Add for Problem solving 101

In this chapter, we’ll follow a very similar process. Here’s the approach:
• Step 1:
Diagnose the situation and identify the root cause of the problem.
1A List all the potential root causes of the problem.
1B Develop a hypothesis for the likely root cause.
1C Determine the analyses and information required to test the hypothesis.
1D Analyze and identify the root cause.

• Step 2: Develop the solution.

2A Develop a wide variety of solutions to solve the problem.
2B Prioritize actions.
2C Develop an implementation plan.
Let’s see how this process works through a case study: a struggling young rock band called the
Mushroom Lovers

1A. LIST ALL THE POTENTIAL ROOT CAUSES OF THE PROBLEM

Therefore, as you can see in the following logic tree, some people may not have been aware of the
concert in the first place (A); others may have been aware of the concert but either did not want to go
or had another reason they could not attend (B); and others may have gone once but did not continue
going to future shows (C).

For the logic tree above, the

related yes/no tree creates buckets using the following questions:
❶ Are they aware of the concerts?
❷ If they are aware, have they ever been to a concert?
❸ If they have been to a concert, do they attend consistently?
Everybody must fall into one of the buckets without exception.
 This logic tree can also be transformed into a yes/no tree, For the logic tree above, the
related yes/no tree creates buckets using the following questions:
❶ Are they aware of the concerts?
❷ If they are aware, have they ever been to a concert?
❸ If they have been to a concert, do they attend consistently?
Everybody must fall into one of the buckets without exception.

PROBLEM-SOLVING TOOL BOX: YES/NO TREE

You can use a yes/no tree to help you figure out a problem’s root cause or decide how to solve a
problem. To create one, you answer multiple yes/no questions,
1B. DEVELOP A HYPOTHESIS FOR THE LIKELY ROOT CAUSE
A hypothesis is a hunch. It’s what you think is the most likely explanation for your problem, but you
haven’t yet confirmed it.
By determining your hypothesis and thinking through the reasoning that underlies it, you will be
able to check whether it’s right. From there, you can move on to making a sound decision that will
lead to a productive solution

Now let’s get back to the Mushroom Lovers. Eggplant and Tofu have come up with a hypothesis for
their atten&ce problem: The root cause is awareness. People are not attending because they don’t
even know about the concerts in the first place.
1C. DETERMINE THE ANALYSES AND INFORMATION REQUIRED TO TEST
HYPOTHESIS
For the logic tree above, the
related yes/no tree creates buckets using the following questions:
❶ Are they aware of the concerts?
❷ If they are aware, have they ever been to a concert?
❸ If they have been to a concert, do they attend consistently?
Everybody must fall into one of the buckets without exception.

Analysis #1: How many people are in each “awareness”

category? Take a look at Eggplant and Tofu’s hypothesis diagram
again. We can group the people at the Mushroom Lovers’ school
into four different groups: (1) not aware of the concert; (2)
aware but not attending; (3) attended at least once; and (4)
attending regularly. So how do we figure out how many people
fall into each of these buckets? It would be time consuming and
difficult to meet all 500 people at the school and ask them one
by one which group they fall into. Even if Miss Mushroom helped People who
and they divided up the task, if they asked one person each day, aware & not
it would take nearly half a year (167 days). So, what should they buying only
do? After a brainstorming session on how to get the information
they need, Eggplant and Tofu decide to create a list of questions
and ask all the teachers to conduct a survey during Monday People buy
morning homeroom. The teachers need to ask only these three & ask if they
questions and write down how many students raise their hands want to buy
for each one (and count their own answers as well): again in next
❶ Raise your hand if you already know about the Mushroom time
Lovers’ monthly concerts.
❷ If you knew about the Mushroom Lovers’ concerts, raise
your hand if you’ve ever been to one.
❸ If you have been to a Mushroom Lovers’ concert, raise your
hand if you are attending them

