Identify Goal
Define Problem
Define Problem
Gather Data
Define Causes
Identify Options
Clarify Problem
Generate Ideas
Evaluate Options
Generate Ideas
Choose the Best Solution
Implement Solution
Select Solution
Take Action
MacLeod offers her own problem solving procedure, which echoes the above steps:
“1. Recognize the Problem: State what you see. Sometimes the problem is covert. 2. Identify: Get the facts — What exactly happened? What is the issue? 3. and 4. Explore and Connect: Dig deeper and encourage group members to relate their similar experiences. Now you're getting more into the feelings and background [of the situation], not just the facts. 5. Possible Solutions: Consider and brainstorm ideas for resolution. 6. Implement: Choose a solution and try it out — this could be role play and/or a discussion of how the solution would be put in place. 7. Evaluate: Revisit to see if the solution was successful or not.”
Many of these problem solving techniques can be used in concert with one another, or multiple can be appropriate for any given problem. It’s less about facilitating a perfect CPS session, and more about encouraging team members to continually think outside the box and push beyond personal boundaries that inhibit their innovative thinking. So, try out several methods, find those that resonate best with your team, and continue adopting new techniques and adapting your processes along the way.
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June 14, 2022 - 10 min read
Solving complex problems may be difficult but it doesn't have to be excruciating. You just need the right frame of mind and a process for untangling the problem at hand.
Luckily for you, there are plenty of techniques available to solve whatever problems come at you in the workplace.
When faced with a doozy of a problem, where do you start? And what problem-solving techniques can you use right now that can help you make good decisions?
Today's post will give you tips and techniques for solving complex problems so you can untangle any complication like an expert.
At its core, problem-solving is a methodical four-step process. You may even recall these steps from when you were first introduced to the Scientific Method.
When applying problem-solving techniques, you will be using a variation of these steps as your foundation.
Takeaway: Before you can solve a problem, seek to understand it fully.
Time to get creative! You might think this will just be a list of out-of-the-box ways to brainstorm ideas. Not exactly.
Creative problem solving (CPS) is actually a formal process formulated by Sidney Parnes and Alex Faickney Osborn , who is thought of as the father of traditional brainstorming (and the "O" in famous advertising agency BBDO).
Their creative problem solving process emphasizes several things, namely:
Takeaway: When brainstorming solutions, generate ideas first by using questions and building off of existing ideas. Do all evaluating and judging later.
If you take a look at the history of problem-solving techniques in psychology, you'll come across a wide spectrum of interesting ideas that could be helpful.
In 1911, the American psychologist Edward Thorndike observed cats figuring out how to escape from the cage he placed them in. From this, Thorndike developed his law of effect , which states: If you succeed via trial-and-error, you're more likely to use those same actions and ideas that led to your previous success when you face the problem again.
Takeaway: Your past experience can inform and shed light on the problem you face now. Recall. Explore.
The Gestalt psychologists built on Thorndike's ideas when they proposed that problem-solving can happen via reproductive thinking — which is not about sex, but rather solving a problem by using past experience and reproducing that experience to solve the current problem.
What's interesting about Gestalt psychology is how they view barriers to problem-solving. Here are two such barriers:
Takeaway: Think outside of the box! And by box, we mean outside of the past experience you're holding on to, or outside any preconceived ideas on how a tool is conventionally used.
Hurson's productive thinking model.
In his book "Think Better," author and creativity guru Tim Hurson proposed a six-step model for solving problems creatively. The steps in his Productive Thinking Model are:
The most important part of defining the problem is looking at the possible root cause. You'll need to ask yourself questions like: Where and when is it happening? How is it occurring? With whom is it happening? Why is it happening?
You can get to the root cause with a fishbone diagram (also known as an Ishikawa diagram or a cause and effect diagram).
Basically, you put the effect on the right side as the problem statement. Then you list all possible causes on the left, grouped into larger cause categories. The resulting shape resembles a fish skeleton. Which is a perfect way to say, "This problem smells fishy."
Analogical thinking uses information from one area to help with a problem in a different area. In short, solving a different problem can lead you to find a solution to the actual problem. Watch out though! Analogies are difficult for beginners and take some getting used to.
An example: In the "radiation problem," a doctor has a patient with a tumor that cannot be operated on. The doctor can use rays to destroy the tumor but it also destroys healthy tissue.
Two researchers, Gick and Holyoak , noted that people solved the radiation problem much more easily after being asked to read a story about an invading general who must capture the fortress of a king but be careful to avoid landmines that will detonate if large forces traverse the streets. The general then sends small forces of men down different streets so the army can converge at the fortress at the same time and can capture it at full force.
In her book " The Architecture of All Abundance ," author Lenedra J. Carroll (aka the mother of pop star Jewel) talks about a question-and-answer technique for getting out of a problem.
When faced with a problem, ask yourself a question about it and brainstorm 12 answers ("12 what elses") to that problem. Then you can go further by taking one answer, turning it into a question and generating 12 more "what elses." Repeat until the solution is golden brown, fully baked, and ready to take out of the oven.
Hopefully you find these different techniques useful and they get your imagination rolling with ideas on how to solve different problems.
And if that's the case, then you have four different takeaways to use the next time a problem gets you tangled up:
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Want to streamline your processes and ease future problem-solving? Get started with a free two-week trial of Wrike today.
Do you have a problem-solving technique that has worked wonders for your organization? Hit the comments below and share your wisdom!
Lionel is a former Content Marketing Manager of Wrike. He is also a blogger since 1997, a productivity enthusiast, a project management newbie, a musician and producer of electronic downtempo music, a father of three, and a husband of one.
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1. what is the actual problem.
This should be the first question an IT professional should ask when it comes to troubleshooting various IT related issues – even if only to verify the information that has already been provided. Typically this will mean having a conversation with the individual or group of individuals that reported the problem in the first place. It’s certainly not unheard of for the reported problem to get muddied or distorted when going through multiple people or channels before you first hear of it.
People often rephrase things when dictating what someone else previously said, so it’s quite possible for the original complaint to turn into something completely different as it passes through different people:
“The Amazon website tends to lock up my web browser whenever I add items into my Cart.” Mary, Sales Department.
“Helpdesk? Mary’s internet isn’t working when she’s online shopping.” CASE STUDY This Wisconsin manufacturer needed to modernize its IT infrastructure to support rapid business growth. Discover what they did Mary’s Boss
“Please help Mary so she can browse shopping sites. I think the internet filter is probably blocking that category.” John, creating Helpdesk ticket
We’ve all encountered these types of scenarios in the past and they can be really frustrating, even more so when the issues are much more important than whether a single employee is capable of adding items to their Amazon shopping cart.
The point here being, don’t take what’s being told to you for granted . Spend the time necessary to verify that what is being reported to you is actually what’s occurring and the original reason the issue was raised in the first place. Furthermore, taking the time to speak with the source, in this case, Mary, allows you to ask important follow-up questions that can further aid in diagnosing the problem as its being reported.
Without knowledge of who is experiencing the problem, your ability to focus your troubleshooting efforts into a precise area will be diminished and you might wind up going off in a direction that’s not even necessary or even remotely related to the source of the problem. One of the questions that should be asked is, who exactly is experiencing the problem?
Is it (for example):
Every organization is different as it relates to the “Who”, but there are stark differences in the following scenario and what could be the underlying issue relating to the company’s IP Phones when the IT professional called in to solve the problem has a clearer understanding of “Who” is actually affected:
The point here is, when the IT professional starts to understand “Who” is really affected , they can eliminate having to navigate down unnecessary paths while troubleshooting and can instead work towards narrowing down their troubleshooting efforts to a more specific and concise area. In the case of the single user above, why waste time troubleshooting the VPN tunnel when only Jerry is affected by the issue? This is why knowing the “Who” is extremely important.
Here’s another example of something an IT Professional or Wireless Engineer hears from time to time. “Help! Wireless is completely down in the entire building. Everyone is reporting problems” . In these situations, do yourself a favor and pay special attention to words or phrases such as “entire”, “everyone”, and “completely down” when problems are reported. These “all-inclusive” phraseologies tend to exaggerate what’s really happening and have the potential to lead you astray.
It’s not uncommon that while investigating the problem, the IT Professional or Wireless Engineers quickly learns that the “entire” building, or “everyone”, or that the wireless network being “completely down” (which, for example, in a school, might affect 3,000+ users) turns out to be a single wireless Access Point being down in one small office that is affecting 5 actual users (not, 3,000+ users as “everyone” seems to imply).
Bear in mind, problems can sometimes be overblown and overstated , especially when a user, or group of users, is regularly frustrated with or intimated by technology (any IT professional has likely experienced those high-maintenance users that cry wolf over just about anything!).
Knowing when the problem actually started (with attention to finite details such as the exact day and exact time) can often provide a better understanding of the problem and help trigger more definitive ideas and potential solutions relating to the underlying root cause that a given IT professional is expected to solve. Imagine being brought into a new customer to resolve critical problems with their Internet Services and being told,
“The internet pipe is a problem. People are randomly seeing spotty performance and oddball issues whenever web surfing and we don’t know why.”
Now, a less-experienced IT professional might just start diving headfirst into firewall logs, bandwidth monitoring, opening up a trouble-ticket directly with the ISP and trying to figure out what is going on, but someone with more experience will first pause to ask additional questions , wanting more specifics as to “When” the problem started happening.
Certainly looking back into firewall logs and bandwidth utilization metrics over the last 2 week period makes sense knowing the issue presented itself within the last 10 days, but it hardly warrants spending much time at all looking back at logs and bandwidth utilization metrics from 3+ months ago. That being said, once again, try to VERIFY the information being told to you . Perhaps the person giving you the answer vaguely remembers that it was 10 days ago, but in truth, it’s only been 3 days!
In this particular situation where the internet is being reported as sporadic, it’s altogether possible that roughly 11 days ago, another on-site computer technician decided to enable the UTM (Unified Threat Management) functionality within their firewall to allow for additional Antivirus inspection, IDS (Intrusion Detection Services), Geo-IP Filtering, and a plethora of other goodies typically included in UTM feature-sets.
Unfortunately, as a direct result, the firewall’s processors/CPUs have become overloaded and cannot move traffic through it quickly enough to keep up with the additional processing demands required when the firewall’s UTM feature-set was enabled.
Another key element to an effective problem solving process is finding out if the reported issue is occurring constantly or whether it’s only occurring intermittently? Problems that are constant, or fixed , are generally (though not always) easier to troubleshoot . Whereas problems that are intermittent and seemingly random, are generally more difficult to troubleshoot.
How many times have we as IT professionals been called in to troubleshoot a problem, only to find that upon our arrival, the issue suddenly doesn’t seem to exist anymore yet no one did anything specific to actually resolve the problem!? Those situations can be really frustrating, not only for the IT professional but for the end-user as well because the likelihood of the issue reappearing is rather high (and most likely reappears just a few short moments after the IT professional has left!)
The best thing to do in these scenarios is document WHEN the issue occurred and how LONG it lasted before it miraculously “fixed itself”, so the next time that same problem is reported, you might be able to piece together some crude and basic assumptions or theories based on WHEN it happened previously and how LONG it lasted each time.
This is one question that is unfortunately not asked often enough, is just plain overlooked, or in other cases is just completely disregarded (shame on you if you fall into that category!). Technology is a very touchy and hypersensitive beast , and more often than not, it doesn’t take too kindly to introducing changes. Even the changes that are supposed to solve and prevent other known problems, often result in the introduction of new and unexpected problems.
It’s not unheard of that sometimes even routine maintenance on equipment can cause problems .
Take for example, updating firmware on a network switch . This should be a relatively trouble-free routine operation, but suddenly users are reporting that they’re occasionally having problems logging into their desktops. It’s happening to more than one user, in fact, it’s being reported sporadically throughout the building early in the morning hours when most employees arrive for the start of their shift.
“What Changed” recently? Over the weekend you decided to update the firmware on your edge switches and now the port security that was set up on the switches using AAA authentication with Radius, isn’t behaving as expected. Unfortunately, it looks like the new firmware update might have introduced a random bug! What’s the solution? Back rev your switches , or look for ever newer firmware code that might resolve the problem.
You haven’t changed anything with the VMWare software itself, still running on the same trusted vSphere 6.0 Update 1 release that has been rock solid and problem-free in your environment. So “What Changed” recently? Wait a minute, come to think of it, the host server that is regularly crashing recently had an additional 64GB of memory added to it one week ago! Might be worth removing that extra 64GB of memory and seeing if the problem goes away. Certainly wouldn’t be the first time new or additional hardware was the result of the underlying issue .
Another helpful step for effective problem solving is trying to recreate the actual problem. As discussed before, reported problems can either be of a constant or intermittent nature. Taking the time to re-create the problem can be beneficial and especially helpful in cases where you might need to break out tools such as Wireshark to capture packets and network traffic for future analysis and evaluation. IT professionals have to make use of such tools in more complex technical support issues especially when the flow of network traffic is in question or when there’s a need to examine whether the traffic is making it from the source to destination devices.
If possible, take advantage of any sandbox or test environments that are available. Having these environments gives you the flexibility to recreate the issue and effectively “break” things on purpose, without putting your production network or systems at risk and without interrupting services that end-users are relying on during standard business hours.
Recreating the problem is also advantageous in situations where the IT professional may need to involve 3rd party technical support from a vendor as well. Often, these vendors will have the means to establish remote sessions to take control of your desktop (or the machine in which you’ve successfully recreated the problem on), which gives the vendor the ability to actually see the issue while it’s occurring to further help diagnose what is happening.
Having some kind of benchmarking tool available to track and record network and server performance is beyond measure in terms of its overall value when helping an IT professional track down challenging technical issues. One of the key areas worth checking when problems are being reported is looking at the actual METRICS over a historical period of time. Metrics can prove to be invaluable when trying to figure out: Whether the problem reported actually exists or is a false positive
Maybe you’ve been in a situation where someone reports, “The file server is really slow today!” Without historical benchmarks available, taking a look at the current server performance may not yield any fruitful results because the CPU, disk, network, and memory counters all SEEM to be operating at a reasonable level, but based on and compared to what exactly?
With historical benchmarks available, there is a foundation to actually compare today’s performance on the server as it relates to the CPU, Disk, Network, and Memory (and any other metric/counter you want) VERSUS what the server has been utilizing for the past days, weeks, or months prior.
What historical benchmarks might help you discover is, that according to the historical data, perhaps there is absolutely NO difference in the server performance today versus previous days, weeks, or months? The complaint of “The file server is really slow today” turns out to be a false positive in that case, proven by the metrics an historical benchmarks. Finding the real cause and resolution to the user’s complaint is going to require you to start looking into other areas aside from the server itself. Perhaps it’s a client-side issue or networking issue.
Having benchmarks available is crucial in taking out illogical guess-work and assumptions, and replacing them with hard evidence and facts to back up your problem solving process. There are countless software options available that will give you the data you need for metrics, though we often recommend using PRTG from Paessler, which is a wonderful utility for acquiring benchmarks on your network and servers.
Logs are another important thing to consider during the troubleshooting process. Going back into log history can give a stumped IT Professional some additional clues as to what is going on, especially in cases where the question of “ When did the problem start?” remains unanswered.
Having network devices (switches, routers, firewalls, wireless, etc.) sending their log information to a dedicated syslog server (for example, Kiwi Syslog Server from SolarWinds) gives someone the opportunity to search for entries related to particular devices (by IP address) for specific warning messages or error messages.
Syslog messages and the historical information gathered here can sometimes help point the IT Professional in the right direction, not to mention, the logs themselves can be extremely valuable to the vendor of the product as well when they are involved in troubleshooting what is happening.
Alright, so you find yourself in one of those rather unpleasant circumstances where you’ve asked all the right questions, dug into your resourceful bag of tricks, and find that you’ve exhausted all your technical knowledge and ability to track down the source of the problem. What do you do now? The first step is DON’T PANIC . Effective problem solving is, more often than not, substantially reduced when the IT professional is stressed out and under pressure (although in some rare cases, people tend to flourish under these “trial by fire” scenarios). Keeping panic at bay will help a person to remain calm, focused, and continue to allow them to logically walk through the problem solving process.
This is however, easier said than done, when there are countless emails and phone calls coming in demanding an update as to when the source of the problem will be fixed (and let’s not forget, potentially angry bosses that might be clueless as to why the problem is taking more than 10 minutes to resolve!).
The second step is just that, call in the cavalry! Let’s face it, there will always be instances where even the most seasoned IT professional needs assistance from peers, vendors or other resources . None of us are capable of knowing absolutely everything. When you find yourself struggling, don’t be afraid to reach out for help! What does that mean?
Be sure to give yourself the absolute best chance to combat those dreaded technical support issues. The next time someone contacts you and yells in a panic, “Email is broken!” understand that you can more quickly deduct what is actually going on and help minimize the amount of time necessary to resolve the problem by simply asking the right questions :
Keep in mind, however, that not only do you need answers to those questions, but you need answers that are accurate .
As stated earlier, this means the IT professional may need to take the necessary time to validate the answers being provided to them. Inaccurate answers and misinformed facts will send you down the wrong troubleshooting path and unnecessarily prolong the amount of time necessary to resolve complex technical support issues. So get your facts straight!
Having the answers to these questions will allow you to immediately narrow down the scope of the problem and the potential areas at fault, conduct tests, formulate conclusions, and resolve problems even faster than you may have anticipated.
You should also read:
Understanding the e-rate process [download primer].
Jesse is the owner of Source One Technology and has been providing IT consulting services to Enterprises , SMBs , schools , and nonprofits in Waukesha , Milwaukee , Dane , Washington , Jefferson , Ozaukee , Kenosha , Racine counties and across Wisconsin for over 18 years.
Microsoft deployment toolkit and windows deployment services, 2 thoughts on “an effective problem solving process for it professionals”.
Found your article very interesting. I can definitely identify with all of the points you made, especially troubleshooting. Either you can or cant troubleshoot and think logically through an issue or problem. You are right in mentioning that its something you really cannot teach. One other thing that helps with a logically stepping through the process is documentation. There should always be a repository where network diagrams, server builds, OS versions etc., are kept. I understand that a lot of times these documents cannot be relied upon due to being out of date and it seems most people scoff at the idea of keeping good documentation. But I believe it to be important to help with any troubleshooting. You also mentioned the question, Did anything change? or What changed? A big issue when attempting to troubleshoot. Every place I have worked at, always used a change management process that documented every single change, no matter how small. Of course these places had to by law (SOX audits) because they were publicly traded companies. Just wanted to say, good article!
That is a great article with some excellent questions. Working with students and teachers, I’d throw in a few extra suggestions.
1. What is a reasonable timeline for solving the problem? Often times a lack of communication to this question leads to frustration and long term mistrust regarding the reliability of technology. Asking what needs to be done from the end user’s perspective, and knowing their timeline for completion is helpful. Giving them a reasonable amount of time in which they can expect the issue to be resolved sets everybody up for success around reasonable expectations.
2. Suggest potential work-arounds when necessary — Standing in front of a group of adults and attempting to present when the technology is not working is overwhelming and frustrating. The same tech failure when you are working with a group of students and you start to lose their attention — it’s a nightmare! Knowing what tools your district provides for staff and their general purpose may allow you to offer some potential work-around ideas until the problem is resolved. There is not a fix for everything, but when you can suggest a reasonable alternative in the moment, you offer more than just tech support — you offer customer service.
