Developing Point-of-View (POV) and How Might We (HMW) Questions

The 'Define' stage is crucial in Design Thinking, where ambiguity transforms into clarity. This chapter explores how to synthesize research insights into actionable Point-of-View (POV) statements and inspirational How Might We (HMW) questions, setting a precise direction for innovative solutions. These tools are fundamental for aligning teams and focusing efforts on user-centered problems.

1. The Define Stage in Design Thinking

The Define stage is a pivotal phase where raw data from the Empathize stage is processed to articulate the core problem. Its importance stems from several key reasons:

Focus and Clarity: It ensures the team has a shared understanding of the problem.
Human-Centered: By deeply immersing in the user's perspective, it places people at the center of the problem.
Alignment and Collaboration: It fosters consensus among stakeholders and team members, leveraging diverse expertise.
Springboard for Innovation: A precisely defined problem statement acts as a launchpad for targeted ideation and prototyping.

Synthesis of Research

The process of moving from raw observations to an actionable problem definition involves three key steps:

Learnings: Initial observations, feelings, and thoughts that emerge from engaging with users and their environments.
Themes: Organizing similar learnings into coherent clusters to identify broader patterns and areas of interest.
Insights: Profound realizations that emerge from critically analyzing themes, understanding their implications for users' lives and challenges.

This synthesis transforms raw data into actionable insights that guide the design process, effectively becoming the 'problem definition' stage.

Raw Data (Empathize Stage) | v Learnings (Observations, Facts) | v Themes (Clustered Learnings, Patterns) | v Insights (Underlying Reasons, Truths) | v Problem Definition (Define Stage) (POV Statements, HMW Questions)

During this stage, teams ask fundamental questions:

Who are our customers?
What are their goals, needs, motivations, and pain points?
What problem will we set out to solve?

Various tools assist in organizing research findings, such as Mind Maps, Fishbone Diagrams, Affinity Diagrams, Entity Diagrams, and the 5 Whys technique. These tools help connect the dots and develop new insights.

2. Understanding Problem Statements

Without a well-defined problem statement, design efforts lack focus and direction. A problem statement clearly identifies the gap between the current state (the problem) and the desired state (the goal) of a process or product. It is often synonymous with a Point-of-View (POV) statement.

Problem statements are framed to guide the design team towards feasible solutions, focusing on the user and their context. Here are some ways to frame a design problem:

From the user's perspective: "I am a young working professional trying to eat healthily, but I'm struggling because I work long hours and don't always have time to go grocery shopping and prepare my meals. This makes me feel frustrated and bad about myself."
From a user research perspective: "Busy working professionals need an easy, time-efficient way to eat healthily because they often work long hours and don't have time to shop and meal prep."
Based on the four Ws (Who, What, Where, Why): "Our young working professional struggles to eat healthily during the week because she is working long hours. Our solution should deliver a quick and easy way for her to procure ingredients and prepare healthy meals that she can take to work."

What Makes a Good Problem Statement?

A strong problem statement possesses several key characteristics:

Human-centered and User-focused: The user and their needs are at the core. Avoid statements like "we need to..." or "the product should...", focusing instead on the user's perspective (e.g., "Young working professionals need...").
Broad: It should leave room for innovation and creative freedom, avoiding references to specific solutions or technical requirements.
Manageable: It must guide and provide direction without being so broad that it becomes overwhelming. Prioritize and address only a suitable scope of user needs.

The 5 Whys Technique

To delve deeper into a problem and uncover its root cause, the 5 Whys technique is invaluable. By repeatedly asking "why," you can move beyond superficial symptoms to the underlying issue.

Let's revisit the example of the young working professional:

Problem: She is not eating healthily.
Why? She orders takeaway every day.
Why? Her fridge and cupboards are empty.
Why? She hasn’t been grocery shopping in over a week.
Why? She doesn’t have time to go to the supermarket.
Why? She works long hours and is exhausted.

The root cause identified here (working long hours and exhaustion) points towards a more fundamental challenge than simply "not eating healthily."

We can simulate this process using a simple C++ program to interactively explore the root cause of a problem.

This program allows an interactive exploration of the "5 Whys" by prompting the user for reasons, helping to uncover deeper issues behind a surface-level problem.

3. Crafting Point-of-View (POV) Statements

A Point-of-View (POV) statement is a brief, human-centered description of the problem or need that requires a solution. Its purpose is to define and formulate the right tasks, ensuring the team focuses solely on the target audience, their needs, and the insights gained. You may develop multiple POV statements based on different insights.

Components of a POV Statement

A robust POV statement typically consists of three key components:

User (descriptive): Defines the specific target user for whom you are designing. This often comes from a user persona.
Need (verb): Identifies the user's essential needs or goals, expressed as an actionable verb.
Insight (compelling): Synthesizes the gathered information into a key, often surprising, takeaway that explains why the need exists.

