First, try to take it all in - the context, the situation, the various moving parts, people, system and
understand at a high level. One trick is to imagine explaining the situation to a three year old. This is like
seeing the mountains and water and taking in the scene, wallowing in the majesty of the view.
Squint, blur
the vision - see the big picture.
Caution: do not over do the analysis to the point of paralysis.
Second, you try to identify and isolate the various components - what they are, how they relate to each
other, what value does each bring, what are the issues with each. You understand what is core to the
problem, and what is superficial or irrelevant. This is like looking at the mountains and water, but not seeing
it as a whole - you are seeing the trees in the forest, not comprehending it as a forest. You do not see the
mountains and water as one. In this phase, you can create simple visual models or sketches of what is
‘happening’ (how are things connected, what does the situation look like from start to end.
Try a dull sketch
in sand with a blunt stick.
Third, and this is the part that is hard to explain, if you understand it well, you will get to the point of seeing the mountains and water as one again.
This is the aha, eureka, OMG moment of understanding the situation, when it all comes together. Summarize the zen - what makes it what it is and no more.
How long does this take? How much effort? If the problem to solve is in your wheelhouse as they say, it can take
minutes to ‘see’ the situation and understand it. If you have not worked in the topic before, it can take many months
to get a real handle on something that is complex. Do not rush this. Understand what you are dealing with. See
Gause and Weinberg (1990) for more about problem solving, identifying the problem.
In doing this, you will usually get a better understanding of what the REAL problem is. Not the symptoms someone
might be confused by. You will usually get a better understanding of what questions should be asked, and not
necessarily what was asked. Know the REAL problem. Root cause analysis: ask WHY five times! It really works.
Solving a problem implies that you eventually get to a solution. In Management Engineering, you will learn lots of
methods and tools. These are what you will use to deal with the specifics after you understand what you have to do.
There will likely be multiple solutions as well - each with pros and cons.
Know and understand the implications and
limitations of using various tools, not just how to use them.
You need to know the assumptions and conditions that the method relies on. You need to know when to use a tool
and when not to. Someone might ask you to use a method they have heard about, not really understanding the
method and you need to deal with this. You need to understand the weaknesses and strengths of the methods, else
you can create a bigger problem. Choose the right tool based on the actual context.
You need to understand enough about the problem to know how well the situation fits the tool and sometimes you
can say ‘x is kinda similar to y, and z can work on y, so it is reasonable to try z on x’. If you do this, you have to be
careful and let people know you are possibly pushing a tool, possibly creating a risk. State the assumptions and risks.
Think about the bold phrases on this page. They are possible checklist items for your own, personalized problem
solving process. How you do them will likely vary by individual, but the common steps can be useful to think about.
Gause, D.C. and G.M. Weinberg (1990). Are Your Lights On? Dorset Publishing, NY.
Kahneman, D. (2013). Thinking, fast and slow, Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, NY.