Comments are closed.
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Hi everyone! In this article we're going to talk a bit about technical interviews. I'll share a few tips that, based on my experience, might help you go through these interviews successfully.
I originally wrote this article more than a year ago, before getting my first job offer as a developer.
I'm sharing this with you now because I recently went through another interview process. And I found that the same concepts and thoughts that helped me get my first job offer allowed me to pass all the interviews successfully again. 🙂
I took up coding more or less a year ago. I started learning out of pure curiosity, and as I learned more about it and was able to build personal projects, I just fell in love with it.
I got so obsessed and passionate about it that I dedicated all the free time I had to coding, reading about code, watching videos about code, and just learning as much as I possible could, because for me it was fun and interesting!
Time passed and at a point I started imagining myself working as a developer. First it was like a blurry thought, and then I started thinking about it seriously and learning about what I needed to do to get to that point.
My learning journey and the approach I took towards becoming a dev will probably be the subject of another article, but my point is that I made it! I recently got an offer for my first job as a full time developer and I couldn’t be happier about it.
And there were many things and learning experiences I had to go through to get to this point, but I’d say the toughest one – and the one I was less prepared for – was technical interviews.
I come from a social sciences background, and most of the time, within that field, there’s nothing too “technical” to talk about during interviews. Employers normally hire you based on your experience and behavior during interviews.
But in the coding field it’s really different. Experience is valuable, of course, but employers also value projects you can show to them, theoretical knowledge about different programming topics, and, most of all, the problem solving skills you can show off during technical interviews.
In almost all selection processes I went through, there was a technical interview in which an interviewer tossed me a problem and I had to solve it live with them looking at me the whole time.
This is a standard practice for coding jobs, but I wasn’t prepared at all. I failed miserably more than once, and these experiences were some of the most embarrassing and frustrating moments in my professional life so far.
At times I felt stupid for even thinking I’d be capable of switching careers at almost 30. I thought I just wasn’t smart enough. But luckily I kept going, researched about technical interviews, learned, practiced, and kept failing until I didn’t fail anymore.
Technical interviews are tough and can be really stressful if you’re not prepared correctly. Also, even though I successfully passed a selection process, I know I still have a lot to learn about this and that I’ll need to perfect this skill to further grow my career in the future. So here are my main tips for nailing your technical interviews.
This is important for all kind of interviews, but for technical interviews I think it’s crucial. Your chances of passing these evaluations are way lower if you don’t prepare correctly for them.
Here are some ideas that allowed me to better prepare for these interviews.
Find out about technical interviews in general, how are they normally organized, what interviewers ask and what do they intend to measure, what kind of problems do companies toss at you, and what are the best approaches towards interviews.
The internet is an infinite resource of knowledge, so don’t waste it! Google about everything you can and take advantage of the experience of the thousands of people who have gone through similar situations and share their experiences.
Problem solving is a skill just like any other. There is specific knowledge you’ll need to get good at it, but most of it is practice and getting your brain to be comfortable in that situation.
There are tons of websites that contain the types of problems you’ll see during interviews. freeCodeCamp has an amazing course designed for this. Some other cool resources are hackerrank.com , leetcode.com , codewars.com , exercism.io , app.codesignal.com , and algoexpert.io .
Solve as many problems as you can from any of these sites and you’ll start getting good at them.
And when you practice, at first it’s okay to just worry about solving the problem. But once you get comfortable enough, a great idea is to try to make your practice as similar as possible to an actual interview. And by this I mean setting a timer, explaining your solution out loud, analyzing your final algorithm and refactoring…just basically following all the steps you’d normally follow in an actual interview.
If your practice is similar to the actual situation, once you get to that situation you’ll feel more confident because in some way you’ve already been there.
Besides actually practicing, learning theoretical concepts about algorithms and data structures is a great idea to get better at solving these problems.
Think about it as adding tools to your toolbox. The more tools and concepts you have in your mind, the more problems will sound familiar or ring a bell in your brain, and from that you'll be more able to arrive at a solution.
There are many resources on the internet, some free and some paid. A course about data structures and algorithms is pretty much a must for any programmer, so I encourage you to find a good one. Here are a couple you can start with:
Of course also theoretical knowledge about your programming language of choice and any other tools in your stack (frameworks, libraries, databases, and so on) is also very important.
It’s ok to run into problems you don’t know how to solve or to come up with solutions that are not the best suited ones.
In these type of situations, or always actually, it’s a good idea to take a look at how other people solved that same problem and learn from them. What approach did they take? What ideas did they have? Did they get stuck? How did they move towards the solution?
Analyze their solution and their behavior, identify what works for them, think if that could work for you and if the answer is yes, copy them! It’s crucial that you deeply understand why their solution works and how their logic works. You want to internalize the logical approach, not the code, as that’s just an after effect.
Looking at problem solutions and videos of mock interviews is a good idea to get this kind of data.
I mentioned the most classic type of technical interview is the one based on algorithms and data structures, in which the interviewer will give you a problem to solve through an algorithm.
But I found that there're also interviews that are mostly theoretical, in the sense that the interviewer will ask questions to measure your knowledge about a given programming language, framework, library, design and architecture patterns, and so on.
Another kind of interview is where the interviewer shows you an actual project or asks you to build one. During the interview you discuss the decisions you made to build it or implement new features/modifications on it.
Each kind of interview is different and might require different preparation, so it's always a good idea to ask the company what will the interview be based on, and prepare accordingly.
Once you've seen and gone through a ton of examples and start feeling somewhat confident around coding problems, it’s time to get to the deeper stuff.
Here are some tips that helped me go through the interviews successfully.
This sounds crazy right? The best approach to solving most coding problems is actually not coding, or at least not right away .
No matter how anxious or secure you are about the idea you have in mind, I find it better to always take a step back and make sure you understand things deeply before going to the details and breaking out the code.
So how do you do that?
The first step to solving a problem is actually understanding it. And to understand it, the best idea is to “make it yours”, and internalize it.
A good idea is to read the exercise twice, repeat it again in your own words, and go through multiple examples (simple ones, complex ones, examples with null or invalid inputs…).
No matter how silly, complex or simple the problem may seem, this helps you make sure you understand it properly and gives your brain data and time to come up with solution ideas.
Repetitive? Yeah, but effective. Check and make sure you understood what you need to do and how your function will work.
Ask yourself, what are the inputs going to be? What will be the output? Check for edge cases. Will you always receive the same input or could you expect different formats? Do you have to be prepared for strange cases or does the exercise restrict the kind of situation you’ll encounter?
It’s better to clear out all this things before even starting to think about a solution.
I said that learning theoretical concepts and practicing is like adding tools to your problem solving toolbox. When you see a new problem, it’s a good idea to explore that toolbox and see if any of the concepts or solutions you’ve used in the past could work here.
Could it help to use some sort of counter? What about implementing some sort of data structure to help you out? Could you use pointers or a sliding window? Would it be a good idea to take a divide and conquer approach? What about recursion? Could sorting the input help for anything?
You don’t necessarily have to know the exact path to take, but comparing the problem to previous patterns you’ve seen can help spark ideas in your mind.
Of course the more you practice solving problems and learning about possible solutions, the more patterns you’ll have to remember and compare.
Once you’ve analyzed the problem deeply, hopefully you’ll have at least an idea of how to tackle it, or where to start.
A great idea here is to try to think about the different steps you need to take to get to your solution and write down those steps to analyze them, check if your logic is correct, and later use them as little memory helpers and “instructions” for you to translate into code.
Simplifying your solution through steps and specially writing them down will often help you identify flaws in your logic or cases you didn’t think about before.
This is great because you’re at a stage when it’s really easy to modify your approach or lean towards a different idea. You didn’t waste time coding or getting yourself into a maze of logic that doesn’t actually work.
Specially when facing complex and difficult problems, a good idea is to first ignore the main difficulty of the problem and try to solve a similar, simpler version of it.
When you nail that solution, bring the main difficulty back and see if you can translate your solution to it.
Complex problems are sometimes difficult to get your head around. Having a whiteboard, either a physical or a digital one, is always a great idea.
Visually stimulating your brain by drawing up the problem or an idea can be a good approach to buy yourself some time and see if that perspective shows you some data you didn’t notice.
So once you have a clear idea of the steps you’ll need to cover to get to the solution, it’s time for translating that into code. This should be the simple part if you’re comfortable enough with the language.
A thought to keep in mind here is that if you can’t remember something very specific, don’t let that hold you down – pseudo code it and carry on with the rest of the solution.
Talk to your interviewer and see if they can help you with that part, or ask if they'll let you Google it. In most cases this will be ok and the important thing will be to show that you nailed the correct logic to solve the problem.
Test your solution at every step and at the end. There’s nothing more annoying than writing a ton of code and later seeing it fail without knowing the exact cause.
Test your code and your logic at every step of the solution, as this will allow you to catch bugs earlier and will save you from wasting time and effort.
Of course testing at the end is important to check if your solution actually works! So throw your function different inputs and edge cases to see if it behaves as expected.
Once you've gotten to the solution, you’re not done yet. It’s a great idea to show your interviewer you can analyze what you did too.
Ask yourself and tell them, what’s the big O complexity of your solution? Can you think of a way to improve the performance or the memory usage of your algorithm? Is there a way to make your function easier to read and understand?
Even if you can’t think about how to code it exactly, it’s great to show them that you’re the kind of developer who is always going to look for improvements and not settle for something that just works.
Of course, if you can find ways to optimize your solution and know how to code it, do it!
And about this, in a coding interview situation you’ll rarely come up with the perfect solution for a problem. You’re under pressure and on the clock, so it’s perfectly ok to come up with a so-so solution and then refactor it until it reaches an acceptable level.
It’s often better to show you can solve the problem even if not in the perfect way than spend all your time just thinking about the perfect solution.
Talk with your interviewer during the whole process. What your interviewer is trying to measure is your problem solving ability and your level of comfort with your programming language of choice.
That is a hard thing to measure if you don’t open your mouth and just code away.
It’s crucial that you talk to your interviewer and let them know what you’re thinking, what is your thought process, what ideas are you having, how are you understanding the problem, what logic are you going to follow with your solution and why are you making decisions.
Talk to them, ask questions, explain yourself, and if you get stuck or don’t know how to go on, explain to them exactly the thing that is giving you trouble. In most cases you’ll get some help and more importantly you’ll show them you’re actually trying to work towards a solution.
When you’re being given the problem to solve – and specially if you get tips or feedback from your interviewers – pay attention! No matter if you think you already have the best idea or if there’s something that’s driving you crazy and need to solve right now, just drop it and listen to what you’re being told.
If you don’t listen to feedback, you’re giving a very negative signal to your possible future employers. Think about it: would you like to work with someone that doesn’t listen to feedback? Besides, feedback will certainly help you solve your problem, so listen!
This for me was the toughest part of the interviewing process, and it's something I didn’t really find a lot of information about when researching technical interviews.
Dealing with the anxiety and frustration these situations can provoke is hard, but also a crucial step to improve your performance.
So here are some things that have helped me in this regard.
Interviews are stressful situations in which you have to deal with expectations and perform to reach those expectations while being judged by other people.
I’ve always felt uncomfortable in these type of situations so I’m quite familiar with the type of anxiety you might feel.
Something that helps me is try to think about it like the moment of a game for a sports player or when actors get out on stage. You normally see these people trying to warm up and focus before they start to perform, right? There’s a reason for that – and it’s that this preparation actually enhances performance and gets you ready to give your best.
It may sound stupid at first, but stretching, warming up your voice, meditating, imagining the moment in your mind and picturing yourself being successful in the moment are all things that will push you towards doing nicely in this important moment.
Easier said than done, right? Absolutely. Confidence for most people isn’t something you can just turn off and on, but something you build along the way and comes with lots of practice, studying, and preparation behind it.
You'll build confidence with the work you do prior to the interview, but once you’re in the moment it’s important to remember that you want to show the interviewers you have confidence in yourself as a coder and that you trust yourself to solve any problem you face.
This doesn’t mean you have to know absolutely everything and be able to solve any complex problem absolutely by yourself. Rather, it means that you won’t panic when you face something you don’t know how to solve at first, and that you have the ability to slowly analyze the problem, break it down, and work towards a solution.
Stress, anxiety, and the wish to show that you can solve the problem can make you rush more than you need to. And rushing can lead to missing key information, flaws in your logic, bugs in your code, and errors in general.
So take your time, actually, take more time than you actually need. Analyze the heck out of the problem, talk slowly, code slowly, think slowly, and remember to breath. Things are easier to deal with when you take your time and slow-mo the process.
You’ll mess up at some point, that’s a certainty. Especially in your first interviews, you’ll probably fail and feel miserable about it. It’s just the way it is, and it's a step that is needed for you to understand where you need to improve.
A key issue here is how you deal with that frustration. I could tell you to think about it as a process, to not get mad when you fail, to be patient… But if you’re an anxious and self demanding person as I am, you’ll be very frustrated when you fail, and there’s nothing you can do to avoid it.
But how do you deal with that? Do you get depressed and quit coding forever? Do you get scared of interviews and never apply for a job ever again?
Personally, I get very mad at myself when I fail at something or find out I don’t know something I "was supposed" to know. I get mad at myself for not preparing correctly or for missing things, and even though that anger feels bad at first, later on is something that pushes me forward.
I feel so bad about it that I make absolutely sure I won't fail at that again, and I practice as hard as I can to avoid being in that situation again.
Different approaches work for different people, but the thing is to handle your emotions in a way that pushes you forward and not backwards.
As it’s a certainty you’ll mess up, the smart thing to do is to learn from the errors you made and try to not make them again.
Always try to take note of the problems you were presented and your solutions, analyze your mistakes, analyze other possible approaches you could have taken, what optimizations you didn’t see, and what key concepts you didn’t remember at that moment.
Also always ask your interviewers for feedback about what you could have done better. This information is gold if you get the best of it.
If you love coding, you probably have lots of fun doing it. Never forget that, no matter the context.
In interviews, try to approach each problem with curiosity rather than fear of failing. Try to show your interviewers you’re enthusiastic about problems, because you’re probably going to work with similar stuff on a daily basis.
Plus if you’re having fun and thinking in a positive way, you’ll be more relaxed and your mind will be clearer, which of course helps your problem solving skills.
If you pass or if you fail, at the end it doesn’t matter, in the sense that your approach and behavior should stay the same.
Just as code can always be improved, so can you as a programmer. You should always keep learning, keep getting better, keep practicing, keep facing stuff you didn’t know anything about and eventually overcoming it.
So don’t get too high if you pass or too low if you miss – just keep coding and keep learning.
As always, I hope you enjoyed the article and learned something new. If you want, you can also follow me on LinkedIn or Twitter .
See you later!
I'm a fullstack dev (javascript | typescript | react | node | AWS) and computer engineering student. Here I write about the things I learn along my path to becoming the best developer I can be.
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Effectiviology
Solving technical issues is generally simpler than most people think. In fact, by following the steps outlined in the upcoming flowchart, you will be able to solve nearly all of the issues that you encounter, whether they’re in your computer, in your phone, or in any of your other devices.
If you have a friend or a colleague whom you always thought of as a tech/computer expert, then know that this is most likely what they do each time you ask them for help. In fact, as long as you follow these steps, you can also become a local expert, even if you have no previous technical skills.
The chart itself is pretty self-explanatory, but there is a brief explanation afterward if you’re interested. Even if this looks complex at first, give it a shot; you’ll find that it’s surprisingly straightforward.
If you’d like to print this flowchart out, here’s the PDF version .
I also want to give credit to this great flowchart from xkcd for the original idea. The chart in the current article adds a few important steps, such as restarting your device.
This section contains some brief explanations regarding the different steps in the chart. These explanations can help you better understand what to do and why to do it:
Find a relevant button/menu item and click it. In most cases, something relevant should be easy to find. Try to play around with the options and settings a bit if you’re not sure what to do. Often, you can find the solution easily yourself if you’re just willing to look for it and try things out.
If you’re trying to fix a problem, restart the device. Doing this solves a huge amount of technical issues. If you’re not sure how to restart your device, search online for instructions. Make sure that you’re restarting the device itself, and not just the screen, if the two are separate. Note that it’s generally preferable to turn the device off completely, wait 10 seconds, and then turn it back on; this is because it sometimes takes a while for all the components to power down, and for the capacitors to discharge .
Search online for a solution using a few relevant keywords. Odds are that someone has encountered this issue before. If they did, there will often be a digital record of the solution online. If you’re not sure which keywords to use, pretend that you’re asking a tech expert for help, and use the same keywords that you would use when explaining to the expert what you’re trying to do.
Consider whether this is worth the trouble. Often, trying to figure out how to use a certain feature can be much more work than trying to do the same thing using a different feature. Similarly, some issues are so minor that they’re not really worth the time and effort . The steps up to here require only a small amount of effort and have a high success rate, which is why this is a good cutoff point for deciding whether to continue searching for a solution.
Post the question on a relevant forum or contact tech support. This can help in cases where you can’t find the solution yourself. The benefit of asking for help in a relevant forum is that you can usually reach a high concentration of experts, who will sometimes be able to answer in a minute questions that you would have otherwise spent hours trying to find the answer to. Note that these forums tend to have strict posting rules, so make sure to dedicate two minutes to read them before posting.
Ask someone for help. If you decide to ask someone for help, make sure to tell them what you already tried. This can help them find a solution, and it shows that you put some effort into solving the issue before coming to them. Keep in mind that unless they themselves are experts on the topic, they will probably follow the same steps outlined here, though they might be able to find something that you missed. This is also often true for hired, professional help.
A lot of people have a sort of learned helpless when it comes to technological issues. This means that instead of trying to solve issues when they encounter them, they give up prematurely and simply assume that they won’t be able to find a solution. In reality, however, most issues are relatively easy to resolve, and once you recognize that technical experts and IT people generally follow the same steps you saw above, you will realize that you can often solve these issues yourself.
U201cwhat is one problem you would use technology to fixu201d with technology playing a key role in advancing our world today, here are 10 experts’ responses on the biggest problems tech needs to solve..
By Milan Shetti, CEO Rocket Software
In the past year, we have experienced a global pandemic, social justice trials, political reforms and much more. As business leaders, we are usually concerned with finding solutions to answer our companies’ specific problems. We often don’t take a minute to look at the bigger picture of how we can aid today’s biggest global challenges through digital technology. At Rocket Software, we are led by our core values of empathy, humanity, trust, and love. These values guide us in trying to make the world a better place through technology.
On our podcast, Digital: Disrupted , we host a wide range of tech professionals every week. A question we like to ask each guest is, “What is one problem you would use technology to fix?” With technology playing a key role in advancing our world today, here are 10 experts’ responses on the biggest problems tech needs to solve.
Andrew Winston, Winston Eco-Strategies
Problem: Misinformation
Andrew is the co-author of Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More Than They Take and the founder of Winston Eco-Strategies where he advises companies on managing today’s mega-trends. Winston says a problem he wishes tech could solve is the misinformation caused by technology.
“Misinformation is making all of today’s problems worse and we are at a time in history where we need to come together like never before.”
Bob Friday, Mist
Problem: Connectivity
Bob is an entrepreneur focused on developing wireless technologies and is currently the VP and CTO of Mist, a Juniper Company. Friday says a problem he wishes tech could change is connectivity.
