Clause 6.2.3.3: Define the problem or opportunity space
The analysis has to look at the problems and opportunities through the trade space factors that matter to the mission or business.
What clause 6.2.3.3 asks
The analysis has to look at the problems and opportunities through the trade space factors that matter to the mission or business. Those factors are the criteria that will later decide whether an alternative is viable, and they can be technical, such as a measure of effectiveness, or commercial, such as market share. The output is a concise problem statement covering the mission, the business and the operation. The standard is blunt: if the owners cannot say it concisely at the start, the later analysis is likely to fail.
Why it matters
A problem statement is not a complaint or a solution in disguise. It names the affected mission, the gap, the scale and the consequence. The trade space factors are recorded here because they become the assessment criteria in 6.2.3.5. Writing them late lets the preferred solution define its own criteria.
No clause level change is public for this unit; the DIS keeps the title and scope, and the requirement text is not released.
What good looks like
Draft the statement in one paragraph, then test it against three questions: whose mission is affected, what is the measurable gap, and what happens if nothing changes. Record the trade space factors beside it with the source of each.
Evidence an assessor asks for
The assessor will read the statement and ask what would be different if the project did nothing. If the answer is vague, the problem is not defined.
- Problem statement One paragraph naming the mission, the gap, the scale and the consequence of no change
- Trade space factors The technical and commercial criteria that will decide viability, with the source of each
- Evidence pack The data, complaints, incidents or market analysis that supports the statement
- Owner sign-off The mission or business owner's dated agreement to the statement
Where it commonly fails
- The problem statement is a solution in disguise, such as we need a new system
- Trade space factors are invented after the preferred option is known
- The statement expands to several pages and no one can repeat it
What to do before the revision
Keep the statement to one paragraph and put the detail in an appendix. If a reader cannot repeat the paragraph after one reading, rewrite it.
Read across
- 6.2.3.2 Prepare for business or mission analysis
- 6.2.3.4 Characterize the solution space
- 6.2.3.5 Evaluate alternative solution classes
- 6.2.3.6 Manage the business or mission analysis
← 6.2.3.2 Prepare for business or mission analysis 6.2.3.4 Characterize the solution space →
Source for clause 6.2.3.3: ISO/IEC/IEEE 29148:2018, Clause 6.2.3.3, retrieved 19 October 2026. The revision note rests on ISO page 94091. The requirement, evidence and gaps are written from our record. Every source.