http://www.sitsite.com/blog/2008/12/the-better-you-understand-the-problem-the-better-the-solution/ Thu, 17 May 2012 15:27:09 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 http://www.sitsite.com/blog/2008/12/the-better-you-understand-the-problem-the-better-the-solution/#comment-266 Amnon Levav Mon, 08 Dec 2008 19:05:11 +0000 http://www.sitsite.com/blog/?p=121#comment-266 This simple and wise story reminded me immediately of a book i stumbled upon, and then found out that it was a classic: The Design of Everyday Things, by Donald A. Norman (1988). Here is what Norman says to your point: "To understand how to use things, we need conceptual models of how they work." He demonstrates this by an example, the thermostat. If your home air conditioner just warms the air until it reaches the temperature you set it to and then stops, then setting it to a higher temperature to make it heat the room faster is futile. But in many cars, explains Norman, the mechanism is often different - the airconditioning works by mixing hot and cold air streams. In this case, selecting a higher temperature can be a useful strategy to accelerate heating. In short - not only for problem solving, but even for regular usage, nothing like a reasaonable conceptual model of the mechanism you are trying to manipulate (whhich is true for human relationships just as well, and goes some way towards explaining why they so often go wrong.) This simple and wise story reminded me immediately of a book i stumbled upon, and then found out that it was a classic: The Design of Everyday Things, by Donald A. Norman (1988). Here is what Norman says to your point: “To understand how to use things, we need conceptual models of how they work.” He demonstrates this by an example, the thermostat. If your home air conditioner just warms the air until it reaches the temperature you set it to and then stops, then setting it to a higher temperature to make it heat the room faster is futile. But in many cars, explains Norman, the mechanism is often different - the airconditioning works by mixing hot and cold air streams. In this case, selecting a higher temperature can be a useful strategy to accelerate heating.
In short - not only for problem solving, but even for regular usage, nothing like a reasaonable conceptual model of the mechanism you are trying to manipulate (whhich is true for human relationships just as well, and goes some way towards explaining why they so often go wrong.)

]]> http://www.sitsite.com/blog/2008/12/the-better-you-understand-the-problem-the-better-the-solution/#comment-260 Fabian Szulanski Sat, 06 Dec 2008 00:11:15 +0000 http://www.sitsite.com/blog/?p=121#comment-260 It is very useful to bring the problem's structure to surface, otherwise we are more exposed to flawed, or even worse, wishful and magical thinking. Mindmaps, schemas, influence diagrams, and other visual resources are great tools for this purpose. It is very useful to bring the problem’s structure to surface, otherwise we are more exposed to flawed, or even worse, wishful and magical thinking.
Mindmaps, schemas, influence diagrams, and other visual resources are great tools for this purpose.

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