“The more people that know about each other, the better off they are.”
Shirish Nadkarni, Serial Entrepreneur and Author
Problem: Climate change
Shirish started his career at Microsoft where he engineered the acquisition of Hotmail and launched MSN.com and has since created and sold multiple consumer businesses that have scaled to tens of millions of users worldwide. Most recently, he wrote the book, Startup to Exit – An Insider’s Guide to Launching and Scaling Your Tech Business . Nadkarni says a problem he wishes tech could solve is climate change.
“I did not think that climate change would happen in my lifetime, but it already is, and I believe with technology we can make advancements before it’s too late.”
Gary Chan, Alfizo
Problem: Healthcare
Gary runs Alfizo, a consultancy company helping businesses build and transform their information security programs. Chan says a problem he wishes tech could solve is healthcare. “I wish technology would be able to scan someone to find and fix their problem. I think that would be pretty cool.”
Dr. David A. Bishop, Agile Worx
Problem: Hunger
David is a technology consultant and researcher who has worked with companies such as AT&T, Delta Airlines and Toshiba. He is also an author and the creator of agile vortex theory, the subject of his book Metagility: Managing Agile Development for Competitive Advantage . Bishop says a problem he wishes tech could solve is hunger.
“Hunger, while it seems like a very simple thing off the cuff…it has such a great impact long-term on communities.”
Ed Skoudis, SANS Technology
Problem: Feelings of depression, loneliness, and isolation
Ed is the founder of Counter Hack, an information security consulting firm, and the president of the SANS Technology Institute where he developed their penetration testing curriculum. Skoudis says a problem he wishes tech could solve is the feelings of depression, loneliness, and isolation.
“I would love digital technology to be leveraged to limit the depression people are facing and turn it around.”
Josh Linkner, University of Michigan
Problem: Racial Injustice
Josh has founded and sold five tech companies and authored four bestselling books including his most recent, Big Little Breakthroughs . Linkner says a problem he wishes tech could solve is aiding in help of restoring the environment.
“I’d love to use technology to help solve issues like racial injustice and hunger. We have a long way to go, but I am an optimist and think that while technology will not solve all of these issues in one swoop, technology will certainly be able to aid in the solving of the most difficult and pesky problems.”
Camille Eddy, Open Tech Pledge
Problem: Misunderstanding of other cultures
Camille is the senior product engineer at the startup Sector and the co-founder of the Open Tech Pledge. Eddy says a problem she wishes tech could solve is misunderstanding other cultures.
“Not understanding other people gets in the way of innovation. I think if we could use technology to find a way to understand each other a little bit faster and easier that would be great.”
Tom Sweet, GM Financial
Problem: Privacy
Tom is the VP of Cloud Services at GM Financial, where he inspires colleagues to start a career in IT based on his own career journey. Sweet says a problem he wishes tech could solve is the lack of privacy.
“I think we are losing our privacy in a lot of different areas, and it is always at the top of my mind.”
Bill Miller, Beelinebill Enterprises
Problem: Cancer
Bill is an executive advisor and consultant, speaker, author, mentor, and coach who helps small and medium company CEOs and leaders who need a partner to guide them through overwhelming times and issues and get desired outcomes. Miller says an issue he wishes technology could fix is cancer.
“In the year of a pandemic and vaccines, I would love to see technology create a vaccine that cures cancer.”
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Research into technological problem solving has shown it to exist in a range of forms and draw upon different processes and knowledge types. This paper adds to this understanding by identifying procedural and epistemic differences in relation to task performance for pupils solving a well-defined technological problem. The study is theoretically grounded in a transformative epistemology of technology education. 50 pupils in small groups worked through a cantilever problem, the most and least successful solutions to which were identified using a Delphi technique. Time-interval photography, verbal interactions, observations and supplementary data formed a composite representation of activity which was analysed with successively less contrasting groups to isolate sustained differences. Analyses revealed key differences in three areas. First, more successful groups used better and more proactive process-management strategies including use of planning, role and task allocation with lower levels of group tension. Second, they made greater use of reflection in which knowledge associated with the technological solution was explicitly verblised. This was defined as ‘analytical reflection’ and reveals aspects of pupils’ qualitative technical knowledge. Third, higher-performing groups exhibited greater levels of tacit-procedural knowledge within their solutions. There was also evidence that less successful groups were less affected by competition and not as comprehensive in translating prior conceptual learning into their tangible technological solutions. Overall findings suggest that proactive management, and making contextual and technical connections, are important for pupils solving well-defined technological problems. This understanding can be used to support classroom pedagogies that help pupils learn to problem solve more effectively.
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
Problem solving is an activity, a context and a dominant pedagogical frame for Technology Education. It constitutes a central method and a critical skill through which school pupils learn about and become proficient in technology (Custer et al., 2001 ). Research has, among other things, been able to identify and investigate sets of intellectual and cognitive processes (Buckley et al., 2019 ; Haupt, 2018 ; Johnson, 1997 ; Sung & Kelly, 2019 ) and shown there to be conceptual, procedural, relational and harder-to-get-to forms of ‘technological knowledge’ involved when pupils develop technological solutions (de Vries, 2005 ; McCormick, 1997 , 2004 ; Rauscher, 2011 ). Some authors argue that technological problem solving (and design) is a situated activity (Jackson & Strimel, 2018 ; Murphy & McCormick, 1997 ; Liddament, 1996 ), but with social and context-independent processes also playing an important role (e.g. Jones, 1997 ; Winkelmann & Hacker, 2011 ). Within and across this vista, there has been strong interest in more open-ended, creative and design-based problem-solving (Lewis, 2005 , 2009 ), which Xu et al. ( 2019 ) notes became particularly prominent after 2006. These studies have helped to understand some of the challenges and pedagogies of design (Gómez Puente et al., 2013 ; Lavonen et al., 2002 ; Mioduser & Dagan, 2007 ; Mawson, 2003 ) including those that mitigate effects such as cognitive fixation (e.g. McLellan & Nicholl, 2011 ). Problem solving, it seems, is a pervasive idea in technology education research and policy. Middleton ( 2009 ) notes that problem solving is found in almost all international technology education curricula.
The pace, nature and complexity of contemporary societal challenges make it more critical than ever that technology classrooms prepare people who can think through and respond to technological problems effectively. It requires that we strengthen our understanding in ways that will ultimately be powerful for shaping classroom learning. One way of contributing to this is to learn more about the differences between learners who are more and less successful at technological problem solving. Studies that share a comparative perspective and/or a focus upon task success are relatively few. Doornekamp ( 2001 ) compared pupils (circa 13 years old) who solved technological problems using weakly structured instructional materials with those using strongly structured materials. It was shown that the latter led to statistically significant improvements in the quality of the technical solutions. More recently, Bartholomew & Strimel ( 2018 ) were able to show that, for open-ended problem solving, there was no significant relationship between prior experience and folio creation, but that more in-school school experience of open-ended problem solving corresponded to higher ranked solutions.
This paper contributes to this work by reporting on a study that compares groups of pupils during technological problem solving in order to identify areas of difference and the factors associated with more successful outcomes. Specifically, it addresses the question: ‘In terms of intellectual processes and knowledge, what are the differences in the modi operandi between groups of pupils that produced more and less successful technological solutions to a well-defined problem?’ Theoretically grounded in a transformative epistemology of technology education (Morrison-Love, 2017 ), the study identifies prominent procedural and epistemic differences in pupils’ thinking and technical solutions. Groups of pupils engaged with a structures problem requiring them to develop a cantilever bridge system which would facilitate safe travel across a body of water.
The paper begins by setting out the theoretical basis and conceptual framework for investigation before describing the comparative methodological and analytical approaches that were adopted. Following an analysis and presentation of key findings, conclusion and implications are discussed.
Despite there being no single comprehensive paradigm for technological problem solving, a theoretical grounding and conceptual framework necessary for this study are presented. At the theoretical level, this study is based upon a ‘transformative epistemology’ for technology education (Morrison-Love, 2017 ). From this, a ternary conceptual framework based upon mode, epistemology and process is developed to support study design and initiate data analysis.
A transformative epistemology for technology education (Morrison-Love, ibid) proposes that pupils’ technological knowledge and capability arises from the ontological transformation of their technical solution from ‘perdurant’ (more conceptual, mutable, less well-defined, partial) in the early stages, to ‘endurant’ (comprehensive, tangible, stable over time) upon completion. It proposes that technical outcomes exist in material and tangible forms and that to be technological (rather than, for example, social, cultural or aesthetic) these must somehow enhance human capabilities in their intended systems of use. For this study, the ideas of transformative epistemology support problem solving in which pupils build technological knowledge by iteratively moving from concept to tangible, material solution. Moreover, it means pupils are successful in this when their solutions or prototypes: (1) enhance existing human capabilities in some way, and (2) are sufficiently developed to be stable over time, beyond the problem-solving activity that created it.
A ternary conceptual framework (Fig. 1 ) of mode, process and epistemology was developed from the literature in which the knowledge and cognitive/intellectual processes used by pupils are enacted in the ‘process application block’. This is like the ‘problem space’ described in a model proposed by Mioduser ( 1998 ). Collectively, the goal of creating a physical artefact, the solution itself, the epistemic and procedural dimensions reflect the four dimensions of technology identified by Custer ( 1995 ).
‘A conceptual framework for technological problem solving’
Although problem solving may be ‘technological’, several classifications of both problem type and problem solving are found in the literature. Ill-defined and well-defined problems build upon the earlier work of information processing and cognitive psychology (see Jonassen, 1997 ). Typically, these two forms reflect different extents to which the outcome is specified to the solver at the outset. Ill-defined problems are strongly associated with design and creativity, and Twyford and Järvinen ( 2000 ) suggest that these more open briefs promote greater social interaction and use by pupils of prior knowledge and experience. Additionally, two forms of troubleshooting were identified in the literature: emergent troubleshooting and discrete troubleshooting. MacPherson ( 1998 ) argues that ‘troubleshooting’ constitutes a particular subset of technological problem solving—something earlier recognised by McCade ( 1990 ), who views it as the identification and overcoming of problems encountered during the production or use of a technical solution. In this study, emergent troubleshooting occurs in the process of developing solutions in response to emergent problems (McCormick, 1994 ). Discrete troubleshooting is a process in which significant technical understanding is applied in a structured way (Schaafstal et al., 2000 ) to resolve something about an existing artefact.
Studies often conceptualise cognitive processes discretely rather than hierarchically, and different studies employ different process sets. Williams ( 2000 ), identifies evaluation, communication, modelling, generating ideas, research and investigation, producing and documenting as important to technological problem solving, while DeLuca ( 1991 ) identifies troubleshooting, the scientific process, the design process, research and development, and project management. There are also studies that employ specific, or more established, coding schemes for sets of intellectual and cognitive processes. A detailed analysis of these is given Grubbs et al. ( 2018 ), although the extent to which a particular process remains discrete or could form a sub-process of another remains problematic. In DeLuca’s ( 1991 ) break down for example, to what extent are research and investigation part of design and does this depend on the scale at which we conceptualise different processes?
Regardless of the processes a study defines, it is typically understood that pupils apply them in iterative or cyclic fashion. This is reflected across several models from Argyle’s ( 1972 ) ‘Motor Skill Process Model’ (perception-translation-motor response) through to those of Miodusre and Kipperman ( 2002 ) and Scrivener et al. ( 2002 ) (evaluation-modification cycles) which pertain specifically to technology education. All these models bridge pupils’ conceptual-internal representations with their practical-external representations as they move towards an ontologically endurant solution and this is captured by the ‘Re-Application/Transformation Loop’ of the conceptual framework. Given that little is known about where differences might lie, the process set identified by Halfin ( 1973 ) was adopted due to its rigour and the breadth of thinking it encompasses. This set was validated for technology classrooms by Hill and Wicklein ( 1999 ) and used successfully by other studies of pupils technological thinking including Hill ( 1997 ), Kelley ( 2008 ) and Strimel ( 2014 ).
The nature and sources of knowledge play a critical role for pupils when solving technological problems, but these remain far from straightforward to conceptualise. McCormick ( 1997 ) observes that the activity of technology education, and its body of content, can be thought of as ‘procedural knowledge’ and ‘conceptual knowledge’ respectively. Vincenti ( 1990 ), in the context of Engineering, makes the case for descriptive knowledge (things as they currently are) and prescriptive knowledge (of that with is required to meet a desired state) but also recognises knowledge can take on implicit, or tacit forms relating to an individual’s skill, judgement, and practice (Polanyi, 1967 ; Schön, 1992 ; Sternberg, 1999 ; Welch, 1998 ). Arguably, moving from concept to physical solution will demand from pupils a certain level of practical skill and judgement, and Morgan ( 2008 ) observes that procedural knowledge which is explicit in the early stages becomes increasingly implicit with mastery. Notably, in addition to conceptual, procedural and tacit forms of knowledge, there is also evidence that knowledge of principles plays a role. Distinct from impoverished notions of technology as ‘applied science’, Rophol ( 1997 ) shows that it is often technological principles, laws and maxims that are applied during problem solving rather than scientific ones. Frey ( 1989 ) makes similar observations and sees this form of knowledge arising largely from practice. In this study, knowledge of principles involves knowledge of a relationship between things. It is not constrained to those that are represented scientifically.
The conceptual framework finally accounts for pupils’ sources of knowledge during problem solving, building principally on a design knowledge framework of media, community and domain presented by Erkip et al. ( 1997 ). In this study, media includes task information, representations and materials; community includes teachers and peers, and domain relates to prior technological knowledge from within technology lessons and prior personal knowledge from out with technology lessons. Finally, the developing solution is itself recognised a source of knowledge that pupils iteratively engage with and reflect upon, even when it appears that limited progress in being made (Hamel & Elshout, 2000 ).
The research question in this study is concerned with differences in the knowledge and intellectual processes used by pupils in moving from a perdurant to an endurant technical solution. From an exploratory stance, this elicits a dualistic activity system involving pupils’ subjective constructions of reality as well as the resultant tangible and more objective material solution. The study does not aim to investigate pupils’ own subjective constructions from an emic perspective, but rather seeks to determine the nature and occurrences of any differences during observable real-time problem-solving activity. As such, content rather than thematic analysis was used (Elo & Kyngäs, 2008 ; Vaismoradi et al., 2013 ) with concurrent data collection to build a composite representation of reality (Gall et al., 2003 , p.14). Complementary data provided insights into study effects, the classrooms and contexts within which problem-solving took place.
This study assumes that should differences exist, these will be discernible in the inferred cognitive processes, external material transformations, interactions and verbalisation (even though this tends to diminish as activity becomes more practical). Absolute and objective observation is not possible. This study also accepts that data gathering and analysis are influenced by theory, researcher fallibility and bias which will be explicitly accounted for as far as possible. Finally, while the conceptual framework provides an analytical starting point, it should not preclude the capture of differences that may lie elsewhere in the data including, for example, process that lie out with those identified by Halfin ( 1973 ).
To support transferability, a representative spread of pupils from low, medium and high socio-economic backgrounds took part in this study. Purposeful, four-stage criterion sampling was used (Gall et al., 2003 , p.179). Stage one identified six schools at each socio-economic level from all Scottish secondary schools that presented pupils for one or more technology subjects with the Scottish Qualifications Authority. This was done using socio-economic data from the Scottish Area Deprivation Index, the Carstairs Index and pupil eligibility for subsidised meals. Secondary school catchment areas were used to account for pupil demographics as accurately as possible. All eighteen schools were subsequently ranked with one median drawn from low, medium and high bands of socio-economic deprivation (School 1: Low, School 2: Medium, School 3: High).
One class in each school was then selected from the second year of study prior to pupils making specific subject choices to minimise variations in curricular experience. In total, 3 class teachers and 50 pupils (20 female, 30 male) aged between 12 and 13 years old took part in the study. The group rather than the individual was defined as unit of study to centralise verbal interaction.
None of the pupils participating in this study had experience of group approaches such as co-operative learning and it was likely that groups might experience participation effects including inter-group conflict and interaction effects (Harkins, 1987 ; Sherif et al., 1961 ), social loafing (Salomon & Globerson, 1989 ), free-rider (Strong & Anderson, 1990 ) and status differential effects (Rowell, 2002 ). Relevant also to this study is evidence suggesting that gender effects can take place in untrained groups undertaking practical/material manipulation activities. To maximise interaction between group members and the material solution, thirteen single sex groups averaging four pupils were formed in order to: (1) minimise the marginalisation of girls with boys’ tendency to monopolise materials and apparatus in groups (Conwell et al., 1993 ; Whyte, 1984 ); (2) recognise boys’ tendency to respond more readily to other boys (Webb, 1984 ) and, (3) maximise girls’ opportunities to interact which is seen to erode in mixed groups (Parker & Rennie, 2002 ; Rennie & Parker, 1987 ). Hong et al. ( 2012 ) examines such gender differences in detail specifically within the context of technological problem solving. Teacher participation in group allocation minimised inter-group conflict and interaction effects although groups still experienced naturally fluctuating attrition from pupil absences (School 1 = 17.6%; School 2 = 2.5% and School 3 = 8.8%).
The research question requires differences to be identified in terms of levels of success. The overall trustworthiness of any differences therefore depends upon the credible identification of the most and least successful solutions from the thirteen produced. Wholly objective assessment of the pupils’ solutions is not possible, and material imperfections in different solutions negated reliable physical testing across the three classes. Moreover, because the researcher earlier observed pupils while problem solving, neutrality of researcher judgement in establishing a rank order of group solutions was equally problematic. Everton and Green ( 1986 ) identify this biasing risk between and early and later stages of research as a form of contamination.
To address these limitations, a Delphi technique was design using the work of Gordon ( 1994 ), Rowe and Wright ( 1999 ) and Yousuf ( 2007 ). This was undertaken anonymously prior to any analysis and, in conjunction with the results of physical testing, enabled the four most successful and four least successful solutions to be confidently identified independently of the researcher. A panel of eight secondary school teachers was convened from schools out with the study. All panel members had expertise in teaching structures with no dependent relationships or conflicts of interest. Following Delphi training, and a threshold level of 75%, the four most and four least successful solutions on outcome alone were identified after two rounds. Qualitative content validity checks confirmed that panel judgements fell within the scope of the accessible information. 37/43 reasons given were ‘High’, with six considered ‘Medium’ because the reasoning was partially speculative. When triangulated with additional evidence from physical testing, two cohorts of four groups were identified and paired to form four dyads (Table 1 ).
As noted, ‘Structures’ was chosen as a topic area and was new to all participants. It was appropriate for setting well-defined problems and allowed pupils to draw upon a sufficiently wide range of processes and knowledge types in developing a tangible, endurant solution. In discussion with the researcher, teachers did not alter their teaching style and adopted pedagogy and formative interactions that would support independent thinking, reasoning and problem solving. This study involved a learning phase, followed by a problem-solving phase.
