Problem definition is a separate step in the problem-solving process. It is also a creative act. Research suggests the better you are at problem definition, the more creative you are.
This is good news. Creative skills can be learnt, and practice makes us better problem solvers. The skills you need to define a problem are similar to those used in idea generation, so some will already be familiar.
Invite insight
As in idea generation, you need insight into the problem to generate high-quality problem statements.
Insight is the “A-ha!” moment when you suddenly find a solution, or understand something for the first time, or grasp what the problem is about.
Insight cannot be taught, but you can create the ideal circumstances for insight to occur. These include spending time and effort on a problem, because insight seldom arrives out of the blue (although it can feel like it). (We’ll talk about incubation in a future post.) Cultivating an attitude that promotes creativity is another.
Look beyond old solutions
Before you search for effective problem statements, you must acknowledge that old problems and traditional ways of doing things may not help.
When confronted with a problem, we search our memories for similar problems that we had solved successfully in the past. For well-defined problems, this is the correct strategy. For ill-defined problems, it is not.
Ill-defined problems are usually new problems, ones that we have not come across before. We might have seen similar ones, but because ill-defined problems contain changeable, unpredictable, and unknowable elements—market forces, consumer needs, hidden agendas, contradictory goals, the weather—they will never be exactly the same.
New problems need novel solutions. And novel definitions.
Change perspective
Insight will not come if you keep looking at a problem from the same angle. Ill-defined problems require a fresh perspective, a different way of looking at a problem. This is true for both idea generation and problem definition. One way to change perspective is to add a random element to the situation, like a word or a Tarot card. You could also imagine looking at it through the eyes of, say, a child, or a clown, or The Hierophant.
Adjust focus
In Chunking problems I explained how adjusting the focus can make you see the problem more clearly. Sometimes you need to chunk down, or zoom in to specifics, and sometimes you need to chunk up, or zoom out.
Find alternative definitions
Just as an ill-defined problem can have more than one solution, it can be defined in various ways (See Defining the ill-defined: Part 1.) Different people will look at the same collection of facts, goals, constraints, and procedures, and interpret them differently. Most often, the variations in definitions are due to differences in personality, values, and assumptions.
Some of these definitions will be more effective in solving the problem than others.
Question assumptions
In Defining the ill-defined: Part 1, I showed how assumptions can result in different definitions. When dealing with ill-defined problems, it is always a good idea to examine your assumptions.
Assumptions are not always wrong, but they can limit you to a specific approach, which in turn will limit the variety of definitions you come up with. In problem definition, as in idea generation, quantity is more important than quality until you have exhausted the options you can think of.
What is the problem?
One question you must ask yourself is What is the real problem?
In Chunking problems and Which problem are you solving? I discuss how you might find yourself solving the wrong problem by using ineffective definitions. Essentially, you might work hard to solve the problem, only to find that the solutions you came up with do not address the problem at all.
For example, a company notices that its product is selling less well than before. They might frame or define this problem as a marketing problem, and work on an advertising campaign, while the real problem is that the consumers have moved on, and the company needs to drastically rethink their product. Defining the problem as a marketing one will not be effective.
You could also ask What is the essence of the problem? Your answers will overlap those to the previous question, but you might gain a slightly different insight.
A particular danger of complex problems is solving symptoms instead of the problem. For example, if a project is running behind schedule, the project leader might find that the teamwork is not what it could be, the project schedule is not adhered to, and the team is incomplete in terms of skills. Working on one or more of these could give some effective solutions. If the real problem, however, lies in the nature of the project itself, it would be much more effective to start the problem solving at that level.
Think differently
Both idea generation and problem definition require a specific kind of thinking: creative thinking.
Creative thinking is usually equated with divergent thinking, which is explorative, intuitive, and associative rather than sequential. It looks for options and alternatives, not the one ‘correct’ solution. This thinking is literally ‘divergent’—going in different directions. At this stage of the exercise, it is important not to evaluate definitions as you generate them.
Convergent thinking, on the other hand is rational, analytical, logical, focused, and evaluative. It is the opposite of divergent thinking: it narrows the various options down to the ones that seem the most helpful.
True creative thinking is to alternate between divergent and convergent thinking. Once you have brainstormed a number of ways to define the problem, you need to evaluate them and choose the one(s) that seem the most effective. The same is true for idea generation: judgment is suspended during the idea generation phase. Once you have as many ideas as you could come up with, the ideas are evaluated and the best ones selected.
Creative thinking is flexible thinking, applying the most useful mind-set to the various stages of problem solving and adjusting the focus as necessary. It is being open to new possibilities and new information, and willing to consider these even when they contradict each other. It is also the willingness to question assumptions.
The creative personality
Both the research and popular literature on creativity single out openness as the most important personality trait for creativity. Openness is one of the traits identified in the Five Factor Model of personality.
An open mind questions assumptions, accepts new information, and looks beyond the first answer to find solutions. It is flexible, able to adjust thinking to suit circumstances, open to new experiences, and able to receive, evaluate, and assimilate new information. It is eager to explore—curiosity is one of its dimensions.
People with this personality trait are comfortable in uncertain and ambiguous circumstances, which means that they are more willing to spend time with an ill-defined problem than a rigid personality would be. Rigid personalities would tend to grab the first solution they come up with, or rely on previous solutions, to get rid of the discomfort of uncertainty as soon as possible. In contrast, an open person can hold contradictory thoughts in mind and argue from all sides. They regard paradox as an opportunity, not a stumbling block.
Motivate yourself
Solving problems take time and effort. Research indicates that the more time people are willing to spend on a problem, the higher the quality of the solutions.
One way to increase motivation is to be actively involved in defining the problem.
- If you have a stake in the solution, you will be willing to spend time on the problem.
- If you are involved in defining the problem, you can frame the problem so that you are motivated to solve it. If you are concerned about people, framing a problem as a humanitarian one will motivate you more than if it is framed as, for example, a funding problem.
- The better you are at defining problems, the easier you find it to create problem statements that fit your personality and values.
Knowledge
The final aspect of problem definition to explore before we turn to problem-definition techniques, is knowledge. Knowledge is something that can both make problem definition easier, and be an obstacle.
Someone entrenched in a particular field might find it difficult:
- to step back from the problem and view it from different angles,
- to refrain from applying familiar solutions to a problem, acknowledging the need to consider something new or unusual,
- to identify and question assumptions.
On the other hand, in problem definition—and problem solving as a whole—knowledge is necessary in several ways. Knowledge is needed to:
- discover that a problem exists,
- determine what the ideal outcome or goal would be,
- know what challenges you are likely to face in solving the problem,
- recognize that the problem definition is less effective,
- compare the problem with previous problems to find differences and similarities,
- decide whether a previous solution would work, or that a new one is needed,
- evaluate definitions or solutions as potentially effective or not.
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Interested in doing your own research on problem definition?
If you are interested in reading about problem definition in the research literature, you need to search under more than one keyword or phrase. The ones that will get you the most hits are problem finding, problem formulation, problem identification, problem definition, and problem construction.
When I write about problem definition, I use:
- Problem statement or problem definition as the sentence or few sentences that describe the problem. These could be short statements that end with a question mark, or longer constructions that include several pieces of information.
- Problem finding and problem identification, although they are used by some for the full problem-definition step, I use to describe activities and techniques where you are not sure that a problem really exists, or are deliberately trying to find problems.
- Problem construction is an elaborate statement that includes the available facts, the constraints, the goals of the exercise, and the processes to follow.
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