Purpose
The method helps clarify customer problems, solution ideas, and evidence concretely. It separates problem, assumption, solution, and evidence. The result is captured as Problem Evidence, Risk Notes, and Customer Segments.
Product Discovery
Problem Interview
Clarifies customer problems, solution ideas, and evidence by framing problem hypotheses, recruiting the target group, and assessing problem risk.
Is the assumed problem real, frequent and painful enough for the target person to justify solution investment?
MediumWorkshop + async30-60 min je Interview
How it works
The team follows the steps: frame problem hypotheses, recruit the target group, ask about past situations, assess pain and frequency, and evaluate problem risk. Each step is captured visibly. At the end, Problem Evidence, Risk Notes, and Customer Segments are available so decisions, tests, or actions can follow directly.
Visual orientation
Method sketch for a quick mental model.
Flow
- 1Frame problem hypotheses
- 2Recruit the target group
- 3Ask about past situations
- 4Assess pain and frequency
- 5Evaluate problem risk
The runsheet guides execution with 5 phases, timeboxes, 5 pitfalls, and clear stop criteria.
Open runsheetIdeal for
- Early Discovery
- Startup Validation
- Problem Framing
Not good for
- Feature usability tests
- Customers without relevant experience
Deep dive
In detail
Problem Interview follows a clear working logic: frame problem hypotheses, recruit the target group, ask about past situations, assess pain and frequency, and evaluate problem risk. This turns the method into a visible thinking process rather than only a conversation. Participants move step by step from raw material, observations, or options toward a shared structure. The result is Problem Evidence, Risk Notes, and Customer Segments that make decisions, learning, or further planning actionable.
Facilitation
Prepare a clear guiding question, the right information, and a visible workspace. Plan about 30-60 min per interview with 5-12 interviews and use the format either in a workshop or asynchronously. The facilitation needs noticeable structure and preparation; short timeboxes, visible intermediate results, and a parking lot for open questions help.
Output artifacts
Problem EvidenceRisk NotesCustomer Segments
Artifact templates
Problem Interview Working TemplateCompact working template for Problem Interview with context, input, output artifacts, and next step.markdown
Problem Interview Working TemplateCompact working template for Problem Interview with context, input, output artifacts, and next step.
markdownproblem-interview-working-template.md
Compact working template for Problem Interview with context, input, output artifacts, and next step.
Problem Interview Working Template
Goal
Validates whether a suspected problem is real, important, and frequent enough.
Context
When and for what do we use this method?
Input
Which data, observations, decisions, or materials are available?
Execution
Short notes along the runsheet.
Output artifacts
- Problem Evidence:
- Risk Notes:
- Customer Segments:
Assumptions and open questions
- ...
Decision / Next step
Owner, date, and success signal.
When to choose differently
Short decision aid for existing alternatives.
Opportunity Interview
Statt Problem Interview, wenn du mit Opportunity Interview Bedürfnisse und Chancen vor der Lösungssuche explorieren willst.
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Statt Problem Interview, wenn du mit Opportunity Interview Bedürfnisse und Chancen vor der Lösungssuche explorieren willst.
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