Analysis #2: Why do some people who know about the concerts not attend? Next, Eggplant and Tofu have to figure
out why some people are not attending the concerts even though they are aware of them. If they had time and a lot
of resources, Eggplant and Tofu could conduct a big person-by-person survey of everyone in the school. But that
probably isn’t necessary. If they interview about five people, they should get a pretty good idea of the main reasons.
They decide to ask the teachers to jot down a few names of the people who knew about the concerts but had never
attended, so they can interview them later.
Analysis #3: Why are some people not attending regularly? Will people attend regularly in the future? Interviewing
about five people will give Eggplant and Tofu a pretty good idea about the answer to these questions as well. They
decide to ask for input on the good and bad points of their past concerts. They hope they’ll get valuable hints on how
to improve to make sure people will keep coming back to their future shows. They know it’s much easier to retain
loyal fans than it is to find new ones. Remember, Eggplant and Tofu’s hypothesis is that once people come to one
show, they’ll continue to attend, but that may not necessarily be the case. They decide to reach out to anyone who
stopped coming and find out why. Hopefully, they can learn how to turn one-time attendees into future regular fans.
2A. DEVELOP A WIDE VARIETY OF SOLUTIONS TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM
As they go through their options, the two keep in mind their need not just to raise
awareness but also to make people want to come to the concerts. For example, when
they communicate through the high school radio program, if they announce just the
date, time, and location of the concert, all they will do is raise awareness. But if they also
air their song on the radio, people will hear what kind of music they play and how great
they are, thereby, hopefully, driving up the number of people who’ll want to come to the
concert
2B. PRIORITIZE THE ACTIONS

2C. DEVELOP AN IMPLEMENTATION PLAN

CLASS # 3 FISHY GOALS AND SOLID ACHIEVEMENTS
BREAK DOWN A BIG DREAM INTO SMALLER GOALS
Problem-solving kids don’t just have big dreams; they go after their larger goals by breaking themdown
into smaller milestones and asking themselves, “What should I do this year, or in the next three months,
or today?” These milestones guide problem-solving kids toward their dreams and help to keep them
motivated. Once they lay out a plan for achieving a dream, they then figure out the most effective way to
achieve each smaller goal and to take the actions needed. In this class, we’re going to see how John
Octopus, the Mushroom Lovers’ excellent poster designer, tries to achieve his goal. John dreams of going
to Hollywood and becoming an animator and a movie director working in computer-generated imagery.
For now, his first goal is to buy a computer that will help him learn CGI animation.
There’s a proven problem-solving kids’ process for figuring out how to achieve such a goal.
• Step 1: Set a clear goal.
• Step 2: Determine the gap between the goal and the current situation.
• Step 3: Form a hypothesis about how to close the gap and achieve the goal.
3A List as many options and ideas as possible.
3B Select the best ideas as the hypothesis.
• Step 4: Check the hypothesis. Go back to step 3 if the hypothesis is disproved.
4A Determine the analyses and information required to test the hypothesis.
4B Analyze and develop action plan.

Let’s see how this process works out for John

STEP 1: SET A CLEAR GOAL Step 2: Determine the Gap Between the
John has to determine what type of computer Goal and Current Situation
would best fit his needs. There are many different
types of computers out there. Some are fine for e-
mailing and composing documents. Others are
better for CGI use, but they can be more expensive.
John visited computer shops and searched the
Internet, and finally found a computer he likes, a
cool-looking $500 used Apple computer. Now he
has a specific goal and a number to shoot for. Next
he needs to specify when he wants it. The best way
for him to close the gap between his current
situation (no computer) and his goal (buy a
computer) changes depending on when he actually
needs the computer. If he just wants a computer
within the next three years, he may be able to buy
it by simply saving his money. However, if he wants
to buy it within the next six months, he may have to
do more than save. He may have to look for new
sources of income

3A. LIST AS MANY OPTIONS AND IDEAS TO CLOSE THE GAP AS POSSIBLE
3B) SELECT THE BEST IDEAS AS YOUR HYPOTHESIS

By cutting out branches and

highlighting what he sees as the
best ideas on the tree, John is
able to come up with a
hypothesis: “I can buy the
computer within six months if I
switch to a higher-paying job, sell
some used books, and stop
purchasing CDs and games.” John
used the following hypothesis
pyramid to portray this. It shows
the main hypothesis (I can buy a
$500 used Apple computer within
six months), with the specific
conditions (the “hows”) as the
base supporting the main
hypothesis
PROBLEM-SOLVING TOOL BOX: HYPOTHESIS PYRAMID

