COMPLEX problem decomposition AND  PLANNING

PREFACE

Before we dive into this topic we will introduce some fundamental work concepts that are of paramount importance.  The importance of education and skill building cannot be overstated.  But there is also a common “trap” here which I refer to as “My way or the highway”.   Recognition of skills and success often breed excess ego and rejection of other with different thinking and ideologies.  In common circumstances this results in domestic and work room conflicts and in society at large all too often leads to intolerance, hatreds, and war.  The principle here is “Your Liberty To Swing Your Fist Ends Just Where My Nose Begins”.  We have an expression that the worst peace is better than the best war.  

problem decomposition

We are about to get into a complex but extremely important topic.  In this topic we will have to use some abstract forms of thinking which not everyone knows how to do.  So if you struggle with this please have patience because this is extremely important and may help you enormously once you acquire this skill.

We will begin simple in our example but in reality almost all professions employ this technique one way or another.

So let’s begin with some simple examples.  You go over to some electrical device that you need to use and flip the switch but it does not turn on.  So now you have a complex problem and don’t know why it will not turn on.  So you think about it and come up with the idea of how to simplify the problem into a two case situation.  So the next step is to find out if you have electrical power or not.  You look around for some electrical outlet tester (strongly recommended and it is quite cheap) or another electrical device.  If you have a simple electrical outlet tester it will immediately tell you if you have power or not and whether the outlet is properly wired.  If you don’t have a tester you look for any electrical device that will show some signs of life (light up, make noise, or perform some action that you can see.  

So let’s say that you find that you do have power.  Now we look at possible reasons that the power is not starting you computer up.  So next you need to check the power cable.  There is another kind of power tester called a non-contact inductive power tester.  These are also reasonably priced and good to have.  I always check any electrical circuits I work on to see if they have power or not before I work on them.  The way this tester works is that you turn on the tester and usually there is some light that turns on and you may also hear a beep.  You move the tester probe end over the power cord and the tester will sense the magnetic field around the cable to showing if there is or is not power.  You will know immediately and safely if you have power or not.  If you don’t have a tester you look for another device that uses the same kind of cable (assuming a detachable cord) and try the cord in a different device to see if it works.  Again you get a yes or no result and this will continue to guide you until you find the source of the problem.  It could be a blown fuse, circuit breaker, power supply and on and on.  On the other hand if you did not find power at all at the outlet, you now go the other direction to check other devices on the same circuit, the circuit breaker, etc.  By the way the first thing I did when I bought my new house is to check every light, switch, and outlet for which electrical cabinet and circuit breaker power the device and then printed labels everywhere so I could quickly and easily resolve any power issues when problems arose.  If you think that these labels are ugly, one can put the labels inside the wall plate and unscrew one or two screws to find the information on those rare occasions that you need it or prepare some master electrical document with all the required information.  But to summarize what we have done so far is find a complex problem.  Find a way to divide the problem in two so you can determine which direction to go to further reduce the scope of the problem until you ultimately find the source of the problem.

Now we will look at a far more complex problem scenario.  You don’t feel well and go to your physician.  The physician has spent year learning anatomy, physiology, chemistry, and so forth.  Next the physician must clarify the problem statement and asks you where does it hurt or what and where are you feeling bad and so forth.  If you were playing with your child and fell there will be obvious signs of injury.  If you have some internal problem then they may have to do lab work, analyze blood samples for all kinds of information found in the blood.  They may have to check your temperature, blood pressure, etc.  The body have a massively brilliant system of organs which much interoperate as the heart provides the blood and distribution system of the blood throughout your body.  The lungs provide the oxygen required.  The digestive system processes the food and nutrients that the body needs.  The kidneys, liver, pancreas, etc. also process the breaking down of food into waster that must be expelled.  And the doctor must order the appropriate tests to find out where the problem is, possibly prescribe the appropriate medicines, diet, or other treatment to help cure the problem.  For as complex as the human body is and the task of drilling down to the correct source of the problem and find the appropriate corrective active, the bottom line is that the process here may be more complex because of the complexity of all of the components but the process is largely the same:  take a problem of whatever complexity and come up with tests to identify the source of the problem one step at a time until you ultimately reach the source of the problem and find the appropriate resolution.

In conclusion, we tried to introduce the concept of problem decomposition and the methods in two different problem areas.  This was my first cut and if anyone needs more enlightenment on this please drop me a line and I will try to add supplementary support explanations as appropriate.