程序代写 ISYS90045 Professional IS Consulting ©2022 The University of Melbourne

Presentation Title

ISYS90045 Professional IS
Consulting

Seminar 10
Problem Solving

Dr Rod Dilnutt

Learning agenda

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILO’s)
• Define and understand structured problem solving
• Define and understand unstructured problem solving
• Engage in activities and examples to gain understanding

Problem solving

• Consultants solve problems
• IT, IS and information security consultants solve problems

specific to their domain:

Do any of these scenarios have easy answers?
How do you even begin solving these?

Should we go to
the cloud?

How can we
improve our

environment?

How does this
software best
support the

What is our IT

How effective is
our data loss
prevention?

We want to go with
SAP – can you

make it happen?

We’re outsourcing IT
– who should we go

We have major IT
uplift going on:

please manage it!

Problem solving

Think of problem solving in two ways:

Structured problem solving Unstructured problem solving

• Problems that are known, standardised and
can be solved in an operational fashion

• Can be encoded into procedure
documentation

• For example:
• How do you make macaroni and

• How do you resolve customer

enquiries in a call centre?

• Problems that are open-ended,‘fuzzy’,
may be unique to a situation

• For example:

• How is macaroni better than
fettucine?

• What should we do with our IT
systems in the next three years?

• Should we acquire a new business?

• How do you solve these?

Defining Problem Solving

Problem solving
 It is an analytical process used to identify the possible solutions

to the situation at hand.
 Making decisions is a part of problem solving.
 Problem solving is a complex process,and judgement calls (or

decisions) will have to be made on the way.

Introduction to problems and decisions

Types of problems we encounter;
 Structured
 Unstructured
 Semi structured

How does this incorporate decision making?
Programmed decisions

 E.g. Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to eliminate
individual judgment

Non Programmed decision
 E.g. Strategy to determine whether to acquire another company

Problem solving: structured

Clear definition of the:
• Beginning state
• End state
• Constraints

Follow similar processes for resolution
• Procedural; limited number of rules and principles
• Method for solving the problem is repeatable
• Outcomes are typically known or standardised
• Constraints are limited or are accounted for.

Problem solving: unstructured

 ‘Ill-structured’ problems
 Unknown definition of the

problem elements
 Multiple potential solutions
 Different paths to take to get to the

 Uncertainty over concepts, rules

 Not enough information on hand
 Learners need to make judgements

on the problem – and defend this

Source:Gorry & ,1971

Types of Problems – A comparison

Type of problem Structured Unstructured

Managerial level Lower level Upper level

Frequency Repetitive New,unusual,
non repetitive

Information Readily available,
well formed,

incomplete

Time frame
for solution

Short,almost immediate Relatively long

Solution relies on Procedures,rules,
and policies e.g.

Judgment and
creativity,

3-Stage Problem-Solving Cycle

Problem solving – An Approach

1. Understanding the Problem:
The most important part of solving any problem is understanding it.

Ask yourself or guide others to ask themselves the following questions:
• What am I looking for?
• What is the unknown?
• Do I understand every word and concept in the problem?
• Am I familiar with the units in which measurements are given?
• Is there information that seems missing?
• Is there information that seems superfluous?
• Is the source of information bona fide? (Think about those instances

when a friend gives you a puzzle to solve and you suspect there’s
something wrong with the way the puzzle is posed.)

The Three Stages Explained

Strategizing:
Now that we think we understand the problem, we
choose a strategy or a set of strategies to try to solve the problem.

Ten general strategiesare:
• Logical reasoning
• Pattern recognition
• Working backwards
• Adopting a different point of view
• Considering extreme cases
• Solving a simpler analogous problem
• Organizing data
• Making a visual representation
• Accounting for all possibilities
• Intelligent guessing and testing

The Three Stages Explained

Implementing:
Implement the strategy or set of strategies. check
reasoning and calculations.
Avoid the mistake of “doing something” before
understanding or at least assuming understanding.

Note: it is possible to have an incorrect understanding
of the problem, but that is different from not even
realizing that we have to understand the problem
before attempting to solve it!

