Defining Your Core Problem Statement

In this episode of The Missing Kei, Edie Woelfle discusses the importance of staying focused in product development by having a clear core problem statement. The core problem statement guides the product's mission and serves to prevent 'feature bloat', the addition of unnecessary features that can lead to confusion and wasted resources. Edie provides a formula for creating a clarity-inducing problem statement which enumerates the 'who, what, and why' - the specific group the product is aimed at helping, the outcome they need, and the reason why they need it. With emphasis on being specific, avoiding vagueness and resisting the urge to jump to solutions, Edie underscores the need for every new feature to directly address the core problem. A practical example highlighting an $80,000 wasted feature serves as a warning case to further strengthen the presented theory. Edie then encourages listeners to test out their core problem statement for clarity and relevance.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to The Missing Key, the podcast where i Edie
Wellflee fractional CTO, founder of Keyboarder, and self proclaimed tech janitor,
turned startup tech chaos into scale ready clarity. Today, we're
diving into a topic that hits close to home for
anyone who's ever been caught in a meeting tornado of
feature ideas. We're talking about staying focused by nailing your

(00:24):
core problem statement. So grab your sweet tea and get
ready to slice through the noise. You're in a meeting
and someone says, what if we add a chat feature?
Then another person chimes in, Oh, and maybe a calendar too.
Before you know it, your simple app idea has morphed
into a confusing do it all monster? Sound familiar, We've
all been there. The secret sauce for staying focused it's

(00:47):
all about boiling down your product's goal into one super
clear sentence that describes the core problem your product solves. This,
my friends, is your north star. A core problem statement
works like a mission statement for your product. It's that
one clear sentence that defines exactly what problem you're solving
and for whom. Let's break that down. So, what exactly

(01:07):
is a core problem statement? Here's a simple example. Busy
parents need a quick way to find healthy dinner recipes
their kids will actually eat. Notice how specific that is.
It tells you exactly who you're helping busy parents, what
they need quick healthy recipes, and why it matters so
their kids will eat. Now, why is this so crucial?
Let's go back to our previous feature frenzy example. When

(01:28):
someone excitedly proposes a chat feature, you can test it
against your core problem statement. Does a chat feature help
busy parents find kid friendly recipes faster? Probably not? Does
a meal planning calendar help? Maybe that could actually save
them time. Without this guiding light, you'll likely end up
building throwaway features, cool but useless additions that don't actually
help your users. And let me tell you these mistakes

(01:51):
can be expensive. All right, So you're probably wondering how
do I write my core problem statement. Don't worry. I've
got a no fuss formula that works every time. Who
needs what because why? Let's break it down together. First,
the who be specific broad terms like everyone help no
one instead of people who exercise the say working moms
who want to stay fit but only have twenty minutes. Second,

(02:12):
the what focus on the outcome, not the solution. Instead
of needs an app, say needs a way to track
their progress without spending hours logging data. Finally, the why
this is the pain point that makes people willing to
pay for a solution. A vague because they're frustrated isn't
going to cut it? Instead say because they've tried three
fitness apps and quit within a week. Be sure to

(02:34):
watch out for some red flags when crafting your problem statement.
One common mistake is being too vague. Saying people need
better communication tools leaves too much to the imagination. Another
pitfall is jumping straight to the solution, like small businesses
need a CRM system. Instead say small business owners need
a simple way to remember important details about their customers

(02:55):
because they're too busy to take the detailed notes during
every interaction. Once you have this golden sentence, it's your
shield against feature bloat. Test every new idea against it.
Does this new feature solve the problem? If yes, build it,
Does it make solving the problem easier? Hold off until
you get real user feedback? Is it just cool but
doesn't actually help? Cast it into the fire of mount doom?

(03:17):
Speaking of saving time and money, here's a real world
example a photo management company spent eighty thousand dollars on
a fancy ai Chat sign up process for their app.
Their core problem was home parents need a simple way
to organize and share family photos safely. An ai chat
sign up doesn't help organize photos, it just complicates sign ups.
They burn through a massive chunk of their runway on

(03:38):
a nice to have instead of focusing on the core
features that people actually needed. Time for some homework. Write
down your core problem statement using our trustee formula. Then
ask three people who aren't your friends or family if
they have this problem. If they say yes and get
excited talking about it, you're onto something great. If they
look confused or say, I guess it's back to the

(03:58):
drawing board. Problem statement should make people go yes, that's
exactly my problem. That's it for today's episode of The
Missing Key. I'm your host edie, and I hope you
found this deep dive into crafting a core problem statement
enlightening and fun. Check the show notes for any links
or articles mentioned, and don't forget to message me with
any questions or thoughts. Keep your problem statements crisp and

(04:19):
your features focused. Catch you next time.