Why identifying a problem is important

Other times, it may take Ask as many times as needed until you get to the source problem. When it comes to determining whether you have defined a problem well, ask yourself or your collaborators if the solution to the problem is obvious or straightforward.

Marco Ludwig. Nicole Walters. Eric Hanson. Skip to content Profile Avatar. Subscribe to Entrepreneur. Magazine Subscriptions. By Michael Cooper September 26, Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Related: 3 Reasons Why You Are Failing at Problem Solving Every businessperson needs to master the ability to define problems, or challenges, but very few MBA programs, leadership development programs or management training programs teach this indispensable skill.

Cooper equips right-brain entrepreneurs, creative professionals and agencies with the business mindset, strategies and skills to thrive in a constantly changing environment.

In the absence of a clear and well-defined problem, the researcher can become confused. Besides, the clarity it should have to be attractive so that the researcher become well engaged in your research. The research problem identified should be original and unique. A useful review of Literature can Help you determine whether the issue has already addressed in research with your particular sample. Replication of existing study warrants a discussion of value elsewhere, but the novelty found in determining if an already solved problem holds in a new sample.

Your research problem should have an incredibly positive impact on the field where the study conducted. It can be practical, in the direct form of application in the results of research, where the work advances the field by filling a knowledge gap. New researchers do not find this process as an essential step and lose novelty in the work they carry out.

PhD Dissertation Problem Statement consultation offers help not only to find a research gap but also provides a significant work that adds up the quality of the research undertaken in the field of food and nutrition. Developing a Dissertation Research Problem is the critical step to carry out, but it adds high value to the undertaking research.

This process will be helpful to have a current trend knowledge in the field of food and nutrition. Explore what topics covered in current journals in the area.

In short, a system system cannot be defined unless it is possible to clearly describe what it is supposed to accomplish. According to Edson , , there are three kinds of questions that need to be asked to ensure we fully understand a problem situation. First, how difficult or well understood is the problem? The answer to this question will help define the tractability of the problem.

Next, who or what is impacted? There may be elements elements of the situation that are causing the problem, elements that are impacted by the problem, and elements that are just in the loop. Beyond these factors, what is the environment environment and what are the external factors that affect the problem? In examining these aspects, the tools and methods of systems thinking systems thinking can be productively applied.

Finally, what are the various viewpoints of the problem? Does everyone think it is a problem? Perhaps there are conflicting viewpoints. All these viewpoints need to be defined. Persons affected by the system, who stand to benefit from the system, or can be harmed by the system, are called stakeholders. Wasson , provides a comprehensive list of stakeholder types. The use of soft systems models, as discussed above, can play an important part in this. Describing a problem using situation views can be useful when considering these issues, even if a single problem perspective is selected for further consideration.

Operations research Operations research is a hard systems method which concentrates on solving problem situations by deploying known solutions. The problem analysis step of a typical approach asks questions about the limitation and cost cost of the current system to identify efficiency improvements that need to be made Flood and Carson Traditional SE methods tend to focus more on describing an abstract model of the problem, which is then used to develop a solution that will produce the benefits stakeholders expect to see Jenkins The expectation is often that a new solution must be created, although this need not be the case.

Jenkins suggests that SE is just as applicable to a redesign of existing systems. A clear understanding of stakeholder expectations in this regard should produce a better understanding of part of the problem. Do stakeholders expect a new solution or modifications to their existing solutions, or are they genuinely open to solution alternatives which consider the pros and cons of either? Such expectations will influence suggestions of solution alternatives, as discussed in the Synthesizing Possible Solutions article.

An important factor in defining the desired stakeholder outcomes, benefits, and constraints constraints is the operational environment operational environment , or scenario scenario , in which the problem or opportunity exists. Armstrong , suggests two scenarios: the first is the descriptive scenario, or the situation as it exists now, and the second is the normative scenario, or the situation as it may exist sometime in the future.

The Engineered System Context topic identifies a way by which a complex complex system situation can be resolved around a system-of-interest system-of-interest SoI.

The initial identification of a "problem context" can be considered as the outcome of this part of the systems approach. The systems approach should not consider only soft or hard situations.

More appropriately, a problem or opportunity should be explored using aspects of both. In general, the application of the systems approach with a focus on engineered system contexts will lead to hard system contexts in which an identified SoI and required outcome can be defined.