Human-Centered Problem Solving
Why Associations Should Focus on People Not Solutions
Summary
“Customers don't care about your solution. They care about their problems.”
Dan Olsen
Associations don’t exist to serve members; we exist to help members identify, describe, and solve problems. We do this by designing, building, and sustaining vibrant communities. It is through empathy, relationships, and walking in our member’s shoes that we can truly understand their day-to-day needs.
‘Problem space’ and ‘solution space’ are concepts used in design thinking to help teams develop products. The problem space is the process of identifying, understanding, and defining a problem. It's where we learn about member needs so we can determine what our offerings – events, learning programs, publications – need to do to solve these problems.
The solution space is our offerings. is the process of generating, developing, and testing solutions to address the problem identified in the problem space. It's where we consider a range of options to meet member needs in a human-centered way.
I lead the product community, a product development learning community designed specifically for associations. Let’s compare ideas and build something great.
Being Human-Centered
"Every story of a good innovation begins and ends with people. It starts with careful discernment of human needs, and concludes with solutions that meet or exceed personal expectations"
LUMA Institute
A human-centered organization fulfills its purpose for (and through) its people – members, staff, volunteers, donors, sponsors, learners – and deliberately orients all activities around those people. According to research conducted and published in the IBM report Building A Human-Centered Organization, a human-centered organization focuses on the following:
Instead of framing opportunities around internal logistics, human-centered organizations frame them from the outside-in: as customer needs.
Instead of measuring success against metrics relevant only to the organization, human-centered organizations measure success against metrics relevant to members, customers, or the broader community of stakeholders.
Instead of designing for abstract, fixed personas, human-centered organizations recognize the dynamic nature of their users and customers, empowering them to actively participate in the design and delivery of their experiences.
What does this mean for members?
I find most associations espouse member-centrism, yet we may not be as human-centered as we think. Yes, we serve members through benefits, annual or semi-annual experiences like events, and regular content like newsletters, magazines, journals, or podcasts. We also offer professional development, advocacy, and networking.
But are these ‘benefits’ truly human-centered? Do we truly empathize with, and build relationships with, our members? Or do we just offer them stuff?
In the creation of an authentic community, our focus should be on the problems that members are trying to solve. Let’s explore the problem space.
Why We Should Focus on Problems
“The main reason products fail is because they don't meet customer needs in a way that is better than other alternatives.”
Dan Olsen
I’ve worked for solution-oriented bosses. Go, go, go! Action now! Serve members! At face value, this instinct makes sense. Yet it also serves to justify our scurrying around the office satisfying stakeholders in a resource-strained association.
The problem?
It kept us serially focused on the short-term. We reacted much more than we built authentic relationships. All actions were focused on following members around with a snack tray asking if they wanted crackers or cookies. Satisfying members is a short road to creating a power imbalance that loses their respect.
It is substantially better to work as partners in crime, to dig deep into member’s lives so we can accurately grasp their needs, wants, cares, and struggles.
Understanding members through their eyes helps us earn the trust that builds strong relationships. It’s how we get good at anticipating needs and translating these needs into strong programming.
Member problems are the basis for all value creation. Value creation is what we offer members. It can be referred to plainly as programs and services or as our product portfolio.
Yet we often lack a shared understanding of member needs.
The concept of problem space and solution space, coined by Dan Olsen as part of his Product-Market Fit Pyramid, is a framework for understanding and approaching product development.
Here we focus on the member (denoted here as the target customer and their underserved needs). It is how we build our value proposition to anchor offerings that are equally compelling as they scratch a particular itch.
Problem space refers to the area where customer needs, pain points, and desires exist. It encompasses the member's world, their challenges, and what they're trying to achieve. Understanding the problem space involves deep customer research and empathy.
Solution space is the realm of potential solutions to address the identified problems. These solutions are our events, programs, and content. It includes the features, functionalities, and overall product design that aim to solve member problems.
The solution space is where product teams ideate, prototype, and iterate. These, for instance, are our annual conference planning teams developing a program plan. It’s where we apply what we know about members to the solutions they desire and will engage with meaningfully.
The problem space is always a subset of the solution space. Distinguishing between them helps us avoid jumping to solutions before fully understanding the underlying issues. What are the implications for our offerings and member experience? Let’s dig into that now.
Implications for Value Creation
"If I had an hour to solve a problem and my life depended on the solution, I would spend the first 55 minutes determining the proper question to ask".
Albert Einstein
Understanding and starting with our member’s problems helps us create the right experiences, offerings, content, and learning. Here are some benefits to taking this approach (as opposed to just jumping in and creating a new podcast, webinar series, or mentoring program):
Member-Centric Approach – By separating problem and solution spaces, teams are forced to first deeply understand member needs before jumping to solutions. This prevents the common pitfall of building products that don't address real member problems.
Innovation – A clear understanding of the problem space can lead to more innovative and effective solutions.It encourages thinking beyond obvious solutions to find truly valuable, usable, and sticky alternatives.
Prioritization – Helps teams focus on solving the most critical problems, leading to products that deliver maximum value.
Flexibility – Separating problem and solution allows for flexibility in exploring different, sometimes novel, solutions to the same problem.
Validation – Makes it easier to validate whether a proposed solution actually addresses the identified problem.
Communication – Provides a framework for clearer communication between different stakeholders in the product development process.
Resource Efficiency – By focusing on the problem space, teams avoid wasting resources on developing solutions for non-existent or low-priority problems.
Continuous Improvement – Encourages ongoing research in the problem space, leading to continuous product improvement and innovation.
This concept of understanding problems shifts our focus, for instance, from putting our annual conference on autoplay towards truly understanding and solving member problems.
This is the heart of creating value and achieving product-market fit. It is also when an offering is well-positioned to meet member needs. This match between a product and a market segment results in high demand, deep engagement, and strong connection.
Empathy and Impact
“There's no better way to understand the hopes, desires, and aspirations of those you're designing for than by talking with them directly.”
IDEO
It’s hard to create great events, produce solid content, or build best-in-practice learning, if we don’t know our members fully. Investing in (and getting good at) understanding them will help us create the right experiences to meet their needs.
The problem space is where our members live with their underserved needs. By understanding these needs we express empathy. From empathy, we build relationships and engage in continuous discovery. Knowing our members inside and out will add value to their lives. Understanding these needs builds trust. A community anchored in trust is a community of care and, ultimately, a community of impact.
I lead the product community; we are a learning community because we believe great relationships help us create the value our members want. Remember, product-led growth fuels connection. Join the product community and flip your destiny.
About the Author
James Young is founder and chief learning officer of the product community®. Jim is an engaging trainer and leading thinker in the worlds of associations, learning communities, and product development. Prior to starting the product community®, Jim served as Chief Learning Officer at both the American College of Chest Physicians and the Society of College and University Planning. Please contact me for a conversation: james@productcommunity.us