In the learning phase, groups engaged over three fifty-minute periods with a unit of work on structures which was developed collaboratively with, and delivered by, the three classroom teachers. This allowed pupils to interact with materials and develop a qualitative understanding of key structural concepts including strength, tension and compression, triangulation, and turning moments. During this time, pupils also acclimatised to the presence of the researcher and recording equipment which helped to reduce any potential Hawthorne effect (Gall et al., 2003 ). Structured observations, teacher de-briefs and questionnaires were used in this phase to capture study effects, unit content coverage and environmental consistency between the three classrooms. Content coverage and environmental consistency were shown to be extremely high. Scores from the unit activity sheets that pupils completed were used to gauge group understanding of key concepts.
The problem-solving phase took place over two circa 50-minute periods (range: 40–52 m) in which pupils responded to a well-defined problem brief. This required them to develop a cantilever bridge enabling travel across a body of water. This bridge would enhance people’s ability to traverse terrain (conditions for being ‘technological’) with maximal span rigidity and minimal deflection (conditions for an ontologically ‘endurant’ solution). All groups had access to the same range and number of materials and resources and were issued with a base board showing water and land on which to develop their solutions.
While video capture was explored in depth (Lomax & Casey, 1998 ), challenges in reliably capturing solution detail resulted in group verbalisation being recorded as audio. This was synchronised with time interval photography and supplemented with structured observer-participant observation that focused on a sub-set of observable processes from the conceptual framework (Halfin, 1973 ). The developing technical solutions were viewed as manifestations of the knowledge and intellectual processes used by pupils at different points in time through their cognitive and material interactions. Photographs captured the results of these interactions in group solutions every 3–4 min but did not capture interactions between pupils. The structured observational approach adopted continuous coding similar to that found in the Flanders System of Interaction analysis (Amatari, 2015 ) and was refined through two pilot studies. During each problem-solving session, groups were observed at least twice between photographs and, following each session, pupil questionnaires, teacher de-briefs and solution videos (360° panoramic pivot about the solution) were completed to support future analysis. Reflexive accounts by the researcher also captured critical events, observer and study effects.
All data were prepared, time-synchronised and analysed in three stages. Core verbal data (apx. 12h) and photographic data (n = 206) were triangulated with observational and other data against time. The problem-solving phase for each class was broken into a series of 3–4 min samples labelled S = 1, S = 2, S = 3…with durations in each recorded in minutes and seconds. Verbal data were analysed using NVivo software using digital waveforms rather than transcribed files to preserve immediacy, accuracy and minimise levels of interpretation (Wainwright & Russell, 2010 ; Zamawe, 2015 ). Photographic data were coded for the physical developments of the solutions (e.g. adding/removing materials in particular places) allowing solution development to be mapped for different groups over time. Triangulation of data also allowed coding to capture whether individual developments enhanced or detracted from the overall function efficacy of the solution.
The first stage of analysis was immersive, beginning with an initial codebook derived from the conceptual framework. In response to the data this iteratively shifted to a more inductive mode. To sensitise the analysis to differences, the most successful and the least successful groups were compared first as is discussed by Strauss 1987 (Miles & Huberman, 1994 , p.58). Three frameworks of differences emerged from this: (1) epistemic differences, (2) process differences, and (3) social and extrinsic differences. These were then applied to dyads of decreasing contrast and successively refined in response to how these differences were reflected in the wider data set. Seven complete passes allowed non-profitable codes to be omitted and frameworks to be finalised. A final stage summarised differences across all groups.
The analysis and findings are presented in two main parts: (1) findings from the learning phase, and (2) findings from the problem-solving phase. Verbal data forms a core data source throughout and coding includes both counts and durations (in minutes and seconds). Direct quotations are used from verbal data, although the pupils involved in the study were from regions of Scotland with differing and often very strong local dialects. Quotations are therefore presented with dialect effects removed:
Example data excerpt reflecting dialect: “See instead-e all-e-us watchin’, we could all be doin’ su-hum instead-o watchin’ Leanne..” Example data excerpt with dialect removed: “See instead of all of us watching, we could all be doing something instead of watching Leanne..”
Both teacher and researcher observation confirmed that pupils in all three classes engaged well with the unit of work (50 pupils across 13 groups) with all 40 content indicators covered by each class. Teachers of classes 1 and 3 commented that the lesson pace was slightly faster than pupils were used to. As expected, different teaching styles and examples were between classes, but all pupils completed the same unit activity sheets. The teacher of class 2, for example, used man-made structures and insect wings to explore triangulation; and the teacher in class 3 talked about the improved stability pupils get by standing with their feet apart. The understanding reflected in activity sheets was very good overall and Table 2 illustrates the percentage of correct responses for each class in relation to each of the three core concept areas.
Though unit activity sheets are not standardised tests, the conditions of administration, scoring, standards for interpretation, fairness and concept validity discussed by Gall et al. ( 2003 , p.xx) were maintained as far as possible. Evidence did not show that representational/stylistic variations by teachers had any discernible effect on pupil understanding and was seen to maintain normality from the pupils’ perspective. Class 3 scored consistently highly across all conceptual areas, although the qualitative understanding of turning moments was least secure for all three classes. Non-completion of selected questions in the task sheets partially explains lower numerical attainment for this concept in class 1 and 2, however, it is unknown if omissions resulted from a lack of understanding. The figures in Table 2 are absence corrected to account for fluctuating pupil attendance at sessions: (17.6% pupil absence across sessions for class 1, compared with 8.8% and 2.5% for classes 3 and 3 respectively). Table 3 illustrates the percentage scores for activity sheets completed by groups in the more and less successful cohorts.
Observational and reflexive data highlighted evidence of some researcher and recorder effects. These were typically associated with pupils’ interest in understanding the roles of the researcher and class teacher, and discussion around what they could say while being recorded. These subsided over time for all but two groups in Class 1, but with no substantive effect on pupils’ technological thinking.
In summary, findings from the learning phase show that: (1) Pupils engagement was high, and all classes covered the core structural concepts in the unit; (2) pupil knowledge and understanding, as measured by activity sheet responses, was very good overall but scores for turning moments were comparatively lower, and (3) study effect subsided quite quickly for all but two groups and there was no evidence showing these to be detrimental to technological thinking. These differences are considered epistemic and are captured in the framework of difference in Fig. 5 .
Part 2 begins by describing the differences from comparing the material solutions produced by the most and least successful groups (dyad 1). Subsequent sections report upon the three areas in which difference were found: epistemic differences, process differences and social and extrinsic differences. Each of these sections lead with the analysis from the most contrasting groups (dyad 1) before presenting the resultant framework of difference. They conclude by reporting on how the differences in these frameworks are reflected across the wider data set. As with findings across all sections, findings only account for areas of the conceptual framework in which differences were identified. For processes such as measuring and testing, no difference was found and other processes, such as computing, did not feature for any of the groups.
Group 5′s solution was identified as the most successful and Group7′s solution was identified as the least successful. Overall, both of these groups engaged well with the task and produced cantilevers that are shown in Figs. 2 and 3 . The order in which different parts of the solutions were developed is indicated by colour with the lighter parts appearing earlier in problem solving than the darker parts. Figure 4 shows this cumulative physical development of each solution over time. Both groups shared a similar conceptual basis and employed triangulation above and below the road surface. Figure 4 shows that Group 5′s solution evolved through 36 developments, while Group 7 undertook 23 developments and chose to strip down and restart their solution at the beginning of the second problem solving session. Similarly, groups 6, 11 and 13 removed or rebuilt significant sections of their solution. Neither group 5 or 7 undertook any developments under the rear of the road surface, and the greatest percentage of developments applied to the road surface itself (Group 7: 30.6%; Group 5: 47.8%). For Group 5, it was only developments 5 and 6 (Fig. 2 ) which offered little to no functional structural advantage. All other developments contributed to either triangulation, rigidity or strength through configuration and material choice with no evidence of misconception, which was also noted by the Delphi panel. The orientation, configuration and choice of materials by Group 7 share similarities with Group 5 insofar as each reflected knowledge of a cognate concept or principle (e.g. triangulation). Delphi Panel Member 8 described Group 7′s solution as having a good conceptual basis. Key differences, however, lay in the overall structural integrity of the solution and the underdevelopment of the road surface (Fig. 3 , Dev.1 and Dev.5) which mean that Group 5 achieved a more ontologically endurant solution than Group 7 did. Evidence from Group 7′s discussion (S = 3, 3.34–3.37; S = 3, 3.38–3.39; S = 16, 3.26–3.30) suggests this is partly because of misconception and deficits in knowledge about materials and the task/cantilever requirements. This was also reflected in the group’s activity responses during structures unit in the learning phase. Alongside the photographic evidence and reflexive notes of the researcher, this suggest that there was some difficultly in translating concepts and ideas into a practical form. This constitutes a difference in tacit-procedural knowledge between Group 5 and Group 7.
‘Group 5 solution schematic’
‘Group 7 solution schematic’
‘Cumulative development of tangible solutions’
As well as the knowledge differences in the learning phase and the physical solutions, analysis of the most and least successful groups revealed epistemic differences in problem solving activity related to ‘task knowledge’ and ‘knowledge of concepts and principles’. The extent to which ‘knowledge’ can be reliably coded for in this context is limited because it rapidly becomes inseparable from process. Skills are processes which, in turn, are forms of enacted knowledge. Consequently, although Halfin ( 1973 ) defines idea generation as a knowledge generating process using all the senses, attempts to code for this were unsuccessful because it was not possible to ascertain with any confidence where one idea ended, and another began. Coding was possible, however, for ‘prior personal knowledge’, ‘task knowledge’ and ‘prior technological knowledge’. The analysis of these is present along with the resulting framework of epistemic difference with prior personal knowledge omitted on the basis that no differences between groups was found. The final section looks at how epistemic differences are reflected in the activity of the remaining groups.
Task knowledge is the knowledge pupils have of the problem statement and includes relatively objective parameters, conditions, and constraints. One key difference was the extent to which groups explicitly used this to support decision making. Group 5 spent considerably more time than Group 7 discussing what they knew and understood of the task prior to construction (1m10s vs. 8 s) but during construction, had more instances where their knowledge of the task appeared uncertain or was questioned (n = 6 for Group 5 vs. n = 2 for Group 7). Differences were also found in the prior technological knowledge used by groups. This knowledge includes core structural concepts and principles explored in the learning phase. As with task knowledge, Group 5 verbalised this category of knowledge to a far greater extent than Group 7, both apart from, and as part of, formative discussions with the class teacher (18:59 s vs. 14:43 s). In only one instance was the prior technological knowledge of Group 5 incorrect or uncertain compared with four instances for Group 7. These included misconceptions about triangulation and strength despite performing well with these in the learning phase. Furthermore, some instances of erroneous knowledge impacted directly upon solution development. In response to a discussion about rigidity and the physical performance of the road surface, one pupil stated: “Yes, but it is supposed to be able to bend in the middle..” (Group 7, S = 3, 3.34–3.37) meaning that the group did not sufficient attend to this point of structural weakness which resulted in a less endurant solution. No such occurrences took place with Group 5. More prominent and accurate use of this type of knowledge supports stronger application of learning into the problem-solving context and appeared to accompany greater solution integrity.
From these findings, and those from the learning phase, the framework of difference shown in Fig. 5 was developed:
‘Framework of epistemic differences from comparative analysis of Group 5 and 7’
As with dyad 1, the more successful groups in dyads 3 and 4 scored higher (+ 14% and + 20.7%, respectively) in the learning phase compared with their less successful partner groups. This, however, was not seen with dyad 2. The less successful group achieved a higher average score of 86.3% compared with 71% and, despite greater fluctuations in pupil attendance, scored 100% for turning moments compared with 58% for the more successful group. Although comparatively minimal across all groups, more successful groups in each dyad tended to explicitly verbalise technological and task knowledge more than less successful groups. Furthermore, it was more often correct or certain for more successful groups. This was particularly true for dyad 2, although there was some uncertainty about the strongest shapes for given materials in, for example, Group 12 which was the more successful group of dyad 3. The greatest similarity in verbalised task knowledge was observed with the least contrasting dyad, although evidence from concept sketching (Figs. 6 , 7 ) illustrated a shared misunderstanding between both groups of the cantilever and task requirements.
‘Group 2 concept sketch’
‘Group 8 concept sketch’
The differences in tacit-procedural knowledge between Group 5 and 7 were reflected quite consistently across other dyads, with more successful groups showing greater accuracy, skill and judgement in solution construction. The more successful groups in dyads 2 and 3 undertook three material developments that offered little to no functional advantage, and each of the developments these groups undertook correctly embodied knowledge of cognate structural concepts and principles. Notably, Group 8 of dyad 4 was able to achieved this with no structural redundancy at all. Less successful groups, however, were not as secure in their grasp of the functional dependencies and interrelationships between different parts of their structural systems. The starkest example of this was with Group 4 of dyad 3, who explicitly used triangulation but their failure to physically connect it with other parts of the structure rendered the triangulation redundant. Group 2 of dyad 4 were the only group not to triangulate the underside of the road surface. Less successful groups tended to focus slightly more of their material developments in areas of the bridge other than the road surface, whereas the opposite tended to be true for the other groups. Significantly, while all groups in the study included developments that offered little to no functional advantage, it was only in the case of less successful groups that these impaired the overall functional performance of solutions in some way. Table 4 summarises the sustained epistemic difference across all four dyads.
Analysis of the most contrasting dyad yielded process differences in: (1) managing (Halfin, 1973 ), (2) planning, and (3) reflection. Groups managed role and task allocation differently, as well as engaging in different approaches to planning aspects of solution development. Reflection, as a process of drawing meaning or conclusions from past events, is not explicitly identified by Halfin or the conceptual framework. Two new forms of reflection for well-defined technological problem solving (declarative reflection and analytical reflection) were therefor developed to account for the differences found. The analysis of the process differences is presented with the resulting framework for this dyad. The final section presents sustained process differences across all groups.
The autonomous creation of roles and allocation of tasks featured heavily in the activity of Group 5. These typically clustered around agreed tasks such as sketching (S = 2, 1.46), and points where group members were not directly engaged in construction. In total, Group 5 allocated or adopted roles or task on 31 occasions during problem solving compared with only 7 for Group 7. Both groups did so to assist other members (Group 5, S = 16, 3.33–3.38; Group 7, S = 3, 0.37–0.41), to take advantage of certain skills that group members were perceived to possess (Group 5, S = 2, 1.47- 1.49; Group 7, S = 2, 2.03–2.06) and, for one instance in Group 7, to prevent one group member from executing something incorrectly (S = 16, 2.11–2.13). There was evidence, however, that Group 5 moved beyond these quite pragmatic drivers. Member often had more of a choice and, as shown in Excerpt 5, allocation and adoption is mediated by sense of ownership and fairness.
Excerpt 5: Idea Ownership (Sketching) Pupil ?: “You can’t draw on them..” Pupil 1: “You draw Chloe, I can’t draw..” Pupil 2: “I know I can’t draw on them, that’s why I doing them; no, because you, you had the ideas… because you had…” Pupil ?: “(unclear)” Pupil 3: “Just draw your own ideas, right, you can share with mine right…. Right, you draw the thread one, I’ll do the straw thing…” (Group 5, S = 2, 1.46–1.59)
The effective use of role and task allocation appeared to play an important role in realising an effective technical solution, however, negative managerial traits were perhaps more significant.
Evidence of differences between Group 5 and 7 were found in relation to: (1) group involvement, and (2) fragmentation of group vision, which were found to be highly interrelated. Negative group involvement accounted for traits of dominance and dismissiveness. For Group 7, this was more prevalent earlier in the problem-solving activity where one group member tended to dominate the process. This pupil tabled 9 out of 11 proposals prior to working with physical materials and, at times, readily dismissed suggestions by other group members (See Excerpt 1). Moreover, ideas and proposals within the group were sometimes poorly communicated (Excerpt 2), which led to a growing level of disenfranchisement for some group members and a fragmented group vision for solution development.
Excerpt 1 Pupil 1:“We could do it that way…” (Pupils continue discussion without acknowledgement) Pupil 1:“You could do that..” Pupil 2:“Shut up, how are we going to do that?” Pupil 1:“Well you’re allowed glue, and you’re allowed scissors..” Several group members: “Shut-up!” (Group 7, S = 1, 2.07–2.28) Excerpt 2 “(Loud inhalation) Watch my brilliant idea… I need scissors.. Are you allowed scissors?” (Group 7, S = 1, 1.36–1.41)
The was some evidence of dismissiveness present with Group 5 also (e.g. S = 9, 1.32–1.46), however, group members were able to voice their ideas which appeared to support a better shared understanding among group members. Notably, Group 5 reached a degree of consensus about what they would do prior to constructing anything, whilst Group 7 did not. Even in these early stages, two of the four members of Group 7 made it very clear that they did not know what was happening (Excerpt 3).
Excerpt 3 Pupil 1: “What are you all up to?” Pupil 2: “Move you” Pupil 4: “No idea” Pupil 2: “You’re allowed to say hell are you not?” Pupil ?: “Helli-yeh” Pupil 2: “Hellilouya” (slight laughter) Pupil 3: “Right so were going to..(unclear) and do that..” Pupil 1: “What are you all up to?” Pupil 2: “Just… I know what he’s thinking of..” Pupil 4: “I don’t have a clue what you’re thinking of..” Pupil 3: “Neither do I..” (Group 7, S = 2, 0.15–0.33)
Occurrence like these contributed to a growing sense of fragmentation in the group. Verbal and observational data show this to have been picked up by the class teacher who tried to encourage and support the group to share and discussed ideas more fully. Despite this, the group lost their sense of shared vision about how to approach a solution and, part way through the first session, two group members attempted to begin developing a separate solution of their own (S-3, 2.52).
The final managerial difference between Group 5 and 7 was the way in which efforts were made to increase the efficiency of solution development. Seen as a positive managerial trait, both groups did this, but it was more frequent and more developed with Group 5. There were four examples of this with Group 7 in the form of simple prompts to speed the process up (E.g. S = 5:3.02–3.04; S = 6:2.22–2.23; S = 11: 1.34–1.35) and 25 examples with Group 5 involving prompts and orchestrating parallel rather than successive activity.
Differences emerged in how Group 5 and 7 thought about and prepared for future problem-solving activity. While the complexity of the pupils’ problem-solving prevented cause and effect from being attributed to planning decisions, four areas of difference were identified: (1) determining use of/amount of materials/resources, (2) sequencing, ordering or prioritising, (3) identification of global solution requirements, and (4) working through how an idea should be practically executed. Across both problem-solving sessions, Group 5 spent over three times as long as Group 7 did, engaging in these forms of planning (8m17s vs. 2.23 s), but Group 7 planned on almost twice as many occasions (n = 98 vs. n = 56). Both groups considered the availability of materials for, and matching of materials to, given ideas (e.g. Group 5, S = 5:3.38–3.48; Group 7, S = 4:2.20–2.34; S = 12:1.53–2.00) and both identified global solution requirements. At the start, Group 5 engaged in 12 min of planning in which they read task instructions (S = 1, 0.49–1.49), explored, tested, and compared the available materials (S = 1, 1.49–2.10), and agreed on a starting point. As shown in Excerpt 4, these discussions attempted to integrate thinking on materials, joining methods, placement. As the class teacher observed, Group 7 were eager to begin construction after 4m45s and did so without an agreed starting point. Pupils in this group explored materials in a more reactive way in response to construction.
