What Is a Problem Statement?

作者：Coursera Staff • 更新于 Dec 8, 2025

Learn more about the importance of understanding user needs, conducting research, and defining goals and constraints through problem statements.

[Featured image] A UX team discusses the problem statement for their upcoming design sprint.

Key takeaways

In user experience (UX), the problem statement summarizes a user’s pain point and guides the project’s UX design.

An effective problem statement identifies the user, explains their need, and offers additional insight into their challenges.

Problem statements can help businesses or app designers identify their target audience’s needs and offer products and services that appeal to them.

You can use problem statements to facilitate problem-solving in various careers, including working as a web designer or user interface designer.

Learn more about how to develop problem statements and real-world applications of them. If you’re ready to build your UX skills, consider enrolling in the Google UX Design Professional Certificate. You’ll have the chance to learn foundational UX concepts and the basics of UX research in as little as six months. Upon completion, you’ll have earned a career credential to share with potential employers.

What is a problem statement?

A problem statement is a summary of a user’s pain point or problem to be solved when designing a product. In user experience (UX), the problem statement provides guidance for the project’s user experience and user interaction. It should be concise and actionable.

A problem statement usually offers information about the specific business problem, giving context and helping to clarify the issue at hand. The five Ws can be used to help develop your problem statement:

Who is affected by the problem?
What is the problem?
Where does the problem occur?
When does it occur?
Why does it occur? Why is the problem important?

What is a good problem statement writing approach?

A popular approach to crafting an actionable problem statement is using the point of view (POV) Madlib. This technique helps you effectively communicate a user's pain point and its root cause by organizing three key elements—user, need, and insight—in a structured format:

[User… (descriptive)] needs [need … (verb)] because [insight… (compelling).]

What does a problem statement look like in user experience (UX)?

Users of a yoga app are dissatisfied with the music options available on the app, which is causing low retention rates. The app’s target audience wants either a well-curated playlist or the ability to sync their own playlist to the class, so they have been seeking other yoga apps that offer this customization and flexibility. How might we improve the app’s features to appeal to new and existing users?

Learn more about problem statements from the team at Google:

What is an example of a UX problem?

Common UX problems include challenges that customers may face in navigating a firm’s website or app, customer service communication challenges, and accessibility issues. For example, a confusing website design may make it difficult for customers to find the desired information about your products and services. A problem statement can help identify a solution to such challenges.

Related terms

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