The Problem Statement Canvas

A problem well stated is a problem half solved - Charles Kettering

I first encountered the Problem Statement Canvas while working in government, probably in around 2016. It was presented to our team by colleagues in a strategy unit somewhere within the department. I think the idea came from somewhere in the Cabinet Office. I’ve used them ever since. For all manner of problems, mainly professional but occasionally personal.

Problem Statement Canvas

The canvas is a series of prompts that help you understand the current conditions of a piece of work or situation. The method I was taught was that you should

  • start with the context box;
  • then work through all the remaining, lower, boxes;
  • these should all be filled with short bullet pointed lists, or similar;
  • once you have completed the lower boxes, return to the top of the canvas and attempt to write a single sentence problem statement in the “Basic problem to be solved” box. This statement should follow the SMART format.

It’s often very difficult to distill all of the information to a single sentence problem statement. The advice I was given from the beginning was to just try and write something, anything. Then re-write it. And again, if necessary. Until you are happy that your statement properly describes the problem you face.

The canvas can be used at any time, in any phase of a piece of work. But they are particularly helpful when starting on a new piece of work. As a user researcher I’ve used them as the pre-cursor to a research plan. Recently, as a product manger, I’ve written them as the start point to a couple of new initiatives we’re focusing on this quarter.

  • Primarily, I use the canvas to prompt myself to think systematically and thoroughly about a problem. The process is akin to a convergent-divergent diamond, you gather data then synthesise it into a simple statement.
  • They are also a helpful way of gaining consensus on what you are working on within a small group of key people.
  • Finally, they are easy to share, so are handy for communicating to a wider group.

The version I linked to above is a word doc. My favourite version is a Figma design file with a simple auto layout that re-scales nicely. But I know the canvas so well now that I don’t really need a template; the most recent one was just bulleted lists under a series of headers written on the notes app on my phone.