In design thinking (as well as in any product-development process), it is important to define the problem you want to solve before spending time and resources on generating possible solutions. (A great solution to the wrong problem will fail.) This approach maximizes resource use and decreases the likelihood for friction and disagreement in the prototyping, testing, and implementation stages.

User need statements, also often called problem statements or point-of-view statements, are the primary tool in the second stage of design thinking — the define stage; they align different points of view before moving forward into ideating. It doesn’t matter which term you choose to use (user need, problem, or point of view)— it only matters that you remain consistent throughout your organization.

Definition: A user need statement is an actionable problem statement used to summarize who a particular user is, the user’s need, and why the need is important to that user. It defines what you want to solve before you move on to generating potential solutions, in order to 1) condense your perspective on the problem, and 2) provide a metric for success to be used throughout the design thinking process.

Most importantly, the purpose of user need statements is to capture what we want to achieve with our design, not how. They help advance our presumptive solutions from specific features (such as a button or other UI implementation) towards deep insights about the problem that the user needs to solve. Simplistically, user need statements encourage us to see users’ needs as verbs (that is, goals and end states) instead of nouns that describe solutions. For example, users don’t ever need a dropdown (noun); they need to see the choices that they can make and select one of them (verb). They don’t need a dashboard (noun) — they need to digest varied information in one place (verb). The nouns are possible solutions to users’ needs, but they are not the only solutions. If we focus on these nouns, we run the risk of ending up with suboptimal designs. The entire purpose of ideation is to explore ideas, so don’t lock yourself down prematurely by selecting the solution too early.

Format: 3-Part

Traditional need statements have 3 components: 1) a user, 2) a need, and 3) a goal. These are then combined following the pattern [A user] needs [need] in order to accomplish [goal].

For example, [Alieda, a multitasking, tech-savvy mother of 2] needs [to quickly and confidently compare options without leaving her comfort zone] in order to [spend more time doing the things that really matter].

The user should correspond to a specific persona or real end-user segment you’ve done research on. It is helpful to include a short tagline that helps remind everyone who the user is, especially if the need statement will be used by a large team or by stakeholders who are removed from research:

• Alieda, a multitasking, tech-savvy mother of 2
• Carol Ann, a researcher with an appetite for adventure
• Sam, a connected YouTuber in the city

The need should be real, should belong to users, should not be made up by the team, and should not be phrased as a solution. Stay away from features, interface components, and specific technology. For example, possible goals may be:

• To quickly and confidently compare options without leaving her comfort zone
• To meet and socialize with others, while maintaining family balance
• To get validation from others when making an important decision

Keep in mind: users do not always know what they need, even though they may say so. A famous quote, attributed to Henry Ford, says, “If I asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” It is your job to understand the real need of your user.

The insight, or goal, is the result of meeting that need. It should be rooted in empathy. Look beyond the obvious — what will this solution allow the user to accomplish? For example, think about the user’s hopes, fears, and motivations:

• Spend more time doing the things that really matter
• Feel confident having new friends over for dinner
• Pursue a lifelong dream that has always taken the back seat

Benefits

The cognitive and collaborative process of making a user need statement and the finished statement itself have important benefits for your team and your organization:

• Capture the user and the need

A need statement distills your knowledge of the users and their need into a single sentence. It is especially helpful in condensing research insights (survey answers, user-interview transcripts, empathy maps) before looking for solutions — thus increasing clarity and allocation of time.

• Align the team along a concise goal

A user need statement is a concise, articulate way of communicating your user and their need across multiple team members and stakeholders. Once created, it should act as a guiding force — alignment throughout a project of what you and your team seek to solve.

• Identify a benchmark and measurement for success

User need statements, if properly crafted, have the added benefit of providing a metric for success prior to the onset of ideation, prototyping, and testing. Use the insight, or goal, and ask yourself: how will we know if we accomplish this? Then, as you create your needs statements, establish corresponding metrics for success. This approach will decrease friction down the road and set a clear bar for your team or organization.

Process

1. Set the scope

User need statements can be applied to varying scopes. It is likely you will have multiple need statements within one project: an overarching, umbrella statement and subordinate need statements that articulate smaller goals for that user type. You should scope your need statements based on your current project needs.

Start by creating an ‘umbrella’ or ‘parent’ (broadly scoped) need statement when your goal is to:

• Establish alignment for a long-term vision or roadmap
• Define the problem statement at the onset of a product’s conception

A ‘parent’ need statement will likely have a broad goal that will overarch each component of the project. For example, the need statement from above could be regarded as a parent goal:

[Alieda, a multitasking, tech-savvy mother of 2] needs [to quickly and confidently compare options without leaving her comfort zone] in order to [spend more time doing the things that really matter].

Conversely, it is beneficial to start with a ‘child’ (small-scope) need statement if your goal is to:

• Increase your comfort and fluency with need statements
• Create personal benchmarks for success as an individual practitioner or UX team of one
• Align the team on a user need within a larger product or service
• Set a goal for a week-long sprint

A ‘child’ need statement will have a specific need and a goal that can be satisfied in 1-2 releases:

[Alieda, a multitasking, tech-savvy mother of 2] needs [to schedule an installation appointment] in order to [coordinate her family’s schedule ahead of time and prevent additional stress].

