> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://diy-startup-school.gitbook.io/welcome-to-diy-startup-school/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://diy-startup-school.gitbook.io/welcome-to-diy-startup-school/chapter-i/craft-a-detailed-problem-statement.md).

# Craft a detailed problem statement

As you inhabit the problem space, you stay open-minded and focused on questioning: 

* What is the problem? 
* Is that *really* the problem?
* Where is the problem coming from?
* Whose problem is it?

If you’re like most others, you’ll start this process with a vague problem statement that you *think* is specific enough — maybe along the lines of, “*Copywriters use too many buzzwords*.”

Not bad, but don’t stop there. Keep chipping away until you have 1 or 2 sentences describing a singular problem that’s tied to a specific person (most likely you, at this point). Here’s how that could play out for the above example.

#### [**Get a template to make your own detailed problem statement**](https://thesuccesssecret.notion.site/thesuccesssecret/The-Success-Secret-Workbook-cc2b1e22399b4fba915193d1320bf5ec)

**Problem statements for “too many buzzwords in B2B copy”:** 

**Bad**: “B2B copy has gotten repetitive and derivative, with little leeway or reward for experimentation and breaking the mold.”

**Good: “**Increasing competitive pressures and ever-changing search algorithms have led B2B copywriters to focus on increasing their word count instead of making every word count.”

**Better**: “The focus on quantity over quality in lead-gen B2B copywriting has made it so writers are held to exponentially increasing metrics without a corresponding increase in resources.” 

See how each step pushes you to the next via a “why”? That’s the right way to interrogate a problem so you can get closer to a human-centered pain. What does the pain look like? Who else has that pain? What’s their pain stemming from?