In our last blog post, we discussed the importance of player personas and user stories. These elements are foundational in understanding the unique challenges and goals of different users. As we progressed in our process—specifically when crafting problem statements, hypotheses, and goals—it became clear that our user stories needed to be extremely specific and directly aligned with the users' goals. In particular, we found that the initial goals we set for Casey and Taylor weren't perfectly aligned with their frustrations. By refining these goals and pursuing greater specificity, we uncovered better opportunities for improvement.

In this blog post, we'll dive into the creation of problem statements, hypothesis statements, and goal statements. These are crucial steps in the UX design process as they define the problems we need to solve, propose solutions, and set clear objectives for what we want to achieve. Each of these elements needs to be carefully crafted to ensure that they are aligned with the user's actual needs and goals, which requires a deep understanding of the user's journey and frustrations.

Problem Statements, Hypotheses, and Goals for Each User - Summarized

Jamie

• Problem Statement: Jamie’s players become distracted and disengaged during online sessions when the tools used fail to keep them consistently engaged and focused.
  • Hypothesis Statement: If Jamie rewards her players when they roleplay in-character, make meaningful steps towards their character’s goals, make a meaningful impact within combat, or help the GM with facilitating combat or answering rules questions, then her players will be engaged and attentive, looking for ways to earn rewards and stay focused on the game.
  • Goal Statement: Our mobile app will let users find and track varied and meaningful rewards for in-character roleplaying, pursuing in-character goals, being a VIP in combat, or helping their GM with admin tasks and rules. This will encourage players to remain engaged and attentive during sessions, benefiting both players and GMs.

Alex

• Problem Statement: Alex’s players are more likely to engage and participate when their choices are vital to the story.
  • Hypothesis Statement: If Alex uses the players’ character elements—like named NPCs, locations in their backstories, prioritized skills, and in-game choices—as inspiration for each session, then the plot of each session will be emergent from the players’ character details and choices, making the adventure feel reactive and player-driven.
  • Goal Statement: Our webapp will let users easily tie in their player character details and choices into their session preparation. This will help GMs make their players feel like their choices are vital to the story, which should, in turn, encourage players to take more initiative in roleplaying and action.

Taylor

• Problem Statement: Taylor’s players struggle to stay focused and immersed in the game, despite his efforts to create an engaging atmosphere with props, music, and visuals.
  • Hypothesis Statement: If Taylor creates challenges with clear goals and stakes, open-ended ways to reach those goals, and environmental factors that make non-attack actions just as important, then challenges will be dynamic, and players will stay engaged because they understand the goals and stakes.
  • Goal Statement: Our webapp will let users design encounters and other challenges that are dynamic and encourage creative thinking. This will help players who often struggle to stay engaged without snappy combat or interesting social encounters to feel more invested in the game.

Casey

• Problem Statement: Casey’s players will feel more confident and interested in exploring if they have some authorship over the story.
  • Hypothesis Statement: If Casey asks the players to collaborate on the locations and NPCs within the campaign, then the players will become her collaborators for the adventure, leading to more confidence and interest in exploration, and thus more initiative in roleplaying and interaction.
  • Goal Statement: Our worldbuilding app will let users collaborate in real-time to create adventure locations and NPCs, adding interesting and useful details directly tied to their characters. This will help players who typically feel lost or unsure about initiating roleplaying or exploration become more confident and engaged.

We’ve explored how refining our problem statements, hypotheses, and goals leads to a more focused and effective design process. By clearly defining the problem and hypothesizing how our solutions will address these issues, we can set actionable and measurable goals. This process not only improves our ability to meet the needs of our users but also reveals opportunities for improvement that might otherwise be overlooked.

For TTRPG enthusiasts, there’s a takeaway here too: aligning your tools and techniques with the specific goals of your game can lead to a much more satisfying experience. Whether you’re a game master trying to keep your players engaged or a player looking to contribute more meaningfully to the story, being clear about what you want to achieve—and how you’re going to do it—can make a big difference.

Next, we’ll be starting the ideation phase, beginning with competitive audits. Competitive audits are crucial for understanding how similar products and services perform in the market. By examining both direct and indirect competitors, we can identify best practices, gaps in user experience, and potential opportunities to provide a unique value to our users. This analysis will provide a baseline for our design and help us create a product that stands out in the market.

As we move into the ideation phase, I encourage both UX designers and TTRPG enthusiasts to reflect on their own problem statements and goals. Are they specific enough? Do they align perfectly with your needs or those of your players? Whether you’re designing a product or planning your next game session, the principles of specificity and alignment are key to success.

If you have insights or experiences to share, please comment below or reach out directly. And for more updates as we continue this journey, follow my blog on Itch.io. Let’s work together to create more engaging, immersive, and user-centered experiences in the world of TTRPGs!