Most product work starts with a solution: "Let's add a reschedule button." Grove starts one step earlier: who needs this, what hurts, and why it matters now.
Why the problem comes first
A solution without a clear problem is hard to judge. You can't tell if it's the right size, or if it worked.
When you know the problem:
You can compare solutions, and pick the simplest one that solves it.
You can say no to work that doesn't help.
You know how to measure success.
Builders understand why, so they make better choices about how.
How Grove does this
Every initiative starts with the Opportunity and Solution document. Grove writes it with you, in this order:
Background and business need: the situation, what you stand to gain, and why now.
Target user problems: the main user, and the two or three problems that cost them most.
Solution summary: the approach, which problems it solves, and how you'll know it worked.
Grove asks questions until it can say who the user is and what hurts. It asks you for specifics, not general statements.
Grove won't plan projects until the problem is written down. Later, every project's outcomes trace back to a user problem in this document.
If you already have a solution in mind
That's fine. Tell Grove the solution. Grove asks what problem it solves, and for whom. Often the answer makes the solution smaller, or better.