How to use the Outcome, Problem and Solution framework for better product ideation?
One of the very profound frameworks which I have found for brainstorming perfect solutions for your product is the Outcome, Problems and Solution framework. Though it seems like a conventional practice across the domain, you would be surprised by how rarely it is used across industry. Many ideation process revolves around generating ideas which are not coherent and does not result in the actual impact for the organisation . So much of resources has been squandered in pursuing ideas which were not relevant to the organisation. As a product manager , it is essential for you to generate ideas which lead you to a specific outcome for the product. So, lets dig down into the whole framework of outcome , problems and solution for Product ideation.
- Outcome : Outcome means the impact which is expected of the solutions. For example , for a social media app , the outcome can be increasing the engagement of the app. For a fintech app , the outcome would be increasing the revenue generated from the users . The outcomes can be improving acquisition , activation , retention , revenue and referral for the product. The outcome differs for the product as per the their growth stage. The product at the initial stage would be more focussed on improving the acquisition while a product at the growth stage would be interested in improving the retention of their users. The outcomes is something which is expected out of the solution and helps us to process the ideas that leads to them.
2. Problems : Each outcome has some problems which are preventing it from happening. For product which wants to improve their retention are facing problems such as users churn. Another problem that can cause decrease in retention is that users are unsatisfied with the product. Another example , I could think of is problem faced by the product trying to improve their revenue stream. The problem associated with this outcome could be users are not subscribing to the app after the trial . Also , the user might be facing issue related to payment options. Thus , each outcome will have some problems associated with them . As a product manager , it is easy to identify the problems associated with the outcome via user interview and surveys. Once , you are done with the an exhaustive list of problems for the each outcome , it’s time to move to the solution phase of the framework.
3. Solutions : Once , we have drilled down the problems associated with the outcome , it’s time to ideate the solutions for each problem. Thus , rather than ideating for the whole product , we have narrowed down the scope to just a single problems. For each problem , you could come up with 4–5 solutions. For example , if users are facing problem with the payment options . The solution can be looking for the new payment partners , implementing new payment methods and improving the payment user flow . Though they might not be perfect , but it gets you started. Remember it’s all about quantity rather than quality while the brainstroaming solutions . Once you have come up with some solutions , it’s important to prioritize the solutions via various prioritisation techniques . The advantage of using this framework is the clarity about how each of the solutions is helping the product manager to solve specific problems to improve the outcome metrics.
