One of the most important steps in the problem-solving process is the ability to define the problem. It is impossible to be able to solve your problem if you have no idea what the problem actually is. What is the audience that you are solving for, what do you need to make to solve the problem, or where will your product be placed? Knowing these questions can help you solve your problem. According to Glasgow Caledonian University, “In almost every problem solving methodology the first step is defining or identifying the problem. It is the most difficult and the most important of all the steps. It involves diagnosing the situation so that the focus is on the real problem and not on its symptoms.” After empathizing and finding out who your audience is, the next step is to define. As the article said, it is the most difficult yet the most important step out of all of them. Being able to define what your problem is can be difficult since you need to be able to discover what the problem is. But once you are able to discover the problem at hand that makes every step after so much easier.
In a video by Jordan Robert, she gives a quote from Albert Einstein. The quote is “If I had an hour to save the world, I’d spend 55 minutes finding the problem and 5 minutes finding the solution.” This quote shows the importance of defining the problem, and it came from one of the smartest people to ever live. If you’re going to trust anyone it better be Albert Einstein. Besides listening to Einstein, himself, the quote shows how important problem defining is. For any situation there needs to be more time dedicated for finding out what the problem is, and once you find the actual problem the solution should come easily.
Later on in the video Robert later mentions that the product that you are creating his to work with any pre existing products. Although the product may be perfect in what the client wants it to be, the product can still fail since it needed to fit into a pre existing system and could not. Another topic that Robert mentions is the fact that the product cannot be made just for one person, the product has to be something that can be used by a wide audience of people instead of just one individual. In other words, Solve the problems for the majority of the world not a small percent of it.In order to determine what the problem at hand really is, you must create a problem statement. Most effective problem statements begin with a “how might we” or “how can we” phrase. The statement should also be a question because when discovering the problem, you will be answering your question. The statement should not limit your options to solve. There should be nothing related to time, money or any other types limitations so the answer to the statement may be free. The phrase “short and sweet” is something that applies to making a problem statement. If the statement is too long, then it becomes more detailed which simultaneously makes it more detailed. Making the statement short leaves more room for a wide variety of answers and ideas to solve the problem. Lastly, one of the most important aspects, the statement must be human oriented. The statement should not be made for an organization but instead the humans working at the organization. The human is the one utilizing the product so it should be the
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