Are You Solving The Right Problems?

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ARE YOU SOLVING

THE RIGHT
PROBLEMS?
Most companies
struggle not with
problem solving but
figuring out what
problems are.
In surveys of 106 C-suite executives who represented
91 private and public-sector companies in 17
countries,
found it wasfull 85% strongly agreed or
agreed
that a that their organizations were bad at
problem , and 87% strongly
diagnosis
agreed that this flaw carried
agreedsignificant
or
costs

The pattern is clear


Engineers often switch quickly into
solution mode without checking
whether they really understand the
problem.
WHY ORGANIZATIONS
STRUGGLE TO
GET IT RIGHT?
Over-engineering of the diagnostic process.
Creative solutions always come from an alternative definition of
problem. Example: The Slow Elevator Problem.

Angry tenants complaining of the slow elevator in the building they


live in.
Tenant give a solution

Building manager solution


THE ANALOGY IN THE
SOFTWARE PLACE….
Number 1 reason in high rate of software project failures : Poor understanding
and identification of the problem.
Example : You are working on an app, and a customer raises an issue with
the talkback feature in your app. It is not working.
You have 2
options

Solve the problem locally Try to understand why the global


for that particular talkback feature is behaving
view on app. funny in the app.

Solution changes as the way you perceive the problem


shifts.
Repeated problems of same kind can lead to loss of faith in the reliability of
your application/solution.
Hence, problem analysis is critical to long-term software sustainability and
its reliability.
Naturally, this also influences a company’s market value.
IDENTIFYING DIFFERENT
ASPECTS OF A PROBLEM
AMERICA’S DOG
ADOPTION PROBLEM
1. More than 40% of US households have dogs.
2. More than 3 million dogs enter every shelter every year and are put up
for adoption.
3. Animal welfare organizations work hard to raise the awareness on this
issue.
4. The system is under-funded but 1.4 million dogs get adopted each year.
5. But a lot many remain… . .s
Is adoption the
only way to
solve the
problem?
Not really according to
her…..

Lori Weise, founder Downtown Dog Rescue, Los


Angeles
REFRAMING OF THE
PROBLEM
1. Adoption is not the only way to frame the problem.
2. Lori tries to keep the dogs with their owners so that they do not have
to enter the shelters at the first place.
3. Are the owners who surrender dogs, “bad”??
4. Not according to Lori Weise.
5. “Owner sur renders are not a people problem, t hey are
POVERTY problem”.
6. Families with dogs may be too poor to take care of it or pay the
landlord dog deposit.
7. Unable to manage the dog expenses, last option? Surrender the
dog .
THE ALTERNATIVE APPROACH
TO THE PROBLEM
Family comes to Staff asks : Do you want
hand over a to keep the pet?
pet

Ye No
s

Staff resolve Accepts in the


the problem shelter care.
using
network and
knowledge of
the system.
DID THE REFRAMING OF THE
PROBLEM HELP?
Previously the organization
was spending $85 per pet it
helped. New program
brought the cost down to
$60 per pet while keeping
shelter space for other
animals in need.
BUT THAT WAS
NOT IT…
1. Wider impact on the community.
2. Families learnt about problem solving, know their rights and
responsibilities.
3. They learnt that help was available.
4. In fact, 75% of owners who came to shelter house wanted to keep the
pet.
PRACTICES FOR EFFECTIVE
PROBLEM REFRAMING
1. Reframing is a quick and iterative process.
2. Cognitive counterpoint to rapid prototyping.
3. Reframing is not a one time process.
4. It involves observation, conversation,
prototyping.
5. Sometimes reframing won’t help at all.
SEVEN
1.PRACTICES
Establish legitimacy.
1. Creating a conversational space. Remind your team members of the slow elevator problem.

2. Brings outsiders into the discussion.


1. So that you do not fall into love with the solution without understanding the problem.
2. Helps in clear diagnosis of the problem.
3. Research by Michael Tushman: the most useful input tends to come from people who understand
but are not fully part of your world.
4. Innovation workshops may not always be the solution.
5. Expect inputs, not solutions.
6. Outsiders are not experts on the situation, giving solutions is not their function.

3. Get the people’s definitions in writing.


1. People often leave meetings thinking they know the problem.
2. Later realize the folly.
CONSIDER AN
EXAMPLE..
Why getting definitions of problem from team members is important?
1. Management team says there is lack of innovation.
2. But if you ask each member of the management team, they say:
1. Employees are not motivated to innovate.
2. Employees do not understand the urgency of the situation.
3. They do not have the right skill set.
4. Customers are not willing to pay for the innovation.

3. So, ask your team members to write their problem understanding on


flip charts.
4. Gather individual definitions of the problem.
REFRAMING PRACTICES
4.CONTINUED..
Ask what is missing.
What
🢝 is missing f rom your def init ion of t he problem?

5. Consider multiple categories.


🢝 Transforming your perception of the problem. Eg. Lori Weise story.
🢝 Eg. Nickelodeon kids app. The team launched the new app and many kids downloaded it.
🢝 Activating the app was complicated. Required logging into household cable TV service.
🢝 At this step of sign-up process most kids dropped out.
The
🢝 team t hought t he problem was of usabilit y.
🢝 Ran tests on sign-up flow process. Nothing helped.
Problem
🢝 was?? THINKING TOO NARROWLY ONLY THE ISSUE.
🢝 Team focused on kids actions during signup process : swipes, clicks, etc. but not how they fel during the
sign up process. t
🢝 Kids actually felt fearful when password was requested.
🢝 Company added a short video saying, it is okay to ask parents for the password.
🢝 Result? 10 fold increase in the sign-up process.
🢝 METACOGNITION : THINKING ABOUT
THINKING.
THE FAMOUS
LAW OF
INSTRUM E
NTa: small boy a
Give
hammer, and he will
f ind t hat
ever yt hing he
encount ers needs
pounding.
What was the
problem at
Nickelodeon?
The team members were usability
experts, they defaulted to thinking the
problem was one of usability.
CONTINUED

6. Analyze positive exceptions.
Look
🢝 for instances when t he problem did not occur.
What
🢝 was different about t hat sit uat ion?
Also
🢝 called as t he Br ight Spot s.

7. Question the objective.


🢝 Consider a problem. Two people fighting to keep a window closed or open.
Goal
🢝 of person 1: To get f resh air.
🢝 Goal of person 2: Avoid a draft (a flow of cold air that comes into a room).
🢝 Bringing these goals to notice of the third person.
🢝 Solution? Open the window in the next room.
🢝 Another way to reframe the problem : paying attention to the objectives of the parties involved.
🢝 Like Lori’ s approach: shifting objective from increasing adoption to keeping more pets with
original owners.
CONCLU
SION
1. Reframing takes time and practice to get good at it.
2. It is difficult to reframe a problem, but effective.
3. Be prepared to feel messy and confused at times.
4. It is fatal to think that you can figure it all out within the comfy
confines of your university classes.
5. Combine reframing with real-world testing.
UPCOMING
LECTURE THEMES
Understanding a problem in software engineering and Software
Development Lifecycle Models.

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