Writing a Strong Problem Statement

Last reviewed: April 2026

A strong problem statement does three jobs at once. It tells the reviewer what is happening now, why it matters commercially, and why the proposed intervention is reasonable. Weak statements describe a preference. Strong statements describe a business constraint.

Weak versus strong

Weak: "We want to improve productivity and digitalise the business."

Stronger: "Customer orders are manually re-entered across sales, fulfilment, and invoicing, causing duplicate data entry, delayed confirmation, and avoidable billing corrections. The business needs an integrated workflow to reduce turnaround time and improve data accuracy."

What a reviewer looks for

A practical reviewer lens includes:

specificity
relevance to the scheme
measurable pain or risk
a logical bridge to the proposed solution
proportionality between the problem and the requested support

How to build the statement

Use this sequence:

current state
pain point
business impact
why existing approach is insufficient
what type of intervention is needed

Avoid jumping straight to product features.

Important note

Warning
Do not confuse a solution statement with a problem statement. 'We need an ERP' is not a problem statement.

Next step

Continue to Budget and Cost Justification Guide.