Assessing the Pain of the Problem 💢

This lesson teaches innovators how to assess the pain caused by a problem to ensure their solution addresses a significant need. By evaluating the severity, frequency, and impact of the problem, they can prioritize developing a value-adding solution.

Overview:

Imagine you’re thinking of creating a task management app to help busy parents stay organized. But before diving in, your investor asks, “How big is the pain caused by this problem?” This is where a Problem Pain Assessment helps. By researching, you discover parents are constantly juggling tasks, leading to missed appointments, high stress, and sleepless nights.

You measure the frequency (daily struggles), impact (increased anxiety), and risk (important tasks slipping through the cracks). Now, you can confidently show that your solution targets a painful problem, proving your app will bring real relief to busy families. This way, you’re building something that users will truly value, not just something that’s “nice to have.” 📅👨‍👩‍👧‍👦

Key Concepts Covered:

• Understanding Pain Points: Learning to identify and define specific ways the problem impacts users, including activities affected.
• Measuring Frequency and Impact: Techniques to quantify how often the problem occurs and its effects on users’ lives or work.
• Assessing Risk: Evaluating the risk or consequences of the problem if left unresolved, helping to understand the urgency of solving it.
• Prioritizing High-Impact Problems: Focusing on problems with the most severe and frequent pain points to ensure meaningful solutions.
• Creating Value-Driven Solutions: Ensuring the proposed solution directly alleviates pain points and offers measurable improvements.

Want to learn more?:

Check out these resources!

• “Measuring the Impact of Innovation” by International Development Innovation Alliance - This resource offers a framework for evaluating the impact of development projects on beneficiaries, scaling potential, and sustainability
• "How to Empathize with Customer Pain Points and Address Them Effectively" by Hubspot - HubSpot’s guide emphasizes strategies for discovering customer pain points directly from feedback, the sales team, and online comments. It includes steps to transform customer frustrations into opportunities for improvement by categorizing pain points such as financial, productivity, and communication issues 

About the instructor:

Jeff “Smoker” Adling enlisted in the Air Force in 2002 from Dallas, Texas, and later earned a commission through Officer Training School. Over the course of his diverse career, he held key roles as a communications technician, logistics officer, inspector general, and special operations pilot with over 2,000 flying hours in remotely piloted and nonstandard aircraft. As a Lean/Six Sigma Black Belt, he channeled his passion for organizational behavior and problem-solving into unlocking the potential of diverse teams, addressing even the most challenging issues. He is also an experienced innovation coach, utilizing the science of storytelling to empower Airmen in advocating for their solutions.

Prior to joining the Productable team, Jeff was the Master Process Officer for Air Force Special Operations Command, spearheading continuous improvement and innovation throughout AFSOC.  He is currently pursuing a Doctorate of Business Administration from The University of Florida and spends his free time perfecting his photography.