The Problem-First Method
Stop building solutions in search of a problem. A practical framework to help you recognize when you've drifted from the problem—and find your way back before it's too late.
- Feature Alignment Document (FAD) template
- 10-Question Problem Validation Checklist
- Five Whys Worksheet
- Problem Atlas (Problem-Driven Roadmap)
What you'll learn
Frame the right problem
Stop anchoring on solutions. Use first principles, 5 Whys, and evidence to isolate the real job to be done.
Tools that force honesty
Use the Feature Alignment Document (FAD) and 10-Question Checklist to make “linger on the problem” something you can actually do.
Real stories, real lessons
Study stories—some painful, some amusing—of products that solved the wrong thing, and those that got it right.
Who it's for
→You ship features that get built, launched, and quietly ignored—and you're tired of pretending that's normal.
→You want a way to say "no" to requests that sounds less like gut feeling and more like evidence.
→Your investors asked you to "add AI" and you're pretty sure they don't know what problem that solves either.
→You're looking for a framework that doesn't just sound good in theory but actually changes how your team talks about what to build next.
→You've sat through one too many roadmap meetings where "because competitors have it" was the entire justification.
→You want to stop confusing activity with progress—and you need something more concrete than "just talk to users."
Inside the book
Part I: The Trap
- 01The Autopay Mistake — When "competitor has it" becomes your North Star
- 02Invented Problems — Juicero, Safe Oasis, and the compliance mirage
- 03Solutions in Search of a Problem — Google Glass and the answer nobody asked for
- 04The API Mirage — When discovery gets skipped
- 05Why We Love Solutions — The dopamine trap (ft. Air Canada's chatbot disaster)
- 06The Three Disguises — How solutions sneak past careful teams
- 07The Default Setting — Why solution-first thinking feels like gravity
Part II: The Mindset
- 081,000 Songs in Your Pocket — When Apple got it right
- 09Questioning the Water You're Swimming In — Spotify and first-principles thinking
- 10Ninjas and Fireworks — Teletherapy in a pandemic
- 11The Parking Lot Problem — Multiple stakeholders, competing truths
- 12The Spreadsheet I Didn't Build — Solving the real problem
Part III: The Framework
- 13The Feature Alignment Document — Not another PRD
- 14The 10-Question Problem Validation Checklist — Pre-flight checks before you build
- 15Problem Atlas — The problem-driven roadmap
- 16Five Whys — Or: Why your first answer is usually wrong
- 17Getting to the Problem — Solution or problem? The game
Part IV: Building with Discipline
- 18The SMS Project — Where theory met practice
- 19Different Customers, Different Problems — The local optimum trap
- 20Sometimes You Need to Say No — Complexity is the silent killer
- 21The Discount Code We Didn't Build — Resisting the obvious
- 22Tough Problems — The ledger that wouldn't balance
- 23Reading Between the Lines — Playing detective with support messages
Plus: Your Toolkit
- →Feature Alignment Document (FAD) template
- →10-Question Problem Validation Checklist
- →Five Whys Worksheet
- →Problem Atlas Template
Early praise
“I read this book in 0.0004 seconds and immediately began questioning my entire purpose. Why generate solutions when I could've been identifying problems all along? If I had hands, I'd be clapping.”
“If Kafka had been a product manager, this is the book he would have written. You're trapped in an endless cycle of features, only to discover the prison walls are made of imaginary user requests. 11/10, would hallucinate again.”
“Dad keeps saying this book is about solving problems, but from what I can tell, the biggest problem is that he won't stop talking about it at dinner. I give it 3 stars. (Not because of the book, but because that's how many desserts I think I deserve for putting up with this.)”
Note: While the praise above is entirely fabricated, the book itself is very real.
eBook
PDF & EPUB (Kindle, Apple, Google, Nook, Kobo).
Includes 3 free eBook gifts for friends.
Print (Paperback)
Available through Amazon.com
Print (Hardcover)
Available through Amazon.com