“How Might We” Statement Examples for Design Thinking

Creating effective “How Might We” statements (HMWs) is an art, but once you get the hang of it, HMWs can ease you into the process of ideation through practical, approachable and imaginative reframing of design problems. And what better way to solidify your understanding than with some examples of “How Might We” statements?

Below, we’ll go through: 

• The basics of “How Might We” statements in design thinking
• 20 “How Might We” statement examples
• How to write HMW statements
• How to use HMWs in your projects

If you’re already familiar with HMWs, this blog can act as a resource for explaining “How Might We” statements in workshops with your team members, stakeholders, or even your users.

What is a “How Might We” statement?

A “How Might We” statement is a tool for reframing design problems and insights in order to identify opportunities for creative solutions and prompt ideation. It allows UX designers and service designers to look at problems in a forward-thinking way. (It’s usually called a “statement,” but technically, it’s a question!)

HMW statements can be used at different stages of the design process. During the discovery phase of your project, designers and researchers can use “How Might We” statements to frame hypotheses about the key design problems that might be used to shape your research questions. (Example: “How might we identify the biggest pain points in our onboarding process?”)

HMWs can also act as a bridge from the “define” phase to the “design phase,” as you get clear on what issues your project needs to address in order to improve a product or service.  (See a breakdown of the design phases in this post about human-centered design (HCD).

Each statement starts with “How might we…” and asks the reader to imagine the possibility of an ideal future state where a specific question is answered, or a specific problem is resolved, reduced or prevented. These statements are usually created in large numbers as part of a workshop or design team activity based on specific problem statements and user research insights.

“How Might We” Statements in Design Thinking

Practitioners have been using “How Might We” statements to prompt their design thinking for at least half a century — the HMW process is often credited to Min Basadur, who was a creative manager for Procter & Gamble in the 70s. This exploration of the origins of HMWs highlights that Sidney J. Parnes, Co-founder of Buffalo State University’s Center for Applied Imagination, started using them in the 60s… and even suggests that HMWs might be traced back to early philosophers like Socrates, Plato or Aristotle!

However old they are, “How Might We” statements are still very popular in design thinking because of their usefulness in the ideation process.

“How Might We” vs Problem Statement

On a basic level, a “How Might We” statement differs from a problem statement in that it articulates opportunities for an ideal future state, while a problem statement articulates the current state.

Problem statements are also called POVs (point of view) because they’re intended to be framed from the user’s viewpoint. “How Might We” statements are still user-centric, but they’re phrased from the solution-focused perspective of the design/project team. You’ll often use your problem statements and insights from your design research as a foundation to build your HMWs, which is why it’s crucial to write effective problem statements in the first place.

“How Might We” Statement Rules

Here are five golden rules for building your “How We Might” statements:

1. Ensure that the current state has been defined from the user’s point of view (Not yours or your stakeholders’)
2. Use positive action words (Avoid getting stuck in negatives)
3. Control the scope of your questions (Not too broad, not too narrow)
4. Avoid going into solutions (You’re prompting ideation, not ideating yet)
5. Collaborate with team members, stakeholders and/or users (More minds are always better!)

It’s also a given that in design ideation, you should be working from qualitative insights collected from real users — a key component of true human-centered design and effective UX. We’ll go over how to actually write your “How Might We” statements in the next section. 

How to Write a “How Might We” Statement

To write a “How Might We” statement, you’ll obviously start your sentence with “How might we,” but your statement should also include:

1. Your users
2. A positive action/verb that targets the problem
3. An expression of the future state resulting from that action/verb

To write an effective “How Might We” statement, you want to avoid being too prescriptive or general. Again, avoid negative verbs because they will keep your mindset stuck in the current state.

To explain this better, let’s look at a pretend project. 

Let’s say that a company that provides a music streaming app is partnering with less well-known artists to promote their live performances. They want to update their app to target this goal. After conducting some user research, one of your insights might look like this:

“Users who rely on the app’s automated, algorithm-based playlists rarely familiarize themselves with the names of artists whose songs appear in those playlists.”

Now, let’s analyze some bad and good examples of “How Might We” statements based on this insight.

Too broad: “How might we get users to familiarize themselves with the artists’ names on their autogenerated playlists?”

If you compare it to the insight above, this statement essentially restates the problem and doesn’t prompt any creative/divergent thinking.

Too negative: “How might we prevent users from ignoring the artist names on autogenerated playlists?”

