Effective Approaches to Problem Solving

Regardless of industry, regardless of role - we all face problems. They may be technical related, code related, or people related - they lead to bugs, degraded performance, outages, security breaches, lost revenue.

Problem solving is a critical part of any technologists life - and yet, training on effective problem solving techniques is rare. Wouldn't it be great if we had a formalized set of tools that we could immediately use when faced with a problem? Whether you suffer from analysis paralysis, or rely a lot on intuition, instinct or experience - this talk aims to show that problems are just solutions in disguise. Recorded live, virtual TechCoach session with the Greater Nashville Technology Council, on August 6th, 2021

Sources and Good Reads

Thinking in Systems by Donella H. Meadows Cracked it! by Bernard Garrette What's Your Problem? by Thomas Wedell-Wedellsborg How Would You Move Mount Fuji? by William Poundstone The Success Equation by Michael Mauboussin Stan Browne, Deb Clark, et. al - PDHPE Application & Inquiry, 2nd Ed. Oxford University Press, 2009 500 Mile Email ( https://www.ibiblio.org/harris/500milemail.html ) A simple checklist that saves lives ( https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/magazine/fall08checklist ) How statistics can be misleading - Mark Liddell ( https://youtu.be/sxYrzzy3cq8 ) Working Backwards to Solve Problems ( https://youtu.be/v34NqCbAA1c ) The Sinking of the Titanic Cause Map ( https://www.thinkreliability.com/case_studies/the-sinking-of-the-titanic-cause-map/ ) How to Use the Fishbone Tool for Root Cause Analysis ( https://www.cms.gov/medicare/provider-enrollment-and-certification/qapi/downloads/fishbonerevised.pdf ) How to Make Progress Bars Feel Faster to Users ( https://uxmovement.com/buttons/how-to-make-progress-bars-feel-faster-to-users/ )

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