Problem identification

Identifying a problem means grasping what really needs to be solved before looking for corrective actions.

Definition

At first, many difficulties look like chaos: symptoms, emotions, pressure and guesswork all mix together. Problem identification involves separating facts from interpretations, symptoms from causes, and important issues from peripheral issues. A well-named problem reduces random actions and allows you to proceed to diagnosis, hypotheses and testing of solutions.

Key ideas

Missing key ideas.

Practice and life

Write the problem in one sentence as follows: "In situation X, Y occurs, which causes Z." Then check that the sentence describes observable facts and not just an assessment.

Common misunderstanding

It is a mistake to start with a solution before knowing what problem you want to solve. A common mistake is to give the problem too broad a form, e.g. "everything is wrong."

Questions for self-reflection

No questions for self-reflection.

Sources

No sources.