Excerpt 4 “..a tiny bit of cardboard, right, this is the cardboard, right.. (picks up part) put glue on it so that’s on that, right.. (modelling part orientation) then put glue on it there so it sticks down.. something to stick it down, do you know what I mean?” (Group 5, S = 9, 2.10–2.20)
Despite similar types of planning processes, the planning discourse of Group 5 was more proactive, and this may have minimised inefficiencies and avoidable errors. For Group 7, two group members unintentionally drew the same idea (S = 2, 3.19–3.26), parts were taped in the wrong place (S = 17, 1.26–1.40) and others glued in the wrong order (S = 5, 1.28–1.30 and 1.48–1.56). Such occurrences, however, notably reduced after the group re-started their solution in the second session which also mirrored a 73% drop in poor group involvement. Communication played an important role in planning and there was no evidence of avoidable errors with Group 5.
The most prevent differences in this study were found in how Group 5 and Group 7 reflected upon their developing solutions. Analysis revealed two main forms of reflection that were used differently by groups. ‘Declarative reflection’ lies close to observation and is defined by this study as reflection that does not explicitly reveal anything of a pupil’s knowledge of technical relationships within their solution, e.g.: “that’s not going to be strong…” (Group 7, S = 2, 0.49–0.51). This form of reflection was critical for both groups who used it heuristically to quality assure material developments, but it was used slightly more often by Group 7 (n = 164:4m30s vs. n = 145:4m07s). By contrast, ‘analytical reflection’ is defined as that which does reveal something of a pupil’s knowledge of technical relationships between two or more parts of a solution. Examples of this are shown in Excerpts 5 and 6 where pupils are reflecting upon an attempt made to support the underside of the road surface.
Excerpt 5: “It’s not going to work because it’s in compression and straws bend..” (Group 5, S = 9, 2.3–2.35) Excerpt 6: “no, that’ll be… oh, aye, because that would weight it down and it would go into the water.” (Group 5, S = 14, 3.35–3.38)
Looking across verbal and observational data, there was no consistent pattern to the use of declarative reflection but analytical reflection for both groups was almost exclusively anchored around, and promoted by, the practical enactment of an idea and could be associated with predictions about the future performance of their solution. Overall, both Group 5 and 7 reflected a similar number of times (n = 216 and n = 209, respectively) although the total amount of time spent reflecting was 17% longer for Group 5. This difference in time was accounted for by comparatively more analytical reflection in Group 5 (n = 75:3m47s vs. n = 45:2m10s for Group 7), particularly during the first half of problem solving. It was also interesting that Group 7 engaged with no analytical reflection at all prior to construction.
Findings from process management, planning and reflection led to the framework of difference in Fig. 8 . This also accounts for differences in the amount of time each group reflected upon the task detail, but this was extremely limited (Group 5: n = 7, 26 s; Group 7: n = 5, 10 s).
‘Framework of process differences from comparative analysis of Group 5 and 7’
Task reflection, attempts at increasing efficiency and differences of fragmented vision found with the most contrasting dyad were not sustained across remaining groups. The only sufficiently consistent difference in patterns of solution development was that more successful groups, on average, spent 18% longer in planning and discussion before beginning to construct anything.
Overall, the nature and patterns of good and poor group involvement from dyad 1 were reflected more widely, with some instances of deviation. The more successful group in dyad 4 had more significant and numerous examples of poor group involvement than did the less successful group (n = 16 vs. n = 10), although they made more effective use of roles and task allocation and spent longer engaged in planning processes. Dyad 2 deviated also insofar as the less successful group (13) actually had fewer avoidable errors than Group 6 who accidentally cut the incorrect parts (e.g. S = 15, 2.44–2.47), undertook developments that were not required (e.g. S = 6, 2.11–2.16) and integrated the wrong parts into their solution (e.g. S = 7, 1.10–1.13).
Differences in the nature and use of reflection was one of the most consistently sustained findings between the most and least successful cohorts. All four of the more successful groups engaged more heavily in reflective processes and more of this reflection was analytical in nature. This shows that reflection which explicitly integrates knowledge of technical relationships between different aspects of a solution plays an important role in more successful technical outcomes. Whilst declarative reflection remained important for all groups, it was also less prominent for groups in the less successful cohort. Table 5 summarises the sustained process difference across dyads 1, 2, 3 and 4.
Differences reported in this section lie out with the formal conceptual framework of the study but, nonetheless, were shown to play a role in the technological problem-solving activity of dyad 1. Differences between Group 5 and 7 emerged in three areas: (1) group tension, (2) effects of the classroom competitive dynamic, and (3) study effects. Group tension, which relates to aspects of interaction such as argumentative discourse, raised voices and exasperation, were negligible for Group 5 (n = 4, 0m24s) when compared with Group 7 (n = 38, 2m38s) and related exclusively to pupils having their voiced heard. For group 7, tension was evident during both sessions, but was more significant in the first session before re-starting the solution in session 2 and purposeful attempts to work more collaboratively with the support of the teacher (Group 7, S = 10, 0.36–1.29). Observations revealed that tension was typically caused by pupils failing to carry out practical processes to the standard of other group members, or breaking parts such as the thread supporting the road surface in the 36 th minute of Session 2.
Despite collaborative efforts within groups, there was a sense of competitive dynamic which appeared either to positively bias, negatively bias, or to not affect group activity. This competitive dynamic was present in groups comparing themselves to other groups in the class. Group 7 had 3.7 times as many instances of this as Group 5 with 73% of these negatively affecting the group. These included interference from and with other groups (S = 7, 0.07–0.12), attempting to copy other groups (S = 7, 1.14–1.22) and comparing the solutions of other groups to their own (S = 8, 2.55–2.59). In contrast, Group 5 appeared to be far less affected by perceptions of competition. Around a third of instances were coded as neutral, however, Group 7 experienced more instances of positive competitive effects than Group 5 did (n = 5 vs. n = 1).
Study effects were present for both groups often triggered by the arrival of the researcher at their table to observe or take photographs. The biggest difference in study effects was associated with the audio recorder. Recorder effects for Group 7 were three and half times that of Group 5 involving discussion about how it worked (Group 7, S = 10, 3.04–3.17), or about what was caught or not caught on tape (Group 7, S = 14, 1.01–1.45). Although questionnaire data showed that pupils in Group 5 felt that they talked less in the presence of the recorder, this was not supported by observations, verbal data, or the class teacher. From these findings, the framework of social and extrinsic difference in Fig. 9 was developed.
‘Framework of social & extrinsic differences from comparative analysis of Group 5 and 7’
Most of the social and extrinsic differences identified with Groups 5 and 7 were reflected to greater or lesser extents in other dyads. In addition to less successful groups being more susceptible to researcher and recorder effects, two specific points of interest emerged. Firstly, group tension was considerably more prominent for less successful groups than it was for more successful groups. Although no evidence of a direct relationship was established, tension appeared to accompany poor managerial traits and the changing of group composition (e.g. Group 8, Group 13). The most significant differences in tension were found with dyad 3. No occurrences were found for the most successful group and 29 were seen with the least successful group including aggressive and abrupt communication between pupils involving blame for substandard construction (S = 10, 2.28–2.38), through to name calling (S = 12, 0.20–0.22), arguing (S = 6, 1.46–2.10) and threats of physical violence (S = 11, 3.25–3.29).
Secondly, the more successful groups were influenced by the competitive class dynamic more than the less successful groups were. This is the only sustained finding that directly opposes what was found with dyad 1. These took the form of neutral or negative inter-group effects involving comparing and judging other groups (e.g. Group 6), espionage, copying or suspicion thereof (e.g. Group 6, 8 and 12). Table 6 summarises the sustained social and extrinsic differences across the more and less successful cohorts.
This study established and applied three frameworks to capture the epistemic, procedural, and social and extrinsic differences between groups of pupils as they developed solutions to a well-defined technological problem. Social & extrinsic findings revealed higher levels of group tension for the less successful cohort, but that more successful groups elicited more negative responses to the competitive class dynamic created by different groups solving the same problem. Major findings about differences in knowledge and process are discussed. Thereafter, a three-part characterisation of thinking for well-defined technological problem solving is presented in support of pedagogy for Design & Technology classrooms.
The most important of those knowledge differences uncovered were found in: (1) the material development of the solution itself, and (2) the reflective processes used by groups during problem solving. The conceptual framework characterises ‘tacit-procedural knowledge’ as the implicit procedural knowledge embodied in technical skill, accuracy and judgement, and this was further refined in the solutions of more successful groups. Linked to this was the fact that several of the material developments for triangulation and strength were improperly realised by less successful groups which negatively impacted on the functional performance of their solutions. Often, this was despite evidence of a good conceptual understanding of triangulation, tension, and compression in the learning phase. An ontologically endurant solution requires stability over time and lesser developed aspects of tacit-procedural knowledge and knowledge application meant that this was not realised as fully as possible for some groups.
This can be partly explained by the challenge of learning transfer, or more accurately, learning application. Several notable studies have explored these difficulties in technology education (Brown, 2001 ; Dixon & Brown, 2012 ; Kelly & Kellam, 2009 ; Wicklein & Schell, 1995 ), but typically at a subject or interdisciplinary level. The findings of this study suggest that, even when the concepts in a learning unit are tightly aligned with a well-defined problem brief, some pupils find difficulty in applying them within a tangible, material context. It could be argued that more successful groups were better at connecting learning between different contexts associated with the problem-solving task and could apply this with more developed skill and judgement.
The second important knowledge difference arose in the various forms of reflection that groups engaged with. Reflection in this study supports pupils in cycling through the re-application/transformation loop in a similar way to the perception/translation/evaluation blocks of the iterative models of problem solving (Argyle, 1972 ; Miodusre & Kipperman, 2002 ; Scrivener et al., 2002 ). Surprisingly few studies explore ‘reflection’ as a process in technological thinking (Kavousi et al., 2020 ; Luppicini, 2003 ; Lousberg et al., 2020 ), and fewer still in the context of school-level technological problem solving. This study found that more successful groups reflected more frequently, and that more of this reflection was analytical insofar as it explicitly revealed knowledge of technical relationships between different variables or parts of their solution. Such instances are likely to have been powerful in shaping the shared understanding of the group. This type of reflection is significant because it takes place at a deeper level than declarative reflection and is amalgamated with pupils’ subject knowledge and qualitative understanding of their technical solution. This allowed pupils to look back and to predict by explicitly making connections between technical aspects of their solution.
The final area in which important differences were found was management of the problem-solving process which is accounted for by Halfin ( 1973 ) in his mental process set. When analysed, the more successful cohort exploited more positive managerial strategies, and fewer negative traits. They made more extensive and effective use of role and task allocation, spent more time planning ahead and longer in the earlier conceptual phase prior to construction. Other studies have also captured aspects of these for technology education. Hennessy and Murphy ( 1999 ) discuss peer interaction, planning, co-operation and conflict, and changing roles and responsibilities as features of collaboration with significant potential for problem solving in technology. Rowell ( 2002 ), in a study of a single pair of technology pupils, demonstrated the significance of roles and participative decisions as enablers and inhibiters of what pupils take away from learning situations. What was interesting about the groups involved in this study, was that the managerial approaches were collectively more proactive in nature for more successful groups. Less successful groups were generally more reactive to emergent successes or problems during solution development.
The problem-solving activity of pupils in this study was exceptionally complex and a fuller understanding of how these complexities interacted would have to be further explored. Yet, key differences in knowledge and process collectively suggest that effectively solving well-defined technological problems involves a combination of proactive rather than reactive process management, and an ability to make two different types of technology-specific connections: contextual connections and technical connections. Proactively managing is generic and involves planning, sequencing, and resourcing developments beyond those that are immediately in play to minimise avoidable errors with reference to problem parameters. It involves group members through agreed roles and task allocation that, where possible, capitalise on their strengths. Contextual connections involve effectively linking and applying technological knowledge, concepts, and principles to the material context that have been learnt form other contexts out with solution development. This is supported by skill and judgement in the material developments that embody this knowledge. Finally, technical connections appear to be important for better functioning solutions. These are links in understanding that pupils make between different parts of the developing solution that reveal and build knowledge of interrelationships, dependencies and how their solution works. In addition to helping pupils developing effective managerial approaches in group work, this suggests that pedagogical approaches should not assume pupils are simply able to make contextual and technical connections during technological problem solving. Rather, pedagogy should actively seek to help pupils make both forms of connection explicit in their thinking.
This study has determined that proactive management, contextual and technical connections are important characteristics of the modus operandi of pupils who successfully solve well-defined technological problems. This study does not make any claim about the learning that pupils might have taken from the problem-solving experience. It does, however, provide key findings that teachers can use to support questioning, formative assessment and pedagogies that help pupils in solving well-structured technological problems more effectively.
Ethical approval for this study was granted by the School of Education Ethics Committee at the University of Glasgow and guided by the British Educational Research Association Ethical Code of Conduct. All necessary permissions and informed consents were gained, and participants knew they could withdraw at any time without giving a reason. The author declares no conflicts of interest in carrying out this study.
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Whether you’re dealing with your dad’s decade-old computer or your own custom-built gaming rig, troubleshooting PC problems is a part of everyday life. Before you make that $50 support call, though, try your hand at homebrew tech support. We spoke to some of the best support reps in the business about the most common problems they fix—and how you can do it yourself.
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Once you’ve made all your changes, click OK and restart the computer. It should boot up quicker and feel noticeably faster.
Speedtest.net is your best friend when you’re having connectivity problems. Run a speed test to see what your download and upload speeds are—ideally they should be at least 50 percent of your Internet service provider’s advertised speeds, with a ping under 100 milliseconds.
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Check your network hardware. Updates for network cards aren’t all that common, but if your card’s manufacturer offers a newer driver, download it. Resetting your router and modem can help with connection problems, too. Most routers and modems have reset buttons, but pulling the power cable for a second or two can do the same thing. Don’t cut the power for much longer, or the hardware may reset itself to factory defaults.
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“Sometimes it can be viruses, sometimes it can be adware, sometimes it can be overheating, and sometimes it can be something as simple as making sure your video card is updated,” Geek Squad’s Meister says.
Is your computer making weird noises ? If you’re lucky all you’ll need to do is give the machine a thorough cleaning . Modern computers have safeguards that shut down the system if a component is overheating, which can be the cause of frequent restarts when you’re running resource-intensive programs or video games.
If you’re not running your Web browser and are still getting pop-up ads on your desktop, you’ve most likely installed adware—a program that displays unwanted ads. Although benevolent adware exists, most of the time adware is up to no good. Getting rid of it isn’t easy. “There’s a ton of little system-utility tools out there that promise to clean up everything, with names like PC Speed-up, PC Speed Pro, PC Speedifier,” Geek Squad’s Meister says. “A lot of times those programs are not going to do much. Some programs will work, others are snake oil.”
Running a full scan with credible antivirus software is your first step. If that program doesn’t find and remove the adware, turn to Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free , a great utility for removing all types of malware. Just make sure to disable your standard antivirus software before running it.
“Multiple antivirus programs working at the same time will often result in problems,” Falcon Northwest’s Petrie says. “You only want one active, real-time antivirus scanner installed, but it doesn’t hurt to run an additional ‘on demand’ virus or malware scanner.”
Searching online for the name of the advertised product can sometimes yield solutions from fellow victims. If all else fails, there’s always the nuclear option: a complete system reinstall. It might take a long time, but it’s the only surefire way to remove adware or spyware. Remember to back up all your personal files.
Browser hijackers are a particularly nasty breed of malware. Such programs take over your Web browser and can stealthily redirect your Google searches and other queries to fake pages meant to steal your personal information or to further infect your system.
Running a real-time antivirus utility is the best way to stay safe. If your browser has already been hijacked, uninstall the browser and use your antivirus program in conjunction with Malwarebytes to remove the intruder.
Spotty wireless connections can be a puzzler. Is it your computer? Your router? Your ISP? Try a few things before calling your Internet service provider.
Confirm that your computer is within range of your wireless router. Weak signals mean weak connections. Next, make sure your PC’s wireless card has the latest drivers. Try letting Windows troubleshoot for you by right-clicking the Wi-Fi icon in the taskbar and selecting Troubleshoot problems .
Sometimes the biggest problems have the easiest fixes. According to support technicians, the lion’s share of issues are due to an incorrect system clock.
Website security certificates sync up with your computer’s clock. Old computers in particular run the risk of having a dead CMOS battery—the watch battery in your computer that keeps its system clock ticking. Click the clock in the system tray and select Change date and time settings to correct any issues.
Let’s assume that your printer’s drivers are up-to-date, and that it has enough paper and ink or toner to print. Try turning the printer off and on. Unplug the printer and plug it back in. Check your printer’s print queue by looking for the printer icon in the system tray and double-clicking it. The print queue shows you the status of each job as well as the general status of your printer.
Ensure that ‘Use Printer Offline’ isn’t checked. Sometimes, printing while your printer is turned off can cause Windows to set your printer to work offline, and that can stall jobs sent later.
If you have ever encountered an attachment that you couldn’t open, it was probably because you didn’t have the software necessary to view the file.
The usual suspect is the .pdf file, for which you can download a free PDF reader. If your problem involves a different file format, a quick search on the attachment’s file extension (the three letters after the period in the filename) should tell you what type of program you need. If the attachment lacks a file extension (which might happen if it was renamed), adding it back should set things right.
Before you call tech support, make sure that the software you’re trying to run is compatible with your operating system. Older software might not function on Windows 8, and an app created for Mac OS X definitely won’t run on your Windows PC. A 32-bit program might run on your 64-bit operating system, but it doesn’t work the other way around.
If an online game balks, you might be missing the required plug-ins—Java and Flash are the usual culprits. Most browsers will alert you to install these items if necessary.
Falcon Northwest’s Petrie recommends connecting with tech support for “any problems that you aren’t comfortable addressing personally.” When in doubt, it’s better to steer clear of voiding a warranty or potentially damaging your system. “Being aware of your own skill set and limitations is important,” says Petrie, because “it’s often easy to make matters worse.” If you think the problem is too complicated, call up a more knowledgeable friend , or bite the bullet and work with a professional tech support service .
Updated June 14, 2023
Inventing what the world needs- that is now Edison described the crux of innovation in technology. Big problems represent even bigger opportunities. To quote famous Canadian ice hockey player Wayne Gretzky, who scored many hits in his time, the trick is not to “skate where the puck is,” but to “skate where the puck is going.” Building a business or solving social problems with technology. It has come up with the most scalable solutions which can impact business across the world.
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Whether it is clean energy, robotics, quantum computing, synthetic biology, telemedicine, AI, or cloud education and NUI software, it can solve all the biggest problems confronting mankind. Creating value means coming up with something people will pay for in the real world. Virtual technologies can open up a window of possibilities, given their widespread application. Starting small but thinking big…that is the key to using modern technology to solve the biggest problems in modern-day existence.
So, how can technology solve problems? Can technology pave the way for a better world? Just how far-reaching can “tech for the greater good” be? Let’s find out, bit by bit and get the right sound-bytes on how is a technology used to solve problems in the real world.
Below are some of the amazing ways to solve problems with technology.
One of the biggest ways technology has changed transportation and promoted ecological conservation is fuel cell vehicles. These are zero-emission cars that can run on electricity or hydrocarbons. Fuel cell-powered vehicles using hydrogen also have the advantage of being zero-emission. Mass-market fuel cell vehicles offer a range and convenience missing from diesel and gas-powered cars.
