Agent skill · product strategy · deanpeters
problem-framing-canvas
Guide teams through MITRE's Problem Framing Canvas. Use when you need a clearer problem statement before jumping to solutions.
Why this skill is useful
Provides a structured framework for problem exploration that helps avoid biases and ensures comprehensive understanding before solutioning.
What it needs
About 10k tokens when loaded. Last updated 2026-07-17. 6,302 stars on the source repository.
What this skill does
Purpose Guide product managers through the MITRE Problem Framing Canvas process by asking structured questions across three phases: Look Inward (examine your own assumptions and biases), Look Outward (understand who experiences the problem and who doesn't), and Reframe (synthesize insights into an actionable problem statement and "How Might We" question). Use this to ensure you're solving the right problem before jumping to solutions—avoiding confirmation bias, overlooked stakeholders, and solution-first thinking. This is not a solution brainstorm—it's a problem framing tool that broadens perspective, challenges assumptions, and produces a clear, equity-driven problem statement. Input Works best with: The problem area — however roughly you currently understand it. Also useful: Who you believe experiences it, evidence so far, and the solution everyone is already anchored on (naming it helps the canvas de-bias it). Anything supplied with the invocation itself — text after the skill name, a pasted context dump, or an appended ARGUMENTS: line — counts as answers already given. Use it and skip whatever it covers; don't re-ask. Arriving empty-handed? That works too. The skill opens with the Look Inward phase: what do you assume about this problem? Example invocation: Frame this problem: field sales reps 'don't use the CRM' and leadership wants gamification. Key Concepts What is the MITRE Problem Framing Canvas? The Problem Framing Canvas (MITRE Innovation Toolkit, v3) is a structured framework that helps teams explore a problem space comprehensively before proposing solutions. It's partitioned into three areas: 1. Look Inward — Examine your own assumptions, biases, and how you might be part of the problem 2. Look Outward — Understand who experiences the problem, who benefits from it, and who's been left out 3. …
How to use it
Reference it in AdaL, Claude Code, Cursor or any coding agent — nothing to install:
@skills deanpeters/problem-framing-canvas