2. Conduct (or gather existing) qualitative research

Gather the research you will be using to fuel your understanding of the users and their needs. Qualitative inputs such as user interviews, field studies, diary studies, or qualitative surveys can drive deep insights about your users. Also look at maps that your team has already made, such as empathy maps, journey maps, or service blueprints.

3. Generate, then mix and match

Using your research, generate candidates for the 3 variables in your needs statement: a user with tagline, a need, and an insight. Don’t worry about creating the perfect statement from the onset; instead, think about each variable in isolation, then start to mix and match. Combine different pairings until you have a statement that represents the user’s real need.

First time practitioners are often apprehensive to include anything that is not a verbatim finding from research in their need statements. However, it is important to remember that our users will not always directly say or even know precisely what they specifically need or why. Instead, it is our job as user-experience professionals to use the research, combined with our expertise, to derive insights. As Rebecca Sinclair, of Airbnb, reminds us “you are the designer. Your job is to be a deep, empathetic listener and to imagine ways to solve their problem. Take responsibility to create something better than the customer could have imagined. They are the inspiration, but you are the creator.” Practice this by continuing to ask yourself why:

• What does the user care about?
• Why is this important to the user?
• What emotion is driving the user’s behavior?
• What does the user stand to gain?

4. Critique your statement

Once you have a working statement, begin critiquing and iterating on it. Mix and match, altering the language and combining different inputs. Challenge yourself with questions:

• Are you thinking about your users’ needs as a verb, rather than a noun?
• Does this need statement launch you into ideation?
• Does the statement capture the nuances of what solving this need would mean in your user’s life?

5. Add methods of measurement

Upon landing on a final need statement, identify how you can measure its success. If you were to satisfy that need for your user, how would you know? Common methods of measurement include:

User Need Statements in Practice

A user need statement must be used throughout the product-development cycle in order for teams to reap the full benefits. Below are examples of when and why it is helpful to create and refer to a user need statement:

Example 1: Research

When: Analyzing and sharing a key finding from a user interview

How: After completing individual research analysis, create a user need statement on your own. Compare this user need statement to that generated by peer researchers. Combine and remix the various needs statements until you have a user need statement that is the best objective representation of the interview insights.

Why: To help you condense the essential from research into a single actionable statement that is easy to digest, share, and distribute

Tip: Directly compare need statements for different users to articulate the differences between user segments.

Example 2: Project Kick-off

When: Identifying goals at the beginning of a new-release cycle or sprint

How: Create the user need statement in a collaborative, hour-long workshop. Ask participants generate needs, then insights for a particular user. Prompt them to mix, match, and rewrite until they agree on one statement.

Why: To force alignment and prioritization across a multi-disciplinary team in a clear, articulated statement that team members can unite behind; also to mitigate objections or concerns later on in the release cycle

Tip: Have each team member sign or initial the statement to indicate they bought in and aligned behind the release goal.

Example 3: Retrospective

When: Reviewing the success of an added feature or capability after it has been implemented

How: Begin a retrospective by returning to the user need statement created at the onset of the project. Ask participants to rank their perception of success against the statement.

Why: To compare the effectiveness of what was implemented, against the original purpose (A user need statement should be accompanied by a clear definition of what success means —for example, higher click rate, more return purchases, etc.)

Tip: Compare self-evaluations of success to analytics and user data of the new feature or capability. Identify relationships and themes, and use the insights for the next release.

User Need Statements vs. Development Tasks, Stories, and Epics

At a glance, user need statements seem to be like other structures commonly used product development. Development tasks, user stories, and epics often take the same format: “[a user] needs [a way to do something].”

To better highlight the difference, let’s compare a need statement with a development statement:

Need statement:

[Alieda, a multitasking, tech-savvy mother of 2] needs [to quickly and confidently compare options without leaving her comfort zone] in order to [spend more time doing the things that really matter].

Development statement:

A user needs a comparison table in order to see different prices.

The need statement gives us a specific user, something that the user needs to do, and a clear, empathetic insight into why Alieda has that need. The development statement presents a generic user and a solution (comparison table), with an insight that explains what the solution will support, and is not based on research.

Both have their time and place. If you are early in the design thinking process, you should be pushing yourself to generate quality need statements that can act as a pillar throughout the ideation and prototyping. Use development statements as a mechanism for implementation, once you know what you want to address.

If you currently work with epics, stories, or tasks similar to user need statements, return to them and challenge yourself: can you make the user more specific? If you were to turn the noun into a verb, how would that need change? What is the deeper insight?

Conclusion

As their name suggests, user need statements articulate the end user’s problem we are going to solve, and why it is worth solving. They are a tool to help us stop thinking about users’ needs as nouns and start thinking about them as verbs. When done collaboratively and correctly, they can serve as a single source of truth for what you want to achieve as a team or organization.

Learn and practice creating needs statements in our full-day course Generating Big Ideas with Design Thinking.