Robots have taken over everyday tasks. Though technology is still expanding to ensure next-generation robotics goes beyond factory assembly lines and controlled tasks, AI and technology’s real application is yet to come. This has made human-virtual machine partnership a reality in the making. Robots have become more flexible, and cloud computing revolutions have led to the creation of remote control.
So, how is this solving world problems with technology in the business world? Machines have been taken away from large assembly lines, and GPS technology has enabled the use of robotics in precision agriculture. Robots are being designed to be easily programmable and handle manufacturing tasks that are tough for human workers. Next-generation robotics is ideal for tasks that are too difficult or repetitive. Progress in design and AI have ensured that humans have advanced beyond a point of no return too.
Additive manufacturing helps in creating everything from printable 3D organs to wearables. This type of manufacturing starts with liquid or powder and builds into a 3-D shape through a digital template, each layer at a time. So, how does this constitute a solution? Well, such products can be customized to the end-user and take 3-D printing into a high-tech world.
Machines can print human cells and find application in the creation of living tissues in fields such as tissue repair and regeneration as well as screening. This is also a step forward in the field of personalized medicine. 3-D printing of integrated electronic parts such as nanoscale computer components and circuit boards is the next step. 4-D printing seeks to create a new generation of products that are responsive to environmental changes such as heat and humidity.
AI involves computers being able to perform human tasks. So, how can we use AI technology to make life easy? Smartphones that recognize human speech or image recognition information technology on machines are just one instance of AI application. Driving the point home further are self-automated cars and flying drones. Machines can now outperform humans. Case in point: Watson, an AI system, beat humans at a game of Jeopardy, and the thinking computer, Deep Blue, could out do any chess grand-master.
As against the average thinking hardware or software, AI can enable machines to respond to transitions in the environment. AI systems can assimilate unlimited amounts of information, and technology solve environmental problems too.
An example is the Never-Ending Language Learning Project/NELL from Carnegie Mellon University, which reads facts and learns new information to perform better in the future. Consider a world where self-driving cars will lower the frequency of collisions. Here are some ways in which machines can take over from humans and do a better job:
With e-commerce on the rise and the advent of the digital age, personalized products are the order of the day. It has led to the decentralization of the method of fabrication. Distributed manufacturing encourages broad diversity and speed to varied markets and geographies.
Flying robots, UAVs, or drones can be used for checking power lines, providing emergency aid, agriculture, filming and other applications requiring comprehensive and affordable aerial surveillance. Drones have a reliable ability to avoid collision and create autonomy while carrying out tasks that are too tough or remote for humans to accomplish. Sense and avoid drones can be used for operating reliably in tough conditions such as dust storms or blizzards.
Neuromorphic chips process information in a different way from traditional hardware and resemble the architecture of the brain. Miniaturization has resulted in an increase in conventional computing capabilities across the years, but neuromorphic chips are more beneficial because they have the following features:
Consider the neuromorphic chip True North which comprises a million-neuron network for creating power efficiency 100s of times more robust than a conventional CPU. Such machines promote number crunching, which is perfect for predicting stock exchange trends or climate forecasting.
The market has mobile payment systems such as Square, Google Wallet and Starbucks App. Leaving your wallet behind is no longer a problem now. From Paytm to its PayPal, a mobile wallet has many benefits. It is technology at its best.
It has evolved video formats from Betamax to VHS, DVD, HD DVD and Blue-Ray. Advanced video formats have changed everything from communication and computing to dining, entertainment and travel.
From emails through Gmail to Windows, Live Hotmail and more, there are multiple options for communicating online. Want to send a greeting card? Opt for an e-postcard and save on postage too! From AOL instant messaging to Meebo, the options are endless. Mobile phones , applications such as WhatsApp and VoIP or Voice over Internet protocol are only some of the reasons why long distant charges are a thing of the past.
Word processors have made so much more possible…from saving work and making copies to enabling editing of text. Spell checking programs and increased formatting became possible. The personal computer has become an essential part of life. Storing information, operating at lightning-fast speeds and storing terabytes of data are only some of the many benefits of using computers for work or personal use. There is so much you can do with computers, such as checking email to Microsoft Outlook, optimizing images through Adobe Photoshop, building digital libraries of musical tunes and more. Time management, handling multiple work tasks and meeting successive deadlines- this has become easy now.
Websites such as TripIt organize travel plans including flights, trains, cruises, cars, hotels and a 24 to 48-hour itinerary. Search engine sites provide links to travel sites, and online travel agencies, aggregators and consolidators are there to guide you every step of the way. From TripAdvisor to SmarterTravel and LonelyPlanet, jet hopping was never easier. The airplanes and ATC also use technology to make the journey comfortable. Transport and travel have changed for the better, and we have reached miles ahead from travel books and slow trains.
It has helped businesses to increase efficiency, enhance productivity and increase the customer base. Popular cloud storage services such as Dropbox and Google Drive store data and documents online. Cloud used for business collaborations and file sharing. Social check in tools such as Foursquare and social media sites like Facebook and Twitter can revolutionize and kickstart any business. Get listed online and use services like Locu, which let you display pertinent business information in one place. E-commerce has become the perfect way to do business. There are mammoth marketing opportunities in the virtual world, from e-commerce websites to larger online sites like eBay or Amazon.
Enhancing consumer service through official website and voice mail as well as information regarding directions to the company site and information about shipping has changed the way business is done. Looking for a pocket-friendly alternative to costly business trips? You can use high tech solutions from Skype to WebEx as well as video-conferencing.
Project management tools like Basecamp and Zoho will make handling workers and collaborating on tasks a cinch. Scheduling tools such as GenBook, BookFresh or FullSlate enable clients to schedule appointments online at their own convenience. Understanding your customers was never easier with Google Analytics. Mobile payment tools (read PayPal) have made financial transactions simpler. It has also liberated businesses from print ads. Now there are numerous options for marketing online:
It brings business to the consumers and helps them to communicate through online chat and call centers. Telecommuting and flexitime are now perfect online collaboration tools. Teleconferencing enables businesses to reach global consumers and employees worldwide.
Cloud or delivering hardware and software services through a network involves cheap and amazingly advanced technology solutions for businesses. Online customer relationship management and subscription-based software as a service provide pay by use basis, cutting down on upfront investment.
Mobile is on the move, and apps on smartphones download music and provide maps as well as directions. Well designed apps help you to expand the reach of your business.
It helps businesses improve communication , optimize production, manage inventories and maintain financial records. From internal and external business communication to marketing communication , it has reshaped every which way companies reach out to customers and workers.
Swifter, efficient and interactive communication platforms plus enhanced operational efficiency will work wonders for business profits. It makes complex inventory management and organization simple. Minimizing inventory costs and meeting customer demands has become easy too. Programs are available to sync and merge accounting with PoS terminals and bookkeeping programs in that each purchase or sale transaction is well recorded.
Telemedicine: This helps patients in rural and isolated areas communicate with doctors and get the medical help they urgently need.
Multifaceted Tablet Devices: Game-changing tablet devices make it easy to take a business to the next level. Tablet devices can work as an all in one device, from getting the latest technology news to checking emails.
Augmented Reality- Navigating the world through this wave of technology will shape and mould business vision.
Innovations in technology have reduced the consumption of resources by transforming urban infrastructure into intelligent and interconnected grids. Smart cities have redefined urban living and made it more possible through technology. Smart cities can solve the biggest problems such as climate change, rising population, increasing waste and massive pollution.
Healthcare latest technology has undergone a massive revolution. Genomics has changed the identification of disease and its treatments. Networked devices have made the world smaller and ensured that medical solutions reach people faster.
Crop yields have declined due to extreme weather and pests. It offers a way out through genetic engineering and using farmbots. Game changers such as fine-tuning food supply chains through smart technologies and vertical farms have transformed agriculture.
From desalination to energy efficiency and environment-friendly solutions, it has made water shortage a problem with limitations.
The ability to produce energy in sustainable ways is the biggest problem technology provides a solution for. Solar to wind, nuclear, and thermal energy have reformulated energy consumption patterns and made eco-friendly energy-generation possible.
Using technology to solve problems does not involve “thinking outside the box.” It involves thinking from a different box, one that harnesses knowledge to bring about a radical change. Technology for transformation redefines human life and makes the impossible possible. Small technologies can solve big problems. From famine to poverty, water scarcity to business management, or healthcare to education, it has all the answers…just ask any question!
This has been a guide to How To Solve Problems With Technology?. Here we have discussed the basic concept, with 22 amazing ways to solve the problem with technology, respectively. You may look at the following articles to learn more –
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Members of the Young Entrepreneur Council discuss some of the past year’s most pressing technology concerns and how we should address them.
The past year has seen unprecedented challenges to public-health systems and the global economy. Many facets of daily life and work have moved into the digital realm, and the shift has highlighted some underlying business technology issues that are getting in the way of productivity, communication and security.
As successful business leaders, the members of the Young Entrepreneur Council understand how important it is to have functional, up-to-date technology. That ’ s why we asked a panel of them to share what they view as the biggest business tech problem of the past year. Here are the issues they ’ re concerned about and the innovations they believe will help solve them.
As most companies switched to 100 percent remote almost overnight, many realized that they lacked an efficient way to measure employee productivity. Technology with “ user productivity reports ” has become invaluable. Without being able to “ see ” an employee in the workplace, companies must find technology that helps them to track and report how productive employees are at home. — Bill Mulholland , ARC Relocation
Nothing beats in-person communication when it comes to business development. In the past, industry conferences were king. Today, though, the move to remote conferences really leaves a lot to be desired and transforms the largely intangible value derived from attending into something that is purely informational. A new form or platform for industry conferences is sorely needed. — Nick Reese , Elder Guide
With a sudden shift to most employees working remotely, corporations need to boost at-home internet speed and capacity for employees that didn ’ t previously have the requirements to produce work adequately. Companies need to invest in new technologies like 5G and ensure they are supported at home. — Matthew Podolsky , Florida Law Advisers, P.A.
Yes, automation and multi-platform management might be ideal for big-name brands and companies, but for small site owners and businesses, it ’ s just overkill. Way too many people are overcomplicating things. Stick to your business model and what works without trying to overload the process. — Zac Johnson , Blogger
There are many examples of phishing site victims. Last year, I realized the importance of good pop-up blockers for your laptop and mobile devices. It is so scary to be directed to a website that you don ’ t know or to even pay to get to sites that actually don ’t exist. Come up with better pop-up blockers if possible. — Daisy Jing , Banish
I think data privacy is still one of the biggest business tech issues around. Blockchain technology can solve this problem. We need more and more businesses to understand that blockchains don’t just serve digital currencies, they also protect people’s privacy. We also need Amazon, Facebook, Google, etc. to understand that personal data belongs in the hands of the individual. — Amine Rahal , IronMonk Solutions
Mobile security is a big issue because we rely so much on mobile internet access today. We need to be more aware of how these networks can be compromised and how to protect them. Whether it ’ s the IoT devices helping deliver data wirelessly to companies or people using apps on their smartphones, we need to become more aware of our mobile cybersecurity and how to protect our data. — Josh Kohlbach , Wholesale Suite
More and more people are embracing deepfake content, which is content created to look real but isn ’ t. Using AI, people can edit videos to look like someone did something they didn ’ t do and vice versa, which hurts authenticity and makes people question what ’ s real. Lawmakers need to take this issue seriously and create ways to stop people from doing this. — Jared Atchison , WPForms
I ’ ve noticed some brands struggling with building a seamless user experience. There are so many themes, plugins and changes people can make to their site that it can be overwhelming. As a result, the business owner eventually builds something they like, but sacrifices UX in the process. I suspect that we will see more businesses using customer feedback to make design changes. — John Brackett , Smash Balloon LLC
Cybersecurity threats are more prevalent than ever before with increased digital activities. This has drawn many hackers, who are becoming more sophisticated and are targeting many more businesses. Vital Information, such as trade secrets, price-sensitive information, HR records, and many others are more vulnerable. Strengthening cybersecurity laws can maintain equilibrium. — Vikas Agrawal , Infobrandz
As a company, you ’ ll store and keep lots of data crucial to keeping business moving forward. A huge tech issue that businesses face is their backup recovery process when their system goes down. If anything happens, you need access to your information. Backing up your data is crucial to ensure your brand isn ’ t at a standstill. Your IT department should have a backup plan in case anything happens. — Stephanie Wells , Formidable Forms
A major issue that marketers are dealing with is having to use multiple advertising and marketing platforms, with each one handling a different activity. It can overload a website and is quite expensive. We ’ re already seeing AdTech and MarTech coming together as MAdTech. Businesses need to keep an eye on this convergence of technologies and adopt new platforms that support it. — Syed Balkhi , WPBeginner
The concentration of tech companies in places like Seattle and San Francisco has led to a quick rise in living costs in these cities. Income isn ’ t catching up, and there ’ s stress on public infrastructure. Poor internet services in rural areas also exacerbate this issue. Innovation should be decentralized. — Samuel Thimothy , OneIMS
Businesses, especially those in the tech industry, are having trouble implementing AI. If you ’ ve used and improved upon your AI over the years, you ’ re likely having an easier time adjusting. But new online businesses test multiple AI programs at once and it ’ s causing communication and data mix-ups. As businesses settle with specific programs and learn what works for them, we will see improvements. — Chris Christoff , MonsterInsights
Problem solving is an increasingly important soft skill for those in business. The Future of Jobs Survey by the World Economic Forum drives this point home. According to this report, complex problem solving is identified as one of the top 15 skills that will be sought by employers in 2025, along with other soft skills such as analytical thinking, creativity and leadership.
Dr. Amy David , clinical associate professor of management for supply chain and operations management, spoke about business problem-solving methods and how the Purdue University Online MBA program prepares students to be business decision-makers.
Every business will face challenges at some point. Those that are successful will have people in place who can identify and solve problems before the damage is done.
“The business world is constantly changing, and companies need to be able to adapt well in order to produce good results and meet the needs of their customers,” David says. “They also need to keep in mind the triple bottom line of ‘people, profit and planet.’ And these priorities are constantly evolving.”
To that end, David says people in management or leadership need to be able to handle new situations, something that may be outside the scope of their everyday work.
“The name of the game these days is change—and the speed of change—and that means solving new problems on a daily basis,” she says.
The pace of information and technology has also empowered the customer in a new way that provides challenges—or opportunities—for businesses to respond.
“Our customers have a lot more information and a lot more power,” she says. “If you think about somebody having an unhappy experience and tweeting about it, that’s very different from maybe 15 years ago. Back then, if you had a bad experience with a product, you might grumble about it to one or two people.”
David says that this reality changes how quickly organizations need to react and respond to their customers. And taking prompt and decisive action requires solid problem-solving skills.
David says there are a few things to consider when encountering a challenge in business.
“When faced with a problem, are we talking about something that is broad and affects a lot of people? Or is it something that affects a select few? Depending on the issue and situation, you’ll need to use different types of problem-solving strategies,” she says.
There are a number of techniques that businesses use to problem solve. These can include:
“We have a lot of these different tools,” David says. “Which one to use when is going to be dependent on the problem itself, the level of the stakeholders, the number of different stakeholder groups and so on.”
Each of the techniques outlined above uses the same core steps of problem solving:
Data drives a lot of daily decisions in business and beyond. Analytics have also been deployed to problem solve.
“We have specific classes around storytelling with data and how you convince your audience to understand what the data is,” David says. “Your audience has to trust the data, and only then can you use it for real decision-making.”
Data can be a powerful tool for identifying larger trends and making informed decisions when it’s clearly understood and communicated. It’s also vital for performance monitoring and optimization.
The courses in the Purdue Online MBA program teach problem-solving methods to students, keeping them up to date with the latest techniques and allowing them to apply their knowledge to business-related scenarios.
“I can give you a model or a tool, but most of the time, a real-world situation is going to be a lot messier and more valuable than what we’ve seen in a textbook,” David says. “Asking students to take what they know and apply it to a case where there’s not one single correct answer is a big part of the learning experience.”
An online MBA from Purdue University can help advance your career by teaching you problem-solving skills, decision-making strategies and more. Reach out today to learn more about earning an online MBA with Purdue University .
If you would like to receive more information about pursuing a business master’s at the Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business, please fill out the form and a program specialist will be in touch!
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Are you an expert at solving problems? Love puzzling out complex challenges?
Then, you’re in for a thrill!
Today, we’re exploring a list of ideal jobs for problem solvers.
From operations analysts to data scientists. Each one, is a perfect fit for those who thrive on complexity and challenges.
Imagine spending your days dissecting issues. Day in, day out.
Sounds like a dream, right?
So, get your thinking cap on.
And get ready to discover your dream problem-solving profession!
Average Salary: $70,000 – $120,000 per year
Software Developers design, develop, and maintain software systems and applications to solve real-world problems.
This role is ideal for problem solvers who enjoy applying their analytical and technical skills to create innovative solutions.
Job Duties:
Requirements:
Career Path and Growth :
Software Developers have a wide range of opportunities for career advancement.
With experience, they can move into senior developer roles, become software architects, or lead development teams.
They can also specialize in areas such as cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, or data science.
As technology evolves, there will always be new challenges and problems to solve, making software development an evergreen field for problem solvers.
Average Salary: $60,000 – $85,000 per year
Data Analysts are responsible for interpreting data and turning it into information which can offer ways to improve a business, thus affecting business decisions.
This role is ideal for problem solvers who relish the challenge of deciphering complex data sets and providing actionable insights.
This role provides the opportunity to become a key player in an organization by offering insights that can shape strategic decisions.
With experience, Data Analysts can advance to senior analyst roles, specialize in specific industries or data types, or move into data science or data engineering positions.
There’s also the potential to lead teams or departments, guiding data strategies and policies.
Average Salary: $70,000 – $110,000 per year
Systems Engineers design, integrate, and manage complex systems over their life cycles.
They ensure that systems function efficiently, meet user needs, and can be maintained within cost and schedule constraints.
This role is ideal for problem solvers who enjoy using their technical expertise to overcome complex system challenges.
Systems Engineers have opportunities to work on a variety of projects across different industries, such as aerospace, defense, healthcare, and technology.
With experience, they can advance to lead systems engineer positions, systems architecture roles, or management positions overseeing engineering teams.
Continuous learning and specialization in emerging technologies can further enhance career prospects, leading to roles in innovation, research and development, or consulting.
Business Analysts are instrumental in bridging the gap between IT and business needs.
They analyze and model business processes, systems, and stakeholders, with the goal of understanding and documenting business requirements and translating them into functional specifications.
This role is perfect for problem solvers who enjoy dissecting complex business challenges and crafting strategic solutions that align with organizational goals.
Business Analysts play a crucial role in any organization by ensuring that business objectives are met through the effective use of technology.
Career advancement opportunities include moving into senior business analyst roles, specializing in specific industries or technologies, transitioning into project management, or progressing to strategic roles such as business process manager or IT director.
Average Salary: $60,000 – $90,000 per year
Operations Research Analysts use advanced mathematical and analytical methods to help organizations solve problems and make better decisions.
This role is ideal for problem solvers who enjoy using their analytical skills to improve efficiency and effectiveness within an organization.
Operations Research Analysts are in high demand across various industries, including logistics, healthcare, manufacturing, and government.
With experience, analysts can progress to senior analyst roles, management positions, or specialize in a particular industry or area of research.
