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Methodology Problem Solving
Scenario:Evelyn has completed her first semester at college and has available time during
the Christmas holidays. Her husband is between jobs. Since she will be home
for five or six weeks, she wants to get a short-term job to earn money to help her
family pay bills and for when she returns to school. Her husband can take care of
the children, so they don’t need to pay for childcare.
Step Explanation Watch it Work!
1. Define the
problem
Identify and clearly state the
problem.
Finding and choosing a job during the
Christmas break.
2. Identify key
issues
Determine important issues
associated with the problem.
It must be a short-term job, must make
maximum money, and must be within
commuting distance from home.
3. Collect
data and
information
Collect and assess available
information relevant to the
problem; determine what
information is missing.
Obtain a list of temporary agencies from
the phone book, names of stores in nearby
malls, scan the “jobs” section from a local
newspaper, and peruse Craigslist online.
4. Identify
assumptions
Clarify what assumptions are
being made concerning the
problem.
Retail businesses need short-term, full-time
employees in December, and employers
reward initiative.
5. Break the
problem apart
Separate the problem into smaller
sub-problems.
Determine who is hiring for the most
money, the most hours per week, and how
many weeks the employment will last.
6. Model sub-
problems
Generate solutions for each sub-
problem.
Amount of money = number of hours/week
times hourly wage times the number of
weeks worked.
7. Integrate
solutions
Integrate the solutions from sub-problems into the main problem.
The temporary agency can get Evelyn work for 5 weeks at 40 hours/week for $11.25/
hour, a possible total of $2,250. That is, if they are satisfied with her work evaluations.
If they are not satisfied with her work evaluations, she may get no other job offers from
the agency. Evelyn has found two jobs on her own. The high paying job (in dollars per
1 hour) is for $12/hour for 15 hours/week for 3 weeks, a possible total of $540. The
other job is for 6 weeks at 40 hours/week at $8.90/hour, a possible total of $2,136. She
chooses the job offered by the temporary agency.
8. Test and
validate
Validate the solution; assess the
quality of the solution.
Evelyn calls possible employers to verify
her information.
9. Generalize the
solution
Determine how to generalize the
problem solution for use in other
situations.
Evelyn generalizes that the temporary
agency is a good solution because she
can use the agency to seek summer
employment also.
10. Communicate
the solution
Present the solution in oral
and/or written form along with
documentation of the process.
Evelyn writes a letter to the agency
accepting a job offer. She explains the
process used to make her decision to her
husband.
4.1 The Problem Solving Methodology