Separating problems from people

The right questions are at the heart of discovery. And one of the very first questions you should be asking yourself is “What assumptions can I challenge?”

The mere act of trying to discover what assumptions you and others are making can give you a new perspective on the challenge you're facing.

Go beyond the basic features being asked for and get to the heart of the problem.

Ask questions like: Who cares about this problem? Why is it important to them?

If there are no good answers to these questions, is the problem even worth working on?

Often the most difficult step, because it's easy to focus on the wrong part of the problem, or look at the problem too broadly.

The first thing you need to do is reduce it to its simplest and purest form so you know exactly what you're dealing with. While you're doing this, you need to ask yourself questions to make sure you're focusing on the right things. 

You need a plan with actionable steps. Ask yourself what's barring you from moving forward and make step one. Step one will open doors to other steps. 

Consider which steps will open more doors, add them to the plan, and keep doing that until you get to your solution. Things will change as you act on the plan and you'll need to adapt, so it's best to keep your plan somewhat open-ended and try to include steps that involve preparing for trouble you can foresee.