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Problem statement template

A one-page structure for describing who has a problem, how often it happens, what it costs and what they do about it today.

Use when: Use it before any interviews or building, to force a vague idea into a specific, testable claim about a real person's problem.

PROBLEM STATEMENT
Idea working name: [IDEA NAME]
Date: [DATE]

1. WHO HAS THE PROBLEM
Role or person: [SPECIFIC ROLE, e.g. office manager at a four-chair dental practice]
Context: [COMPANY SIZE / LIFE SITUATION / INDUSTRY]
Where I can find ten of them: [COMMUNITIES, ASSOCIATIONS, DIRECTORIES, MY NETWORK]

2. THE PROBLEM IN ONE SENTENCE
When [TRIGGER SITUATION], [WHO] struggles to [TASK OR OUTCOME], which causes [CONSEQUENCE].

3. HOW OFTEN AND HOW MUCH
Frequency: [DAILY / WEEKLY / MONTHLY / A FEW TIMES A YEAR]
Time lost each time: [ESTIMATE]
Money or risk involved: [ESTIMATE, AND HOW I KNOW]

4. WHAT THEY DO TODAY
Current workaround: [SPREADSHEET / AGENCY / EXISTING TOOL / NOTHING]
What they pay for it now: [AMOUNT OR TIME]
Why the workaround falls short: [SPECIFIC GAP]

5. EVIDENCE SO FAR
What I have seen or heard directly: [FACTS ONLY, NOT OPINIONS]
What I am assuming: [ASSUMPTIONS TO TEST]

6. WHAT WOULD PROVE ME WRONG
I will drop or reshape this idea if: [e.g. fewer than 3 of 10 people describe the problem without prompting]

Replace every [BRACKETED] field. Delete any line that does not apply to you.