There is also potential for Operations Research Analysts to become independent consultants, offering their expertise on a contract basis.
Average Salary: $65,000 – $90,000 per year
Mechanical Engineers are responsible for designing, analyzing, and maintaining mechanical systems that can range from small components to large machinery and vehicles.
This role is ideal for problem solvers who enjoy applying principles of engineering, physics, and materials science to create solutions that improve the functionality and efficiency of products and processes.
Mechanical Engineers have a broad range of opportunities for career advancement.
With experience, they can become senior engineers, project managers, or specialists in areas such as robotics, automotive engineering, or aerospace.
Additionally, they may pursue roles in research and development, management, or consultancy to further influence innovation and efficiency in the field.
IT Consultants are experts in the field of information technology who work with clients to analyze their technological needs, solve complex IT problems, and improve the overall efficiency and effectiveness of their IT systems.
This role is ideal for problem solvers who enjoy delving into technical challenges and crafting innovative solutions.
As an IT Consultant, there is a clear path for career advancement.
Professionals can specialize in various areas such as cybersecurity, cloud computing, or data analytics.
With experience, IT Consultants can move into senior roles, such as IT Manager, Systems Architect, or even Chief Information Officer (CIO).
There are also opportunities for entrepreneurial IT Consultants to start their own consulting firms.
Average Salary: $200,000 – $300,000 per year
Medical Doctors diagnose, treat, and help prevent diseases and injuries that commonly occur in the general population.
They are crucial in the healthcare system and work in various settings, including hospitals, clinics, and private practices.
This role is ideal for problem solvers who are passionate about human biology, medicine, and the care of others.
Medical Doctors have numerous opportunities for career advancement.
With experience, they can become specialists in their field, leading researchers, or take on administrative roles in healthcare institutions.
They may also become educators, teaching the next generation of doctors, or pursue opportunities in medical policy and healthcare consulting.
Average Salary: $60,000 – $200,000 per year
Lawyers are legal professionals who represent and advise clients in both civil and criminal cases.
They may work in various legal fields, such as corporate law, family law, criminal law, or intellectual property law.
This role is ideal for problem solvers who enjoy analyzing complex legal issues and advocating on behalf of their clients.
A career as a lawyer offers the opportunity to make significant impacts on individuals, businesses, and society through legal advocacy and reform.
With experience, lawyers can advance to senior positions within law firms, transition to in-house legal departments, or pursue roles in government, academia, or the judiciary.
Those with a strong interest in policy may also enter politics or become legal experts within non-governmental organizations.
Average Salary: $50,000 – $70,000 per year
Accountants are responsible for managing financial records, analyzing budgets, and ensuring the financial health of an organization.
This role is ideal for problem solvers who enjoy working with numbers and have a keen eye for detail.
Accountants have a clear career path that can lead to roles with increasing responsibility such as Senior Accountant, Accounting Manager, Controller, or Chief Financial Officer (CFO).
With a blend of experience, additional certifications, and continuing education, accountants can specialize in areas such as forensic accounting, management accounting, or financial analysis, opening up a wide array of opportunities in both the public and private sectors.
Civil Engineers design, build, supervise, and maintain construction projects and systems in the public and private sector, including roads, buildings, airports, tunnels, dams, bridges, and systems for water supply and sewage treatment.
This role is ideal for problem solvers who enjoy applying their expertise to create and maintain the essential infrastructures of society.
Civil Engineering offers a variety of opportunities for career advancement.
Engineers may specialize in areas such as structural, environmental, geotechnical, or transportation engineering.
With experience, Civil Engineers can become project managers, consulting engineers, or even occupy leadership positions within their organizations.
There is also the potential to work on groundbreaking projects around the world, contributing to the development of innovative infrastructures that shape the future of societies.
Average Salary: $75,000 – $120,000 per year
Cybersecurity Analysts are responsible for protecting an organization’s computer systems and networks from cyber threats, such as hackers, viruses, and other malicious attacks.
This role is ideal for individuals with a knack for problem-solving and a strong interest in technology and cybersecurity.
Cybersecurity Analysts play a critical role in defending an organization’s digital assets and have numerous opportunities for career growth.
With experience and additional certifications, analysts can advance to senior roles such as Cybersecurity Manager or Chief Information Security Officer (CISO).
They can also specialize in different areas of cybersecurity, such as penetration testing, security architecture, or cybersecurity consulting.
Average Salary: $70,000 – $100,000 per year
Database Administrators are responsible for the performance, integrity, and security of databases.
They ensure that data remains consistent across the database, is clearly defined, and can be accessed by users as needed.
This role is ideal for problem solvers who enjoy ensuring that data systems are running efficiently and securely.
Database Administrators have a crucial role in managing an organization’s data and ensuring its availability.
With experience, they can move into more senior roles such as Database Manager, Data Architect, or Information Systems Manager.
There are also opportunities to specialize in particular database technologies or to become a consultant for businesses in need of database expertise.
As the importance of data continues to grow, the role of the Database Administrator becomes increasingly vital to business operations.
Average Salary: $60,000 – $100,000 per year
Financial Planners provide expert advice to individuals and businesses to help them achieve their long-term financial objectives.
This role is ideal for problem solvers who have a knack for financial strategy and enjoy helping others navigate complex financial decisions.
Financial Planners have the opportunity to make a significant impact on their clients’ lives by helping them secure their financial future.
With experience, Financial Planners can advance to senior positions, specialize in areas such as retirement planning or estate planning, or even start their own financial planning firms.
The demand for financial advice is expected to grow, which can lead to a rewarding and prosperous career for diligent Financial Planners.
Average Salary: $40,000 – $60,000 per year
Logistics Coordinators are responsible for managing the flow of goods and materials from suppliers and manufacturers to the end-user.
They ensure that products are delivered in the most efficient and cost-effective manner.
This role is ideal for problem solvers who thrive in dynamic environments and enjoy developing solutions to logistical challenges.
Logistics Coordinators play a critical role in the supply chain and have the opportunity to significantly impact a company’s operational efficiency.
With experience, Logistics Coordinators can advance to higher positions such as Logistics Manager, Supply Chain Manager, or Director of Operations, overseeing larger teams and strategic planning for logistics operations.
Management Consultants analyze organizational problems, develop strategies for improvement, and help to implement changes within businesses.
This role is ideal for problem solvers who enjoy helping organizations overcome challenges and improve their performance.
Management Consultants have the opportunity to make a tangible impact on businesses and industries.
With experience, consultants may advance to senior roles within a consultancy firm, specialize in a particular industry or functional area, or transition into executive positions within corporate organizations.
There is also potential to establish one’s own consulting practice.
Average Salary: $100,000 – $150,000 per year
Network Architects design and build data communication networks, such as local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), and intranets.
This role is ideal for problem solvers who enjoy creating solutions that help organizations communicate more efficiently and securely.
The role of Network Architect offers opportunities to lead the technological direction of an organization’s communications infrastructure.
With experience, Network Architects can advance to senior IT management positions, such as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) or IT Director, or specialize further in areas like cloud computing or cybersecurity.
Continuous learning and adapting to new technologies are key for career growth in this ever-evolving field.
Average Salary: $128,000 – $148,000 per year
Pharmacists are healthcare professionals responsible for the preparation, dispensing, and management of prescription medications.
They play a critical role in patient care by ensuring the safe and effective use of pharmaceutical drugs.
This role is ideal for problem solvers who enjoy applying their knowledge of medicine to help patients manage their health.
Pharmacists have the opportunity to advance in various settings, such as community pharmacies, hospitals, or the pharmaceutical industry.
With experience, they can move into more specialized roles, assume leadership positions, or engage in clinical research and development.
Pharmacists can also further their expertise through board certifications in areas like oncology, nutrition support, or geriatric pharmacy.
Average Salary: $90,000 – $140,000 per year
IT Project Managers oversee and direct technology projects, from simple software updates to complex network overhauls.
This role is perfect for problem solvers who thrive in a fast-paced environment and are passionate about leveraging technology to meet business objectives.
As an IT Project Manager, you have the opportunity to directly influence the success of technology initiatives within an organization.
With experience, IT Project Managers can advance to senior management roles, such as IT Director or Chief Information Officer (CIO), or specialize in areas like agile project management, IT strategy, or consultancy.
Continuous professional development in emerging technologies and project management methodologies can also lead to broader career opportunities in the ever-evolving tech industry.
Average Salary: $65,000 – $95,000 per year
Structural Engineers are responsible for designing, planning, and overseeing the construction of buildings, bridges, and other structures to ensure safety and durability.
This role is ideal for problem solvers who enjoy applying principles of physics and mathematics to create stable and secure structures.
Structural Engineers have the opportunity to work on a diverse range of projects that shape the infrastructure and skyline of our built environment.
With experience, they can progress to senior engineering roles, specialize in areas such as earthquake engineering or forensic engineering, or lead their engineering firms.
Continuous learning and professional certification, such as obtaining a Professional Engineer (PE) license, can further enhance career prospects and recognition in the field.
Average Salary: $80,000 – $120,000 per year
Data Scientists analyze and interpret complex digital data, such as usage statistics, sales figures, or logistics, to assist in business decision-making.
This role is ideal for problem solvers who enjoy employing their analytical skills and knowledge of statistics to uncover patterns, manage data, and drive strategic planning in organizations.
In this role, the potential for impact is significant, as data-driven insights can lead to transformative decisions and strategies within a business.
With experience, Data Scientists can advance to roles such as Senior Data Scientist, Data Science Manager, or Chief Data Officer.
Opportunities also exist to specialize in fields such as machine learning, artificial intelligence, or big data engineering.
Financial Analysts are responsible for examining financial data and trends to help businesses and individuals make informed investment decisions.
This role is well-suited for problem solvers who have a knack for numbers and a passion for analyzing financial markets and economic trends.
A career as a Financial Analyst offers vast opportunities for growth.
Analysts can advance to senior analyst positions, portfolio management roles, or even become directors of financial analysis departments.
Those with a strong track record and additional certifications may move into high-level consulting positions or executive roles within finance, such as Chief Financial Officer (CFO).
The role is pivotal in shaping investment strategies and financial decisions, making it a critical and influential position in any business.
Systems Analysts play a critical role in evaluating and improving complex computer systems within an organization.
They are responsible for ensuring that IT systems meet the business needs effectively.
This role is ideal for problem solvers who enjoy analyzing data, improving processes, and implementing technological solutions.
A career as a Systems Analyst offers numerous opportunities for professional development.
With experience, Systems Analysts can progress to more senior roles such as IT Project Manager, Business Analyst, or IT Consultant.
They may also specialize in specific industries or become experts in emerging technologies, leading to increased demand and higher earning potential.
Average Salary: $65,000 – $85,000 per year
Industrial Engineers optimize complex systems, processes, and organizations by eliminating waste of time, money, materials, man-hours, machine time, energy, and other resources.
This role is ideal for problem solvers who enjoy designing efficient systems and processes in various industries.
Industrial Engineers have the opportunity to impact the efficiency and effectiveness of production and service systems.
Career growth may lead to roles such as Senior Industrial Engineer, Project Manager, Operations Manager, or Director of Engineering.
With experience, some Industrial Engineers may also move into consultancy roles or executive positions, such as Chief Operations Officer.
Network Security Analysts are the guardians of information systems, ensuring the security and integrity of data within an organization’s network.
This role is perfect for problem solvers who appreciate the complexities of network infrastructure and the challenge of defending against cyber threats.
A career as a Network Security Analyst offers a dynamic environment with the potential for continuous learning and advancement.
With experience, Network Security Analysts can move into higher-level roles such as Security Manager or Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), specializing in areas like forensic analysis, or they may opt to work as independent cybersecurity consultants.
Intelligence Analysts are responsible for the collection, analysis, and dissemination of information to support and protect national security.
This role is ideal for problem solvers who thrive on analyzing complex data and uncovering insights that can inform strategic decisions.
This role offers the opportunity to play a crucial part in safeguarding national interests and contributing to global security.
With experience, Intelligence Analysts can advance to senior analyst positions, specialize in a particular type of intelligence, or move into leadership roles within the intelligence community.
There are also opportunities for cross-functional career development in areas such as cyber security, counterterrorism, and strategic planning.
Logistics Managers oversee the movement, distribution, and storage of materials in an organization.
They are responsible for ensuring products are delivered efficiently and on time.
This role is ideal for problem solvers who enjoy optimizing processes and overcoming logistical challenges in a dynamic environment.
Logistics Managers play a critical role in the efficiency and profitability of a company.
With experience and a track record of successful problem-solving, they can advance to higher managerial positions, such as Director of Operations or Vice President of Supply Chain.
Opportunities also exist to specialize in areas like global logistics, supply chain analytics, or procurement strategy, further enhancing career prospects.
Average Salary: $60,000 – $120,000 per year
Mathematicians use advanced mathematics to develop and understand mathematical principles, analyze data, and solve real-world problems.
This role is ideal for problem solvers who relish the challenge of complex equations and algorithms and seek to apply their knowledge to diverse areas ranging from economics to engineering.
A career as a mathematician offers the opportunity to contribute to numerous fields through data analysis, predictive modeling, and problem-solving.
With experience, mathematicians can become lead researchers, senior analysts, or consultants, and may eventually move into academic positions such as professors or department heads.
Average Salary: $60,000 – $95,000 per year
Statisticians analyze data and apply mathematical and statistical techniques to help solve real-world problems in business, engineering, healthcare, or other fields.
This role is ideal for problem solvers who enjoy using data to find patterns, draw conclusions, and inform decision-making processes.
Statisticians have the opportunity to work in a variety of industries and sectors, as data analysis is fundamental to many business strategies and policy decisions.
With experience, statisticians can progress to senior analytical roles, become consultants, or specialize in specific industries, such as biostatistics or econometrics.
There is also potential for leadership roles in managing teams of analysts and decision support.
Cybersecurity Specialists protect and defend information systems by ensuring the security of data and network infrastructure.
This role is perfect for problem solvers who enjoy staying ahead of cyber threats and ensuring the safety of digital information.
Cybersecurity is a field with high demand and potential for career growth.
Specialists can advance to roles such as Security Analyst, Security Engineer, or Chief Information Security Officer (CISO).
With the rise in cyber threats, the importance of cybersecurity professionals continues to grow, offering a career path with numerous opportunities for advancement and specialization.
Biomedical Engineers combine principles of engineering with biological and medical sciences to design and create equipment, devices, computer systems, and software used in healthcare.
This role is perfect for problem solvers who are passionate about innovating in medicine and improving patient care.
Biomedical Engineers have the opportunity to make significant contributions to patient health and well-being.
Career growth can lead to positions such as senior engineer, project manager, or director of engineering in hospitals, research institutions, or medical device companies.
Innovators in the field may also transition into entrepreneurial roles, starting their own companies to bring new medical solutions to market.
Average Salary: $50,000 – $75,000 per year
Urban Planners develop and design policies and plans for the use of land and resources in towns, cities, and counties.
They focus on creating spaces that are efficient, sustainable, and conducive to community well-being.
This role is ideal for those who enjoy solving complex urban problems and are passionate about shaping the future of cities and communities.
Urban Planners have the opportunity to directly impact the development and improvement of urban environments.
Career advancement can lead to senior planning positions, specialized roles in areas such as transportation or environmental planning, or leadership positions in planning departments or consultancy firms.
Planners can also contribute to academic research or become policy advisors, influencing regional or national urban development strategies.
And there you have it.
A detailed summary of the most rewarding jobs for problem solvers.
With a plethora of choices at your disposal, there is assuredly a role for every problem solver out there.
So, chase your ambition of taming complex issues and finding solutions every day.
Remember: It’s NEVER too late to mould your knack for resolving problems into a thriving career.
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The world of software development is undergoing a seismic shift, driven by rapid technological advancements and ever-evolving industry trends. As we navigate this transformative landscape, it is crucial for software developers to adapt and equip themselves with the skills necessary to thrive in this dynamic field.
One of the most significant trends shaping the future of software development is the rise of artificial intelligence ( AI ) and machine learning (ML).
These technologies are revolutionizing the way we approach problem-solving and automation, enabling software developers to create more intelligent and efficient applications.
Mastering AI and ML techniques will be a key differentiator for developers seeking to stay ahead of the curve.
Moreover, the proliferation of cloud computing and containerization technologies, such as Docker and Kubernetes, has redefined the way software is developed, deployed, and scaled.
Embracing these technologies allows for greater flexibility, scalability, and cost-efficiency, making it essential for developers to acquire expertise in cloud-native architectures and DevOps practices.
Another area of focus is the growing emphasis on user experience (UX) and design thinking. As software becomes increasingly integrated into our daily lives, developers must prioritize creating intuitive and engaging interfaces that seamlessly blend functionality with aesthetics.
Collaboration with UX designers and a deep understanding of human-centered design principles will be crucial for delivering exceptional software products.
Furthermore, the rapid pace of technological change necessitates a commitment to continuous learning and professional development. Developers must embrace a growth mindset, constantly expanding their knowledge and skills to stay relevant in an ever-evolving industry. This may involve exploring new programming languages, frameworks, or paradigms, as well as honing soft skills such as communication, problem-solving, and collaboration.
In this dynamic landscape, software developers who can adapt, learn, and innovate will be well-positioned to capitalize on the opportunities that lie ahead. By embracing emerging technologies , adopting modern practices, and cultivating a passion for continuous improvement, software developers can not only future-proof their careers but also contribute to the creation of transformative software solutions that shape the world around us.
In the ever-evolving landscape of software development, technical prowess alone is no longer enough to guarantee success. While mastering programming languages, frameworks, and development methodologies are undoubtedly crucial, the true secret weapon for software developers lies in cultivating a robust set of soft skills.
Soft skills, often overlooked or undervalued, are the intangible abilities that enable effective collaboration, communication, and problem-solving within a team environment. These skills transcend the boundaries of code and technology, fostering a deeper understanding of human interactions and the ability to navigate complex professional relationships.
Effective communication is perhaps the most vital soft skill for software developers. Clear and concise communication not only facilitates seamless teamwork but also ensures that project requirements, design decisions, and technical complexities are accurately conveyed to stakeholders and end-users. By mastering the art of active listening, developers can better comprehend client needs, mitigate misunderstandings, and ultimately deliver solutions that align with business objectives.
Problem-solving, a cornerstone of software development, extends beyond writing code. It encompasses the ability to think critically, analyze complex situations from multiple perspectives, and devise innovative solutions. Soft skills such as analytical thinking, creativity, and adaptability empower developers to tackle challenges head-on, embrace change, and continuously refine their approaches.
In today's agile and fast-paced software development environment, adaptability is paramount. Soft skills like flexibility, resilience, and a growth mindset enable developers to seamlessly navigate evolving project requirements, embrace new technologies, and thrive in dynamic team settings. By cultivating these skills, developers can future-proof their careers and remain valuable assets in an ever-changing industry.
While technical expertise is undoubtedly crucial, the true power of software developers lies in their ability to harmonize their technical skills with a well-rounded set of soft skills. By prioritizing communication, problem-solving, and adaptability, developers can elevate their impact, foster stronger collaboration, and deliver exceptional software solutions that drive innovation and business success.
Empathy is a critical skill that facilitates effective collaboration and fosters a productive work environment. By cultivating empathy, we can better understand the perspectives, needs, and motivations of our colleagues, clients, and end-users. This understanding allows us to create software solutions that truly resonate with their intended audience, resulting in higher user satisfaction and adoption rates.
