Jared Spool on how to understand the problem behind the assignment:
How do we start to understand the problem their proposed solution wants to address? After dealing with this very problem for decades, I’ve come up with a simple question. I call it the Back Up Question.
A Key To Unlocking The Problem The Back Up Question is simple: Let’s say we do a great job on this. A year later, what great things have our users accomplished because we delivered a great design?
I call it the Back Up Question, not because it’s an alternative to another question, but because it forces our stakeholders and clients to back up for a moment and talk about the outcome. By framing the question in terms of what our users accomplish, we focus that outcome on a benefit to them.