How To Reframe Any Problem

When we start the personal and business design sessions, the first thing we are working on is how to learn to reframe a problem.
Problems tend to look overwhelming and many times we don't know where to start. Other times we think we know what the problem is but if we dig deep enough, we see that there is something else that is causing the whole thing. 

Reframing a problem is easy to do if you follow these steps:

1 step: Write it down on a piece of paper. Let's pick a simple example to see how this works. Let's say my problem is that I'm stressed at work.

2 step: Write down the problem as a design question. Design questions always start with How might we, or how might I. We use the word might, instead of words like should or could, because might is more open to discussion and future options. Could and should are imperative and you don't want to restrict yourself. You might do something, but in the process, you might find that doing something else works better. We keep the option open by using the word "might". So our design question becomes "how might I reduce stress at work"?

3 step: Define the person you are solving the problem for. Is it only for you or is there someone else included? For example, I might be stressed at work because of my manager. That means there is another person in the process whom I need to include. 

4 step: Write down the context in which the problem arises. In this case, let's say that my manager is loading me with projects and I've got too much to do.

5 step: And that's a crucial one. Write down the impact you're trying to have. Let's set the impact, in this case, would be that you want to be more productive but because of stress, you cannot. So "be more productive" is the impact. 

6 step: Reframe the problem into a design question by combining all of the above. But before we do that we need to look at one last thing.

When you a have another person in the equation, you always, always, need to try and look at the whole thing from their perspective too, otherwise finding a solution will be incredibly difficult. 
In this example your problem is stress, but your manager's problem is the deadlines. If you want less stress, you have to take into account his deadlines too, and focus on your common objective. And in that case, it's your productivity. 

So, reframing the initial problem, "I'm stressed" into a design question will look something like this: "How might I help my manager prioritise my tasks so that I'm not stressed more productive ".

By reframing problems into design questions, you achieve some pretty amazing things: 1. You reshape the problem into a discussion 2. you have actionable items in your question 3. you can clearly see where to start.

And that is how we reframe problems during the Design Thyself sessions. 

So what's the problem that's bothering you and you would like to reframe?