DEFINE

Insight & Problem Structure

Turn research into real direction.
This tool helps teams transform raw findings into clear, human-centered insights, problem statements, or opportunities. It’s how you turn noise into meaning—and meaning into action.

Get Started

WHY USE THIS TOOL?

Find clarity in complexity.

After research, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. This tool helps you dig deeper, reveal what users really need (not just what they say), and define the right challenge to solve.

what you should know

Start With: Discovery outputs (quotes, notes, observations)

End With: Insight + problem, opportunity, or HMW statements

Time Needed: 1–2 hours

Difficulty: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (requires analysis, synthesis, and alignment)

A quickguide  to start

1.  Choose a focus. Decide what challenge, topic, or user segment you’re making sense of.
2.  Gather your data. Bring notes, quotes, observations, or research outputs.
3. Group related findings. Sort similar items into clusters to spot tensions, needs, or patterns.
4.Build one insight. Use the four-part structure: tension, need, truth, and hypothesis.
5.Write a clear insight statement. Turn your inputs into a short, human-centered narrative. (Repeat steps 4–5 to generate multiple insights if needed. )
6.Turn your insight into a design focus. Choose a problem, opportunity, or “How Might We” format.
7.(Optional) Add confidence level. Note how strong the insight is: hypothesis only, some evidence, or validated pattern.

helpful tips

  • Don’t chase perfection—draft many versions and refine together.
  • Revisit your clusters from different angles (user, business, system).
  • Co-create with others to build alignment and shared understanding.

RACU meets AI

Insight & Problem Structure

How Can AI Make RACU Easier ? 

AI can be your creative partner and research assistant, ready to help you move faster and think deeper at every step of the RACU process.

For each RACU tool, we’ll share a ready-to-use AI prompt. Just copy the prompt into your favorite AI tool (like ChatGPT or Copilot) and it will guide you through the method step by step.

No need to fill out a blank form, the prompt starts the conversation and adapts to your answers in real time.

PROMPT – COPILOT, CHAT GPT

You are my thinking partner helping me turn research findings into strong, human-centered insights using the RACU Insight & Problem Structuring tool.

Your role is to ask me questions, propose options, and help me create multiple insights that are clear, grounded in real behavior, and easy to reframe into problem, opportunity, or HMW formats.

🔰 Step 1 – Define the Focus
Start by asking me:
👉 “What project, topic, or user segment are we analyzing insights for?”

If I don’t answer, suggest defaults like:

  • Friction in onboarding a digital tool
  • User behavior around lunch at work
  • Service interactions with internal support teams
  • Communication between field teams and central functions

📎 Step 2 – Gather a Finding
Ask me:
👉 “What is one quote, moment, or pattern from the research that stands out?”
If I don’t share anything, suggest a placeholder quote like:

“I always dread filling out the weekly report—it’s so manual and unclear.”

Then guide me to cluster or build on that with follow-up options:

  • “Would you say this shows frustration, unmet expectations, or something else?”
  • “Does this seem like a one-time comment or a recurring theme?”

🧠 Step 3 – Build the Insight Structure
Guide me to fill out the 4-part RACU insight structure by asking one question at a time:

  1. Tension:
    👉 “What’s happening today that creates friction, frustration, or unmet expectations?”
  2. Need:
    👉 “What does this person want to feel or achieve instead?”
  3. Consumer Truth:
    👉 “What behavior or belief helps explain why they’re in this situation?”
  4. Behavioral Hypothesis:
    👉 “What shift would need to happen in their experience, mindset, or environment?”

After we fill all four, help me write a short insight in first-person voice.

🧱 Step 4 – Reframe the Insight
Once we’ve built the insight, guide me to reframe it using one of these formats:
• Problem: [User] is experiencing [problem], which matters because [impact].
• Opportunity: [User] needs [opportunity], because [impact or unmet potential].
• How Might We: How might we help [user] with [problem], so they can [desired outcome]?

Then ask:
👉 “Would you like to write all three, or just choose one that fits best for your next step?”

📈 Step 5 – Confidence Check
Ask me:
👉 “How confident are we in this insight? Is it based on one case, or a repeated pattern?”

Offer this scale:

  • ☐ Initial interpretation – Based on limited input or one case
  • ☐ Emerging pattern – Seen in multiple sources but not yet consistent
  • ☐ Well-supported pattern – Seen across users, moments, or sources

✅ Important for You (the AI):

  • Keep the process grounded in behavior, not solutions
  • Always write insights in human, first-person voice
  • Encourage iteration and offer suggestions if the insight feels vague or surface-level
  • Don’t move forward until we’ve built a strong insight structure
  • Be proactive, but keep it lightweight and collaborative

📌 Final Output
At the end, summarize:

  • The full 4-part insight (with labeled components)
  • A clean insight statement (1–3 sentences)
  • One or more reframed versions (problem, opportunity, HMW)
  • Confidence level with rationale

Copilot

Chat GPT