1 min read
Voice of the Customer - What Does Value Really Mean?
In the previous article we explored how to craft a strong problem statement. But here's another critical question: how to you know which problems are...
Are you solving the right problem?
Here's an uncomfortable truth: many improvement projects fail not because of poor execution, but because they solved the wrong problem. Organizations waste countless hours addressing symptoms while root causes remain untouched.
Consider this famous example: In 1985, Coca-Cola launched "New Coke" to solve what they defined as a "taste preference problem". Their largest competitor, Pepsi, was winning blind taste tests. Coke invested millions in their new recipe and marketing. The product failed spectacularly. Why? Coke had solved the wrong problem. Customers valued the emotional connection and tradition of original Coke. By defining the problem as a “taste preference problem”, they missed what truly mattered to their customers.
A well-crafted problem statement has TWO essential qualities – it articulates the GAP between what should be happening and what is happening and it quantifies the IMPACT. So, how to get it right?
A good problem statement is:
1. Specific about what exactly is happening.
Strong ✅
"Customer service response times exceed 48 hours for 60% of email inquiries"
Weak ❌
"Customer service is poor"
2. Locates where the problem is occurring:
Problems don't happen everywhere or all at once. Is it one department? One region? One product line? Narrowing the scope makes the problem solvable.
Strong ✅
"In the Northeast regional distribution center" or "During the month-end close process in accounting"
Weak ❌
"The process takes too long and is inefficient"
3. Time Frame: When did this start or how long has it persisted?
Strong ✅
"Since the new CRM system implementation in March 2025" or "Over the past six months" (Notice how this helps identify potential causes and creates urgency.)
Weak ❌
"Our customer follow-up is insufficient"
4. Gap Statement: Current state vs. desired state
Strong ✅
"Current average response time: 52 hours | Target: 24 hours" (This defines success clearly and prevents scope creep.)
Weak ❌
"We need to get customer orders to the shipping department faster"
5. Quantifies the impact and answers the question what's the consequence?
Why should anyone care? Connect the problem to business result or customer experience.
Strong ✅
"...resulting in 23% of customers escalating to phone support, increasing support costs by $45K monthly and reducing customer satisfaction scores from 4.2 to 3.1 stars"
Weak ❌
"The same customers call multiple times"
Putting It All Together
Strong ✅
"In our accounts payable department, invoice processing time has increased from an average of 3 days to 7 days over the past four months, causing late payment fees of $12,000 monthly and straining vendor relationships. Our target is to return to 3-day processing within 90 days."
Weak ❌
"We need to improve our process"
See the difference? The strong version gives you:
- A clear, quantified metric (processing time: 7 days vs. 3 days target)
- Specific location (accounts payable)
- Measurable impact ($12K monthly + vendor relationships)
- Timeline (past four months, 90-day improvement goal)
- A foundation for root cause analysis
Lean practitioners are trained to facilitate problem definition sessions with stakeholders, ensuring everyone agrees on what problem you're solving before jumping to solutions. This single skill prevents more wasted effort than perhaps any other Lean tool. It’s often said that spending an hour on the problem statement will save the team 10 or more hours in the analysis phase of an improvement project.
Want to build this skill with your team?
Explore our public training programs.
Training ProgramsHave a problem like this right now?
Talk to us about a working session for your team.
Book a Consultation
1 min read
Metrics That Matter
Craig Szelestowski : Oct 26, 2025, 10:45:00 AM
We mapped our process and we’ve found waste everywhere, maybe we even have some ideas about what to do about it. Now we need to decide how we will...
1 min read
How Backlogs Are Born and How to Make Sure They Never Come Back
Craig Szelestowski : Feb 12, 2026, 9:30:00 AM
The backlog is the great shame of the public service. It fills staff with dread, leaders with pressure and clients with frustration. Every team that...