#problem definition

What is problem solving

What is problem-solving Problem definition  In almost every problem solving methodology the first step is defining or identifying the problem. It is the most difficult and the most important of all the steps. It involves diagnosing the situation so that the focus on the real problem and not on its symptoms. For example, fear of speaking in public only becomes a problem when your job is dependent…

Team Problem Defining!

In comparing each of our individual problem statements, we found that a main commonality was to focus on the strains that remote education has forced onto schools and families. While each of our statements identified a target audience, some chose to narrow down on a subset of users and their given issues, while others found connections between different groups and made associations between their challenges.

To effectively organize our thoughts on the community of users affected by remote learning, we jumped back onto Mural where we splattered the board with notes on specific pain points. In sorting and grouping the notes, we titled three buckets of categorized challenges: (1) lack of support (2) lack of engagement (3) technology related. Furthering our data analysis, we looked into creating three personas that would synthesize our research into a handful of chosen users – guardians, students, and teachers.

Steering towards our specified users and challenges, we manipulated sentence structures and terminology to create our team’s problem definition. We wanted to ensure that our core insights and takeaways were clearly embedded. Team Aquamarine concluded with:

Problem Defining!

As our team interviewed Margarita G., elementary school principal in East Los Angeles, we accumulated insights into the specific pain points that effect various user groups with the transition to remote learning. While the initial note-taking process embodied a free-form, anything-goes, write-it out technique, I later individually distilled the information by highlighting key words and boiling down the components into a personal list of key takeaways. I noted two main buckets of takeaways: major challenges and endeavored solutions. In regards to challenges, Margarita emphasized five prevalent concerns: (1) familial economic and social-emotional issues (2) lack of academic accountability by students and guardians (3) difficulty engaging pre-k, kindergarten, and 1st graders via digital platforms (4) distracting home environments (5) less adaptable content learning for subjects including science, fine art, reading and language arts, and physical education. The solutions she referenced included (1) “learning bags” filled with educational materials delivered to students for remote hands-on learning and engagement (2) “interventions” that provide small group instruction top target specified needs of the students (3) “parent workshops” that build bonds, educate, and engage students’ guardians (4) “Chromebooks” supplied to each student for access to their curriculum content. With this information synthesized, I generated my problem statement:

Understand that a problem is the deviation of a required attribute in the product.

How Problems Are Presented

Problems are often first presented as “aches and complaints”. lt is typical to first describe a problem in terms of causes, or solutions or blaming statements. These descriptions will camouflage the real problem.

Clarifying the Issue/Problem

To have a problem suggests that there is a gap between what a person hopes or expects and what actually exists. lt is the…

Through all of the research, we were able to refine our problem further while dismissing other problems we initially addressed. We’ve come to the realization that the problem lies in the fact that there is a lack of knowledge around the topic - recycling. If people aren’t thinking about how their actions directly impact the planet we live in, then how would they know to become more mindful of their actions (especially with the rise of e-commerce packaging)? The problem isn’t the rise of e-commerce, nor is the problem Amazon’s lack of global-consciousness and efforts to reduce their carbon footprint. In fact, Amazon is a leader in many green initiatives when it comes to its Frustration-Free Packaging and their company mission. 

We settled on a problem definition:

today’s classroom environment is failing our kids for their future.

The wording may get moved around a bit but I think the gist of the issues are set. We are going to look at ways changing the classroom environment can improve how kids are taught. We each had thoughts about different aspects of education we want to see improve. I had initially wanted to look at how programming and computer science are both taught and treated as separate topics instead of integrated across subjects. We had other team members that had focused on curriculum changes and subjects that were being taught, and others focused on educational philosophy.

We all wanted to see some sort of focus on education reform, and we were most interested in K-12. There was a sense that curriculum reform was too broad to include for the time we have on the project, and potentially not something we could design effectively. However, we think we can address aspects of this in other ways. My definition was too specialized and really not something that there was clear research on - there is yet to be an established, best practice methodology for teaching CS to students short of massive investments in teachers to teach it.

After a bit of ideating on a conference call, we discussed some of the cool things we uncovered in our research, engaging in something like lateral thinking, trying to come up with common threads. We talked about what we disliked about school - the conformity, the rules, the rigidness. We discussed the things we saw in our research on foreign schools, and how some schools in Japan and Europe were dedicated to children down to their architecture. Some schools lacked walls between classes, others had running tracks on the roof so children could exercise freely and often.

My Definition:

How can we develop a vocational curriculum that is relevant and aids in reducing recidivism rates in U.S. prisons while increasing employment for former inmates?

