Problem definition should include

As it is customary within military or people with technical education. Accuracy is the guarantee that the task you give to the employee will be understood by them clearly. Incorrect, unauthorized interpretation will be excluded. Thus, you save your own time. After all, if you explained everything very clearly, the employee simply will come and ask you to repeat your assignment.

I liked the article very much! Thank you for the positive comment, Robert! Wishing you a fabulous year ahead. Well written and easy tounderstand post! Clear problem statement is the foundation of problem solving.

You must be logged in to post a comment. Please Sign in Register. How to Write an Effective Problem Statement. By Rod Morgan. Handpicked Content: What's in a Name?

Systematic Approach to an Initiative. You Might Also Like. Rod Morgan. View Profile View all posts by Rod Morgan. The tool places some boundaries around the problem giving clarity on what, and what not to consider. Congratulations, you have now reached the end of this module! We hope that you have enjoyed it, and have learned useful skills.

To achieve your badge, you must answer six out of eight questions correctly. End of module quiz. Once you have finished this quiz you will be redirected back to this page. Inspired by: Julier J. The material acknowledged below is Proprietary and used under licence for this project, and not subject to the Creative Commons Licence.

Grateful acknowledgement is made to the following sources for permission to reproduce the material in this module:. Return to the DIY Learn home page. Printable page generated Friday, 12 Nov , Use 'Print preview' to check the number of pages and printer settings.

Print functionality varies between browsers. Printable page generated Friday, 12 Nov , Learning outcomes After studying this module, you should be able to: describe when it is useful and appropriate to spend time on a detailed definition of a problem SAQ 1 recognise and understand the steps in defining a problem SAQ 2 complete a problem definition analysis for a problem that you face SAQ 3 revise or reframe a problem to make it manageable and solvable SAQ 4. Figure 1: Einstein is said to have understood the importance of defining a problem.

Activity 1 Timing: Allow around 20 minutes for this activity. How do you feel about this quote? Can you think of an example when this approach would have saved you time and resources?

Make some notes in answer to these questions in the text box below. To use this interactive functionality a free OU account is required. Sign in or register. Interactive feature not available in single page view see it in standard view. Discussion The quote is a powerful one. Activity 2 Timing: Allow around 10 minutes for this activity. The sooner the project starts, the sooner it will be finished.

A rough understanding of the problem will do because we can work out the detail as we go along. We have to see the problem clearly, which means keeping it tightly controlled. Defining the problem too closely can bring competing factions out fighting. Discussion It is very likely that at least some of these statements were familiar to you.

Figure 2: Flow chart of problem definition tool. The same thing can appear differently from different perspectives. Figure 3: An example of a stakeholder analysis diagram. Case Study 1: Problem definition in Ethiopian healthcare In Ethiopia, delivery in a health facility is low amongst pregnant women. Adapted from: Childs and Fawssett, View larger image. Figure 4: Poster encouraging women to give birth in health facilities in Ethiopia. Case Study 2: Asking the right questions Asking a mother how many of her children have died failed to gain an answer that matched the child-mortality statistics.

Can you reframe it? Have you captured the viewpoints and interests of all stakeholders? Can you organise the material in a way that helps you understand the problem more thoroughly and provides a guide for action? Do you have enough information to revise or reframe the problem? Case Study 3, below, is an example of how a problem was reframed.

Adapted from: Childs and Fawssett, Case Study 4: Bringing diverse stakeholders together to define a problem Problem We brought together over 50 project beneficiaries — diverse stakeholder representatives — for the first time: women in local government; regional authorities; village mayors; NGOs and journalists. Why and how we used the tool? The workshop was scheduled over 1. The most topical five were: lack of ideological debate during local elections limitations in Avagani : formation, capacity, proper understanding of role and functions lack of constructive cooperation between local government, civil society and mass media: lack of formats, existing stereotypes low engagement of residents in decision-making processes, apathy among people, insufficient efforts by local government insufficient communication between Avagani with regional and central government over the community issues.

We used the Problem Definition Tool to go deeper into each issue as shown below. What is the key issue? We asked the group to describe the issue clearly in sentences. Who is it a problem for? We asked them to focus on primary and secondary target groups that could be affected by a solution. These stages were extremely useful for the group to work through. Can you think of this problem in a different way? With the final column we had some trouble explaining what was required to reframe issues.

Instead we focused on looking at the issue from a wider angle. Activity 3 Timing: Allow around 40 minutes for this activity.

Discussion The Case Studies should have given you a clear direction on completing a problem definition for yourself. Activity 4 Timing: Allow around 20 minutes for this activity.

Discussion Using the Problem Definition Tool can unite stakeholders around a shared understanding of the problem. Figure 5: The added benefits of the Problem Definition Tool. Summary This module has described when it is useful and appropriate to spend time on a detailed definition of a problem. Answer It is advisable to use the Problem Definition Tool when you need to both open a problem up — presenting it in a way that can be examined from a number of angles — and to define the wider context and associated issues involved.

SAQ 2 Drag and drop the following problem definition questions into the correct order. What is the key issue you are trying to address and why is it important? What evidence do you have that this is worth the investment? Contact us today. This is particularly helpful in explaining why a problem statement is beneficial, and how to create a problem statement. Godbless and more power.. It was really helpful for undergraduates like me pursuing BE in Computer Engineering to have an idea of writing problem statement for project synopsis.

This guide have a big part in my very wide knowledge I already have at this time. I would like to thank the writer who wrote this article-it really helped me a lot. Good Job!! I'm taking a course and the instructor ask us to write a problem statement on a company that we been studying and on the assignment he just says write a problem statement on """"" and that's it Thanks for the help A big help. About Contact Demos Support Blogs. Home Consulting Training Products.

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