The Big Question in Design: Understanding a Problem

How well do you really understand the problem you are trying to solve?

Description and resources for Design: Understanding a Problem

You must understand the problem you are trying to solve. It sounds kind of simple, but often times programmers jump into solving something they don't understand. What do you think happens if you try to fix a problem you don't understand?

You must understand the problem you are trying to solve really well. You must understand every little part of the problem, including researching similar problems, and how they were solved. You must understand every single word of the problem. Only then can you create a good plan.

When we want to really understand something:

  1. We can explain and justify the need for a solution to a problem for a client/ target audience
  2. We can construct a detailed research plan, which identifies and prioritizes the primary and secondary research needed to develop a solution to the problem independently
  3. We can analyze a range of existing products that inspire a solution to the problem in detail
  4. We can develop a detailed design brief, which summarizes the analysis of relevant research

 

Transfer goals

Anytime you encounter a problem you should be able to think deeply about the problem. The idea here is to connect clearly understanding a problem to better solving the problem. There is a direct link between understanding a problem well and solving the problem. 

Daily notes with the topic Design: Understanding a Problem

Notes for current academic year (2022 - 2023).

Date Course Tags
Wednesday 19 October 2022 Solving Complex Problems Through Programming grade_10
Wednesday 19 October 2022 Designing Solutions Through Programming grade_9
Wednesday 2 November 2022 Designing Solutions Through Programming grade_9
Thursday 3 November 2022 Designing Solutions Through Programming grade_9
Thursday 3 November 2022 Solving Complex Problems Through Programming grade_10
Friday 4 November 2022 Designing Solutions Through Programming grade_9
Monday 7 November 2022 Designing Solutions Through Programming grade_9
Monday 7 November 2022 Solving Complex Problems Through Programming grade_10
Tuesday 8 November 2022 Designing Solutions Through Programming grade_9
Wednesday 9 November 2022 Designing Solutions Through Programming grade_9
Wednesday 9 November 2022 Solving Complex Problems Through Programming grade_10
Thursday 10 November 2022 Designing Solutions Through Programming grade_9
Tuesday 14 February 2023 Designing Solutions Through Programming grade_9
Wednesday 15 February 2023 Solving Complex Problems Through Programming grade_10
Thursday 16 February 2023 Designing Solutions Through Programming grade_9
Monday 27 February 2023 Designing Solutions Through Programming grade_9
Tuesday 28 February 2023 Solving Complex Problems Through Programming grade_10
Tuesday 28 February 2023 Designing Solutions Through Programming grade_9
Wednesday 1 March 2023 Designing Solutions Through Programming grade_9 section_a
Thursday 2 March 2023 Designing Solutions Through Programming grade_9 section_a
Thursday 2 March 2023 Solving Complex Problems Through Programming grade_10
Friday 3 March 2023 Designing Solutions Through Programming grade_9
Wednesday 8 March 2023 Designing Solutions Through Programming grade_9
Wednesday 8 March 2023 Solving Complex Problems Through Programming grade_10
Friday 10 March 2023 Designing Solutions Through Programming grade_9
Friday 10 March 2023 Solving Complex Problems Through Programming grade_10