# Trace one evidenced problem

Label user evidence and map the smallest end-to-end path that can test an outcome.

Duration: 5 min

Label persona statements observed, assumed or excluded. Choose one priority user problem and map the path required to complete it. Put alternative branches outside the first slice.

**Failure mode:** a richly described persona is treated as research. Record the evidence source or call it a user hypothesis.

## kickoff-problem-backlog-m1-l2-reading

### Evidence before character detail

For every persona statement, record its source or label it assumed. Choose one evidenced problem and map an end-to-end path to the user's goal. Alternative paths remain visible but outside the first slice.

Personas communicate research; they do not create it.

### Worked example and transfer practice

All examples below are fictional teaching material. Use synthetic notes; no workplace or personal data is required or uploaded.

**Separate observation from invention.** In the fictional repair service, three callers report that they cannot confirm a visit while at work. That is a reported need from a small sample, not proof that all callers want an app. A stakeholder invents ‘Sam, aged 35, who loves mobile alerts’. Mark those details assumed. Trace one reported problem through request, confirmation and arrival; include a phone route for people without online access.

**Try before reading the guide:** Label these statements: two borrowers could not find the collection date; most borrowers prefer texts; volunteers believe clearer dates would help. Choose one research action to test the least supported material claim.

<details>
<summary>Practice review guide</summary>

The first is bounded observation, the second is unsupported unless its source is supplied, and the third is a stakeholder hypothesis. A persona's vividness cannot upgrade its evidence.

</details>

## kickoff-problem-backlog-m1-l2-check

Public answer keys are intentional. This check does not establish competence.