One-paragraph problem statement
About 1 week· Work out what you are doing
If you cannot say it in a paragraph to someone outside your field, it is not defined yet.
Where this sits
Before any of the research, a sentence a non-specialist would nod at. Most theses that wander were never anchored here.
The question this stage answers: What is wrong with the world that your work addresses?
This whole block ends with: Ends at your proposal.