How Might We Statement
AI-supported tool for crafting inspiring How-Might-We questions for innovation projects.
PURPOSE
Teams often frame problem statements too narrowly, too broadly, or in a solution-oriented way, which limits the innovation process from the start. How Might We Statements transform problems into open, inspiring questions that invite creative solution thinking. They create the optimal starting point for ideation sessions and design thinking projects.
HOW TO USE
The team first identifies the core insight or problem from user research. This is then reframed into a question that begins with 'How Might We...'. The question should be broad enough to allow diverse solutions but narrow enough to remain actionable. Multiple HMW variants are created and the most promising one is selected.
WHAT IT IS
The How Might We Statement is a method for formulating innovation questions that serves as a bridge between problem understanding and idea generation. The format 'How Might We...' is deliberately chosen: 'How' implies feasibility, 'Might' allows for experimentation, 'We' emphasizes teamwork. The method is frequently used with AI support to generate different perspectives and phrasing variants.
EXAMPLE
Example: Your design thinking team is working on improving the onboarding process for new employees at a hospital. Instead of asking 'How do we make onboarding faster?', you use the How Might We Statement to formulate more open questions like 'How might we help new nurses feel competent and welcome from day one?'