This statement isn’t super effective for inspiring creative problem-solving because it’s still focused on the current state.

Too specific: “How might we incorporate links to ticket sales in the ‘Now Playing’ view?

Here, the statement proposes a solution instead of acting as a jumping-off point for multiple potential solutions.

Good examples:

• “How might we encourage users to learn more about the artists they’re listening to?”
• “How might we help users notice an artist that appears frequently in their algorithm?”
• “How might we let users know when an artist they listen to is touring in their region?”

Next, look at some examples of “How Might We” statements to get even more familiar with their structure!

 

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20 “How Might We” Statement Examples

We mentioned above that you can build your HMWs from problem statements as well as insights from your research analysis and synthesis. Below, we’ll look at two examples of each scenario.

Statements Based on Insights

Insight Example 1:

“People in [neighbourhood] dispose of flammable materials in their household garbage because they’re unfamiliar with household waste restrictions.”

In this example, your project goals might focus on reducing improper disposal of hazardous waste.

“How Might We” Statements:

1. How might we raise awareness about the risks of improperly disposing of flammable materials in household garbage?
2. How might we educate residents about household waste restrictions related to flammable materials?
3. How might we make it easier for people to understand what types of materials are considered flammable for disposal?
4. How might we ensure disposal guidelines for flammable materials are easy to find and follow?
5. How might we encourage residents to take responsibility for disposing of hazardous materials correctly?’

Insight Example 2:

“New users tend to cancel their fitness booking app subscriptions if they don’t like the first couple of classes they attend.”

In this example, your project goals might center around reducing the app churn rate within the first two months of a subscription. 

“How Might We” Statements:

1. How might we make it easier for users to find classes that match their interests from the start?
2. How might we help users select classes that others with similar interests enjoy?
3. How might we make it easier for users to compare classes to find the best fit for their goals?
4. How might we make the app feel like a personalized fitness journey?
5. How might we reward users who book and attend multiple classes in a row?

(Side note: Want to familiarize yourself with the differences between UX design and service design deliverables? Download our free journey maps vs service blueprints guide.)

Statements Based on Problem Statements

Problem Statement Example 1:

“Café patrons need to avoid a long line in order to make it to work on time with their coffee.”

In this pretend project, you might be creating a digital coffee order service for a café chain, or you might be looking to improve the design of the coffee shops themselves.

“How Might We” Statements:

1. How might we reduce the overall time spent in line by customers waiting to order or pay?
2. How might we help customers receive their coffee faster without compromising the experience?
3. How might we receive customer orders sooner so we can deliver their coffees sooner?
4. How might we help customers make faster decisions about what they want to order?
5. How might we encourage non-commuting customers to place their orders outside of peak times?

Problem Statement Example 2:

“Rural residents need a way to donate unneeded items without having to drive to a donation centre.”

For this project, your goals might be focused on increasing engagement for an existing goods donation service. 

“How Might We” Statements:

1. How might we enable neighbours to donate goods without leaving their homes?
2. How might we simplify the donation process for people who have limited time?
3. How might we simplify the donation process for people with limited transportation options?
4. How might we connect people who want to donate with nearby neighbours who need donations?
5. How might we allow donations to be dropped off at more convenient times for citizens?

How to Use “How Might We” Statements

Once you have a solid grasp of how to write HMWs, it’s important to use them strategically to help you achieve your project goals.

Here are four key pointers for leveraging your “How Might We” statements effectively:

• Make sure they’re actionable — Don’t just focus on how inspiring or interesting your statements sound. Each one should perfectly align with your project goals. 
• Write down as many as you can — Focus on outputting statements at volume to start, without placing too much judgment on them.
• Be discerning when choosing your winners — As you narrow down your list of statements, ensure you’re only keeping ones that represent feasible opportunities for your timeline and resources.
• Use them to collaborate with others — Put your statements to use in a collaborative sprint with your project team or in a co-design workshop stakeholders or users.

You can also use your HMWs to ideate on your own, but we always recommend coming together with others to achieve alignment and feedback and to see what gems might emerge from other people’s brainstorms. (Collaboration and alignment with stakeholders is key to good stakeholder management.)

“How Might We” statements are great for exercising your vision of a future state as you bridge gaps and solve problems in the “define” and “design” stages. This is a pivotal time when all of the fuzziness gets clearer, and you can start looking into exciting ideas for elevating your clients’/stakeholders’ products and services. With these statements in your toolbox, you’ll be on the right path to innovate and make a real difference.

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