The standard structure for a POV statement is:

[User... (descriptive)] needs [need... (verb)] because [insight... (compelling)]

Steps for Creating a POV Statement

Step 1: Identify Users, Needs & Insights.
- Focus on the end-user, framing the problem statement according to specific users from empathize data. Define your user by developing one or more personas.
- Synthesize the needs using verbs to make them actionable.
- Uncover compelling insights that explain the user's motivations or underlying challenges.
Step 2: Create Your Chart.
- While not always a literal chart, this step involves organizing your identified user, need, and insight, perhaps using a template or digital tool, to clearly see how they connect.
Step 3: Form Your POV Statement.
- Combine your user, needs, and insights into a concise, inspiring, and informative statement. Condense where necessary to create a compelling narrative.

Example POV Statement: "A financial advisor (User: descriptive) needs to have meaningful conversations with more clients (Need: verb) because business grows through genuine conversation with clients – not through paperwork (Insight: compelling)."

Another example, tailored for a meal service app: "Seniors (User) require meal delivery (Need) in order to have access to nutritional meal options (Insight)."

Manageable Scope

It's crucial that POV statements have a manageable scope:

Not too narrowly focused on a specific solution or restricted to specific requirements.
Not too broadly focused that it feels like there are infinite possibilities, making the project unmanageable.

A good POV statement provides just enough guidance and constraints to make the project actionable without stifling innovation.

4. Developing How Might We (HMW) Questions

Once you have successfully framed the problem as a powerful Point-of-View (POV) statement, the next step is to reframe it into How Might We (HMW) questions. HMW questions are open-ended, actionable questions that transform problems into opportunities for ideation. They invite a wide range of creative solutions without being prescriptive.

From our financial advisor example, some HMW questions could be:

How might we speed up the time the advisor spends with clients?
How might we increase the amount of meaningful conversations the advisor has?
In what ways might we reduce the time it takes to do paperwork?
How might we make doing paperwork more profitable for the advisor?

Steps to Create HMW Questions

Step 1: Clearly define the problem. This foundational step is achieved through your POV statement.
Step 2: Break down the problem statement into its key components (user, need, insight) to identify areas for questioning.
Step 3: Add a provocative element to encourage creative and fresh thinking. This could involve exploring opposites, analogies, or extreme scenarios.
Step 4: Generate several HMW questions by varying the action verbs, subjects, and provocative elements. Aim for quantity over quality initially.
Step 5: Review and prioritize the HMW questions based on their relevance, potential impact, and alignment with the design challenge.
Step 6: Test HMW questions within the design team or with stakeholders. Iterate based on feedback and insights—explore variations like "In what ways might we..." or other creative prompts.
Step 7: Develop follow-up questions to deepen understanding and guide the subsequent ideation process.
Step 8: Iterative process. Creating effective HMW questions is rarely a one-shot process; repeat these steps as needed to refine your questions.

Example: Rural Community Plastic Problem

Problem Statement: "A village community needs to decrease their use of single-use plastics and find better alternatives because it negatively impacts their environment."
HMW Questions:
- How might we encourage community members to adopt reusable alternatives for everyday items like bags and containers?
- How might we collaborate with local businesses to reduce the use of single-use plastic in packaging?
- How might we make sustainable alternatives more accessible and affordable for a diverse range of community members?
Variations of HMW questions (adding provocative elements):
- What's stopping us from implementing a community-wide education campaign on the environmental consequences of single-use plastic?
- What would happen if we introduced incentives for businesses and individuals to actively participate in plastic recycling initiatives?
- In what ways might community members be motivated to participate in a neighborhood clean-up event focused on plastic waste?
- What has changed in consumer behavior that allows us to explore new, eco-friendly packaging solutions for local products?

Summary

The Define stage of Design Thinking is critical for transforming raw research data into clear, actionable problem statements.
Synthesis of research involves organizing learnings into themes to derive profound insights.
A problem statement identifies the gap between the current and desired states, serving as the foundation for design.
Point-of-View (POV) statements are human-centered problem frames structured as [User] needs [Need] because [Insight], ensuring focus and alignment.
Tools like the 5 Whys technique help uncover the root causes of problems, feeding into better POV statements.
How Might We (HMW) questions are open-ended questions derived from POV statements, designed to provoke broad and creative ideation for potential solutions.
Both POV and HMW frameworks are iterative, ensuring that design efforts remain focused, human-centered, and open to innovation.

Assessed progress

Developing Point-of-View (POV) and How Might We (HMW) Questions

Developing Point-of-View (POV) and How Might We (HMW) Questions

1. The Define Stage in Design Thinking

Synthesis of Research

2. Understanding Problem Statements

What Makes a Good Problem Statement?

The 5 Whys Technique

3. Crafting Point-of-View (POV) Statements

Components of a POV Statement

Steps for Creating a POV Statement

Manageable Scope

4. Developing How Might We (HMW) Questions

Steps to Create HMW Questions

Summary

Key Concepts

Define Stage

Problem Statement

Point-of-View (POV) Statement

How Might We (HMW) Questions

Synthesis of Research

Quick Check

Design Thinking

Design Thinking