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9 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Technique 1: Problem Dissection
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Divide and conquer
Sometimes it is easier to define a problem by breaking a big problems into smaller ones. Work on one attribute at a time. Great for product/process improvement Emphasizes piecemeal thinking over the Gestalt |
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Problem Dissection: steps
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State your general research question
Break it down into smaller more manageable specific parts Examine each part For comparing options look at individual attributes of each option instead of the whole thing Ask why individual attributes need to be the way they are… Be flexible in re-assembling a solution |
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Problem Dissection: Practice
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A friend of yours asks for your advice. He asks “Now that I have worked for about 3 and a half years in business, should I go back to graduate school?”
Start by breaking down the question into chunks. In this case, you need to find out what the attributes and other options are. What might be the first question you would have to ask him? |
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Technique 2: Challenge your assumptions
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To think outside the box, you need to understand what box you are in
What perspectives, attitudes, and assumptions ground your reality of a problem? Are you assumptions limiting your creativity or inhibiting you from objectively evaluating all of your options? |
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Challenging assumptions
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Challenging assumptions can help to
think outside the box by challenging tradition free up information to be reassembled in new ways think proactively by exploring novel positions and searching for break-through ideas |
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Challenging assumptions: Dichotomies
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We tend to think in dichotomies—
“If we had chosen the other thing, the outcomes would be exactly opposite,” Ex. “If I had driven the other way, I wouldn’t have had this accident.” But it is difficult to guess potential outcomes “You must be X or Y.” Ex. “ Are you liberal or conservative?” Is there a middle-ground beyond ambivalence? (i.e. Could a person be passionately moderate?). Often things are multi-faceted (e.g. Couldn’t a person be liberal about healthcare but fiscally conservative?) |
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Phishing:
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An attempt to criminally and fraudulently acquire sensitive information, such as usernames, passwords and credit card details, by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication
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Technique 3: Borrow from the “outside”
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Borrow ideas from outside your area…
How do other businesses and functional areas solve their problems? What can I borrow? How are other products (in other product categories) similar to ours? In what ways are they improving, being reinvented, being challenged? |
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Re-using solutions
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Other people may have looked at similar problems before you. You could:
Borrow from their logic Use their study design as a template Avoid things that they did wrong In other words, do your homework Otherwise you might “reinvent the wheel” |
