Master the art of writing How Might We (HMW) questions, the bridge between problem definition and ideation in design thinking. Techniques, examples, and common mistakes.
"How Might We" questions are the pivot point of design thinking. They take the pain points and needs you discovered during empathy research and reframe them as creative challenges your team can solve. A well-written HMW question opens up a rich solution space. A poorly written one sends the team down the wrong path.
The phrase "How Might We" was popularized by Procter & Gamble in the 1970s and later adopted widely through IDEO and the Stanford d.school. Each word does specific work:
Contrast this with other framings:
Getting the scope right is the single most important skill in writing HMW questions, and it is the most common mistake. Think of scope as a zoom level on a map:
"How might we improve the user experience?" This question is so general that any idea is technically a valid answer. It provides no direction for ideation, produces scattered results, and leaves the team feeling like they brainstormed a lot but accomplished nothing.
Other examples of too-broad HMW questions:
"How might we add a tooltip to the settings icon?" This is not a question; it is a solution disguised as a question. It leaves no room for creative exploration because it has already prescribed the answer. If you read a HMW question and can only think of one response, it is too narrow.
Other examples of too-narrow HMW questions:
"How might we help new users discover key features within their first session?" This is specific enough to guide ideation (new users, first session, feature discovery) but open enough to allow dozens of different solutions (onboarding flows, interactive tutorials, progressive disclosure, gamification, contextual hints, and more).
Other well-scoped examples:
Notice that each of these specifies who (freelancers, patients, remote team members), what (confidence, anxiety reduction, informal relationships), and an implicit constraint (without requiring tax expertise, during the waiting period, without more meetings). This structure consistently produces useful ideation prompts.
Good HMW questions always come from empathy research. Pull up your empathy maps, interview notes, and observation logs. Look for:
Each of these is a candidate for a HMW question.
Before jumping to HMW, write a Point of View (POV) statement using the format from the Define stage:
"[User type] needs a way to [user need] because [insight from research]."
Example: "First-time project managers need a way to estimate task durations accurately because they consistently underestimate by 40 to 60 percent, leading to missed deadlines and eroded trust with their teams."
The POV statement grounds the HMW question in research. Without it, HMW questions tend to drift toward assumptions and personal opinions rather than user evidence.
Take your POV statement and convert it:
Notice that the HMW drops some specificity from the POV (the exact percentage, the consequences) while keeping the core need (realistic estimates for new PMs). This is intentional. The POV captures the full context; the HMW distills it into an actionable creative prompt.
For each core insight, write 3 to 5 HMW variations that approach the problem from different angles:
These variations are valuable because each one opens a different solution space. "Remove the negative" might lead to buffer time strategies, while "Question an assumption" might lead to no-estimate project management approaches entirely.
You will typically generate 15 to 30 HMW questions from a research synthesis session. You cannot ideate on all of them. Select 3 to 5 for your ideation session based on:
Dot voting works well for this. Give each team member 3 votes. The questions with the most votes become your ideation prompts.
Once you have selected your top HMW questions, use each one as a prompt for a focused brainstorming session. Write the HMW question where everyone can see it. Set a timer for 8 to 10 minutes. Have each person generate ideas silently on sticky notes or in a shared document (silent brainstorming prevents groupthink). Then share, discuss, and build on each other's ideas.
The specific framing of each HMW question naturally guides ideation toward relevant solutions. A well-scoped HMW question makes brainstorming feel productive rather than aimless, which is often the difference between a team that generates useful ideas and one that spins in circles. See the Ideate stage guide for detailed brainstorming techniques.
AI tools like Design Thinker Labs can generate HMW questions from your empathy research data and project context. The AI analyzes your empathy maps, interview notes, and problem statements, then produces a set of HMW questions at varying scopes. This gives your team a strong starting point for discussion and refinement, especially when you are new to the technique and want to see what well-crafted HMW questions look like for your specific problem.
Related guides: affinity diagrams · brainstorming techniques · crazy eights sketching
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