There are two main types of hypothesis

pyramid: the grouping structure and the
argument structure. Problem 1 above is an
example of the grouping structure. The
conclusion “School is fun” is supported by
separate but coherent ideas like “School sports
are fun,” “Lunchtime is fun,” and “Classes are
fun.” The supporting blocks can be answers to
questions like why, how, and what asked about
the argument block at the top of the pyramid.
For the grouping structure, even if one of the
supporting
building blocks proves to be wrong, the
argument still holds. In this case, you could still
make an argument that “School is fun” even if
“Classes are fun” proves to be false.
Problem 2 is an example of an argument
structure. In this kind of pyramid, multiple
statements (“Salmon are fish,” “Fish are good
swimmers”) lead to a conclusion: Salmon are
good
swimmers. Unlike the grouping structure, with
an argument structure, if one of the statements
is untrue, the main conclusion is automatically
false
Step 4: Check the hypothesis
4A. DETERMINE THE ANALYSES AND INFORMATION REQUIRED TO TEST THE
HYPOTHESIS
Once he comes up with a hypothesis for how he will achieve his goal, John’s next step is to figure out
what analyses and information will be required to test his hypothesis. As you can see in the following,
John used a problem-solving design plan to clarify the issues, his hypotheses and rationale, and the
analyses and information required.
4B. ANALYZE AND DEVELOP ACTION PLAN
John next moves on to his analyses. First he tries to figure out how much he can reduce his spending.
Analysis #1: How much can John reduce his spending?
Using this very rigorous scientific process, John comes up with the following spending data for the past
three months:

Next he figures out how much he spent on average each month on each type of purchase and creates
the following pie chart:
Analysis #2: H
ow much can John make by selling unnecessary assets? John still has to close the remaining gap of
$188. So he searches his room and his basement to find items he and his family no longer need. He
starts with his room. He finds a bunch of comic books and a brand-new dictionary that he has never
used. (He prefers to use the dictionary online.) He checks out used-book websites and figures out that
he can sell these books for $25. Next he heads down to the basement. Pushing aside cobwebs, he
finds a golf bag his father won at a company event, a baseball glove he used to use when he was in
elementary school, and a bunch of old clothes that no longer fit him. “This golf bag could sell for a lot
of money!” John thinks. “I’mpretty sure my dad has another one he is already using . . . let me ask
Mom if I can sell it. This baseball glove and the old clothes would fit my friend’s little brother
perfectly! Let me give these to him. I think he would be really happy!” His mom tells him to go ahead.
In fact, she thanks him for cleaning out the basement. “It’s such a mess down there,” she tells him.
“We have so much stuff we never use!”

Analysis #3: How much can John

increase his income by switching jobs?

THE MOST CRITICAL STEP: EXECUTION

once you have a concrete plan of action to achieve your goal, don’t forget to create a concrete
schedule. Write down everything you are going to do, and when you plan to do it. Remember to
monitor your progress and revise your plan as necessary. Very few things in life ever go as perfectly
as planned
CLASS # 4 SOCCER SCHOOL
PROS AND CONS
PROBLEM-SOLVING TOOL BOX: PROS AND CONS; CRITERIA AND EVALUATION
Step 1: List All the Options First list all your options; for example, you could have three schools to
choose from: Armadillo High School, Beaver High School, and Cougar High School.
Step 2: List the Pros and Cons of Each of the Options Next list all the pros and cons of each of the
options
Step 3: Weight Each of the Positive and Negative Points You Listed
Step 4: Select the Most Attractive Option
Tool 2: Criteria and Evaluation
The next tool is criteria and evaluation. You can use this tool to clarify which criteria, or
qualifications, you should use to evaluate your options, decide the importance of each set of
criteria, and effectively evaluate your options.
Step 1: List All the Options As you did with the pros-and-cons tool, first list all your options. Again,
we’ll be choosing between Armadillo High School, Beaver High School, and Cougar High School.
Step 2: List the Evaluation Criteria When you say a school is good or bad, what are your specific
criteria? We’ve been using the following qualifications:
• Quality of education • Availability of a study abroad program • Strength of the baseball team •
Estimated number of friends going to the school • Distance to school • Newness of the school
building • Cost of tuition
Step 3: Decide the Degree of Importance of Each Criteria
Step 4: Evaluate Each Option Based on the Weighted Criteria
Step 5: Select the Most Attractive Option

Count the stars to get most

attracted base on score