Once you have a better understanding of your subject, you can work out exactly what the problem is, and formulate it in a way that makes sense. Welcome to phase 2: Define.
To do this, go back to the notes you took during the previous phase.
Make Sense of the Information You’ve Collected
You can start by organizing the information into a few main themes.
You can combine qualitative and quantitative information if it falls under the same theme.
You should now have the "big picture."
Write up Hypotheses Based on the Pain Points Identified
Note Any Exceptions or Anything That Surprises You
Now, look at your sticky note/color-coding masterpiece to see if there are any surprises, contradictions, or even revelations!
Examples:
An unexpected anecdote
An interesting comment
A question you forgot to ask
A frustration that you sensed in someone but that wasn’t articulated
Something counterintuitive that was confirmed through field experience
Something you would never have considered
Surprises during the research phase are never bad news! They don’t mean you didn’t prepare well enough—on the contrary; they prove that you used empathy and took the information as it was given, without your preconceptions getting in the way.
Classify the Participants Into Different Categories
During your research, you no doubt noticed that your prospective users were all different, with their own opinions and habits regarding the subject.
This is not a bad thing—the “average” person doesn’t exist! It’s important to take these differences into account when developing your project, so you can make sure you meet everyone’s expectations as much as possible.
Share What You’ve Learned
It’s good to chat informally about what you’ve learned with:
Your team (if working on a project within a company).
Your friends and family (if you’re working on the project alone or on a freelance basis).
Your various networks on social media (this is called building in public).
This will help you get a clearer idea of what the problem is and can help shed light on anything you’ve missed.
If you're having a hard time doing this, try the 5 whys technique on your own first.
Use the 5 Whys Technique
To truly understand a user's needs, consider a problem by asking the question, "Why does this problem exist?" five times in a row.
This exercise will help you identify the root cause of a user's problem, which is:
what you need to act on
what your project will be based on
what you’re going to solve by developing your product or service
This technique, which was originally developed to detect problems, can also be used to detect needs.
Here's an example from the field of tourism on the subject of vacation accommodation. Suppose some people tell you that when they travel, they often opt to stay in hostels—a logical question you might then ask yourself would be:
Why do some people choose to stay in hostels?
You conduct some interviews, which reveal two answers:
It could be because:
Hotels are expensive.
Hostels have a friendlier atmosphere.
In some cases, there might only be one answer, but in this case, there are two. Let’s try the 5 whys for each of these answers:
Because hotels are expensive | Because youth hostels have a friendlier atmosphere |
Why are hotels expensive? Because hotels offer comfort. | Why is there such a friendly atmosphere in youth hostels? Because you get to meet people from all over the world. |
What makes them comfortable? Because they have private rooms. | Why do we meet people in hostels? Because there are common areas where you can eat, relax, and share unique travel experiences with others. |
Why are the rooms private? Because it offers privacy. | Why do we share experiences? Because we want to share tips, avoid tourist traps, and make our adventure feel as authentic as possible. |
Why is this important? Because we want to feel relaxed and at home. | Why is this important? Because we want to experience a country “like a local”. |
The two conclusions are similar (“feel relaxed at home”/“experience a country like a local”), but on closer inspection, there is a slight nuance that differentiates them. This observation was the inspiration behind Airbnb, the online accommodation platform.
Airbnb was invented to respond to this need—its founders understood that when traveling, people want to feel at home while at the same time having an authentic experience of being somewhere else. Some of their slogans reflect this: “Welcome home”, “Live like a local”, “Belong anywhere”, etc.
The 5 whys is a very useful technique. Try it out in your project and see what happens!
In fact, the main goal of design is to answer the question “why”.
That is, explain why people need a product—how it will improve their life, why it suits them perfectly, etc.
Rather than "how"...
i.e., how the product was made.
…or "what"
What makes up the product, what’s inside, what it looks like, what it does, etc.
Formulate the Problem in One Sentence
You should be well on the way to formulating your challenge after you’ve:
sorted through the information you gathered and discussed it with those around you to identify the most important points.
used the 5 whys technique to find the root cause of the need on which your project will be based.
To help you formulate your challenge clearly (both options are equally good):
Take a pencil and a sheet of paper and draw it out as a diagram. Don’t worry if your drawing skills aren’t quite up to snuff. It’s not a competition!
Phrase it as if you’re explaining it to a 10-year-old or an 80-year-old.
If you’re able to do this, it means you’ve fully understood the subject. If not, you’ll have to go back to phase 1 and try to gain a deeper understanding.
Let’s Recap!
Step 2 (define) allows you to build on the work you did during step 1. It gives meaning and direction to the project based on the lessons learned from the research.
Start by breaking it down into a few main themes to make sense of the information. You can also classify the people you met, observed, and interviewed into different categories or profiles. This serves as a reminder of who your project is targeting.
The next step is to formulate the problem in one sentence—i.e., the issue you’re trying to solve with your project.
To help you do this, you can discuss the subject with other people, identify the key points of the study, and try out the 5 whys technique.
Have you managed to define your problem? If so, let's move on to step 3 of the method: ideate, aka brainstorm!
