Prompt: what are your thoughts about helping people solve complex and ill-structured problems?
To solve complex or poorly designed problems, we must try to break down those problems into smaller and more manageable components. By breaking down the problem into smaller parts we can begin to understand the complexities of the more significant problem.
One technique I’ve used in the past is the concept-mapping, or mind-mapping, technique. Concept mapping is a graphic organizing tool that can be used to break down large problems to identify the main and sub-components of that more significant problem (Novak & Cañas, 2006). I prefer to use an online software program called Miro Links to an external site.to assist with the development of the digital mindmap, as the system has many easy-to-use templates.
Within Miro, I can use the mindmap templates provided to assist in breaking down difficult learning concepts such as an augmented reality (AR) project I was working on. My visual mindmap branched out the larger AR project into smaller, more manageable, components such as funding, software, hardware, stakeholders, etc. The mindmap continued with sub-components branched off the main components which were drilled down deeper to identify the various entities of each sub-component. The process of developing a mindmap (concept map) to solve a complex problem was thorough and a practice that I will continue to use when trying to solve complex problems, projects, or issues.
References:
Novak, J. D., & Cañas, A. J. (2006). The origins of the concept mapping tool and the continuing evolution of the tool. Information Visualization, 5(3), 175–184. https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.ivs.9500126
