How to understand problems

How to understand problems

1. most problems are not solvable

   • Understand this complex causality and find opportunities to adjust, nudge, and tweak.
   • The "solutions" to the problems are all incremental, changing only a few parts of a broken system. While these changes lead to significant improvements, they never completely solve the problem.
   • example
     • TED Talk by Sendhil Mullainathan on “solving” diarrhea and blindness

2. what is a "problem"?

   • definition of Herb Simon
     • problems are situations that people don’t want
       • doesn’t mean that a situation is undesirable to everyone
         • Therefore, you can’t define a problem without being explicit about whose problem you’re addressing
           • be serious about understanding who are you trying to help and why, and what kind of help do they really need?
   • the essence of understanding problem
     • communicating with the people
       • a conversation
       • watching them work
       • becoming part of their community
   • example
     • video by blind YouTuber Tommy Edison, who wanted to demonstrate the utter and complete design failures of ATMs at banks
       • The best approach is to identify a spectrum of needs to design against and then decide which group you will optimize for

3. communicate with people to understand their problems

   • Surveys
     • a structured, asynchronous, and impersonal way
     • unintentionally overly structured, biased on who responds, and shallow in insight
   • Interviews
     • a synchronous, personal, semi-structured way
     • at the cost of more time and a smaller range of people
     • No leading, loaded and double-negatives questions
     • Define a focus, Brainstorm set of possible questions, Prepare an organized list of the questions, Pilot” the interview,
     • disadvantages: Out of context, Reliance on Memory, Bias and Flaws, Participant Response Bias
   • Observations
     • revealing the inherent richness and complexity of their world
     • greater time commitment
   • Secondary research
     • leverages insights that others have gained from communicating with people, and published in research papers, books, and other sources.
   • Contextual Inquiry
     • define a focus
     • Create a partnership
     • Don’t generate questions in advance
     • Record audio, photos, notes
     • time consuming

4. Summary

   • Every design situation requires a careful account of context
   • Effective designers know their options and choose the right method for each situation.
   • If a designer is fully participating in a community and views their role as a facilitator, communicating with stakeholders does not require a specific "method."