CHALLENGES

Determine the biggest obstacles

Think widely about potential problems and choose the right issues to focus upon.

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When trying to generate a valuable solution, you need to find a meaningful problem to solve so you create something people actually need, but many people don’t spend enough time questioning the challenges surrounding a project.

Why determine the biggest obstacles?

Spending time considering the challenges your project will have to navigate pays dividends. You reduce the risk of developing a solution for a problem no one really wants and instead create demand for what you make.

There are different ways to determine the biggest obstacles. You could:

  • Perform a problem-tree or root cause analysis

  • Refer to pain points you’ve identified in an existing experience

  • Run a retrospective on a similar project

  • Collect data from customer support or customer surveys

What makes a good approach? One that: 

  • Captures challenges from the perspective of many people

  • Considers multiple ways to articulate challenges

  • Allows you to discuss opportunities

  • Resists the temptation to jump into solution mode

We recommend you:

  • Start with a single challenge statement

  • List anything that currently supports a potential solution

  • List the obstacles your customer must overcome and the internal challenges that may derail your project

  • Capture potential areas of opportunity

  • Discuss your list together

  • Group related items and identify themes

What does success look like?

When What Could Be first began to explore the possibility of what we called “AI with a designer in the loop,” you can see we defined a wide range of challenges that would need to be addressed in order to be successful.

 

HOW?

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