Article Idea:
Wait a minute, what was the problem?
suggested by Bo Lora on 2007/03/30
All too often you walk into a meeting room and people are already offering solutions. You have the gentleman on the left, he brought a hacked powerpoint with cut up screen shots of competitor sites. What about the lady on the right? She’s showing everyone on the whiteboard how the web application should look. Then it hits you. What’s the problem we are trying to fix???
Through the years I’ve been involved, it is amazing how little the “problem” is talked about. I would like to write a story on what you can do to put the “problem” as the main topic of conversation and show what tools I use to identify the “problem”.
Want to see this idea turned into a story?
20 people said yes. | 0 people said no.
Woody Williams
2 Reputation points
Posted 2007/03/31 @ 03:49AM with
Yes… differing perspectives on the same problem as well as conflicting views of problem definition. How to arrive at a consensus and keep the group on track is a valuable story.
Nancy Galles
1 Reputation points
Posted 2007/04/03 @ 13:49PM with
Yes! I would like to read this story and hear about the tools Woody Williams has to identify the “problem”.
Uday Gajendar
31 Reputation points
Posted 2007/04/03 @ 16:52PM with
Love it, and the possibility of suggesting methods/tips for identifying the problem in “collaborative” situations like that where pulling the brakes on a rushed, foregone solution might be risky politically. Diplomacy, methods of argument, ways to cultivate favor instead of animosity at the “outsider designer type”, problem scoping, etc. would benefit this community very well I think!
Also, I would suspect that any discussion of design problems would hint at the inherently “wicked” nature of problems involving multi-disciplinary perspectives…very fascinating topic in itself!
Donna Maurer
165 Reputation points
Posted 2007/04/17 @ 14:44PM with
This is something we all should know but is often done so poorly. I think this could be an excellent article if it is humorous