Problem framing, not problem-solving: the skill necessary to grow as a UX professional
Understanding the problem space by asking the right questions helps everyone
Problem framing is one of those unspoken skills that is almost required to become a Senior UX Designer.
Learning this skill requires shifting away from a problem-solving mindset. I only realized I had adopted the skill once I started leading UX discussions with Executives and Product Owners. It's also been vital in helping me get that seat at the table and advocating for the user through research and design.
But to explain problem framing, I first have to explain what it's not: problem-solving.
The flaws about only being a problem-solver
When researching my new book, The Resilient UX professional, I often found that Junior UX Designers like to say they are "Problem Solvers." It sounds good, especially from a business point of view.
The business might have specific usability problems, so they're hiring UX Designers to find and fix them. I even highlighted that the "Product" team is supposed to define the problem while UX/Engineer creates the solution. So what's the problem with this?
First and foremost is that the business might need to understand the problem more since they're not an expert in it. One of the clearest examples of this comes from Data Science.
A stakeholder isn't going to a Data Scientist and saying: "Hey, I want you to build a predictive model using regression fit with 80% accuracy in the test data."
They'd probably go, "We have this business problem and some data, can you solve it somehow?"
It's an extreme example but highlights the disconnect between the two problems. The Product team understands the business problem, like customer loyalty dropping. But they need to understand the UX side more.
Yet I've often seen Junior UX Designers essentially sit and wait for Product to figure things out (if they ever do) before working on the solution. It's crucial to consider the problem from the user's side and speak up on their behalf.
This is, of course, where user research comes into play. But before investing time and effort into user research, you must first ensure that you're focused on the right opportunity. To understand why we need to think about Disneyland.
Problem framing is how UX gets involved in the problem space
Does Disneyland solve a problem? That's the question posed in Continuous Discovery Habits by Teresa Torres.
The answer, by the way, is no. You could make a weak argument that "The user need is to be entertained and comforted.” However, the solutions for that might range from eating ice cream to watching a movie to Disneyland. These sorts of issues are often why you'll run into trouble with the "Problem-solving" mindset.
Re-designs might be about fixing a problem, but designing a new feature often isn't. Instead, designing new products means exploring new ground, which means it’s about more than addressing user needs. It’s about addressing user wants and desires.
This is where Problem Framing comes into play. This term, coined by Teresa Torres, is about stepping back from a particular problem and looking at alternatives. This is usually done to consider the underlying “Why.” For example, this is why Amazon shifted from selling books to becoming an e-commerce giant.
UX might do this on a semi-regular basis with user stories. For example, we take a hyper-specific user story (“The user needs a sortable table with X, Y, and Z.”). From there, we zoom out to the underlying Why (“The user needs some way to filter data.”). In this way, we can consider other design solutions.
If we do it already, and Product might not have all the answers, UX needs to speak up. Yet I've often seen Junior UX Designers quietly waiting in those meetings until Product tells them what they need. On some level, it makes sense: the Product side has the final say, so why should we butt in and push back?
However, in many cases, that's the same as saying, "Product knows user needs, wants, and desires better than UX does." That's a dangerous statement that needs to be challenged early on. This is why UX gets involved in the problem space.
But you're not defining the "problem," nor are you trying to solve it prematurely. What product framing is, for UX, is learning to ask questions to the team that will shape and re-frame the problem.
For example, imagine that the Product team has to design a new feature to help users learn about their Product (like a tutorial). You’re more familiar than them with what users need from tutorials and what problems they might face.
So your role is to ask UX-related questions in those meetings to shape the discussion, such as:
Will this tutorial appear on mobile, or is it desktop only?
Will this tutorial appear only the 1st time a person logs in or every time until they do X?
Can they revisit the tutorial? How do they do that?
What features do we intend to highlight with the tutorial?
Do we intend to go in-depth with each feature or do a high-level overview?
How many clicks/time does the user spend to get through the entire tutorial?
Etc.
Asking these questions, and getting the Product team to answer them, helps them re-frame the problem (or have A-ha! moments) to ensure that what they eventually ask UX to do fits user needs, wants, and desires.
More importantly, doing this early, rather than as we're designing things, helps to save everyone time and effort. This is how UX gets involved in the Problem space, and it's one of the most important things towards becoming a Senior UX Designer.
Learning to ask the right questions helps you grow
Getting involved with the problem space is one of the essential things UX Designers can do to become a more valuable part of the business.
In essence, UX Designers are part of a “Product Trio” responsible for making a great product. This means going beyond creating extraordinary design solutions. This also means you’re helping the business find the right problem or opportunity to address.
However, it’s not your job to define the business problem or figure out the technical aspects of it.
Instead, your job is to listen to the problem discussions and ask the right questions to ensure we design the right Product. Doing this doesn't just help UX: it also helps the business understand the problem they're trying to figure out.
Want to become a UX professional? I’ve written a free e-book explaining how to make yourself an ideal UX candidate.
Kai Wong is a Senior Product Designer and a top Design Writer on Medium. His new book, Data-informed UX Design, explains small changes you can make regarding data to improve your UX Design process.
Nice article explaining the difference between Problem framing vs Problem solving which is a big necessity today. Also i liked the differentiation between User needs vs User wants & desires.