═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
DISCOVERY WAYPOINT — PROBLEM FRAMING + HOW MIGHT WE
Problem statement + prioritized HMW set | 75–120 min | 5–15 people | Difficulty: Moderate
discoverywaypoint.com/techniques/problem-framing-how-might-we
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

BEFORE YOU START
  Project / initiative: ___________________________________
  Date: _______________  Facilitator: _____________________
  Participants: ___________________________________________
  Decision this session must unlock: _____________________
  ________________________________________________________

  Bring: Known evidence (data, research, complaints).
  Do not run this session from opinion only.

───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
ZONE 1 — BRIEF  [0–15 min]
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
  Decision we are trying to unlock: ______________________
  _________________________________________________________

  Who is affected: ________________________________________

  What we already know (evidence only — no opinions):
  1. _____________________________________ | Source: ______
  2. _____________________________________ | Source: ______
  3. _____________________________________ | Source: ______

───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
ZONE 2 — PROBLEM FRAMING  [15–45 min]
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Use evidence language — not opinions.

  SYMPTOMS (what we observe happening):
  1. _______________________________________________________
  2. _______________________________________________________
  3. _______________________________________________________
  4. _______________________________________________________

  ROOT CAUSES (why is this happening?):
  1. _______________________________________________________
  2. _______________________________________________________
  3. _______________________________________________________

  IMPACT ON USER:
  1. _______________________________________________________
  2. _______________________________________________________

  IMPACT ON BUSINESS:
  1. _______________________________________________________
  2. _______________________________________________________

  DRAFT PROBLEM STATEMENT:
  "We believe [who] ______________________________________
   struggles with [what] __________________________________
   because [why] _________________________________________
   which causes [impact] __________________________________"

───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
ZONE 3 — HMW GENERATION  [45–90 min]
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Rewrite the problem statement as How Might We questions.
Aim for 8–15 HMW prompts. Quantity before quality.

⚠ AVOID: "HMW build X" — that's a solution, not a question
⚠ AVOID: Merging two problems into one prompt

  HMW prompts:
  1.  How might we _______________________________________?
  2.  How might we _______________________________________?
  3.  How might we _______________________________________?
  4.  How might we _______________________________________?
  5.  How might we _______________________________________?
  6.  How might we _______________________________________?
  7.  How might we _______________________________________?
  8.  How might we _______________________________________?
  9.  How might we _______________________________________?
  10. How might we _______________________________________?
  11. How might we _______________________________________?
  12. How might we _______________________________________?

───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
ZONE 4 — PRIORITIZATION  [90–120 min]
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
2 votes each. Vote on HMW prompts that are:
  - Meaningful (would change something important if answered)
  - Actionable (the team could actually pursue it)

  Top HMW prompts:
  1. How might we ________________________________? (votes: ___)
  2. How might we ________________________________? (votes: ___)
  3. How might we ________________________________? (votes: ___)
  4. How might we ________________________________? (votes: ___)
  5. How might we ________________________________? (votes: ___)

  Owner for next steps: __________________________________
  Next action: __________________________________________
  Date: _________________________________________________

───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
QUALITY CHECK
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
  ☐ Problem statement uses evidence language, not opinion
  ☐ HMW prompts are questions, not solutions in disguise
  ☐ Each HMW addresses one problem (not two merged together)
  ☐ Top 3–5 HMW prompts have a named owner and next step

Full facilitation guide: discoverywaypoint.com/techniques/problem-framing-how-might-we
Discovery Waypoint — discoverywaypoint.com