Problem Framing Canvas
Turn vague churn or activation pain into a refined problem statement and How Might We (HMW) prompt before scoping features or writing specs.
Overview
problem-framing-canvas is an agent skill most often used in Validate (also Idea, Build) that turns raw observations into a refined problem statement and HMW before scoping product work.
Install
npx skills add https://github.com/deanpeters/product-manager-skills --skill problem-framing-canvasWhat is this skill?
- Eight-question canvas from observed behavior through refined problem statement and HMW
- Worked SaaS onboarding example with 60% step-3 drop-off and solopreneur audience
- Surfaces assumption and optimization biases (e.g. building for enterprise vs actual users)
- Outputs a quotable problem statement and measurable HMW (e.g. activation 40% → 70%)
- Compares who else has the problem vs who has been left out of prior solutions
- Eight-question problem framing flow through refined statement and HMW
- Example documents 60% onboarding drop-off at step 3
Adoption & trust: 1.2k installs on skills.sh; 5k GitHub stars; 3/3 security scanners passed (skills.sh audits).
What problem does it solve?
You see drop-off or complaints but your team jumps to features without agreeing who hurts, why, and what success would look like.
Who is it for?
Indie PMs and founder-builders validating SaaS onboarding, positioning, or feature bets with qualitative and behavioral evidence.
Skip if: Engineering-only tasks when the problem statement is already signed off, or pure market sizing without a user pain narrative.
When should I use this skill?
You have behavioral or qualitative signals but stakeholders disagree on the problem before scoping or prototyping.
What do I get? / Deliverables
You get a refined problem statement plus an HMW with a measurable goal, ready to feed into roadmap, prototype, or writing-plans style spec work.
- Refined problem statement (Q7)
- How Might We statement with measurable aim (Q8)
Recommended Skills
Journey fit
Spans multiple journey phases - primary shelf plus alternate fits below.
Problem framing is the canonical validate shelf step before you lock MVP scope, pricing experiments, or build plans. The canvas narrows what to build by clarifying who suffers, when, consequences, and biases—core scope work, not implementation.
Where it fits
Translate interview notes about confused signup users into Q1 observed behavior before competitor sweeps.
Decide whether to fix onboarding copy vs add enterprise SSO by finishing Q7–Q8 HMW with a 40%→70% activation target.
Reconcile an engineering proposal with Q3 bias check when the team optimized for internal ease over solopreneurs.
How it compares
Structured PM canvas in SKILL.md—not a analytics dashboard integration or automated user-research MCP.
Common Questions / FAQ
Who is problem-framing-canvas for?
Solo builders and small teams who wear the PM hat and need language to align on the real user problem before building.
When should I use problem-framing-canvas?
In Idea/Validate when prioritizing opportunities—e.g. framing onboarding churn before a landing test—or in Build when a spec still disagrees on the underlying problem.
Is problem-framing-canvas safe to install?
It is documentation-style workflow text; still review Security Audits on this page and only paste customer data you are allowed to share with your agent.
SKILL.md
READMESKILL.md - Problem Framing Canvas
# Problem Framing Canvas Examples ### Example 1: Good Problem Framing (SaaS Onboarding) **Q1 Response:** "Observed behavior — Users abandon onboarding at step 3 (60% drop-off)" **Q2 Response:** "It's hard (technically complex) + We've assumed we know what customers want" **Q3 Response:** "Optimizing for ourselves, not users — Building what's easy for us (enterprise features), ignoring solopreneurs" **Q4 Response:** - **Who:** Non-technical small business owners - **When:** First 24 hours after signup - **Consequences:** Waste time trying to configure product, give up, churn **Q5 Response:** - **Who else has it:** Most SaaS products struggle with onboarding activation - **Who doesn't:** Consumer apps with guided tours (Duolingo, Instagram) **Q6 Response:** - **Who's been left out:** Solopreneurs without IT support - **Who benefits (problem exists):** Engineering doesn't have to build guided flows **Q7 - Refined Problem Statement:** "The problem is: Non-technical small business owners struggle to activate our product during onboarding because we use jargon-heavy UI and lack guided workflows, which leads to 60% abandonment within 24 hours. This disproportionately affects solopreneurs without technical support, and has been overlooked because our team optimizes for enterprise users who have IT departments." **Q8 - HMW Statement:** "How might we guide non-technical users through onboarding with plain-language prompts as we aim to increase activation from 40% to 70%?" **Why this works:** - Look Inward revealed internal bias (optimizing for enterprise) - Look Outward identified overlooked segment (solopreneurs) - Reframe produced actionable HMW statement tied to metric --- ### Example 2: Bad Problem Framing (Jumped to Solution) **Initial statement:** "We need a mobile app" **Why this fails:** - Solution disguised as problem - No exploration of root cause - Skipped Look Inward and Look Outward phases **Fix with canvas:** - **Q1:** "Customers complain they can't access product on the go" - **Q2:** "Low priority (focused on desktop features)" - **Q3:** "Assumed mobile-first users weren't our target" - **Q4:** "Freelancers, field workers experience this" - **Q5:** "Competitors offer mobile apps; we don't" - **Q6:** "Mobile-first users left out; desktop power users benefit from status quo" - **Q7:** "The problem is: Mobile-first users (freelancers, field workers) can't access core workflows on the go, forcing them to wait until they're at a desktop, which delays time-sensitive work" - **Q8:** "How might we enable mobile-first users to complete core workflows on any device as we aim to expand TAM by 30%?" **Now solution space is clear:** Mobile app is one solution; responsive web, progressive web app (PWA), or SMS/Slack integrations are alternatives. --- --- name: problem-framing-canvas description: Guide teams through MITRE's Problem Framing Canvas. Use when you need a clearer problem statement before jumping to solutions. intent: >- Guide product managers through the MITRE Problem Framing Canvas process by asking structured questions across three phases: Look Inward (examine your own assumptions and biases), Look Outward (understand who experiences the problem and who doesn't), and Reframe (synthesize insights into an actionable problem statement and "How Might We" question). Use this to ensure you're solving the right problem before jumping to solutions—avoiding confirmation bias, overlooked stakeholders, and solution-first thinking. type: interactive best_for: - "Clarifying a messy problem before solutioning" - "Surfacing assumptions and overlooked stakeholders" - "Creating a bias-resistant problem statement in a workshop" scenarios: - "Run a Problem Framing Canvas for our mobile retention issue" - "Help me reframe this stakeholder request before we build anything" - "We need a clearer problem statement for onboarding drop-off" --- ## Purpose Guide product managers through the MITRE Problem Framing Ca