1 Define the Problem
A strong project starts with a problem you can show exists in your setting, in numbers you can actually get.
Before you move on
- You can show the problem exists in your setting, not only in the literature.
- You know where your baseline data will come from, and you'll have access to it.
- Your problem statement says who is affected, how much, and compared with what.
- The problem is narrow enough to change within your project timeline.
- Leaders at your site agree the problem matters.
Many projects stall because the problem was defined from the literature and only later checked against local data. Start with your setting. If you can’t find a baseline number, that’s worth knowing now, because it will also be hard to show a change later.
Frameworks such as PICOT can help you structure the question. Treat them as a checklist of elements, not a formula that makes a question good on its own.