3 Problem Frame For New Product Managers

Q: What's one advice you'd give new Product Managers when designing solutions?

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Don't exit the problem space prematurely.

Let's take a ketchup bottle as an example.

You've probably experienced the perils of a jammed bottle. You invert it on your sandwich but nothing comes out.

This phenomenon is promptly followed by a series of vigorous palm slaps & then some vicious shaking. When it finally complies, it vomits out a red splash in an unintended direction.

One way of framing the problem => How may we change the sauce to come out of the bottle more easily?

Can we change the viscosity of the sauce? How easy is that?

This might require extensive RnD, re-formulation of the recipe, taste/texture testing & updating processes at prep centers.

What's another way of thinking about it? The JTBD is to "get the sauce out" after all.

Reframe:

How may we change the bottle shape so that the sauce comes out more easily?

Move from glass to a plastic squeezy. Shape it such that it's supposed to be stored on its head.

This design ensures a consistent jet of luscious sauce with every squeeze.

*Oh my. I sound like a salesman.*

Now, you can do a cost-benefit to compare it with the first approach.

Changing the angle of attack can lead to a more practical & feasible solution.

Want a tech example? Sure. Let's do grocery delivery.

Frustration point:

Customer places an order for an item that's out of stock. They get that customary (annoying) notification or call that a certain item(s) will not be delivered due to unavailability.

Customers hate partial orders. So, what are ways to solve this?

Problem Frame #1

How may we ensure that we have generous stocking of all the items on our app? (becomes an operational & supply chain problem.)

Problem Frame #2

How may we ensure that the search listing on our app is always consistent with the stocking levels of the item? (requires extensive digitization of inventory.)

But what's the "job"? The customer wants an item to fulfill a certain need. They want water to drink or oil to cook.

A follow up Q might be:

How critical is it to bring that exact item? Would an equivalent item suffice?

Ex: I order a box of water bottles, tissue boxes or eggs but the brand or exact SKU I requested isn't available. How open are customers to getting another brand or a different count of tissue boxes?

If research reveals that customers can be indifferent to this, then here's another frame.

Problem Frame #3

How may we enable customers to elect replacements if a certain item isn't available? Or indicate they aren't too picky about a "specific" item?

Any app that worked with this frame?

Instacart.

When you checkout on their app, it gives you an option to select backups for each item (or allowing the rider the liberty to choose) minimizing partial deliveries.

Is it perfect? Maybe not. But it's less complex to execute.

So, play around in the problem space. You might find a far more accessible vantage point.