A need statement says who needs something, in what situation, and what limits the answer. Write it before you draw any idea, because every later decision is judged against it.
This lesson is part of the SPM subjects and learning resources section. Online lessons cover the thinking and writing; building and assessed project work follow your school’s arrangements.
What goes into a need statement?
Use three parts:
- User: the specific person or group, not “people”.
- Situation: where and when the difficulty happens.
- Constraint: the limit on any answer, such as cost, space or skill.
A fourth check helps: the statement should contain no object you plan to build.
Worked example: sugar and ants
Here is an original example. Pak Cik Rahman runs a small drinks stall.
At night he leaves a tin of sugar on a shelf, and in the morning ants have reached it. A student first writes: “Pak Cik Rahman needs an ant-proof sugar box.”
That is a solution, because it names a box. Ask three questions to find the need.
- Who exactly? A stall owner working alone, with a limited budget.
- What happens, and when? Overnight, ants reach the sugar and he must discard it.
- What limits the answer? The stall has one shelf, and he wants to spend under RM20.
Need statement. “A stall owner needs to keep sugar dry and free from ants overnight on a single shelf, at a cost under RM20.”
Now a lidded container, a water-ring tray and a hanging jar all fit. The statement does not choose for you, and that is what makes it useful.
The mistake that costs marks
The common slip is a solution disguised as a need, which shuts out better ideas before they are compared.
| Feature | Solution in disguise | Real need statement |
|---|---|---|
| User | Pak Cik Rahman | A stall owner working alone |
| Wording | Needs an ant-proof box | Needs sugar kept dry and ant-free overnight |
| Constraint | None | One shelf, under RM20 |
| Ideas allowed | One | Any that meet the need |
Check yourself
A student writes: “Students need a folding desk for the school field.” Rewrite it as a need statement, inventing reasonable details for the user, situation and constraint.
Answer
The original names an object, a folding desk, so it is a solution. Ask what the student must do.
Possible need statement: “Students sitting in a school field during outdoor lessons need a firm surface to write on, because the ground is uneven, and the answer must be light enough for one student to carry.”
It names the user, the situation with its cause, and a constraint (carried by one student), and it does not mention a desk. Your details may differ, provided the object is absent.
What to study next
Once the need is clear, test several ideas against it in compare original concepts using explicit criteria. Then try the Invention original practice set.
The structured answer self-review can check that your need statement has all three parts. If you want a teacher to question your idea with you, see online one-to-one Invention tuition.