Review the draft of the problem statement you developed in Week 1.
In about 2-3 pages, address the following:
Explain the importance of defining and framing a problem correctly.
Demonstrate the use of the problem statement testing technique or another technique for framing and defining your problem statement.
Test your problem statement by using the following 5 problem restatement techniques by Jones (1998) and/or techniques described in the Eleven Ways to Restate Problems to Get Better Solutions from this week’s reading material.
Paraphrase: Restate the problem using different words. What is really the issue?
180 Degrees: Turn the problem completely around. What is the opportunity here?
Broadening the Focus: Restate the problem in a larger context. How is the problem part of the bigger picture?
Redirection: Change the overall focus of the problem. What does it look like from another perspective?
Why Ask Why: Review the original problem, ask why again, and then answer that question. Keep on asking “why” again as necessary. What’s at the bottom of the problem, underlying everything?
Note: Access and view the multimedia presentation Problem Restatement for guidance in your work
