Problem Space, Solution Space: The difference between problem space and solution space

Create good value propositions by separating problem spaces and solution spaces

The distinction between problem space and solution space is extremely important and the key to understanding how you can develop really good products. Design thinking is an innovative approach to understanding and solving problems. Why is that? We explain the important difference. In the Solution Space phase, many different ideas are generated and evaluated in order to ultimately develop a prototype and obtain feedback.

Problem space: The customer is the "owner" of the problem space

There are many reasons for purchasing a product. There is a certain drive, a need, a challenge or even a problem, which can be emotional, social or functional. These reasons often reflect customer needs that need to be understood. By purchasing the product, the problem is solved or the product helps to achieve the goal. When identifying customer needs and their problems, we move into the problem space. Here, the customer is the expert for their situation, for the problem they have. It is important that you look at the details of the problem and discuss them with the customer. The problem must be fully understood and you must be genuinely interested in what the customer actually wants to achieve. A deep understanding of the requirements in the problem space is crucial in order to develop suitable solutions. And the only way to do that is through the customer. The customer is the owner of the problem, so to speak, the owner of the problem space. They can answer the questions: What exactly is the problem? Does it occur more frequently? What is the end result, the ultimate goal?

Solution Space, on the other hand, is the solution world. This is your territory. Your goal is to build better solutions than the customer can ever imagine.

Solution space is the task of the product manager

The best example is probably Steve Jobs. It is always claimed that he built very successful products without talking to the customer. However, he knew very well how to understand his customers and their problems and thus managed to build a better solution to problems. His knowledge of technology was his great advantage. If, for example, as a product manager you have knowledge of technology and products, knowledge of the market that your customer may not have, and you work with multidisciplinary teams, then that is your great advantage.

Short and sweet: first understand the problem, then look for the solution

The separation of problem space and solution space is therefore extremely important. The customer is an expert in the problem space and you as the product manager are the expert in the solution space. It's not about listening to your customer's proposed solution or collecting feature requests and then building this solution. You must try to understand the problem in detail and then consider how better solutions can be found. It is important that nothing is over-engineered. The best methodology in the problem space is to ask yourself the question: What is the job-to-be-done that will help the customer? You can get additional expertise for this and then design a solution from the identified problem. Of course, this is not always an easy task.

Our tip for you: Communication is the be-all and end-all!

The methods of interviews and testing can be very helpful, as they take into account everything that is important in design thinking. The customer's problems can be filtered out in the interview and customer behavior can be examined in testing. It is important to reference the source of the information in order to increase credibility. It is often the case that a customer behaves differently than was actually expected. If you have any questions about this, please contact us.

We are interested in your experiences. Have you ever been able to present an idea or develop a really good product that left your customers speechless? We look forward to hearing your story.

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