1. The customer cannot articulate the problem but says there is a problem.
2. The customer tells you how to improve or how to solve the problem but they never tell you what the problem is.

Before I tackle this issue I think about why the customer hired me. Usually it falls into one of these three categories:

1. They do not know how to solve the problem.
2. They do know how, but you do it better.
3. They do know how, but they have more pressing issues and need you to do it for them.

If the customer cannot articulate the problem I question them about time, cost, return of value, and is it meeting their goals. Usually it is one of those four.? If not, I ask them why they think it is a problem. The dialogue starts opening up the possibilities and when you understand the root cause, then you can identify goals that can be addressed with the development process.

If the customer is busy telling you how the problem can be solved then the best approach is to just let them get that off their mind. Take copious notes. If the customer is really knowledgable they may be making your job very easy and they just need your expertise in executing successfully.

Otherwise you may have to go back and explore the basic problem itself. Sometimes the customer knows how to solve the problem, but does not really know what the problem is. In other words, they want in an improvement. Often this is because someone else told them they needed an improvement but once again, they could not offer any ideas.

That is your job to get this out of them.? Realizing that, you can question the customer and get their input on the situation. This may lead to the solution. Otherwise, you might have to question other stakeholders (usually you do anyway), and this in turn will lead to the solution.

Recognizing these challenges is key to successfully designing a product with customer input.? All entrepreneurs go through multiple iterations of designing and redesigning their products and services. The problem entrepreneurs face is that customers often feel this is the best opportunity to dictate the solution which often leads to a lot of How without understanding the What. To overcome these challenges, do deep dive questions. Explore the problem itself, and get the input of the customer. With this input, you can design a better product that will appeal to more than just that one customer.