[Lecture 8] Problem Solving: Basics

[0:02]Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh. Hello everybody. This is the key skills seminar two. And this is a recorded lecture offered to the first year students at the Faculty of International Business and Humanities and the Faculty of Engineering at Ejust.

[0:25]Based on our weekly plan, this is the lecture number eight.

[0:32]I'm going to offer you in this lecture is a very basic, a very simple strategies and techniques to learn you how to solve a problem.

[0:48]But first of all, I'd like to say that everybody in our life, social life, academic life, even personal life, face a problem. So, this is common, no problem about this, but what is the most important here is how to solve a problem properly or effectively. Because when we think about making changes in these unwelcome situations, most of us don't really consider all sides of the problem or even all possible solutions related to this problem in a complete way, I mean. Instead, unfortunately, we often do what we should do, or in other words, what we'd like to do, or what we don't like to do. And this often leads to poor decisions. I think no doubts in this. What I'm going to offer you in this lecture is to teach you some basic skills that I'm sure if you follow these steps, very, very primary steps, uh they, they, it's will help you, they, they will help you to really make the best decisions, uh in solving any encountered problems. I mean, it will really help you to consider the options available to you at the time and the potential consequences.

[2:45]Let me show you a diagram represents a full set of primary steps that everybody inside academia or outside academia can follow in order to get rid of or overcome a problem. Starting from defining the problem, considering all possible alternatives or options or solutions to this specific problem. listing the positives and the negatives for each option, for each alternative, then waiting these positives and negatives, then select the best option and go straight forward to provide a scenario of implementation to implement the solution. Then monitoring the progress and at the end review the, um, progress has been achieved so far by implementing your option solution. But before going in more depth to learn more about how to use these steps, or remind ourselves with the meaning, to just make sure that all of us speak the same language. Uh let us remind ourselves with the definitions of both problem and solution, as I have already offered you at the very beginning of this course. So again, the problem very very simple is a matter or situation regarded as unwelcome or harmful and needing to be dealt with and overcome.

[4:46]And the situation is a means of solving a problem or dealing with a difficult situation. Now, let's start our journey.

[5:00]This very basic and primary steps toward solving a specific problem. The first one is defining the problem. The problem definition is the most crucial step toward answering or providing a solution to your problem. And you might ask how can I define the problem?

[5:31]And the very simple answer to this question is to just ask yourself or search for answer, proper answer to six basic questions. Why, when, how, what, where and who.

[5:50]To put it more simply to you, what I, what is meant here by who? So who is affected by the problem under consideration?

[6:06]What is your target group, I mean. And what are the negative impacts they suffer from? And where this problem is it happening? And when does it happen? And how does it happen? And finally, which is the most important question should be asked from at the very beginning of uh, solving a problem. Why? Why is it important to work on this problem?

[6:45]Which means that this problem was the efforts, time, and even money that will be spent in solving it. So you have to make sure that you answer and work hard at the very beginning to answer these very basic questions.

[7:11]And this remind me how with that with that uhm quote by Albert Einstein. When he said, if I had an hour to solve a problem, I'd spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and five minutes thinking about solutions.

[7:41]Once you answer these basic questions and define your problem, let's start to apply the rest of steps or follow the rest of steps. And step two, which is considering all possible options. Let's apply or imagine a situation or unwelcome situation or a problem that one of us may have, which is a physical problem. Right? You are in weight and you'd like to lose your weight or you want to get fit. And this is unwelcome problem or unwelcome situation and you can consider all possible options. I have listed here some of them, for instance. So, you might think and said that, okay, I will join the gym. This is a possible option. Or I will try to walk to the university each day.

[8:52]Or I will jog up and down in the classroom.

[9:01]But let me warn you or pay your attention to a very crucial warning. Which is when you brainstorm solutions, please write all the solutions down, no matter how ridiculous they may seem. Try not to judge options at this early stage.

[9:33]Because you can't take them as presuppositions. in this early stage, you couldn't make sure that a specific option is the correct answer or the proper solution to your problem. All right. So, we have identified or defined the problem. And we have considered all possible options. What we are going to do next is Which is listing the positives and the negatives for each option. And let's follow the same example, which is I want to get fit and the first option was I will join the gym.

[10:27]All right. So, we can list some positives for going with this option by saying that, all right, that will be fun.

[10:42]And I will be taught how to exercise.

[10:48]And for the negatives, right? It may be really expensive. And I need to spend more money, and also I'm I'm not quite sure about the nearest location or the nearest gym. So, how would I get there?

[11:07]So, this might taken to be taken as a negative side of the option. Currently, we have reached a list for the positives and a list for the negatives for option one. Then apply the same process to option two, option three and option four if you have.

[12:04]Simply give each positive or negative a score out of 10.

[12:15]to just figure out how important it may be. And as you can see, a score of one out of 10 would mean it was very important. And school of ten out of ten would mean it was vital in making the decision.

[12:41]And please please, please remember that there is no right or wrong answers in this early stage, because the answers for each specific point in the positive side or in the negative side might vary from a person to another. So, just it is uh a matter of estimation or rough estimation of the importance or unimportant specific point. Following the same example, so we can, for example, give a score of seven to the option or to the point that will be fun. as a point in the positive side because this is important to you. But in the negative side, for example, it may be really expensive.

