Understanding the problem
Understanding a problem means recognizing what the difficulty really is, what its causes, limits, effects and context are.
Definition
Understanding the problem precedes a sensible solution. It involves distinguishing symptoms from causes, establishing a scale, collecting data, identifying stakeholders and determining what will constitute improvement. Without this, it is easy to solve an apparent problem or act on the loudest symptom.
Key ideas
Missing key ideas.
Practice and life
Describe the problem in one sentence, then add: symptoms, possible causes, missing data and improvement criteria.
Common misunderstanding
It is a mistake to start with a solution before understanding the problem. It is also a mistake to focus only on the guilty person instead of the mechanism.
Questions for self-reflection
No questions for self-reflection.
Sources
No sources.