Finding a problem to solve
Identifying and solving the right problem is at the heart of successful digital product management. Products thrive not because they exist but because they address a specific need or challenge for their target audience. Understanding where to find problems, how to evaluate them, and who they impact is essential for developing meaningful solutions.
This post explores sources for identifying problems, techniques for evaluating them, and the role of personas in ensuring that the chosen problem aligns with user needs and business goals.
Where to Find Problems to Solve
Problems can emerge from a variety of sources. By actively engaging with these channels, product managers can uncover opportunities to create value.
1. Customers
Existing customers are a goldmine of insights. They have firsthand experience with your product or a similar solution and can articulate pain points, unmet needs, or desired improvements.
How to Engage
• Conduct interviews or surveys to gather qualitative insights.
• Analyze support tickets or feedback forms for recurring themes.
2. Prospects
Potential customers offer a fresh perspective, often highlighting barriers to adoption or gaps in the current market. Their input can inform improvements that attract new users.
How to Engage
• Participate in sales calls to understand objections or hesitations.
• Gather input during free trials or demo sessions.
3. Internal Teams
Teams that regularly interact with customers—such as customer support, sales, or account management—are valuable sources of problem identification. They hear feedback directly and often recognize patterns.
How to Engage
• Hold regular syncs with internal teams to gather insights.
• Use customer journey maps to link internal observations with customer pain points.
4. Competitors
Analyzing competitors can uncover opportunities to differentiate your product. Competitor reviews, features, and customer complaints can highlight problems worth addressing.
How to Engage
• Perform SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analyses on competitors.
• Monitor competitor forums, social media, or review sites.
5. Analysts
Industry analysts provide macro-level insights into market trends, emerging technologies, and customer expectations, helping product managers identify high-level opportunities.
How to Engage
• Review industry reports or participate in analyst briefings.
• Use insights to anticipate future trends or validate existing ideas.
Selecting a Problem to Solve
Not every problem is worth solving, and evaluating which ones to pursue requires a systematic approach. A problem scorecard can help prioritize issues based on their potential impact and feasibility.
Criteria for Evaluating Problems
When using a scorecard, consider the following questions:
• Severity: How significant is this problem for the target audience?
• Frequency: How often does the problem occur?
• Impact: What is the potential business or customer impact of solving this problem?
• Feasibility: Do we have the resources, technical ability, and time to solve it?
• Alignment: Does solving this problem align with the company’s goals and strategy?
Understanding Personas: Who Has This Problem?
Personas are composite profiles of the individuals impacted by the problem you’re solving. They bring target markets and segmentation data to life, keeping the customer at the center of the development process.
Why Personas Matter
Personas help product managers:
• Keep the focus on real customer needs.
• Provide context by illustrating behaviors, motivations, and pain points.
• Align teams around a shared understanding of the target audience.
Types of Personas
• Users: Directly interact with the product.
• Financial Decision Makers: Influence purchasing decisions based on cost and ROI.
• Technical Decision Makers: Evaluate products for technical compatibility and feasibility.
• Influencers: Indirectly shape decisions by offering opinions or recommendations.
Digital product managers tend to focus on user personas, while marketing and sales often prioritize decision-makers and influencers.
Proto-Personas
A proto-persona is a starting point for understanding potential users. It is unvalidated and based on assumptions rather than hard data. Over time, proto-personas can evolve into fully developed personas through qualitative and quantitative research.
Example Proto-Persona
• Name: Tech-Savvy Tina
• Role: Mid-level IT Manager
• Needs: Simplified tools for managing teams remotely.
• Pain Points: Current software lacks intuitive interfaces and robust reporting features.
Bringing It All Together: The Problem-Persona Fit
Identifying and selecting a problem isn’t just about feasibility or business impact—it’s also about ensuring that the problem resonates with a specific persona. This connection ensures that your solution will be meaningful, valuable, and likely to succeed.
Steps to Align Problems with Personas
1. Define the problem clearly, using user language.
2. Map the problem to specific personas, outlining how it impacts their daily activities.
3. Validate the problem and personas through user interviews, surveys, and real-world data.
4. Adjust the scope of the problem based on persona feedback.
Conclusion
Finding the right problem to solve is the cornerstone of effective digital product management. By leveraging diverse sources of insights, evaluating problems systematically, and keeping the customer at the center through personas, product managers can ensure their solutions deliver meaningful value. While not every problem is worth solving, the ones that align with user needs, business goals, and market opportunities can set the stage for a successful product.