Puzzle, Problem, Mess
Looking at three types of problem...
A puzzle has an agreed formulation and an agreed solution.
A problem has an agreeable formulation and an arguable solution.
A mess has an arguable formulation and an arguable solution.
Bear with me. (aarrgghhh claws!)
Puzzles are easy because there's a clear and set goal and a clear and set solution. There is often one solution. So because these things are fixed, you can apply patterns (common processes) to solving puzzles.
Problems are not as easy because the goals are vague. However after some negotiation, you can find a description of the problem (or spec of the problem) which you agree on. This is still subjective (where a puzzle is objective) but it's agreeable. The solution is arguable because the solution is also subjective based on subjective interpretation of subjective requirements. To make the solution for a problem more agreeable, you can accept any of a range of solution... but it's night on impossible to come up with a perfect solution when the goals/formulation of the problem are subjective.
And on top of this we have a mess. A mess is a problem where the problem is that the problem is a mess! You cannot even define what the problem is, what the goals are. A mess may masquerade as a problem but it's actually a mess. An example of a mess is "my room is messy"... define messy... not clean, not organised, not ordered, doesn't smell good... how can you even think of a solution when you can't define what the problem is? You cannot define even a subjective set of requirements to make the required solution... the solution can never be met. This mess cannot be solved. The only way to find an appropriate solution is to define the goal differently so you are not making the room "not messy" but "ordered"... you can agree on what "ordered" is. Turning it into a puzzle is even better! "My room should have no clothes on the floor". You can define what clothes are and you know exactly whether you've solved the puzzle or not.
So... relating this back to software. It's about the requirements, the problem statement. If someone comes to you with a puzzle then you can quickly find a set of requirements and when you've satisfied those requirements you have the perfect solution. However, if someone comes with a problem then you can only make the requirements as good as possible... even then you're not guaranteed to solve the problem in the eyes of the client. It takes a lot of interaction with the client so that the solution is something acceptable for them (solving the goals that they think they wanted to achieve).
But a mess... if you can't make a mess into a problem then it's lost before it's started. Sometimes you can make a mess into a puzzle, but the odds are the solution will only solve part of the client's goals. If you can redefine the mess to a set of agreeable requirements then a project has some hope of success. If it cannot, then that's a big candidate for a never-ending project. If you can't define goals then the whole thing's a mess and it will go on like a headless chook until the money runs out.
This is an attempt to look at the concepts, hopefully something will twig in your brain about puzzles, problems and messes so it makes sense. It's nothing new, just putting names and faces to things we already know exist, but then again that's what most modelling of concepts does. It just gives structure and organisation to ideas so they can be developed further and Einstein can find the grand formula for the universe.
A puzzle has an agreed formulation and an agreed solution.
A problem has an agreeable formulation and an arguable solution.
A mess has an arguable formulation and an arguable solution.
Bear with me. (aarrgghhh claws!)
Puzzles are easy because there's a clear and set goal and a clear and set solution. There is often one solution. So because these things are fixed, you can apply patterns (common processes) to solving puzzles.
Problems are not as easy because the goals are vague. However after some negotiation, you can find a description of the problem (or spec of the problem) which you agree on. This is still subjective (where a puzzle is objective) but it's agreeable. The solution is arguable because the solution is also subjective based on subjective interpretation of subjective requirements. To make the solution for a problem more agreeable, you can accept any of a range of solution... but it's night on impossible to come up with a perfect solution when the goals/formulation of the problem are subjective.
And on top of this we have a mess. A mess is a problem where the problem is that the problem is a mess! You cannot even define what the problem is, what the goals are. A mess may masquerade as a problem but it's actually a mess. An example of a mess is "my room is messy"... define messy... not clean, not organised, not ordered, doesn't smell good... how can you even think of a solution when you can't define what the problem is? You cannot define even a subjective set of requirements to make the required solution... the solution can never be met. This mess cannot be solved. The only way to find an appropriate solution is to define the goal differently so you are not making the room "not messy" but "ordered"... you can agree on what "ordered" is. Turning it into a puzzle is even better! "My room should have no clothes on the floor". You can define what clothes are and you know exactly whether you've solved the puzzle or not.
So... relating this back to software. It's about the requirements, the problem statement. If someone comes to you with a puzzle then you can quickly find a set of requirements and when you've satisfied those requirements you have the perfect solution. However, if someone comes with a problem then you can only make the requirements as good as possible... even then you're not guaranteed to solve the problem in the eyes of the client. It takes a lot of interaction with the client so that the solution is something acceptable for them (solving the goals that they think they wanted to achieve).
But a mess... if you can't make a mess into a problem then it's lost before it's started. Sometimes you can make a mess into a puzzle, but the odds are the solution will only solve part of the client's goals. If you can redefine the mess to a set of agreeable requirements then a project has some hope of success. If it cannot, then that's a big candidate for a never-ending project. If you can't define goals then the whole thing's a mess and it will go on like a headless chook until the money runs out.
This is an attempt to look at the concepts, hopefully something will twig in your brain about puzzles, problems and messes so it makes sense. It's nothing new, just putting names and faces to things we already know exist, but then again that's what most modelling of concepts does. It just gives structure and organisation to ideas so they can be developed further and Einstein can find the grand formula for the universe.
posted by Vivski at 11:18 AM
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