Map
Framework

The consulting problem statement worksheet

The question it answers

When a consulting project lead receives a client’s problem, what must be settled before analysis begins: the question, context, success criteria, scope, stakeholders and sources of insight?

Origin
Conn and McLean, 2019; Umbrex, n.d.
Diagram type
Process by phase
Level of analysis
Team
Topics
Business consulting
Clipboard with a glass checklist panel, icon for consulting

Diagram

The consulting problem statement worksheet

  1. Six parts of the worksheet
  2. QuestionA specific, measurable, time-bound question whose answer is the solution.
  3. ContextThe situation and complications inside and outside the client: industry trends, position, capability gaps, financial flexibility.
  4. Success criteriaHow the client and the team define success and failure; besides the main number, the timing of impact and the mindset shifts needed.
  5. Scope and constraintsScope is usually the markets or segments of interest; constraints restrict the kind of solution within that scope.
  6. StakeholdersWho decides, who can help, who can block.
  7. Key sources of insightThe best-practice expertise that already exists and the knowledge to draw from the client, suppliers and customers: who, what, when, how and why.

When to use it, and when not to

Use it when

Use it at the start of a consulting project or a large internal task, when the client describes the problem as a symptom (“sales have stalled”) and not yet as a question. Fill in the six parts with the client before you build an issue tree or an analysis plan.

Avoid it when

The six parts come from the guide by (Umbrex, n.d.) to the McKinsey approach to problem solving; stating the problem is the first step of the seven-step process in (Conn and McLean, 2019). The worksheet only fixes the problem and does not replace the analysis: when the client already has a clear, agreed question, do not fill in all six cells for the sake of it.

Pitfalls

Pitfall

Fixing the question too early or too narrowly. According to (Umbrex, n.d.), the way the problem is stated limits the solutions that are possible, so constraints must be chosen on purpose.

Sources

References

Listed A–Z by author surname, Harvard style. A source with a DOI links to https://doi.org/…; one without links to its page or says plainly that it has no DOI.

  1. Conn, C. and McLean, R. (2019) Bulletproof problem solving: the one skill that changes everything. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.No DOIwiley.comCited in 1 article
  2. Umbrex (n.d.) McKinsey approach to problem solving. Umbrex.No DOIumbrex.comCited in 1 article