In the realm of user-centric design, empathy enables us to step into the shoes of our users, comprehending their pain points, desires, and workflows.
By immersing ourselves in their experiences, we can identify opportunities for improvement and design intuitive interfaces that seamlessly integrate into their daily routines. This user-focused approach not only enhances the overall user experience but also ensures that our products align with real-world requirements.
Moreover, empathy plays a pivotal role in fostering effective teamwork and collaboration.
When team members actively listen to one another, acknowledge diverse perspectives, and demonstrate a genuine understanding of each other's concerns, a culture of trust and respect emerges. This environment encourages open communication, constructive feedback, and the free exchange of ideas, ultimately leading to more innovative and robust solutions.
Conflict resolution is another area where empathy shines.
By actively seeking to understand the motivations and emotions behind conflicting viewpoints, we can approach disagreements with an open mind and a willingness to find common ground. Empathy enables us to reframe conflicts as opportunities for growth, fostering compromise and mutually beneficial solutions.
Furthermore, empathy is closely tied to emotional intelligence, a crucial aspect of effective leadership and interpersonal relationships.
Emotionally intelligent individuals can recognize and manage their own emotions while also understanding and responding appropriately to the emotions of others. This ability to navigate the emotional landscape of the workplace contributes to a more positive and supportive environment, where individuals feel valued and motivated to perform at their best.
In conclusion, empathy is a powerful tool that unlocks the potential for successful collaboration, user-centric design, conflict resolution, and emotional intelligence in the software development industry. By cultivating empathy within our teams and organizations, we can create software solutions that truly resonate with users, foster productive working relationships, and ultimately drive innovation and success.
Developing strong critical thinking abilities is essential for navigating the complexities of our modern world. It empowers individuals to approach problems methodically, gather and evaluate information objectively, and formulate innovative solutions. With a well-honed analytical mindset, even the most intricate challenges can be dissected and tackled with precision.
Critical thinkers possess the invaluable skill of separating fact from fiction, identifying logical fallacies, and recognizing biases that could cloud their judgment. This objectivity allows them to consider multiple perspectives and weigh the merits of each, ultimately leading to more informed and effective decision-making.
Moreover, critical thinking fosters a proactive approach to problem-solving. Instead of merely reacting to issues as they arise, individuals with strong critical thinking skills can anticipate potential roadblocks and devise preemptive strategies. This proactive mindset enables them to troubleshoot efficiently, minimizing disruptions and maximizing productivity.
In today's rapidly evolving landscape, the ability to think critically and adapt to change is paramount. Those who embrace critical thinking are better equipped to navigate uncertainty, seize opportunities, and develop innovative solutions that push boundaries and drive progress. Whether in personal or professional settings, critical thinking is a powerful tool that empowers individuals to thrive in an ever-changing world.
Adaptability is an essential trait for software developers in today's rapidly evolving technological landscape. The industry is constantly shifting, with new tools, frameworks, and methodologies emerging at an unprecedented pace. Those who can embrace change and continuously learn and grow will not only survive but thrive in this dynamic environment.
A growth mindset is crucial for fostering adaptability. Developers must be open to new ideas, willing to step out of their comfort zones, and eager to acquire new skills. Clinging to outdated practices or resisting change will only hinder their professional growth and limit their opportunities.
Moreover, technological advancements are driving the need for continuous learning. Software developers must stay up-to-date with the latest trends, tools, and best practices to remain competitive and deliver innovative solutions. Attending workshops, conferences, and online courses can provide valuable opportunities to expand their knowledge and stay ahead of the curve.
Embracing change also means being flexible and agile in one's approach to problem-solving. As requirements and technologies evolve, developers must be able to pivot quickly and adapt their strategies accordingly. This agility allows them to respond effectively to changing market demands and customer needs, ensuring their solutions remain relevant and valuable.
In summary, adaptability is a critical asset for software developers in today's rapidly changing industry. By cultivating a growth mindset, embracing continuous learning, and remaining flexible and open to change, developers can position themselves for success and contribute to the creation of innovative, cutting-edge solutions that drive technological progress.
Effective communication is the cornerstone of successful collaboration between developers and stakeholders. It bridges the gap between the technical intricacies of software development and the business objectives of the organization. By honing their communication skills, developers can articulate complex concepts in a clear and comprehensible manner, ensuring that stakeholders understand the rationale behind technical decisions and the implications they hold for the project's success.
Presenting technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders is a crucial aspect of this communication process. Developers must learn to break down intricate details into easily digestible information, using analogies, visuals, and real-world examples to facilitate understanding. By doing so, they can foster a shared understanding and align expectations, minimizing misinterpretations and potential conflicts.
Client management and stakeholder engagement are also vital components of effective communication. Developers should actively seek feedback, address concerns, and maintain open channels of communication throughout the project lifecycle. Regular updates, progress reports, and transparent discussions about challenges and solutions can cultivate trust and strengthen the collaborative relationship between developers and stakeholders.
Moreover, proficiency in both written and verbal communication is essential. Clear and concise documentation, such as technical specifications, user manuals, and project reports, ensure that stakeholders have access to accurate and up-to-date information. Simultaneously, strong verbal communication skills enable developers to convey their ideas effectively during meetings, presentations, and discussions, facilitating productive dialogue and decision-making.
By mastering effective communication, developers can position themselves as invaluable assets to their organizations. They can bridge the gap between technical expertise and business acumen, fostering a collaborative environment where ideas are shared, concerns are addressed, and solutions are co-created. Ultimately, effective communication paves the way for successful project delivery, stakeholder satisfaction, and long-lasting partnerships built on mutual understanding and trust.
Developing strong soft skills is an investment that will pay dividends throughout your software development career. In today's rapidly evolving tech landscape, technical expertise alone is no longer enough to stay competitive and future-proof your career. Soft skills such as effective communication, collaboration, problem-solving, and adaptability are becoming increasingly valuable assets.
By honing your soft skills, you'll gain a competitive edge that sets you apart from other developers. You'll be better equipped to navigate complex projects, work seamlessly with cross-functional teams, and effectively communicate your ideas and solutions to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
Moreover, soft skills are transferable across different roles, technologies, and industries. As the tech industry continues to evolve, your ability to adapt, learn new skills, and collaborate effectively will be crucial for career growth and longevity.
Employers highly value professionals who can not only write code but also demonstrate strong interpersonal skills, emotional intelligence, and leadership potential. Investing in your soft skills is an investment in your personal and professional development. It will open doors to new opportunities, foster stronger relationships with colleagues and clients, and enhance your overall job satisfaction and career fulfillment.
Don't underestimate the power of soft skills in shaping your software development career. Embrace continuous learning, seek feedback, and actively work on developing these essential skills. By doing so, you'll future-proof your career, unlock your full potential, and thrive in the ever-changing tech landscape.
Saigon Technology's developers have over 12 years of software development experience. We've kindly shared important soft skills to help you excel in your career. If you need advice on software development skills, please contact us !
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Pragati Jhunjhunwala is a consulting intern at MarktechPost. She is currently pursuing her B.Tech from the Indian Institute of Technology(IIT), Kharagpur. She is a tech enthusiast and has a keen interest in the scope of software and data science applications. She is always reading about the developments in different field of AI and ML.
Transformers 4.42 by hugging face: unleashing gemma 2, rt-detr, instructblip, llava-next-video, enhanced tool usage, rag support, gguf fine-tuning, and quantized kv cache, this ai paper from uc berkeley research highlights how task decomposition breaks the safety of artificial intelligence (ai) systems, leading to misuse, role of llms like chatgpt in scientific research: the integration of scalable ai and high-performance computing to address complex challenges and accelerate discovery across..., google deepmind introduces warp: a novel reinforcement learning from human feedback rlhf method to align llms and optimize the kl-reward pareto front of solutions, leveraging alphafold and ai for rapid discovery of targeted treatments for liver cancer, a comprehensive overview of prompt engineering for chatgpt, transformers 4.42 by hugging face: unleashing gemma 2, rt-detr, instructblip, llava-next-video, enhanced tool usage,..., this ai paper from uc berkeley research highlights how task decomposition breaks the safety..., role of llms like chatgpt in scientific research: the integration of scalable ai and..., google deepmind introduces warp: a novel reinforcement learning from human feedback rlhf method to....
Katie Rae, CEO of The Engine Ventures
H eat waves are currently battering parts of the United States while others are grappling with record amounts of rainfall and flooding–stark reminders of the consequences of climate change. Tackling this problem is a key focus for Katie Rae, CEO and managing partner of The Engine Ventures, which makes early-stage investments in startups focused on sustainability, health and infrastructure. The tools we have today, she said, can’t fix the world’s environmental problems.
“When you get right down to brass tacks, no one believes that we will reach our climate goal without developing new technology,” she told Forbes .
Today, The Engine Ventures announced a third fund of $398 million, its largest to date and nearly twice the $250 million fund it raised in 2020 . This raise brings the firm to over $1 billion in assets under management. The Engine has invested in over 50 companies to date, which have collectively raised over $5 billion in investment and have over 3,100 employees.
The new fund will give Rae’s firm more flexibility in the size of the checks it writes for seed and series A rounds. “It means that you can really develop these companies into the B and C rounds where you definitively de-risk the technology and begin to scale,” she said.
The Engine was first created in 2016 as a spinout from MIT, with Rae as the founding CEO. The idea was to create a venture firm and accelerator for early-stage startups developing complex technology in climate tech, advanced computing and infrastructure systems as well as biotechnology. It has since built a 150,000 square-foot facility in Cambridge near the MIT campus that provides laboratory space, manufacturing technology and more for the accelerator.
“There’s a bipartisan understanding that we have to have a manufacturing base.” The Engine Ventures CEO Katie Rae
In 2023, the firm split the accelerator and venture firm into two different companies. Rae, became CEO of The Engine Ventures, while still remaining on the board of The Engine accelerator. A report co-produced by The Engine and Pitchbook found that its investment market areas saw 21% compounded annual growth in financing between 2016 and 2023, compared to a 6% average for other sectors, though in 2023 they saw the same funding drop-off that other venture investment areas did.
A big driver of this growth, Rae said, has been a “major policy shift” by the federal government to bolster infrastructure and climate technology with measures like the CHIPS Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, which put more government funds behind these sectors and incentivize the private sector to do the same. “There’s a bipartisan understanding that we have to have a manufacturing base,” she said. “The capital stack is much stronger than it was 7 years ago.”
When it comes to climate tech, The Engine Ventures has a broad portfolio. It’s invested in Commonwealth Fusion, which is developing nuclear fusion technology. It’s also backed Form Energy, which is building iron-based batteries for the electrical grid, and VEIR, which is making superconducting wires that can transmit more electricity than copper.
The current AI boom–and the energy-hungry chips it depends on–is an area where Rae sees an opportunity to develop new classes of chipswith lower environmental and financial costs. There’s Celestial AI, for example, which is building chips based on energy-efficient light rather than electricity. It’s also invested in companies pushing the boundaries of quantum computing and other new hardware. “Power and climate and compute all go together,” she said.
Despite the breadth of its investments, Rae sees them all as being interconnected. Her portfolio company Vaxess, for example, is developing vaccine patches that don’t require refrigeration, improving both accessibility and sustainability. The lessons from the firm’s first two funds, Rae said, encourage taking even bigger swings at hard tech problems with its third. “Let's keep going and let's go even bigger because the potential capital returns and the impact returns are enormous,” she said.
Solving biofouling problem of uranium extraction from seawater by plasma technology.
The effective extraction of uranium (U(VI)) from seawater is critical for the sound development of nuclear energy in near future. Biofouling is one of the core problems of U(VI) extraction from seawater that must be solved soon. In this work, plasma technology is applied to solve biofouling problem of U(VI) extraction from seawater. Experimental results show that reactive oxygen species (ROS) formed during plasma discharging process can effectively kill marine microorganisms in 30 min by destroying its wall membrane structure and remove its extracellular polymers (EPS), which can sound improve its U(VI) adsorption capability. Plasma treatment also has a significant effect on the microorganism compositions in seawater, and can effectively kill Proteobacteria species including V. alginolyticus. In summary, plasma sterilization is a fast, effective, and simple process. It can sound solve the biofouling problem, and simultaneously improve the recovery capability of PAO based materials for U(VI) from seawater.
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X. Zhang and D. Shao, Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol. , 2024, Accepted Manuscript , DOI: 10.1039/D4EW00226A
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We'll outline that process here and then follow with techniques you can use to explore and work on that step of the problem solving process with a group. The seven-step problem solving process is: 1. Problem identification. The first stage of any problem solving process is to identify the problem (s) you need to solve.
The problem-solving process typically includes the following steps: Identify the issue: Recognize the problem that needs to be solved. Analyze the situation: Examine the issue in depth, gather all relevant information, and consider any limitations or constraints that may be present. Generate potential solutions: Brainstorm a list of possible ...
The 7 steps to problem-solving. When it comes to problem-solving there are seven key steps that you should follow: define the problem, disaggregate, prioritize problem branches, create an analysis plan, conduct analysis, synthesis, and communication. 1. Define the problem. Problem-solving begins with a clear understanding of the issue at hand.
Problem solving, in the simplest terms, is the process of identifying a problem, analyzing it, and finding the most effective solution to overcome it. For software engineers, this process is deeply embedded in their daily workflow. It could be something as simple as figuring out why a piece of code isn't working as expected, or something as ...
Finding a suitable solution for issues can be accomplished by following the basic four-step problem-solving process and methodology outlined below. Step. Characteristics. 1. Define the problem. Differentiate fact from opinion. Specify underlying causes. Consult each faction involved for information. State the problem specifically.
Brief Summary: Critical thinking and problem solving is a crucial skill in a technical world that can immediately be applied to academics and careers.A highly skilled individual in this competency can choose the appropriate tool to accomplish a task, easily switch between tools, has a basic understanding of different file types, and can troubleshoot technology when it's not working properly.
Although problem-solving is a skill in its own right, a subset of seven skills can help make the process of problem-solving easier. These include analysis, communication, emotional intelligence, resilience, creativity, adaptability, and teamwork. 1. Analysis. As a manager, you'll solve each problem by assessing the situation first.
Mastering technical problem-solving skills involving data sets and algorithms are all fine and good, but getting a handle on these non-technical problem-solving skills are equally important, according to hiring managers. Prior to joining Roblox, Clavel managed a technically brilliant engineer who had a toxic personality that constantly ...
Our approach to solving tech problems. Let's call it the "problem-solving framework.". When you solve a technical problem, that's great. However, it's more important to establish a process that detects and solves the problems, ensuring that your time and energy are well spent. For us, addressing this organizational problem involves ...
Defer or suspend judgement. Focus on "Yes, and…" rather than "No, but…". According to Carella, "Creative problem solving is the mental process used for generating innovative and imaginative ideas as a solution to a problem or a challenge. Creative problem solving techniques can be pursued by individuals or groups.".
Creative problem solving (CPS) is actually a formal process formulated by Sidney Parnes and Alex Faickney Osborn, who is thought of as the father of traditional brainstorming (and the "O" in famous advertising agency BBDO).. Their creative problem solving process emphasizes several things, namely:. Separate ideation from evaluation.When you brainstorm creative ideas, have a separate time for ...
Step 1: Identification of Blockers. The first and most important step in fixing technical issues in software development is finding them. When we can identify things accurately and on time, we can ...
Technology is all about solving big thorny problems. Yet one of the hardest things about solving hard problems is knowing where to focus our efforts. There are so many urgent issues facing the world.
In insight problem-solving, the cognitive processes that help you solve a problem happen outside your conscious awareness. 4. Working backward. Working backward is a problem-solving approach often ...
Technology is a very touchy and hypersensitive beast, and more often than not, it doesn't take too kindly to introducing changes. Even the changes that are supposed to solve and prevent other known problems, often result in the introduction of new and unexpected problems. ... Effective problem solving is, more often than not, substantially ...
So here are my main tips for nailing your technical interviews. 1. Prepare for the Interview. This is important for all kind of interviews, but for technical interviews I think it's crucial. Your chances of passing these evaluations are way lower if you don't prepare correctly for them. Here are some ideas that allowed me to better prepare ...
If you're trying to fix a problem, restart the device. Doing this solves a huge amount of technical issues. If you're not sure how to restart your device, search online for instructions. Make sure that you're restarting the device itself, and not just the screen, if the two are separate. Note that it's generally preferable to turn the ...
With technology playing a key role in advancing our world today, here are 10 experts' responses on the biggest problems tech needs to solve. Andrew Winston,Winston Eco-Strategies. Problem ...
Problem solving is an activity, a context and a dominant pedagogical frame for Technology Education. It constitutes a central method and a critical skill through which school pupils learn about and become proficient in technology (Custer et al., 2001).Research has, among other things, been able to identify and investigate sets of intellectual and cognitive processes (Buckley et al., 2019 ...
Make a habit of trimming the startup items. Open the tool by pressing Windows-R, typing msconfig, and pressing the Enter key. Checking the Startup Item and Manufacturer columns is the best way to ...
Whether it is clean energy, robotics, quantum computing, synthetic biology, telemedicine, AI, or cloud education and NUI software, it can solve all the biggest problems confronting mankind. Creating value means coming up with something people will pay for in the real world. Virtual technologies can open up a window of possibilities, given their ...
Too Much Focus on Automation. Data Mixups Due to AI Implementation. Poor User Experience. 1. Employee Productivity Measurement. As most companies switched to 100 percent remote almost overnight, many realized that they lacked an efficient way to measure employee productivity. Technology with " user productivity reports " has become ...
Problem solving is an increasingly important soft skill for those in business. The Future of Jobs Survey by the World Economic Forum drives this point home. According to this report, complex problem solving is identified as one of the top 15 skills that will be sought by employers in 2025, along with other soft skills such as analytical thinking, creativity and leadership.
Software Developer. Average Salary: $70,000 - $120,000 per year. Software Developers design, develop, and maintain software systems and applications to solve real-world problems. This role is ideal for problem solvers who enjoy applying their analytical and technical skills to create innovative solutions. Job Duties:
In today's rapidly evolving tech landscape, technical expertise alone is no longer enough to stay competitive and future-proof your career. Soft skills such as effective communication, collaboration, problem-solving, and adaptability are becoming increasingly valuable assets.
Despite the significant advancement in large language models (LLMs), LLMs often need help with long contexts, especially where information is spread across the complete text. LLMs can now handle long stretches of text as input, but they still face the 'lost in the middle' problem. The ability of LLMs to accurately find and use information within that context weakens as the relevant information ...
The venture capital firm aims to bolster investment in advanced technologies aimed at solving climate change, improving AI and solving health problems.
In this work, plasma technology is applied to solve biofouling problem of U(VI) extraction from seawater. Experimental results show that reactive oxygen species (ROS) formed during plasma discharging process can effectively kill marine microorganisms in 30 min by destroying its wall membrane structure and remove its extracellular polymers (EPS ...
Join forward-thinking technology people with a heart in a job at NetApp. ... If you run toward knowledge and problem-solving, join us. About NetApp. NetApp is the intelligent data infrastructure company, turning a world of disruption into opportunity for every customer. No matter the data type, workload or environment, we help our customers ...