Problems and Being Critical as Professionals

By David Piro

A problem statement is a description or declaration that problematizes an issue with a background that provides details that clarify the context of the problem and identify how the problem is possible. That is, researching the history of this issue and understanding the reasons why there is no solution. From there, a new solution or addition to the research can take place that is derived from the initial problem statement and the provided background. Many of you, maybe reading this as experts in your respective fields and may be asking what this has to do with you. Well, I’d like to briefly argue that writing or orally describing a problem in detail for a specialized field is a great skill for many members that fall within that paradigm. I believe that to be the case because of my experience working in different fields. I will use two examples of different and possibly related professions that could benefit from this skill.  

On Marketing and Advertising, assume the food marketing of a brand. My most recent domain, where I have found that by being able to properly diagnose a problem, then a solution delivers a larger ROI (Return on Investment). A simple problem statement like sales are declining can intrigue a range of investigations. When meeting a new client, the largest selling point is identifying their problems around marketing. Some examples, you don’t have an audience, your audience isn’t engaged, the community rejects your brand, your budget doesn’t reflect the scale needed for digital advertising to be effective. However, related to the problem statement, we can begin to delve and resolve these questions by working around the problem to deliver a larger solution. How is this possible? Well, for instance with advertising food we can maybe change audiences and still deliver an effective profit. Another option is to listen to the audience and adapt, changing the menu. Remember the old saying, ‘the customer is always right?’ It’s true. Why would your profit increase if there was no effective change to stimulate sales? Further, our brand has been saved and our problem statement has served its purpose.

On Engineering, assuming software as the domain and the problem statement to be along the lines of having a program that is taking longer than normal to work. A relatively simple question, but to an expert who has encountered problem after problem may have something to say further about the problem. That is, our software is dependent on the hardware capabilities of some sort of device, so that device may be jeopardized, outdated, or defective. Again, the problem statement with expert guidance does more than problematize a situation but looks deeper into a solution. Several options could be to repair the problem, upgrade the system, or replace it altogether. The better we are at these problem diagnoses, we can determine various solutions, or the best solution to reduce overall time, cost, and manpower. Every year we are seeing as a consequence of not investing in proper cybersecurity, many, many financial accounts are hacked. I am not stating this could be prevented, I am pointing out that the cost for investing into a safe security system is cheaper than doing so later with the added cost of lawsuits, and reimbursements to compromised accounts.

To summarize, Problem Statements are those that describe an issue with a background that provides details to clarify the context of the problem and identify how the problem is possible. I have used two key examples, that related to work in Advertising & Marketing, while the other in Engineering & Design. Together, these examples illustrated 3 different ways problem statements can benefit professionals in their field. For one, they provide historical context to the problem that can further reasoning and understanding. Second, they allow new solutions to arise that can pose different potentials that may have better outcomes than thought possible. Third, problem statements create a critical reflection to initiate a dialogue that looks to provide a constructive solution.