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© 2014 Pacific Crest
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Why?
Agraduation is a major life event for many people and, as such, a graduation typically
has many stakeholders beyond the graduate, many of whom may have to travel far in
order to participate in the event and celebration. If family is valued, then their wish to
participate should be honored even though it does make for a more complex problem.
(The introduction of this complexity means that there will likely be sub-problems
that must be solved such as who is interested in doing something after the graduation
ceremony, how much time and monetary resources does the group have, and what
activities would be most appropriate.)
●
Not applying the appropriate quantitative technique to a given sub-problem
Example
: Determining what supplies we need to bring on the camping trip in June to Yosemite.
We’re staying a week, so we’ll want hiking gear, a tent, sleeping bags, food and a
light jacket for the cooler evening temperatures.
Why?
Our expectations were for average temperatures and we failed to think through the
probabilities based on historic weather data for the Yosemite region. We could have
checked what have been the coldest days in June over the last 25 years. Doing so
would have informed us that snow is not unusual in this location and at this time of
year. As it turned out, we had 2 feet of new snow fall in the first 2 days of our trip. We
were cold and miserable.
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Not integrating the sub-problems effectively
Example
: The model in this activity revisited: The two sub-problems were determining the
price for each living space and choosing who gets which room. In order to integrate
their solutions, we determine price first and, if all are willing to pay to have their own
room, we’ll draw names (a lottery approach) to determine who will share a room and
who will have their own room.
Why?
Objectivity in the abstract works wonderfully. But in reality, the sharing of a room
when you have no say in who will be your roommate is highly problematic. The
sub-problems can only be int
egrated when the compatible person (the one who is
willing to room with you) doesn’t get the private room. Often the integration of sub-
problems can dominate the process because interface issues were never addressed.
This was also the kind of integration issue that Joan and Jeff would have faced, had
they chosen to proceed with the dinner party and draw up a new menu.
A
re You Ready?
Before continuing, you should be able to ...
I can...
OR
Here’s my question...
use the problem solving methodology
more fluidly and flexibly
appreciate how specific quantitative tools
can be used to solve a sub-problem
4.2 Applying the Problem Solving Methodology