problem-statement

Write a user-centered problem statement using an empathy-driven framework that captures the persona, desired outcomes, barriers, root causes, and emotional impact. This structures problems from the user's perspective to align stakeholders before feature development.

The empathy framework for user problems uses the structure: "I am [persona], Trying to [outcome], But [barrier], Because [root cause], Which makes me feel [emotional impact]." This ensures you capture genuine user needs and contextual constraints.

Align stakeholders by drafting a clear, user-centered problem statement that captures the user's barriers and emotional impact. This helps engineering and design teams understand the "why" behind the product and ensures solutions address genuine needs.

Yes, clear user research and persona definition are required. You need this research to identify who is blocked, what they are trying to achieve, why it matters, and how it feels, ensuring the problem statement accurately reflects real-world constraints.

Use an empathy-driven problem statement during product discovery, prioritization, and PRD framing. It is applied before building a new feature to contextualize real-world constraints like geography or technology and secure stakeholder buy-in.

Yes, the empathy-driven framework incorporates real-world constraints like geography or technology directly into the problem statement. This ensures the articulated user problem reflects actual physical or technical barriers blocking the desired outcome.