Free Problem Statement PowerPoint Template

Setting the Stage for Problem-Solving

The problem statement slide is often the most important slide in a consulting deck. It frames everything that follows. A well-crafted problem statement aligns stakeholders on what needs to be solved, why it matters, and how big the opportunity is.

Too many presentations jump straight to solutions without properly defining the problem. This leads to misaligned expectations, wasted analysis, and recommendations that miss the mark. The problem statement forces rigor upfront.

The Anatomy of a Problem Statement

A consulting-grade problem statement has four components:

What is happening: The observable symptoms or metrics that indicate something is wrong. "Revenue declined 18% year-over-year" or "Customer churn increased from 8% to 14%."

Who is affected: The specific stakeholders, business units, or customer segments experiencing the problem. "Enterprise accounts in financial services" is more actionable than "customers."

What is the impact: The financial, operational, or strategic consequences of the problem persisting. "$12M in annual revenue at risk" or "Unable to meet Series B growth targets."

What is the timeframe: When the problem started, how quickly it is getting worse, and when it must be resolved. "Trend began in Q2 and accelerating" or "Must resolve before contract renewals in November."

Overlapping Circles: Showing Problem Relationships

The overlapping circles layout works when problems are interconnected. Each circle represents a distinct challenge, but the overlaps show where problems compound each other.

For example, a retail client might face:

• Declining foot traffic (Circle 1)
• Inventory management issues (Circle 2)
• Staff turnover (Circle 3)
• Pricing pressure from e-commerce (Circle 4)

The overlaps reveal compounding effects: staff turnover makes inventory management worse, which exacerbates the customer experience problem driving foot traffic decline.

This visual communicates complexity without requiring walls of text. Executives grasp the interconnected nature of the challenges in seconds.

The Wheel of Problems Layout

The wheel diagram places the central problem or root cause at the hub, with peripheral problems radiating outward like spokes. This layout works when multiple symptoms stem from one underlying issue.

Use it when you suspect (or have validated) that addressing the root cause will solve multiple surface-level problems. The visual reinforces the diagnostic insight: fix the center, and the periphery follows.

The wheel also works well for showing stakeholder perspectives. Each spoke can represent how a different function or customer segment experiences the problem, with the center showing the shared underlying cause.

Quantifying Problem Impact

Numbers make problems real. A problem statement without quantification feels like opinion. Include 3-5 metrics in your facts sidebar:

Revenue impact: "$8M annual revenue at risk from churning enterprise accounts"

Operational metrics: "Average resolution time increased from 4 hours to 18 hours"

Comparative data: "Competitors achieving 3x our conversion rate on similar traffic"

Trend data: "Third consecutive quarter of margin compression"

Customer data: "NPS declined from +42 to +18 in the past 12 months"

Choose metrics that make the problem visceral. Percentages and ratios often land better than absolute numbers for audiences unfamiliar with your scale.

Common Problem Statement Failures

Symptoms instead of problems: "Sales are down" describes a symptom. "Enterprise buyers are choosing competitors due to missing product features" describes a problem you can solve.

Too vague: "We need to improve customer experience" provides no direction. "First-call resolution rate of 34% is driving 2.3x higher support escalations" is actionable.

Unquantified: "Things have gotten worse recently" versus "Metric X declined 18% in Q3." The second version enables prioritization and progress tracking.

Solution masquerading as problem: "We need a new CRM system" is a proposed solution, not a problem statement. The problem might be "Sales lacks visibility into customer history, leading to 40% of calls starting without context."

Kitchen sink: Listing every possible issue diffuses focus. Prioritize to the 3-5 problems that matter most. Other issues can appear in an appendix.

From Problem Statement to Analysis Plan

A well-defined problem statement naturally generates the analysis plan. Each problem area becomes a branch in your issue tree. Each quantified metric suggests the data you need to gather.

If your problem statement is "Enterprise sales declined 18% due to competitive losses, primarily in financial services," your analysis branches might be:

• Why are we losing to competitors? (Product gaps, pricing, relationships)
• Why is financial services affected most? (Regulatory changes, specific competitor strength, our underinvestment)
• How much of the 18% is recoverable? (Lost customers vs. delayed deals vs. market contraction)

The problem statement is not just a slide—it is the foundation of your entire engagement structure.

Writing the Action Title

Your slide title should state the problem, not describe the slide. Compare:

Weak titles:

• "Problem Overview"
• "Current Challenges"
• "Situation Assessment"

Strong titles:

• "Revenue pressure from three converging challenges requires immediate operational response"
• "Customer acquisition cost inflation threatens profitability unless we shift channel mix"
• "Legacy technology debt blocks product velocity, creating competitive gap"

The title tells the executive what they need to know even if they never read the details below.

For a guide to structured problem-solving approaches that start from the problem statement, see our Problem-Solving Frameworks guide. For root cause techniques that drill deeper, see Root Cause Analysis Examples.

For related frameworks, see our issue tree template for problem decomposition, root cause analysis template for drilling deeper, and executive summary template for synthesizing findings.