdiscovery

Sources

Problem Statements in UX Discovery - NN/Gnngroup.com
Artifact templates
Problem FrameWorksheet for problem, target audience, impact, and decision context.
markdown

problem-frame-markdown.md

Worksheet for problem, target audience, impact, and decision context.

Problem Frame

Problem statement

For whom is which problem relevant in which context?

Affected audience

Who experiences the problem, how often, and how do we notice it?

Evidence

Which data, observations, or examples support the problem?

Impact

Which costs, risks, or missed opportunities arise?

Non-goals

What are we deliberately not solving?

Next learning question

What do we need to find out next?

When to choose differently

Short decision aid for existing alternatives.

Context Canvas

Statt Problem Framing Workshop, wenn der Kontext schon eingegrenzt ist und Inputs, Outputs, Akteure sowie Grenzen sortiert werden sollen.

Opportunity Interview

Statt Problem Framing Workshop, wenn ihr Chancen und ungelöste Bedürfnisse direkt im Gespräch mit Nutzern erkunden wollt.

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