“How Might We” Exercise

The "How might we" (HMW) exercise helps teams solve problems by turning challenges into questions. Instead of focusing on what's wrong, it asks how might we make things better. The idea is to take a problem and reframe it into a positive, open-ended question that encourages creative thinking. For example, if users find a product hard to use, instead of saying, "Our product is confusing," you might ask, "How might we make our product easier to use?" This shift opens up space for brainstorming and finding new ideas.

The HMW exercise is useful because it makes problems feel like opportunities. It invites teams to think together, come up with solutions, and look at challenges in a new way. This helps lead to more innovative and user-friendly products.

The first step in creating effective "How might we" questions is linking them to real opportunities found in your research. Some teams make the mistake of asking general questions, like "How might we improve the product experience?" But this can lead to ideas that don’t target the real problems.

Start by reviewing the key insights you uncovered during discovery. Identify the top challenges, and use them to shape your HMW questions. For example:

• Problem: Our user research reveals that users are confused about our pricing plans.
• HMW: How might we make our pricing clearer for users?

This ensures your questions focus on real issues, leading to more relevant and useful solutions.

When crafting "How might we" (HMW) questions, don’t include specific solutions. Doing so limits the team’s creativity and narrows their focus. For example, instead of asking, “How might we build a tutorial video to help users understand the product?”, a better question is: “How might we help users understand the product better?” This way, the team can explore multiple solutions, such as tutorials, FAQs, or tooltips, rather than being restricted to just creating a video.

By keeping the question open-ended, you allow for more diverse and innovative solutions.

Some teams create "How might we" questions that are too broad, which can lead to solutions that don't target the core issues. For example, "How might we improve the user experience of the product?" is too vague and doesn't tie back to the key findings from discovery research.

To get better results, base your HMW questions directly on the top insights from your research. For instance:

• Problem: Usability tests reveal that our users aren't aware of the payment methods we offer.
• HMW: How might we increase awareness of our payment methods?

By focusing on specific problems, your HMW questions will generate solutions that are more relevant and actionable.^[1]

When crafting "How might we" questions, focus on the desired result rather than proposing a specific solution. This keeps the discussion open and encourages more ideas. For example, instead of asking, “How might we add more customer service reps to handle inquiries faster?”, focus on the outcome: “How might we reduce response times for customer inquiries?” This way, the team can explore multiple solutions, such as automation, self-service tools, or improving the current process, rather than being confined to just hiring more staff. This leads to broader thinking and more creative solutions.

Framing "How might we" questions in a positive way leads to more constructive and solution-focused discussions. Instead of emphasizing what's going wrong, focus on what you want to achieve. For example, rather than asking, "How might we prevent users from abandoning the checkout process?", rephrase it to, "How might we encourage users to complete the checkout process?" This positive approach encourages creative thinking and opens the door to a wider range of ideas.

Spend time writing and refining "How might we" questions as a team before brainstorming solutions. Everyone should contribute HMW questions, and then the group can evaluate them using a checklist.

Ask questions like:

• Is it based on a real problem or insight?
• Does it focus on a desired outcome?
• Is it phrased positively?
• Is it broad enough to allow for many creative ideas?
• Does it avoid suggesting a specific solution?

By co-creating, you can ensure the HMW questions are strong, relevant, and effective. If you have too many questions, look for overlap and combine similar ones. This helps teams focus on the right problems, generating more ideas, and increasing the project’s chances of success.