Phase 1: Capture

The first phase is about identifying and documenting a problem worth solving.

Purpose

Before building anything, clearly define:

1. What problem exists
2. Who experiences it
3. Why it matters

Activities

Problem Discovery

• Observe pain points (your own or others')
• Review support tickets/feedback
• Analyze competitor gaps
• Industry trend research

Documentation

Capture the following:

## Problem Statement
[One sentence describing the problem]

## Who Has This Problem
[Target user profile]

## Current Solutions
[How people solve this today]

## Why It Matters
[Impact of solving this problem]

## Initial Ideas
[Rough solution concepts]

Outputs

Output	Description
Problem Statement	Clear, concise description of the problem
Target User	Who experiences this problem
Hypothesis	Initial belief about the solution

Exit Criteria

Ready to move to Validate when:

• Problem is clearly articulated
• Target user is defined
• You have at least one solution hypothesis
• Problem feels worth validating

Tips

• Don't jump to solutions too quickly
• Focus on the problem, not the technology
• Write it down - fuzzy ideas become clear when documented
• Talk to potential users early

Next Phase

Phase 2: Validate - Verify the problem is real and worth solving.