Problems

Problems are an issue type in Jira that Sparkr uses to help you take a structured approach to innovation. A problem should be something that your customers (i.e. a Persona) are experiencing or could do so in the future. Problems should be defined and validates before deciding on whether to solve them by formulating one or more Possibilities.

We often recommend that users create “Problem Spaces”, which are Jira projects that group similar problems your team is trying to solve as part of your innovation efforts.

View

To view a Problem’s details you must navigate to the Jira issue view for that problem. To view all Problems you can use a filtered search within Jira. The video below shows how to quickly navigate to this view using the Sparkr in-app menu.

Create

There are a number of mechanisms to create Problems within your Jira instance and Sparkr:

Jira Global Menu
Jira Boards and Backlogs

Problems are an issue type created by Sparkr during the Getting started process and can only be created in Jira projects that have this issue type assigned.

Jira Global Menu

Jira provides a mechanism for creating issues from the Global menu via a popup modal window, which can be used for creating a Problem. This window can be shown by clicking the plus (“+”) icon and displays fields as configured by your users and administrators. See Atlassian’s documentation for more information on configuring required fields and screens your users.

After creating a Problem through this mechanism you can view the Problem and then input Sparkr details after the fact. Below is a video demonstrating this process:

Jira Boards and Backlogs

You can create Problems through Jira Boards and Backlogs functionality, just as you would any other issue type. This is a two-step process, as you need to create the Problem and then edit it to add Sparkr details that underpin your innovation efforts.

This can be a great mechanism for collaborative Problem identification and Possibility ideation exercises in a group setting with an interactive board on display.

Update

Once you have created a Problem, you can update the Sparkr problem details by clicking on the Sparkr icon. You should complete both the “Define” and “Validate” tabs for the Problem to help provide enough details for your innovation decision making. Contextual descriptions are provided for fields by hovering over the icon. To save any changes to the Problem details you must click the “Update Details” button.

We suggest that the “Definition of Done” for a Problem is having enough information to answer the final question: Should this be solved? This answer determines if you then move on to formulate Possibilities to solve the Problem.

Linking

You can link Problems and Possibilities together to help provide references during your design thinking innovation process. To link either a Problem or Possibility, select “Link issue” when viewing a Problem/Possibility, then select “may solve” or “could be solved by” link type, finally searching for the Problem/Possibility you want to link.

Below is a short video which shows how to link a Problem and Possibility together once you have created them both.

Delete

If you need to delete a Problem, you can complete this action through standard Jira functionality.