[13:45]Might take a score of 10 because you cannot possibly think of where you'd get the money from. So, distinction between the important and unimportant points in both positives and negative side for each option is a very, very crucial step uh uh uh uh in waiting these positives and negatives in order to know the best option. Yes, the best option. What is next? Step number five, select the best option. All right, but how? Let me show you this table, for instance, to just show you three, um, proposed options for a specific solution. We have three options, one, two and three, and we have counted a total positives and total negatives for each option. So, as you can see from the table, for option one, we have a total positives 17 and a total negatives five for option one. And for option two, we have 12 positives and 12 total number of uh negatives nine. And for option three, we have a total positives eight and a total negatives three.

[15:33]So, I think it is very easy to know that option one is the best option. Why? Simply because this option is the only option that has the highest number in total positives or the total number of positives.

[16:02]And however, the option three has the lowest number in the total negatives, but still option one is the best one because as I have mentioned, it has the highest number of positives. But let us imagine that we have another option, maybe option four. And this option has the same, nearly the same total positives and total negatives, which is 17 and five. Okay. In this case, one might ask, all right, what should we do?

[16:51]If this is the case, you can simply follow two steps. Or even one of them is enough. The first one is going back again to the list of positives and list of negatives for each option and try to maximize or increase the points in the positive and the negative sides. So, then you can recalculate the total number of positives and negatives by considering another dimension or approaches or any additional consideration regarding this specific option by increasing the number of positives and negatives.

[17:40]So, you can reach a different total number of positives and negatives for each option. Or you can rethink about the numbers you have assigned or your evaluation, previous evaluation for specific points. You might, you might rethink about changing your mind, mind by assigning a different lower or higher rate for specific point. And this, of course, will change the total number of positives and the total number of negatives. So, again, you should consider all the alternatives or the options and the weighted positives and negatives associated with each alternative or option, and then you can decide which alternative you choose.

[18:54]So now that you have chosen the alternative that suits you, the next step, which is implementing the solution, involves making a decision about when and how you will implement the decision or the solution. And of course, it will involve creating a plan. So, let me offer you a provisional or a tentative plan or a template that you can follow in your research problem.

[19:33]That can guide you and help you to create your own action plan. So, it would be very easy for you to implement your solution. As we can see, from the left hand side, you can list all action steps that you'd like to take or all the tasks that you'd like to implement.

[20:00]And also, you have to identify the person or the persons or the partners that they will be responsible for achieving this task. Also, you have to identify the arrangements or the resources needed, whether internal or external. I mean, if the your group is already acquiring or having uh such needed arrangements or resources, so it's okay, but in other cases, you need to buy, for example, some material or hiring uh some thing to implement your uh step. So, this means you have to uh go for the external external resources. Also, defining or identifying a completion date is very, very important in any action plan. The last thing you should consider carefully is to show an evidence of your progress or evidence of success that you have succeed to achieve this step. And here you can see an example, just example, to make it more easy for you to understand the idea. Uh suppose you have a uh a research problem regarding uh uh uh uh the the the current situation in the higher education institution and the education offered for the uh students and you need to uh uh know more from the employer uh about their priorities for the university education and student success. And one of the your action plan or action steps is to conduct a survey. So, survey on employer priorities for university education and student success could be written in this column this action steps. And also, you can assign this task in your case for the leader and the co-leader of the research group, right? So then you can identify the person or persons that they will be responsible for doing such task. And also, by considering the arrangements or resources needed, whether internal or extensive, uh external. So, you uh maybe think that having official letter from E-just top management is a must to conduct this survey or interview with the external or industrial employers. Also, for the completion date, it might be the end of April, for example, 2020. And what about the evidence of progress to show your success? Uh for example, uh once you reach a concrete result that underscore the value of your project in the university context, it will be fine as a evidence uh of progress.

[23:40]So, uh uh uh uh once again, this could be uh uh uh used as a template and you can follow it easily to achieve your action plan. You should monitor the progress of your action plan, but how? How can I monitor my progress?

[2:16]I can show you or give you some examples. For example, observation. by yourself or by your team for the implementation of your solution. Also, you can provide a progress report daily or weekly or a regular uh uh progress report that document every single detail about the progress have been achieved so far in your solution.

[2:54]Also, you can conduct a survey and interview or interview. Uh by going back again to the target group that you have already surveyed or interviewed to ask them again about their opinion and evaluation of the uh uh uh solution under implementation.

[3:28]Finally, you have to review your solution and learn from your experience.

[3:45]But one might ask, why I have to review my solution? Simply, you need to assess how well you stuck to the decision or to the solution. Or whether you need to go back again to the drawing board and reassess the solution. We have agreed that we have a list of options, possible options of a specific problem. And we have, and we have already weighted the positives and the negatives of these options, and we have found that option, for example, A is the best alternative, and we have offered a scenario of implementation.

[4:45]And we have already monitored this uh uh solution after implementation, but it is not the end of the story. You have to review your scenario of implementation. As I have mentioned, You need to, you urgently need to make sure how well you stuck to the offered solution. And in case, uh if it hasn't worked out, for example, yes, it is, it is, it is, it is possible that your suggested option as a solution for specific problem doesn't work well for the uh uh this specific problem. But don't be hard on yourself. You just start the decision making and the problem solving process again. And that's it. And here I would like to remind you with a fact that most worthwhile things in life don't happen at the first time. So, what you should do is just keep trying.

[7:01]You need to, you urgently need to make sure how well you stuck to the offered solution. And in case, uh if it hasn't worked out, for example, yes, it is, it is, it is, it is possible that your suggested option as a solution for specific problem doesn't work well for the uh uh this specific problem. But don't be hard on yourself. You just start the decision making and the problem solving process again. And that's it. And here I would like to remind you with a fact that most worthwhile things in life don't happen at the first time. So, what you should do is just keep trying. Now, I have finished, and thank you for listening, and see you next lecture. Goodbye.