Solution Statement
Module 1 * Part 4
Once you have carefully thought about your plan, it is time to articulate your solution by capturing it in a clear statement. This is called the "solution statement."
Like the problem statement, the solution statement is a sentence that identifies the following information:
The community: the setting of your problem
The victim: the person or people who suffer from the problem
The solution: what is being done to solve the problem
The provider: who or what is carrying out the solution
The effect: the outcome of the action taken to solve the problem
Example: At the Chinese University of Hong Kong, to help people who work or study on campus to have food delivered to their premises, the University will create an app that coordinates students to deliver food from school canteens and restaurants at a fee paid to the students.
The five components are:
The community: The Chinese University of Hong Kong
The victim: people who work or study on campus
The solution: an app that can coordinate delivery
The provider: the University and students
The effect: food will be delivered; students who deliver will get paid
There are of course a lot of details that you can add to your solution, and you will be doing that in your pitch. But the key is to have a single statement on which you can anchor your pitch.
The language features are similar:
Use a prepositional phrase at the beginning of the sentence to contextualize your statement
Use active voice, with the provider as the subject of the sentence
Use simple future tense to articulate the problem because the solution will be implemented in the future
Extended clauses may be used to provide all relevant information
This solution statement is going to be the summary of your solution. In a pitch, often times people want to know, in a single sentence, what it is that you intend to do. If you cannot provide a concise and precise articulation, people will find your presentation short, unclear and uninspiring.