While Design Thinking is not a linear process, it does follow a basic structure. At times, steps may repeat, but it is essential to go through each step to produce a well-crafted, meaningful product. The last few weeks, I have spent time learning the various Empathy methods or step 1 of the Design Thinking process; I am now ready to try my hand at Step 2- defining the problem.
While in the Empathize step, I gathered data and created this empathy map for people who work at TGI Friday’s. I found the employees’ pain points, goals, and motivations. I used this data to define the problem and pieced it together to form five meaningful, actionable problem statements. I followed these general guidelines and the template pictured below:
- Must be human-centered. The user’s needs need to frame the problem statement.
- Do not include any requirements or restrictions that would hinder the team.
- The problem statement must be actionable. It has to start to spur ideas for the team to begin generating solutions.
TGI Friday Problem Statements
PROBLEM STATEMENT 1
Driving traffic during lunchtime is a challenge for TGI Friday’s because more people view it as a happy hour and dinnertime place.
During lunchtime, there were very few people dining in. Suzanna, a server, was not busy, so she took it upon herself to put coupons on cars in adjacent parking lots to encourage traffic. Ray Blanchette, the CEO, was very impressed with her efforts; he was expressive in his manners and said, “Wow.” He also stated that he would like to task TGI Friday’s marketing department to find creative ways to bring people in for lunch.
PROBLEM STATEMENT 2
Restaurant repairs are a challenge from Brittney because the TGI Friday’s corporate office is not responding in a timely manner and approving the repair request.
Bar Manager, Brittney, explains that the ceiling collapsed during the middle of a shift. Currently, diners see the exposed ceiling joists, lighting, and wiring, which is very unappetizing.
She is frustrated because she said she has been waiting for weeks to get approval from the corporate office to get the funds to repair the ceiling. Blanchette says, “repairs get bottlenecked at the corporate office….something in the [communication] chain is broken.” He is disappointed that the repair approval is taking so long.
PROBLEM STATEMENT 3
Getting a position in a new location is a challenge for Brittney because she has no General Manager to vouch for her.
Brittney would like a new position internationally. She is hardworking and knows how to make all of the drinks, manage a team and take care of customers. She said, “The main part is dealing with people and jumping from one thing to another.” She loves the idea that if you order a beverage in the United States, you will get the same drink and experience in another country. There is no General Manager at the TGI Friday’s Brittney’s is employed at, so there is no one to “put in a good word” for her to get a position internationally.
PROBLEM STATEMENT 4
Mismanaged restaurants are a challenge for Blanchette because it hinders the customer experience and causes the restaurant to lose business.
Blanchette can see the Brooklyn restaurant is very disorganized and not run well. He knows revenue is down 15%. The restaurant was short-staffed, which led to many mistakes. For example, dinners were going to the wrong table, and the orders were not correct. Additionally, Ray saw that the outdoor seating area was closed, and he felt the restaurant was not being used to its fullest potential.
Furthermore, Blanchette was shocked to hear that the manager only received two weeks of training- he felt they needed at least eight weeks. The manager was overworked and burnt out.
PROBLEM STATEMENT 5
Grooming employees to climb the corporate ladder is a challenge for Blanchette because they are not well supported.
Blanchette sees himself in one of the kitchen staff, Abdul, because he started at TGI Fridays in the same position. Ray shares that the company allowed him to grow to where he is today- the CEO.
He sees potential in all the employees he worked with. Each was full of energy and ready to take on more, but there was no leadership to guide them or move them into better positions. At the end of the episode, he states that he wants to “immediately improve [employee] training.” He feels the company can grow with a healthy employee base.
Wrapping Up
With the guidelines above, the template, and the data I collected, the problem statement’s formulation was not as difficult as I expected. However, if the empathy stage of Design Thinking was not thorough, I feel I would be way off the mark and would not help TGI Fridays in any significant way.
