How to analyze a problem

first, what is the problem? The problem is the difference between the status quo of a thing and the value of self-expectation. In general, the bigger the difference, the bigger the problem!

Second, the preliminary analysis of the problem includes:

1. Gather information about the problem--be careful about distinguishing descriptive information from people's comments about the issue.

2. Define the scope of the problem-who is involved in the problem? Which departments? What are the implications?

3. Analyze the possible consequences of the problem.

4. Analyze the cause of the problem--to distinguish what is the cause of the problem and what is the characteristic of the problem itself.

Three how to analyze the problem

When people think about a problem, they are quick-witted or dull-witted, and most of the difference does not depend on the quality of the brain itself, but on how well we use the brain.

Dr. Edward de Boer is a psychologist and professor at Harvard University in the United States. He brings together a set of simple techniques to improve people's thinking in a book on learning to think. Dr. de Novo believes that "ingenuity is the answer to the problems of everyday life, and in this respect, each of us is likely to do better." Here are the seven basic methods he proposed.

The first step is to comprehensively consider the pros and cons of things and their importance

One of the key steps in improving your thinking is to not limit our vision when we look at things. Let's do an experiment: Look around the room and find out how many red objects there are. After reading, close your eyes and talk about how many green things are in the house. Then open your eyes and see. Do you think it's strange? This is because your attention is focused on the red stuff, which makes you blind to things that are other colors. The same is true for an idea. Most of us, when we first hear a new idea, a new way to solve the problem, instinctively make a like or dislike reaction, then use their own intelligence to justify this method, in order to avoid falling into this swing, the simplest way is to follow the first step of the request to do. De Bono explains this method in the following example: In a discussion about bus design, it was suggested that all seats be canceled. How do you react to this? Why is that? Whatever you say, now let's look at the problem again. Take the first step, and spend three minutes writing down the things you can find, every benefit, every downside, and those that are not good or bad, but involve only stakes. Most people are surprised to find that they list eight or even 10 advantages (including some that are not so obvious, such as "cars will be cheaper and easier to repair"), as well as a list of many shortcomings and several issues of interest (for example, "comfort is not so important on a bus" The goal of completing the first step is to open up our thinking and not make ourselves a submissive servant of bias, in other words, the first step is to expand our attention, to prevent us from seeing the red, the rest.

The second step is to consider all the factors

This method allows you to make a conscious effort to ensure that you have considered all the factors related to a decision. Assuming you are considering buying a new house, taking a second step will ensure that you ask all the questions. Although the obvious conditions, such as size, price, level, and so on, will emerge in your mind, but if you list each of the relevant factors without thought, you may be able to ignore other questions, such as: is the reception of the TV good or not? Is there a local rule that binds you? In the event of a blackout in the cold weather, can the sewer be emptied quickly? A couple in the summer to buy a house, so a friend asked him: When the leaves after the light of the place will be what kind of? It turns out that if the leaves were not obscured, they would see a pile of discarded cars.

The third step considers the consequences and their ripple effects

The first and second steps show us all the possibilities, and the third step will help us to judge the possibility that the most important difference between humans and animals is the ability to imagine the consequences of their actions. Learning to use this skill systematically will make you much better. Dr. de Novo's approach is to consider the possible consequences of a decision in four stages: 1. Immediate, 2. Short-term (1-5 years), 3. Medium (5-25 years), 4. Long-term (25 years or above). In class, Dr. de Novo raises the question, "What if the world's oil is running out?" What if a new electronic robot replaces a factory worker? Imagine their aftermath. "The students were amazed at how the immediate and short-term implications and speculation would lead them to foresee what might have happened after a long period of time. Soon, they have mastered enough skills to make decisions about the problems in their lives. If he used this method, he would be happier than he is now, and many years ago he was going to see a young woman and drink something. At that time, he was already a married middle-aged man. He said it was just a casual play. But he only saw the immediate result, and if he were clever, he would think about what might happen in the future---he might fall in love, which could lead to a painful divorce ... The enraged ex-wife might have instructed the children to oppose him ... 20 years later, he will become a middle-aged wife's old husband, and his pawn may leave him to find a man of his own age, as you may guess, all this has happened.

The fourth step is to clarify intentions, objectives and true purpose

One of the best ways that people often forget to use is to list all your reasons when doing everything special. Most people think they have a definite purpose, but the hidden or unconscious ends are often involved in interfering with us. A man who plays tennis always loses because he tries to snap the ball to death-but the ball is on the net. Although he thought it was his goal to win the ball. But in fact it was deluded by another purpose-he wanted to show off, and the pursuit of that purpose prevented him from achieving another purpose. Clarifying our purpose helps us to solve problems creatively. Dr. de Novo said one thing: a grandmother was going to knit a sweater, and the little grandson of the family had spun the yarn in a mess, and the grandmother angrily put him in the fence, and the child burst into tears, and she had to carry him out. At this time she realized that her purpose was not to leave the child in it, but to spread him and the wool. So she left the child outside and climbed herself into the fence to solve the problem.

The fifth step puts forward the priority issues

In many of the possibilities you come up with, this step will help you evaluate and choose. Dr. de Novo cites such an example. If someone wants to borrow money from you, choose the three most important factors after you consider it all. The first thing to think about is, "when will he have it?" "If parents lend money to their daughters, the first consideration may be" What do you want the money for? "Many of us are often determined by our feelings, and we feel what we are going to do-but feelings don't replace thinking.

The sixth step is to select the scope, possibility

Even using the above-mentioned methods of thinking, you may not have found a satisfactory answer to your question. The key to discovering a choice of options is to look for possibilities outside of your usual thinking. When Edison looked for the filament, he had experimented with thousands of seemingly unsuccessful materials, including cork stoppers, fish lines and tar, and he ended up with a carbonized cardboard. Learn to broaden your mind and imagine all sorts of possibilities, including things that you might not have been able to do or that were ridiculous. Allow your ideas to gallop freely and accept everything he has to offer. Sifting through the right sense and judgment is left to be done later on. There are many ways to find creative options, one is to think contrary to the general thinking, the other is to check your set conditions, if you have not found a satisfactory choice of the scheme, perhaps because you do not need to limit yourself. The problem of pendulum six matches is a typical example. Six matches were placed on the table, asking you to put them into 4 equilateral triangle. If you do not know the answer, you may conclude that using six matches simply cannot be placed in more than two triangles. But who told you that you had to solve the problem in two-dimensional space? If you ask yourself this way, the answer suddenly becomes clear: you can build a pyramid-shaped tetrahedron with a equilateral triangle on every side.

Seventh step other People's angle

Problems often implicate others, such as conflicts with your spouse, boss, or neighborhood. If you try to look at the problem from the other side, you will find a better solution. To see how the seventh step helps you think, write down the views of others who seem to disagree with you. This will not only make you surprised, you may also find a way to solve the problem. Recently, Charlotte bought a new car radio from a businessman, which was highly recommended by businessmen. The results proved no better than his replacement. Charlotte wanted to rush into the store to ask for a refund, but when she thought about being a businessman, she took a different approach to avoid hurting each other's self-esteem. The businessman changed a much better radio for Charlotte without paying the difference in price. Preface: Look at the above-mentioned is the analysis of the problem, multi-angle, all-round consideration, but if only the analysis of the problem, does not mean that the problem can be solved smoothly. I believe the above approach is only the beginning of the process of dealing with the complexities of our daily work ...

How to analyze problems