problem-mapping

Problem Mapping is a foundational skill designed to help teams frame complex design challenges using the 'Understand' phase methodology from Google Design Sprints. It provides a structured environment to transform ambiguous problem spaces into clear, actionable documentation. This skill is ideal for product managers, designers, and engineering leads who need to align stakeholders, identify underlying assumptions, and establish success criteria before committing to specific technical or design solutions.

• Facilitates structured exploration through a six-step framework: Problem Statement, Users/Stakeholders, Goals, Constraints, Assumptions, and Pain Points.

• Offers three distinct operational modes: Solo for individual discovery, Team Sync for facilitated workshops, and Team Async for gathering distributed, diverse perspectives.

• Generates comprehensive output documents in markdown format, providing a solid foundation for 'How Might We' (HMW) exercises and subsequent solution brainstorming.

• Ensures objective documentation by specifically avoiding premature solution generation or decision-making, leaving interpretation to human teams.

• Enables synthesis in async mode, where the agent aggregates individual responses into themes, highlighting patterns of alignment and divergence.

• Operate in Solo mode for personal project planning or prep work by responding to reflective, guided prompts.

• Utilize Team Sync mode during kickoff meetings or design retreats, with one person acting as a facilitator to read Claude's prompts aloud.

• Use Team Async mode when scheduling is difficult; gather inputs from team members via Slack or email, then feed them to the agent for structured synthesis.

• Note that this skill requires human oversight to evaluate the significance of documented pain points and assumptions.

• The output is intended as a living document; it should be reviewed and refined by the team to validate the identified risks, constraints, and knowledge gaps before moving to the development phase.