Chales Kettering Quote - "A Problem well stated is a problem half solved."

What Makes a Good Problem Statement?

Oct 9, 2025

Posted by: Timothy Francis

Where we teach this concept:

Are You Solving the Right Problem?

Here's an uncomfortable truth: many improvement projects fail not because of poor execution, but because they solved the wrong problem. Organizations waste countless hours addressing symptoms while root causes remain untouched.

Consider this famous example: In 1985, Coca-Cola launched "New Coke" to solve what they defined as a "taste preference problem". Their largest competitor, Pepsi, was winning blind taste tests. Coke invested millions in their new recipe and marketing. The product failed spectacularly. Why? Coke had solved the wrong problem. Customers valued the emotional connection and tradition of original Coke. By defining the problem as a “taste preference problem”, they missed what truly mattered to their customers.

A well-crafted problem statement has TWO essential qualities – it articulates the GAP between what should be happening and what is happening and it quantifies the IMPACT. So, how to get it right?

A good problem statement is:

**1. Specific about what exactly is happening.**

STRONG:

"Customer service response times exceed 48 hours for 60% of email inquiries"

WEAK:

"Customer service is poor"

**2. Locates where the problem is occurring:** Problems don't happen everywhere or all at once. Is it one department? One region? One product line? Narrowing the scope makes the problem solvable.

STRONG:

"In the Northeast regional distribution center" or "During the month-end close process in accounting"

WEAK:

"The process takes too long and is inefficient"

**3. Time Frame: When did this start or how long has it persisted?**

STRONG:

"Since the new CRM system implementation in March 2025" or "Over the past six months" *

*Notice how this helps identify potential causes and creates urgency.

WEAK:

"Our customer follow-up is insufficient"

4. Gap Statement: Current state vs. desired state

STRONG:

"Current average response time: 52 hours | Target: 24 hours" *

*This defines success clearly and prevents scope creep.

WEAK:

"We need to get customer orders to the shipping department faster"

**5. Quantifies the impact and answers the question what's the consequence?** Why should anyone care? Connect the problem to business results or customer experience.

STRONG:

"...resulting in 23% of customers escalating to phone support, increasing support costs by $45K monthly and reducing customer satisfaction scores from 4.2 to 3.1 stars"

WEAK:

"The same customers call multiple times"

Putting It All Together

STRONG:

"In our accounts payable department, invoice processing time has increased from an average of 3 days to 7 days over the past four months, causing late payment fees of $12,000 monthly and straining vendor relationships. Our target is to return to 3-day processing within 90 days."

WEAK:

"We need to improve our process"

See the difference? The strong version gives you:

A clear, quantified metric (processing time: 7 days vs. 3 days target)
Specific location (accounts payable)
Measurable impact ($12K monthly + vendor relationships)
Timeline (past four months, 90-day improvement goal)
A foundation for root cause analysis

Lean practitioners are trained to facilitate problem definition sessions with stakeholders, ensuring everyone agrees on what problem you're solving before jumping to solutions. This single skill prevents more wasted effort than perhaps any other Lean tool. It’s often said that spending an hour on the problem statement will save the team 10 or more hours in the analysis phase of an improvement project.

PRACTICE

Take a problem you're currently facing at work. Write it down as you'd naturally describe it. Then, rewrite it using all five elements provided. See if your path forward becomes more clear.

The best part of a great problem statement? Once you've defined the problem well, the solution often seems obvious.

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What Makes a Good Problem Statement?

Are You Solving the Right Problem?

1. Specific about what exactly is happening.

2. Locates where the problem is occurring: Problems don't happen everywhere or all at once. Is it one department? One region? One product line? Narrowing the scope makes the problem solvable.

3. Time Frame: When did this start or how long has it persisted?

4. Gap Statement: Current state vs. desired state

5. Quantifies the impact and answers the question what's the consequence? Why should anyone care? Connect the problem to business results or customer experience.

Putting It All Together

PRACTICE

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Information

**1. Specific about what exactly is happening.**

**2. Locates where the problem is occurring:** Problems don't happen everywhere or all at once. Is it one department? One region? One product line? Narrowing the scope makes the problem solvable.

**3. Time Frame: When did this start or how long has it persisted?**

**5. Quantifies the impact and answers the question what's the consequence?** Why should anyone care? Connect the problem to business results or customer experience.