French poet Aime Cesaire states that “a crying man is not a dancing bear.” It is easy to confuse sounds, images or words, it is easy to assume that a thing could actually be the opposite of what we perceive it to be. This is why defining a problem is so critical to the troubleshooting process. As Einstein once said that if he had an hour to solve a problem, he would spend 55 minutes thinking about that problem and only five minutes thinking about ways to solve it.

TECHNIQUES FOR IDENTIFYING PROBLEMS

has. Graphic script

Storyboarding requires you to use several large sheets of paper to define a problem. The overall problem is then divided into two to five subtopics, each of which will be written on a large sheet of paper or flipchart. Visually, you will be helped to quickly and easily see the possible solutions for each sub-topic on the sticky notes – one idea per “sticker”. Proceed to attach your ideas to the large pieces of paper or flipchart sheets, as appropriate. This wide range of possible solutions, based on a disaggregated definition of the problem. will help to clarify the basic main problem.

b. Examining assumptions

Generally speaking, when you solve a problem, you should try to list all of your assumptions about the problem. The next step is to look at the problem again without those assumptions. Try doing this in the example below to learn how easy it is to try to help the metaphorical crying man, when the reality is a metaphorical bear growling while dancing.

Imagine you heard about a man who finally got out of jail. His first action was to push a car to a nearby hotel, where he left a large amount of money. His next action was similar to the first: he pushed the car to a house near the hotel and also left some money there. This time, however, he left less money than he had left at the hotel. Can you explain what could be happening in this scenario?

There is another technique for avoiding the box that assumptions are often placed in, often due to their own lack of problems. Ask those affected by the problem to restate the problem without using any of the key terms used by the first speaker. To illustrate, if the original topic was phrased this way: “We may have a drug problem here,” several people might substitute “opiates,” “prescriptions,” “cocaine,” “marijuana,” or any of several others. possible words that may be legitimate interpretations of the word “drug”.

vs Force Field Analysis

Kurt Lewin’s simple diagram requires you to specify what the current problem is, at the top of a piece of paper. Next, you would specify how you imagine that problem will be solved. In other words, what would be the ideal situation? Write the ideal below the actual problem. The next step is to draw a line down the middle of the paper. On the one hand, it will list the forces that prevent you from achieving the ideal. In the next column, you would list the forces that could help you reach the ideal state. (However, be careful not to make the second column a simple inversion of the first.)

MULTIPLE MEANINGS OF A GIVEN TERM

Just as a given word can have multiple definitions, some of which may contradict others, so too can a problem be viewed in multiple ways. The many possible definitions remind us of the need to define problems as completely as possible before embarking on their solution. As Anthony Hincks puts it, “A teddy bear will give you love. A grizzly bear will give you a beating.” Make sure your problems produce “loving” solutions.