The Problem Solving Cycle
As we implement we might refine our understanding of the problem. As we refine our
understanding of the problem, we can refine our strategy.
As we refine our strategy and implement a new approach, we get closer to solving
the problem, etc.

The Three Stages Explained

In business we constantly look at ways to solve prospects, clients and customers
problems. When delivering proposal presentations consider:

The Problem
• clearly describe the problem that the customer has.
• Ensure that they agree that this is a problem and that it needs solving.
• May be necessary to show or tell
• them the implications of not solving the problem and highlight the pain caused.
• Show the main causes of the problem
• Make links between causes and the problem very clear
• use a maximum of three causes.
The solution
• Show your product/service addresses the causes and fixes the problem
• Show independent reports that prove this.
• Demonstrate if possible.

A car sales person asks why the customers are looking for a new car. The customer tells how the
current car is expensive to run. The salesperson explains how some cars are not designed for
easy service and others have inefficient engines. She then shows them a report that highlights
running costs of different cars and then demonstrates models from the top two cars in the list.

Problem Solving Presentation Principles

Problem solving: unstructured

• Unstructured problem solving requires structure
• You need to break the problem down
• The below model illustrates an effective means of logically stepping

through this process.

Definition

Source:Rosenberg,2011

• What is the
nature of the
problem, root
cause or goal?

• Consider your
scope and size of
application

• Alternative
mechanisms and
paths if ideal
tools are not

• How will you
distinguish
alternatives?

• Qualitative vs.
quantitative?

• Weighting?

• Risks and
downsides?

• What are the
alternative
methods for
solving the

• Apply your
criteria and
distinguish
between the
alternatives

• If necessary,
mitigations for
risks that you’ve
considered

• Apply your
criteria and
distinguish
between the
alternatives

• Develop the plan
to implement
the decision

Selction Options

Analysis Decision Action

• What is the
nature of the
problem, root
cause or goal?

• Consider your
scope and size of
application

• Alternative
mechanisms and
paths if ideal
tools are not

• How will you
distinguish
alternatives?

• Qualitative vs.
quantitative?

• Weighting?

• Risks and
downsides?

• What are the
alternative
methods for
solving the

Problem solving

 Problems by their nature contain a:
 Domain: content that outlines the problem’s elements

 Concepts, rules, principles
 E.g. information systems

 Type: A combination of related concepts and rules that will help
solve the problem
 E.g. information security risk management

 Process: Method by which you solve the problem
 Depends on your understanding of the problem type, goal
 Gap between initial and goal state is the problem ‘space’
 This can become more proceduralised as you gain experience

 Solution: Achieving the goals
 Convergent vs. divergent (one solution vs. one of many)

Source:Jonassen,1997

Solve a problem

• A farmer wants to sub-divide a square piece of land into 16 equal size
plots give them to local NGOs.

• His only restrictions are that:
• no NGO may own more than THREE pieces of the land (the colours are

the plots)

• no NGO may own any land that is adjacent in any way to any other
land they have i.e. they can never move from one piece of their land to
another without going through someone else’s land first

• Four proposals (colour-coded according to NGO) have been put forward
– which, IF any, are acceptable ?

Solve a problem

Tame vs. Wicked Problems

Tame problems are those
that can be solved, leaving
wicked problems as those
that can’t be solved, only
worked on (Bentley 2019)

Tame Vs. Wicked Problems

It is critical to use a structured approach to solve problems.
If the wrong problem is chosen, the correct root causes are

not identified, the solution chosen will not improve the
situation, and the problem will recur.

The foundation of Problem Solving is to spend time to
properly identify and define the problem.

Never Assume
Solve it Right First Time

ISYS90045 Professional IS Consulting��Seminar 10 �Problem Solving
Learning agenda
Problem solving
Problem solving
Defining Problem Solving
Introduction to problems and decisions
Problem solving: structured
Problem solving: unstructured
Types of Problems – A comparison
Slide Number 10
Slide Number 11
Slide Number 12
Slide Number 13
Slide Number 14
Problem solving: unstructured
Problem solving
Slide Number 17
Slide Number 18
Tame vs. Wicked Problems
Tame Vs. Wicked Problems
Slide Number 21

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