Start with the Problem
One of the most overlooked tools in a product manager’s toolkit is the problem statement.
It’s not flashy. It won’t land you on a “Top 10 PM Frameworks” list. But it’s foundational, and it has helped me, time and again, bring clarity, alignment, and momentum to complex initiatives.
Why Problem Statements Matter
As product managers, we’re often under pressure to move quickly. Discovery, alignment, and solutioning all compete for attention. But a strong problem statement forces a pause. It invites focus. It gives teams, stakeholders, and leadership a shared starting point.
It also lays the groundwork for success criteria. We talk often about measuring outcomes, but without a well-crafted problem statement, it’s easy to lose track of what “better” actually looks like.
A Simple Template I Use
Over the years, I’ve used a simple structure to help frame behavioral, systems, or performance-related problems:
“X% of users are doing [behavior], which impacts Y% of other users, leading to Z% experiencing [negative outcome].”
While the actual data behind a statement like this varies, the format itself helps paint a picture: what’s happening, who it affects, and why it matters. In practice, we pair this with qualitative data like player interviews, community sentiment, and internal feedback loops, as well as additional quantitative data (if necessary) but the structure gives stakeholders something concrete to rally around.
What Makes a Good Problem Statement?
Here’s what I’ve found effective:
Be specific, but succinct. One to two sentences is usually enough.
Focus on the “what” and “who.” Who is affected, and what’s the actual behavior or friction?
Avoid solutions. This isn’t the place to pitch ideas. It’s the moment to align on the issue.
Anchor it to impact. Connect the problem to observable outcomes like player behavior, system performance, moderation patterns, sentiment trends, or support burden. If you don’t have hard data yet, even a directional signal or pattern can give stakeholders something to react to.
Make it intuitive. The best problem statements resonate quickly. Someone reads it and says, “Yes, that’s exactly the issue.”
Revisit and Refine as You Learn
A problem statement doesn’t need to be perfect on day one. As you uncover more data, pressure-test assumptions, or get new perspectives from stakeholders, it’s completely reasonable to revise and clarify it. You might tighten the scope, update metrics, or reframe who’s most impacted. What matters is that your statement reflects what you know now, and evolves as you learn more. It is meant to focus your effort and the rigor necessary to produce a meaningful problem statement that is instantly relatable also helps you as the product manager more deeply understand the problem you tackling.
A Quick Note from Experience
At one point in my career, I was asked by a senior executive to provide a “report card,” a clear signal of whether our work was moving in the right direction. Rather than jump straight to dashboards or feature lists, I went back to the basics: a focused problem statement, paired with a few concrete success criteria.
That simple structure made the entire conversation more grounded. It gave stakeholders clarity on what mattered and helped align efforts across teams. It also became a shared reference point for tracking progress, making it easier to have productive check-ins over time.
Final Thought
Problem statements don’t need to be complicated. But they do need to exist.
If you’re tackling something complex, or even just trying to clarify something simple, start by writing one. You’ll be surprised how quickly it brings focus, alignment, and better outcomes.