Die Gruppe prüft, welche Beschreibung des Problems belastbar ist, welche Annahmen darin stecken und welche Sichtweise das Feld unnötig verengt. Daraus entsteht ein präziserer Rahmen, der spätere Ideen und Entscheidungen deutlich besser trägt.

1. 1

   Evidence

   Evidence view

   

   Goal

   Evidence view: Gather observations, data, and quotes; separate facts, interpretations, and solutions.

   Inputs for this step

   • Gather the decision trigger, available evidence, and hard constraints; park solution ideas initially.
   • Research and operations evidence, stakeholder and context map, assumption log, problem frame, and How Might We question

   Actions

   • Gather observations, data, and quotes; separate facts, interpretations, and solutions.

   Output

   Evidence view

   Gather observations, data, and quotes; separate facts, interpretations, and solutions.

   Quality check

   Can every finding be traced to a source or case?

   Pitfall

   Workshop opinions replace user and operational evidence. Mark every statement as observation, interpretation, or hypothesis.

   Timing: 20–30 minutes

2. 2

   Actors

   Actor context

   

   Goal

   Actor context: Describe affected people, context, desired progress, and current obstacles concretely.

   Inputs for this step

   • Evidence view

   Actions

   • Describe affected people, context, desired progress, and current obstacles concretely.

   Output

   Actor context

   Describe affected people, context, desired progress, and current obstacles concretely.

   Quality check

   Is a concrete group in a situation named rather than a market segment?

   Pitfall

   All users are treated as one audience. Bound context and variation; create separate frames for different situations.

   Timing: 15–25 minutes

3. 3

   Impact

   Problem core

   

   Goal

   Problem core: State undesired outcome, significance, and observable impact without presuming cause or solution.

   Inputs for this step

   • Actor context

   Actions

   • State undesired outcome, significance, and observable impact without presuming cause or solution.

   Output

   Problem core

   State undesired outcome, significance, and observable impact without presuming cause or solution.

   Quality check

   Does it describe outcome and impact rather than a symptom label or solution wish?

   Pitfall

   We need a new search becomes the problem. Remove the solution and state observed obstacle plus consequence.

   Timing: 15–25 minutes

4. 4

   Boundary

   Scope

   

   Goal

   Scope: Negotiate in-scope, out-of-scope, constraints, assumptions, and knowledge gaps.

   Inputs for this step

   • Problem core

   Actions

   • Negotiate in-scope, out-of-scope, constraints, assumptions, and knowledge gaps.

   Output

   Scope

   Negotiate in-scope, out-of-scope, constraints, assumptions, and knowledge gaps.

   Quality check

   Are boundary and exclusions relevant and traceable?

   Pitfall

   Scope expands to the whole service process. Bound the smallest meaningful decision space and track dependencies separately.

   Timing: 15–25 minutes

5. 5

   Question

   Working question

   

   Goal

   Working question: Translate the frame into an open How Might We question and test evidence, solution openness, and agency.

   Inputs for this step

   • Scope

   Actions

   • Translate the frame into an open How Might We question and test evidence, solution openness, and agency.

   Output

   Working question

   Translate the frame into an open How Might We question and test evidence, solution openness, and agency.

   Quality check

   Does it permit several paths while staying with the evidenced need?

   Pitfall

   The question already says through AI search. Remove mechanism and return to actor, progress, and context.

   Timing: 15–25 minutes