Problem Solving

The Engineering Journey ← Series Home The Puzzle of the Problem In the realm of engineering, not all challenges are created equal. The most profound difference lies not in the difficulty of the task, but in the nature of the solution itself. An academic or technical challenge often falls into the category of analysis, where all the facts are provided, and the task is to calculate a single, precise outcome. By contrast, the core of product creation is design, where the path is foggy, the inputs are often ambiguous, and a thousand solutions may vie for supremacy. ...

500 Five decision-making insights from Systems Engineering: Value-Focused Thinking, Process + Creativity, Embracing Failure, Useful Models, and Right Problem Definition. Introduction: Unlocking Wisdom from Unexpected Sources We live in a world of overwhelming complexity. Making a good decision, whether for our business, our career, or our personal lives, feels harder than ever. We’re flooded with data, faced with endless options, and haunted by the fear of choosing incorrectly. In the search for clarity, we often turn to business books or productivity blogs. We rarely look inside a 500-page academic textbook on Systems Engineering. ...

Key Takeaways Failure is the curriculum: Engineers spend more time studying bridges that collapsed than bridges that stand. The pathology of failure teaches more than the celebration of success. Walls kill innovation: The "over-the-wall" method—where marketing throws requirements to engineering, who throws specs to production—reduces quality by up to 350%. Questions beat answers: Einstein was right: formulating the problem is more important than solving it. Design Thinking starts with "what do they need?" not "what can we build?" Nature already solved it: From Velcro to submarine hulls, the most innovative designs are often borrowed from millions of years of evolutionary R&D. Nothing is ever finished: The paper clip has been "perfected" and patented hundreds of times since 1899. Design is iteration, not invention. Beyond the Blueprint When we think of “design,” we imagine one of two extremes: the polished aesthetics of a luxury car, or the cold precision of an architectural blueprint. Either it’s about making things beautiful, or it’s about following a rigid technical checklist. ...