How might we…?
A technique for turning a problem or an insight into an open, optimistic question that invites ideas: “How might we…?”
What it’s for
It helps you move from understanding the problem to generating solutions, without closing off the answer too soon.
Key elements
How
It assumes there is a solution.
Might
It invites you to explore several, without committing to one.
We
It is a question for the team.
An example
Starting from an insight: people don’t understand their account statement, even though they say they do.
The question keeps the solution space open without losing the focus of the insight.
How it’s done
You start from an insight or a specific problem.
You reframe it as a question neither too broad nor too narrow.
You use it as the starting point for ideation.
Applications in design
When to use it
After synthesizing research, when you have an insight and need to turn it into a challenge for ideation.
Avoid
Putting the solution inside the question (“How might we build an app that…?”).
Don’t fall for it
If nobody has ideas, the question is too broad; if only one fits, it is too narrow.
Connections
Authors and works
- 1982
Min Basadur, George Graen and Stephen Green
Documented in industry a training for finding problems and framing them as open challenges, a forerunner of the “How might we…?” question.
Min Basadur (per Berger, 2012)
Used the phrasing at Procter & Gamble to frame problems in a positive way.
- 2015
IDEO.org
Included it among the methods of human-centered design.
Sources
Original sources
- Basadur, M., Graen, G. B., & Green, S. G. (1982). Training in creative problem solving: Effects on ideation and problem finding and solving in an industrial research organization. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 30(1), 41–70. View source: Basadur, M., Graen, G. B., & Green, S. G. (1982)
Secondary sources
- Berger, W. (2012, September 17). The secret phrase top innovators use. Harvard Business Review. View source: Berger, W. (2012, September 17)
- IDEO.org (2015). The field guide to human-centered design. IDEO.org.
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