PROBLEM SOLVING

Dr Vidya Bhate
DEFINITION
⦿ Problem solving is a mental process and is
part of the larger problem process that
includes problem finding and problem
shaping.
⦿ Considered the most complex of all
intellectual functions, problem solving has
been defined as higher-order cognitive
process that requires the modulation and
control of more routine or fundamental skills
⦿ Problem solving occurs when an organism or
an artificial intelligence system needs to
move from a given state to a desired goal
state.
⦿ The nature of human problem solving
methods has been studied by psychologists
over the past hundred years.
⦿ There are several methods of studying
problem solving, including introspection,
behaviourism, simulation, computer
modeling and experiment.
⦿ Write down a problem you faced in recent
times..
PROBLEM SOLVING CYCLE
IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM

⦿ Firstly we need to identify and name the

problem so that we can find an appropriate
solution.

⦿ We may not be clear of what the problem is

or feel anxious/confused about what is
getting in the way of our goals. Try talking to
others, as this may help identify the
problem.
EXPLORE THE PROBLEM

When you are clear about what the problem

is you need to think about from different
angles. You can ask yourself questions such
as:
⦿ How is this problem affecting me?
⦿ How is it affecting others?
⦿ Who else experiences this problem?
⦿ What do they do about it?
⦿ Seeing the problem in different ways is likely
to help you find an effective solution.
SET GOALS

⦿ Once you have thought about the problem

from different angles you can identify your
goals. What is it that you want to achieve?
⦿ Sometimes you may become frustrated by a
problem and forget to think about what you
want to achieve.
⦿ For example, you might become ill, struggle
to complete a number of assignments on
time and feel so unmotivated that you let
due dates pass.
LOOK AT ALTERNATIVES

⦿ When you have decided what your goal is you

need to look for possible solutions. The more
possible solutions you find the more likely it
is that you will be able to discover an
effective solution.

⦿ The purpose of brain-storming is to collect

together a long list of possibilities. It does
not matter whether the ideas are useful or
practical or manageable
SELECT A POSSIBLE SOLUTION

⦿ From the list of possible solutions you can

sort out which are most relevant to your
situation and which are realistic and
manageable. You can do this by predicting
the outcomes for possible solutions and also
checking with other people what they think
the outcomes may be.
IMPLEMENT A POSSIBLE SOLUTION

⦿ Once you have selected a possible solution

you are ready to put it into action.
⦿ You will need to have energy and motivation
to do this because implementing the solution
may take some time and effort.
⦿ You can prepare yourself to implement the
solution by planning when and how you will
do it.
EVALUATE

⦿ Just because you have implemented the best

possible solution, you may not have
automatically solved your problem, so
evaluating the effectiveness of your solution
is very important.

⦿ How effective was that solution?

⦿ Did it achieve what I wanted?
⦿ What consequences did it have on my
situation?
PROBLEM-SOLVING TECHNIQUES
⦿ Abstraction: solving the problem in a
model of the system before applying it to
the real system
⦿ Analogy: using a solution that solved an
analogous problem
⦿ Brainstorming: (especially among groups
of people) suggesting a large number of
solutions or ideas and combining and
developing them until an optimum is
found
⦿ Divide and conquer: breaking down a
large, complex problem into smaller,
solvable problems

⦿ Hypothesis testing: assuming a possible

explanation to the problem and trying to
prove (in some contexts disprove) the
assumption
⦿ Lateral thinking: Lateral thinking
means brainstorming creatively to solve
problems and generate ideas without the
limitations of logic-based critical thinking

⦿ Means-ends analysis: choosing an action

at each step to move closer to the goal
⦿ Research: employing existing ideas or
adapting existing solutions to similar
problems

⦿ Root cause analysis: Root cause analysis

(RCA) is the process of discovering the root
causes of problems in order to identify
appropriate solutions. RCA assumes that it is
much more effective to systematically
prevent and solve for underlying issues
⦿ Trial-and-error: Trial and error is a
fundamental method of problem-solving
characterized by repeated, varied attempts
which are continued until success, or until
the practicer stops trying.
Approaches to PS
- HEURISTICS
⦿ A heuristic is a mental rule-of-thumb ,that
may or may not work in certain situations.
⦿ Heuristics do not always guarantee a correct
solution. However, using this problem-solving
strategy does allow people to simplify
complex problems and reduce the total
number of possible solutions to a more
manageable set.
⦿ Heuristics are simple strategies or
guidelines used to make decisions
⦿ They reduce the time and effort needed to
solve a problem
⦿ Commonly used when time or information is
limited
⦿ Saves time and mental effort
⦿ Useful for complex or unfamiliar
problems
⦿ Helps in quick decision-making
⦿ Often effective in real-life situations
MEANS-ENDS HEURISTIC
⦿ Means-Ends Analysis (MEA) is a
problem-solving heuristic that repeatedly
reduces the difference between the current
state and the goal state by identifying
obstacles and creating subgoals to overcome
them, essentially asking, "What's the biggest
difference, and what's the best action
(mean) to reduce it (end)?".
⦿ Means-Ends Heuristic: Dividing the problem
into sub-problems and reducing the
difference between the initial and the goal
state
⦿ It's a goal-driven strategy that breaks down
complex problems into manageable steps,
often recursively, by focusing on operators
(actions) that directly shrink the gap to the
objective, making it more efficient than
brute-force trial and error
HILL-CLIMBING HEURISTIC
⦿ Hill-Climbing Heuristic: When choice point is
reached in using a heuristic, one selects a
route that leads directly to the goal.
⦿ Hill Climbing Heuristic is a method that starts
with an initial solution
⦿ Repeatedly moves to a better neighboring
solution
⦿ Hill climbing is a greedy heuristic search
algorithm in AI that iteratively moves from a
current state to a better neighboring state in
the solution space, aiming to find an optimal
solution by climbing towards the highest "hill"
(best value), but it often gets stuck at a local
optimum, failing to find the true global
optimum, as it only considers immediate
improvements and lacks memory.
⦿ It works by evaluating neighbors and choosing
the one with the best heuristic value until it
reaches a peak where no neighbor offers
improvement, making it simple and fast but
prone to local optima, plateaus, and ridges.
⦿ Works like climbing a hill
⦿ Each move tries to go upward
⦿ Chooses the solution with higher value
⦿ Stops at the peak
ALGORITHM
⦿ An algorithm is the description of an
automated solution to a problem.

⦿ The solution could or could not be the best

possible one but you know from the start
what kind of result you will get. You
implement the algorithm using some
programming language to get a result.
⦿ Algorithms are step-by-step procedures
guaranteeing optimal solutions, like a recipe,
while heuristics are mental shortcuts or rules
of thumb that find "good enough" solutions
where exact answers are impractical.
ANALOGY APPROACH

⦿ Problems can be solved by considering old

solutions to previous problems. Thus using
analogous procedures or principles to solve
new problems.
THANK YOU