I chose to tackle this avenue after extensive research on the subject. I grew extremely passionate about vocational curriculum after reading an article published on PBS that highlighted the need for vocational schools that teach “dying” trades. More than ever, there’s a need for welders, masons, plumbers, and electricians; and with America focusing on STEM, we lost the focus for these types of professions. Combining this research with what I know about the U.S. prison system and it’s education, they go hand in hand; especially with the work labor prisons provide to self-maintain. As we kept researching, more statistics came to light about how many people go back to jail after leaving. We also found statistics of programs that do well, however need to be implemented in ALL prisons, not just some.

Ultimately, I was inspired by an article Brittny sent out to the group that tackled this avenue. The document had statistical data to demonstrate the need for more education systems in prisons. 

I believe my definition/avenue was appreciated by my group. It offered another spin to Allyssa’s problem definition. My definition did offer a solution to the problem, which I believe made us rethink everything since we did not want to discuss the outcome. That is always a challenge. 

Group Definition:

How can we change early education systems in the U.S. to decrease prison rates within racial minority groups?

If you take a look at everyone’s individual problem, you’ll notice they are all very similar. We all wanted to tackle education and prison. We all also wanted to decrease prison rates. I believe that Brittny and Mohammed had more of a racial spin to in. Allyssa and I wore more of an education hat. We wanted to educate prisoners so that they could: 

1. Be able to better their lives after being incarcerated. 

2. Become educated so they don’t come back.

Together, we combined our definitions to tackle race, education, and decreasing prison rates. In hindsight, they all play a pivotal role to our problem and all intermingle somehow. If we do this, recidivism rates reduce and employment rates could increase. 

Make sure to take a look at everyone’s individual problem definition: 

Group 1

Chi Lo / Jorge Tobon / Rebecca Lee / Vanessa Karkoutly

Group Definition

The threat and presence of wildfires in California continue to grow, and demand important adjustments in resource allocation, community education, and community preparedness. Our goal is to provide a cost-effective, accessible solution for households that addresses the need for survival, and ensures community preparedness.

Chi’s Definition

Californians need an easier way to access their power supply in the disaster of fire because electricity is difficult to connect and is required for life-saving applications. Power outages from wildfires can affect over 3 million people. To provide better products to increase the survival rate is to deal with the fire, we are looking for the solutions to secure power supply during the disaster. 

Jorge's Definition 

The threat of wildfires is nothing new for Californians. Yet, many communities relearn tough lessons and newly affected communities often ignored the need for adequate preparedness. Once a wildfire spreads, it impacts communities broadly and in a number of important areas. By taking a two-pronged approach, preparing for the threat of wildfires for the immediate challenges and the long-term adjustments at a community level for safer neighborhoods.

Rebecca's Definition 

While some homeowners are capable of refinancing their livelihood back to a status quo, other demographics may struggle to ever fully recover after the devastation of a fire. Basic necessities such as food, clothing, medicine, and shelter are provided by disaster relief organizations. However, a more comprehensive yet temporary product or service could expedite the recovery process for those in need. 

Vanessa's Definition

The threat of wildfires in California is growing, and the impact on communities and the livelihoods of residents has been severe, therefore a new product or service to mitigate the disastrous effects of wildfires is critically needed.

Summary

Our team is further identifying potential problems and solutions for handling wildfire. This week's research defines the needs and the options to look for. Solutions can be products (Solar Energy, mobile power, emergency generator), infrastructure (Electricity supply, water, transportation), services (energy care) and a combination of them all. The goal is to provide better chances of survival during the wildfire in California.

Despite facing the threat of wildfires for some time, some communities in California are still ill-prepared for such emergencies and residents under-equipped. The threat and presence of wildfires only continue to grow and demands important adjustments in resource allocation, community education, and household preparedness. The continuous threat necessitates solutions that address the immediate challenges (loss of shelter, power, and reduction in food/water supplies for households) and the long-term reality (larger burns, more frequent fires, vulnerable building materials, vegetation, etc.). The largest hurdle is bridging the gap between the private (potential funding, development, lobbying, etc.), public (legislation, grants, planning/developments, etc.) and nonprofit (community education, safety campaigns, limited/pointed disaster relief, etc.) sectors, as a coordinated effort also addresses bureaucratic, financial hurdles. The goal is to provide a cost-effective, accessible, physical solution for households that addresses survival (shelter, power and viable air/food/water supply) along with a coordinated effort to positively influence legislation and resource allocation to ensure the communities preparedness at the same pace as the threat of wildfires.

Our group is looking to improve the precursor and aftermath in how individuals and communities deal with fires as a natural disaster. Although improvements can be generated from a multitude of strategies, one tangible approach could be to improve and regulate electricity distribution, which can serve products such as temporary shelter, generators, and communication platforms. 

Links

Google Spreadsheet format -https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1v9CxdByisiHGS6Go_brfMffq3XE0ghqD3Km6vJd5KZg/edit#gid=2145469559

PDF format -https://drive.google.com/a/usc.edu/file/d/0B8hOxyj92obIMXpCcE54bVVzaWM/view?usp=sharing