How can you demonstrate problem-solving skills in a product innovation role?

Problem-solving skills are essential for any product innovation role, whether you are creating new solutions, improving existing ones, or testing and validating your ideas. But how can you showcase your ability to tackle complex challenges, think creatively, and collaborate effectively in an interview setting? Here are some tips to help you demonstrate your problem-solving skills in a product innovation role.

1 Understand the problem

Before you jump into brainstorming or prototyping, you need to show that you can clearly define and understand the problem you are trying to solve. This means asking relevant questions, researching the context and the users, and framing the problem in a specific and measurable way. For example, you can use the SMART framework (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound) to set a clear goal for your product innovation.

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Sumit Devgan

Head of Product, Operations & Customer Success at Nexus Ocean | Driving Maritime Tech Innovation & Client Excellence
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In the context of Product innovation "understanding the problem" is key. Observational Research, Customer Interviews, Qualitative analysis, RCA, and Social listening are a few tools to be used to kickstart problem solving in product innovation.

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Xenia Avezov

Independent Research Consultant | Clarity & Impact Through Research
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We have all been excited and at times overwhelmed when starting a new role or taking on a new problem space. How do you get a hold of what is important as soon as possible so you can get down to solving the problems at hand? The simplified process I use is: 1) identity and speak to folks who have experience in the space; 2) summarize their perspective and highlight trends that you come upon in these conversations; 3) use what you learned to do some secondary research on the topics and questions you uncovered to gain a broader perspective; 4)share what you learned with your stakeholders and get their feedback; 5) highlight outstanding questions/themes you would need to focus on to find a solution or avoid risks.

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2 Generate possible solutions

Once you have a clear problem statement, you can start generating possible solutions that address the user needs, pain points, and goals. You can use various techniques to stimulate your creativity and divergent thinking, such as brainstorming, mind mapping, SCAMPER (Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to another use, Eliminate, Reverse), or TRIZ (Theory of Inventive Problem Solving). The key is to generate as many ideas as possible, without judging or filtering them at this stage.

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Seda Solmaz 🚀

F&B Innovation Catalyst 🚀 | CoCreation Expert💡 | Gulfood Awarded Marketeer 🏆 | 20+ Years in F&B 😋 | Strategic Advisor to Food People | Speaker at Events 🎤 | Promoting Health & Wellness | Reducing Food Waste
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Here you can use Design Thinking to go expansive first to come up with possible solutions. This will always give you much more variety of approaches you can take, which you traditionally would not think of. Later you would use reductive thinking to bring it down to reality. A lot of times crazy ideas can be brought down to reality still being as effective solving the problems.

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3 Evaluate and select solutions

After you have a list of potential solutions, you need to evaluate and select the most promising ones based on some criteria, such as feasibility, viability, desirability, and alignment with the problem statement. You can use tools like decision matrices, SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats), or Pugh matrix to compare and rank your solutions. You should also explain the rationale behind your choices and how they meet the user and business requirements.

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Seda Solmaz 🚀

F&B Innovation Catalyst 🚀 | CoCreation Expert💡 | Gulfood Awarded Marketeer 🏆 | 20+ Years in F&B 😋 | Strategic Advisor to Food People | Speaker at Events 🎤 | Promoting Health & Wellness | Reducing Food Waste
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Here you can also use success criteria as a way to reduce down the ideas to the most impactful ones. You need to evaluate ideas objectively and rate them diligently to make sure you land on the most credible ideas.

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4 Prototype and test solutions

The next step is to turn your selected solutions into tangible prototypes that you can test and validate with real users. You can use different methods and materials to create your prototypes, depending on the level of fidelity and feedback you need. For example, you can use paper sketches, wireframes, mockups, or interactive prototypes to demonstrate your product features and functionality. You should also design and conduct user tests to collect qualitative and quantitative data on your prototypes.

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5 Iterate and improve solutions

Based on the results of your user tests, you should identify the strengths and weaknesses of your prototypes and how you can improve them. You should also show that you are open to feedback, willing to learn from failures, and ready to make changes based on user needs and preferences. You can use tools like feedback grids, affinity diagrams, or user journey maps to organize and analyze your user feedback and insights. You should also explain how you plan to implement your improvements and measure your progress.

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6 Communicate and present solutions

The final step is to communicate and present your solutions in a clear and convincing way to your interviewers or stakeholders. You should use storytelling techniques to highlight the problem, the user, the solution, and the value proposition of your product innovation. You should also use visual aids, such as slides, videos, or demos, to showcase your prototypes and user feedback. You should also be prepared to answer questions, address objections, and justify your decisions and assumptions.

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7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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Sumit Devgan

Head of Product, Operations & Customer Success at Nexus Ocean | Driving Maritime Tech Innovation & Client Excellence
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The steps outlined indeed resemble a development process rather than a nuanced exploration of problem-solving. It is generalising it as a process. An effective problem-solution starts with documenting the problem. The 5 Why's methods and there are numerous other methods that focus on problem solving and should have been discussed here.

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How can you demonstrate problem-solving skills in a product innovation role?

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

1 Understand the problem

2 Generate possible solutions

3 Evaluate and select solutions

4 Prototype and test solutions

5 Iterate and improve solutions

6 Communicate and present solutions

7 Here’s what else to consider

Product Innovation

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How can you demonstrate problem-solving skills in a product innovation role?

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

1 Understand the problem

2 Generate possible solutions

3 Evaluate and select solutions

4 Prototype and test solutions

5 Iterate and improve solutions

6 Communicate and present solutions

7 Here’s what else to consider

Product Innovation

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