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Step 5: State the problem

Peña, Problem Seeking — Ch 3 §Step 5 — State the Problem

Description

The Statement of the Problem is a short series of succinct statements (no fewer than four — one for each consideration — and rarely more than ten) capturing the essence and uniqueness of the project. Each statement names an important condition and suggests a direction. The statement is the LINK between programming and design — the designer evaluates the solution against it.

Why this exists

Without an explicit problem statement, the project's essence gets re-litigated in every design review. With one, every later trade-off has a touchstone: "does this serve the problem?" The statement is the deliverable the user signs off on before any plan exists.

Categories

Adjacency

Source

Caudill Rowlett Scott (via ERIC, US Dept of Education)authoritative
Problem Seeking: New Directions in Architectural Programming (early edition (ERIC ED037930, 1969))
Upgrade path: $75 for Problem Seeking 5th Edition (Wiley). 5th edition (2012, Wiley) is the current authoritative form of Peña's method. The ERIC PDF is the earliest published form — all the core method is present; later editions add case studies and refinements.
Section: Ch 3 §Step 5 — State the Problem
Published 1969-01-01 · last verified 2026-05-14

Solver enforcement

Browsable only — the solver does not currently enforce this directive (no spec-level data to check against). This entry exists so the architect personas can cite it in conversation and the user can read what the rule says.

Related directives

Last reviewed 2026-05-14.