Man-made systems are created to exploit opportunities or to reduce threats. They are designed to fulfill a mission, or objective, aimed a exploiting the opportunity, or reducing a threat.
A problem space is a relativistic concept. Two people in the same organisation may view problems differently.
Problems and solutions could be two sides of the same coin. One man’s problem is another man’s opportunity -- a client has a problem, the solution provider has an opportunity.
Sometimes what we think as problem solving is actually only symptom solving.
Problem spaces are not static. They evolve.
Problems can be symptoms. Finding the root cause helps in finding an effective solution.
In systems, often the root cause of problem spaces can be many.
Sometimes the best way to understand the solution space is to strart with a conceptual solution.
The problem space is partitioned into solution spaces. This is to reduce the complexity. It can be impossible to provide a single homogeneous solution that addresses the whole solution space. Each partitioned solution space is analysed deeper and even partitioned.
You cannot really expect to solve a problem if you don’t know what the problem is. One of the first steps in solving a problem is to understand the problem.
Often, a problem cannot be solved away, it can only be managed.
Implementation of a solution changes the surrounding system and may introduce new problems and opportunities. Systems are systems.
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