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Guided workflow 6 steps

Find the problem worth solvingSix steps, from a hunch to a validated problem

Turn a hunch into a problem statement, talk to the right people, and let what they did decide. You end with a one-page problem brief, not a feature list. Follow the steps yourself with the prompts below; each one names the skill that does the work.

The steps

6 steps with a prompt for each

  1. 1

    The hunch as a problem

    Who has the problem, what they are trying to do, what gets in the way and what it costs them. Plus the assumption that kills the idea if it is wrong, and the outcome the business cares about.

    Skill: Problem Statement

    Rewrite this hunch as a problem statement: who, trying to, blocked by, what it costs, and the riskiest assumption. Hunch: [hunch].

  2. 2

    Plan the interviews

    One goal per round, five to eight people who had the problem recently, and questions about what they did last time, not what they would do.

    Skill: Discovery Interview Prep

    Plan five interviews to test [riskiest assumption]: a short screener and a guide of six questions about past behaviour. No leading questions.

  3. 3

    What's already out there

    Tickets, reviews, survey comments and churn notes, tagged by theme and counted. What people report and what they do, side by side.

    Skills: Feedback Synthesis or Voice Of Customer Miner

    Tag this feedback by theme, count each theme, rate how severe it is, and keep two quotes per theme: [paste].

  4. 4

    Synthesize the interviews

    Themes that come back in at least three conversations, with the evidence and a quote. What surprised you, what contradicts the hunch, and how sure you are.

    Skill: Discover Interview Synthesis

    Synthesize these interview notes: themes across three or more people, with a quote each, what contradicts [hunch], and a confidence per finding.

  5. 5

    The job behind it

    The job in the customer's words: when this happens, I want that, so I can this. The pains, the gains, and what they use today instead.

    Skill: Jobs To Be Done

    Write the main job to be done from this synthesis: "When…, I want to…, so I can…", with pains, gains and today's alternative.

  6. 6

    Pick the opportunity

    An opportunity solution tree: the outcome, the customer opportunities from the research, three solutions each, and the cheapest test. Pick one and write the brief.

    Skill: Opportunity Solution Trees

    Draw an opportunity solution tree for [outcome] from this research, pick the opportunity to go after, and propose the first test.

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An example run

Expense approvals at a small agencyWhat the steps found

  • The hunch was "freelancers forget to log expenses, so add receipt scanning". Step 1 flagged it as a solution in disguise; the problem became late, unbilled costs.
  • In the interviews, five of six people did log their costs. What stalled was approval at month end, so the riskiest assumption failed, and that was the useful result.
  • The tree compared three opportunities. Stuck approvals won (five of six), and the first test was a one-month reminder trial with two clients, not a feature.

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What’s inside

The skills behind the stepsOpen source, credited

Curated by Teun Somers, tested with Claude. Every skill links to its source and keeps its licence.

Only want the skills? Copy all 7 installs on the kit page