Finding Problems to Solve

Think about the last feature request you received. Maybe a stakeholder asked for a new dashboard, or users demanded faster load times. Your instinct might be to start designing solutions right away. But successful PMs pause and ask a different question. “What problem are we really trying to solve?”

This shift in thinking transforms how you approach product development. Instead of rushing toward solutions, you create space to understand the real issues. You move from being a feature factory to becoming a problem solver. This approach saves time, reduces waste, and creates products that users actually need. This mindset makes your job easier. When you understand problems deeply, solutions become clearer. Stakeholder conversations become more productive. Your roadmap gains focus and purpose.^[1]

Problems are root causes that create pain for users. Symptoms are what users notice and complain about. When you treat symptoms without addressing problems, you create band-aid solutions that don't last. It's like taking painkillers for a broken bone without setting it properly.

Consider an e-commerce site where users abandon their carts. The symptom might be "users don't complete purchases." But the real problems could vary. Perhaps the checkout process is confusing. Maybe shipping costs appear too late. Or users might not trust the payment system. Each problem requires a different solution. Learning to spot this difference takes practice. Listen carefully to what users say, then dig deeper. Ask follow-up questions. Look for patterns across multiple complaints. The real problem often hides beneath several layers of symptoms.^[2]

Product managers live at the intersection of business needs and user needs. Stakeholders care about revenue, growth, and competitive advantage. Users care about solving their daily problems quickly and easily. Your job is to find the sweet spot where both sides win. This balancing act isn't always easy. A CEO might push for features that drive subscriptions. The sales team wants tools to close deals faster. Meanwhile, users just want your product to work without friction. Each group speaks a different language and has different priorities.

The key is translation. When stakeholders request features, translate them into user problems. When users express needs, translate them into business impact. This translation helps everyone see the bigger picture. It turns competing demands into aligned goals.

Remember that ignoring either side leads to failure. Products that only serve business needs lose users. Products that only serve users without creating business value don't survive. The magic happens when you find solutions that genuinely serve both.

User interviews are your window into real problems. But many teams conduct interviews wrong. They ask leading questions, talk too much, or focus on solutions instead of problems. Good interviews require different skills. The best interviews feel like conversations, not interrogations. Here are a few recommendations for facilitating an effective interview:

• Start with broad questions about users' daily routines. Ask about their frustrations and workarounds. Listen for emotions and pain points. When users mention problems, dig deeper with follow-up questions.
• Avoid asking what users want. Henry Ford allegedly said users would have asked for faster horses, not cars. Instead, focus on understanding their current situation. What tasks take too long? What makes them frustrated? Where do they struggle? These questions reveal problems worth solving.
• Practice staying quiet. Users often share the most valuable insights when you give them space to think. Count to 5 after they finish speaking before asking your next question. This silence often prompts them to share deeper thoughts they wouldn't have mentioned otherwise.

Your support team sits on a goldmine of user problems. Every ticket represents a real person struggling with your product. Support logs reveal problems users face every day. Consider the practices to handle them:

• Look for patterns in the complaints. If multiple users report the same issue, that's a problem worth solving. Pay attention to the language users use. Their words reveal how they think about your product and where mental models break down.
• Transform complaints into opportunities. A user who can't find a feature might indicate poor navigation. Confusion about pricing could signal unclear value communication. Each support ticket is a chance to understand where your product fails to meet user expectations.
• Create a regular habit of reviewing support logs. Set aside time each week to read through recent tickets. Look for trends and recurring themes. Share these insights with your team. This practice keeps you connected to real user problems and prevents you from making assumptions.

Understanding why customers choose or reject your product provides crucial insights. Win/loss interviews reveal decision-making factors you might never discover otherwise. These conversations uncover problems that prevent growth and opportunities to differentiate.

When customers choose you, don't just celebrate. Understand why. What problem were they trying to solve? What made your solution stand out? Which features sealed the deal? These insights help you double down on what works and attract similar customers.

Lost deals teach even more valuable lessons. Why did prospects choose competitors? What problems did your product fail to address? Where did the sales process break down? This feedback, though painful, points directly to problems worth solving.

Approach these interviews with genuine curiosity. Don't defend your product or argue with feedback. Thank participants for their honesty. Their insights are gifts that help you build better products. The problems they reveal often represent broader market needs.

There are many ways to uncover user problems: through interviews, support tickets, usage data, or surveys. Each of these methods highlights where people struggle and what they expect from your product. But raw complaints alone are not enough. To make them useful, you need to turn what you learn into a clear problem statement.

A well-crafted problem statement transforms vague feedback into actionable direction. It captures who experiences the problem, what they are trying to do, and why current solutions fail. This clarity aligns teams and keeps efforts focused on what matters most.

Avoid jumping straight to solutions. For example, “Users need a better search function” is not a problem statement but a solution assumption. Instead, write: “New users can’t find relevant products because our categories don’t match how they think about our inventory, causing 40% to leave without purchasing.”

Once you draft problem statements, test them with your team. Ask if they understand who is affected, why it matters, and whether it opens the door to multiple solutions. Strong problem statements create space for creative thinking instead of locking the team into a single fix.

Not all problems deserve your attention. Some affect too few users. Others require too much effort for minimal impact. Learning to prioritize problems is just as important as discovering them. This skill separates great PMs from good ones.

Start by assessing problem severity. How much pain does this cause users? How often do they experience it? A problem that slightly annoys everyone might matter less than one that completely blocks a critical workflow for key users. Context determines importance.

Consider business impact alongside user impact. Solving this problem might delight users, but will it drive your key metrics? Will it help acquire new customers or retain existing ones? Does it align with your product strategy? These questions help you focus on problems that create real value.

Use simple frameworks to compare problems objectively. Score each problem on user impact, business value, and effort required. This scoring helps you avoid bias and pet projects. It creates transparency in decision-making and helps your team understand why you're focusing on specific problems.