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Problem framing, not problem-solving: the skill necessary to grow as a UX professional
Understanding the problem space by asking the right questions helps everyone
Problem framing is one of those unspoken skills that is almost required to become a Senior UX Designer.
Learning this skill requires shifting away from a problem-solving mindset. I only realized I had adopted the skill once I started leading UX discussions with Executives and Product Owners. It's also been vital in helping me get that seat at the table and advocating for the user through research and design.
But to explain problem framing, I first have to explain what it's not: problem-solving.
The flaws about only being a problem-solver
When researching my new book, The Resilient UX professional, I often found that Junior UX Designers like to say they are "Problem Solvers." It sounds good, especially from a business point of view.
The business might have specific usability problems, so they're hiring UX Designers to find and fix them. I even highlighted that the "Product" team is supposed to define the problem while UX/Engineer creates the solution. So what's the problem with this?
First and foremost is that the business might need to understand the problem more since they're not an expert in it. One of the clearest examples of this comes from Data Science.
A stakeholder isn't going to a Data Scientist and saying: "Hey, I want you to build a predictive model using regression fit with 80% accuracy in the test data."
They'd probably go, "We have this business problem and some data, can you solve it somehow?"
It's an extreme example but highlights the disconnect between the two problems. The Product team understands the business problem, like customer loyalty dropping. But they need to understand the UX side more.
Yet I've often seen Junior UX Designers essentially sit and wait for Product to figure things out (if they ever do) before working on the solution. It's crucial to consider the problem from the user's side and speak up on their behalf.
