Information about Problem Solving

Contents

Why is problem solving important to you?
Defining Problem Solving
Identifying the Problem
Approaching Ill-structured Problems
Solving Ill-structured Problems
Techniques to Help Determine the Real Problem
Separate Symptoms from Causes

Why is problem solving important to you?

Today's businesses want employees who can adapt to new situations rapidly and effectively.

• The ideal employee is a master of basic skills such as reading, writing, and numeracy.  
• The ideal employee is also a master of learning, communication, critical thinking, creative thinking, and problem solving.  
• The ideal employee can respond to a problem quickly, correctly, and with little or no supervision.

If you can solve problems, you can write your own ticket to whatever job you want.

In college, research methodology is used quite a bit to discover new things and test new ideas. Most research techniques use some kind of problem-solving methodology. If you learn how to solve problems now, you will be able to approach many academic situations with the tools you need to handle them.

Defining Problem Solving

Problems can be classified into well-structured and ill-structured problems. Some problems are simple and well-defined. There are a set number of possible solutions -- and solutions are either 100% right or 100% wrong. An example of a well-structured problem is a typical mathematical (2 + 2 = ?) question. This question has a definitive "correct" answer.

In contrast to this are ill-structured problems. In these cases, problems may have many possible answers because they are complex and ill-defined. The "best" solutions to ill-defined problems depend on the priorities underlying the situation. What is "best" today may not be "best" tomorrow. Ill-structured problems, because they are more difficult to "solve," require the development of higher order thinking skills.

An example of an ill-structured problem would be "How can we maximize water resources in our area?" In this real-life problem more than 20 solutions were proposed and local area authorities were asked to weigh the solutions.

Identifying the Problem

• Many problems are complex and ill-defined.
• They have many possible answers.
• They do not have one best answer.

Here is an example of an ill-defined problem:
The population of your community is growing. Your water supply will not support many new people.   What do you do?

This is a complex problem. It affects the people, the environment, and the quality of life itself. To arrive at a good solution, you would need to use math, science, political science and psychology, and probably more!

This problem actually occurs frequently in areas with a growing population.   In one community facing this problem, 14 possible solutions were presented to the public. A solution was then chosen that the majority of the public agreed upon. It wasn't the "best" solution because all of the 14 possible solutions had strengths and weaknesses.

The lesson here is that ill-structured problems usually have several workable solutions.   Each solution has advantages and disadvantages that depend on who is affected by the solution.

So, how do you go about solving an ill-structured problem?  

Approaching Ill-structured Problems

The best way to approach an ill-structured problem is by gathering some information. Here are some ideas of what to look for:

Define the problem.

• Whose problem is it (individual, group, or situation) and why?
• How do key people, those most involved, define the problem and how do they feel about it? Try to separate fact from opinion by distinguishing what people say from what they actually do.

List why the issue is a problem.

• Is there a gap between the actual situation and what is desirable?
• Are any standards violated?
• What would happen if the problem remained unsolved?
• Are there unintended consequences that could result from taking action to solve the problem?

List what will happen when the problem is solved.

• What are the ideal outcomes?
• What are the actual outcomes? For example, has productivity improved; are people more satisfied?
• Does the statement of the problem define the actual cause of the problem, or is it just one of the symptoms?

Solving Ill-structured Problems

To start figuring out how to solve an ill-structured problem, here are some steps you may want to follow. Consider the information you have gathered through your investigation as you narrow down what the real problem is and how best to solve it.

1. Determine the real problem.
2. State the real problem.
3. Identify alternative perspectives.
4. Determine constraints.
5. Gather information.
6. Generate possible solutions.
7. Choose the best solution.
8. Plan the steps for implementing the solution.
9. Adapt the solution.

Identifying the real problem is the most important step because:

• a full understanding of the problem is crucial
• symptoms must be differentiated from causes

Techniques to Help Determine the Real Problem

First, you need a full understanding of the problem so, you need to gather complete and accurate information. After defining the problem, more information is needed to confirm the cause of the problem.

Sometimes what seems to be a problem is not really a problem at all.

Example:

You tell your friend that you are always late for class because your alarm never goes off. Your friend may think the alarm is broken or not working properly, when the truth is that you always forget to turn the alarm on before you go to bed.

It is important to have a full understanding of the problem before you begin solving it.

Separating Symptoms from Causes

The most common problem in real-life problem solving is that we fail to identify the real problem and instead solve the wrong problem - or a different problem. What we think is the real problem often isn't, it's just a symptom of the real problem.

Another example:

Guests on the upper floors of a hotel complain that the elevators are slow. Is the problem that the elevators are slow? Maybe not. Can you guess what the hotel did to solve it?

Hotel management concluded the real problem was that guests were thinking only about waiting for the elevators. They decided to install mirrors beside the elevator to take people's minds off the wait. Customer complaints ended after the mirrors were installed.

It is important to examine all possible causes of a problem before moving on to the next major step -- solving the problem.

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