From customer problem to solution concept in 6 easy steps
This is the fifth article of our series.
Nomad’s Land is a 2-month experimental entrepreneurship boot camp in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The goal is to reach Problem/Solution fit on a product built from scratch. We just finished the first phase of this project where we identified a painful enough problem. If you want to learn more about our methodology and learnings, check the previous articles.
We are entering the second stage of our methodology — the Solution Interview. Now that we have a validated hypothesis, the goal is to define the strategy and vision of the future product.
The first step of the Solution Interview stage is to come up with the solution concept. We call this step Ideate. It is the focus of this article.
The second step is called Design. Here the objective is to test the solution with a “demo” — before building the actual product. It will ensure we don’t spend energy, time and money on the wrong solution. We will be detailing all of it in our next article.
Introduction
Our ideation process follows 6 steps. It should take at most one day to go through.
We use the Jobs-to-be-Done Theory (JTBD) as a framework to help us better frame our customer needs. If you are not familiar with JTBD, I highly recommend you to read one (or all!) of the following books:
- When Coffee & Kale Compete by Alan Klement
- Jobs to be Done: Theory to Practice by Anthony W. Ulwick
- Intercom on Jobs-to-be-Done by Intercom
They are all available for free, so no excuse for not starting right now 😉.
Even though some ideas from Alan Klement can be quite controversial, we are going to use his point of view here. Ulwick’s Outcome Driven-Innovation (ODI) process is not suited for this project.
Just bear in mind there are two different interpretations of JTBD:
- Jobs-As-Progress: a theory promoted by Alan Klement, Clayton Christensen, and Bob Moesta.
- Jobs-As-Activities: an ideology and typology promoted by Anthony
Ulwick.
If you would like to understand better the differences between the two models you can read Alan Klement’s article about it.
We prefer the Jobs-As-Progress approach, so we will be referring to the following definition of Job to be Done:
A Job to be Done is the process a consumer goes through whenever she aims to transform her existing life-situation into a preferred one but cannot because constraints are stopping her — Alan Klement
We start with the validated hypotheses from the previous step (Problem Validation) to form ideas about what the solution should be and which medium it should use (website, mobile app, chatbot).
STEP 1 — Problem statement
First, we need to clarify a few things about our validated hypotheses to think in terms of JTBD (1) who is the end user affected by the problem, (2) what is the issue, (3) when/where does it need to be fixed, (4) why is it essential we fix the problem.
It is called a problem statement. We created the following template. The most important is to understand the problem before moving to the next steps.
What: We are solving the problem of __________
Who: that affects __________
When/where: when they are (activity/location) __________
Why: because __________.
STEP 2 — Push & Pull
Secondly, we need to think about our customer pushes and pulls. It will explain the reasons why we sometimes aim to transform our existing life-situation into a preferred one.
No one wakes up in the morning and decides to buy a new computer. There is always a sequence of events influencing the buying decision — or generally speaking the act of change. Those events fall into two categories: Push and Pull.
Push
A push occurs when an event forces us to shift from a happy to an unhappy state. Push is the engine of motivation toward progress. It can be internal (when you don’t like how things currently are) or external (when you have no power over it).
Internal: If I think I gained some weight recently, I am pushed to exercise.
External: If my computer is slow because it is old, I have a push to buy a new one.
Pull
A pull is an attraction toward a new way that we perceive as better than the current solution. There are two sides of it:
- An idea of a better life/self-improvement
When we buy a product, we do it because it will simplify our lives. Innovation is continuous, and so there are always new solutions to our problems.
“If I get a new computer, I will be more productive at work and feel less stressed.”
- A preference for a solution
Many products that provide similar benefits are competing against each other. It is because customers are in different contexts when they are comparing them. The same Push does not influence them. As context evolves, people will prefer different solution over time.
“I used to have a netbook but now that I spend the whole day on the computer, I prefer bigger screens.”
There is no demand — and therefore no JTBD — unless push and pull work
together. A powerful step in understanding customer motivation is to study and appreciate the interdependencies between push and pull. They need each other. I might be attracted to the idea of owning an electric car from Tesla, but I won’t buy one unless I need a car. I have no push. Likewise, unless an electric car comes along that is attractive to me — it generates pull — I will accept that owning a car with an internal combustion engine is “just the way things are”. — Alan Klement
Listing product pushes and pulls, will help understand from where demand is coming.
To better understand step 2 and 3, I recommend reading chapter 7 of When Coffee & Kale Compete. You can also use the Customer Forces Canvas from Ash Maurya.
STEP 3 — Anxiety & Inertia
Being aware of the demand-generating forces is a good start. But it is also key to understand the demand-reducing ones: Anxiety and Inertia. They can significantly reduce or block demand. Considering these forces is as crucial as considering competing businesses.
Anxiety
A customer experiences anxiety when he doesn’t know if a product or its qualities will help him solve his struggle. It can happen when they have never used a particular solution. They are unsure the product can deliver progress.
“I have never used a computer. How am I supposed to use it? Am I smart enough?”
Or it can also arise when we are already using a solution, but some aspect of it is inducing anxiety.
“I had a computer my whole life but I have no idea how to take advantage of the features in the new update.”
Inertia
We have a natural tendency to do nothing or to remain unchanged about an unhappy situation. It is called Inertia. The problem lies in our habits and the unwillingness of changing them. It can be a very dangerous competitor if the product is not ten times better than existing solutions. It is because people usually stick with their current product, also known as the 9x effect.
“I have always used a Mac, so I am not sure I want to start using Windows.”
Examining with care what is holding back customers and solving it is necessary!
STEP 4 — Job Stories
Now, it is time to write Job Stories.
A Job Story is a short sentence that helps align a team toward the same understanding of customer problems. It expresses the situation, motivation and desired outcome without specifying a solution.
It contains three information:
Situation: When __________
Motivation: I want to __________
Expected outcome: so I can __________.
To write a good one make the situation (“When”) as descriptive as possible. Use all the forces (Push, Pull, Anxiety, and Inertia) to frame the motivation (“I want to”).
Excellent articles exist on Job stories. I recommend reading:
You can write one or multiple Job Stories. There is no magic number; it depends on the problem.
STEP 5 — Product concept
Moving forward, let’s write down the product concept. It is the last step before actually thinking of a solution.
The Vision is the only element that does not change over time.
The Goal is the metric of success. So far, it can be a vanity metric as you still don’t know what the solution is.
Tip: always use it to decide whether adding a new feature is relevant or not. Don’t fall into the Next Feature Fallacy: the next new feature will suddenly make people use your product.
STEP 6 — Idea generation
Now it’s fun time 🎉!
Equipped with all we have done, we will generate ideas quickly by playing “sketching games.” In the end, we will vote for the best idea. It will be our solution concept. The designers will then use that as a base for the final solution.
You can ask anyone to take part in this step.
I recommend techniques like Crazy 8’s or 6–8–5. Give everyone a fat sharpie, so they draw without getting into superficial details.
Conclusion
Hopefully, by now you should have a better understanding on how to move from customer problem to solution concept. You also have chosen the optimal way to solve it.
Time for designers to come into play.
Coming Next… ⚡️
- How we applied the methodology described here for Nomad’s Land
- More details about the Design step of the Solution Interview stage
- Additional articles along the way to share our learnings, feelings…
Thanks for the read and stay tuned! 😃
This is my very first article ever written any feedback is welcome. 😉
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