31247 Chap.1 Defining and Scoping a Wicked Problem
Defining and Scoping a Wicked Problem
Start with questions, not solutions
The first lecture asks every team to define its problem before reaching for a method.
Five standard questions do the work: what the key issue is, who it affects, which social, cultural, economic, technological and legal factors shape it, what evidence shows it deserves investment, and whether it can be seen another way.
Drawing the edges
A good definition then states what the project covers, which limits are imposed on it, what it assumes, and how improvement will be measured.
These four statements become the backbone of Assignment 1 and are reused in the group report.
Where this chapter sits in the project
Orientation week asks each student to choose a thematic area, find a wicked problem in it and prepare a pitch for a team.
The lecture offers health and wellness, sustainability, socio-economic and political issues, and technology as starting themes, and stresses that a project can combine several. The habits built here, naming who a problem is for and how improvement will be measured, carry through every later model.
What this chapter covers
- 01
What a business process is
- 02
Why the subject insists on collaboration
- 03
The five problem-definition questions
- 04
Information a problem analysis collects
- 05
Scope, constraints, assumptions and improvement criteria
- 06
Desirability, feasibility and viability over time
- 07
Reframing a problem
Worked example · free
Run the five defining questions on a campus safety problem
- 1Key issue: students leaving classes after dark feel at risk between buildings and car parks.
- 1Who it is for: evening students first, with security staff and facilities managers as other parties affected.
- 1Shaping factors: lighting and building layout (technological), timetabling of late classes (organisational), and a duty of care to students (legal).
- 1Evidence of worth: incident reports, a short survey of evening students, and walk-through observation at night.
- 1Reframe: the issue may be isolation rather than darkness, which points to walking groups or shuttle timing rather than only more lights.
Key terms
- Problem Statement
- A short definition of what is going wrong, for whom, with the evidence that it matters.
- Constraint
- A limit imposed on how the problem can be addressed, such as a law, a platform or a budget.
- Assumption
- A belief about users or conditions that the design relies on but has not proved.
- Scope
- The part of the problem a project chooses to cover, stated together with what lies outside it.
Defining and Scoping a Wicked Problem FAQ
What should Assignment 1 define?
The Assignment 2 instructions recap it: a problem area researched through literature, data and stakeholder analysis, shown in diagrams and discussed in tutorials, ending in a problem definition with improvement criteria, constraints and assumptions. Check the Assignment 1 page on Canvas for its own wording.
What is the difference between a constraint and an assumption?
A constraint is a limit placed on the team from outside, such as a privacy law or the platform a solution must run on. An assumption is something the team believes about users or conditions without having proved it, and it needs evidence before the report relies on it.
When should feasibility and viability be considered?
Later, once ideas exist. The Week 1 slides attach desirability to the first stage, asking what is bothering people now, and leave the questions of technical feasibility and organisational support until solutions are being evaluated.
Can the problem I choose for Assignment 1 become the group project?
Yes. The assessment overview says the group may choose a problem identified in Assignment 1 after members pitch their topics, and then develop it further together. That makes a well-defined individual problem a strong candidate for the group report, so define it carefully even though it is your own task.
Which project themes does the subject suggest?
The Week 1 lecture lists health and wellness, sustainability, socio-economic and political issues, and technology, including the implementation of AI in organisations rather than algorithm development. The themes are only indications, and one project can draw on more than one of them.
Why does the subject ask me to reframe the problem?
Because the first framing of a problem often hides a better one. The subject’s example page retells a case in which complaints about a slow lift were eased by mirrors rather than a faster motor, once the problem was seen as the experience of waiting rather than speed. Reframing can change the evidence you need and the solutions worth testing.
Assessment move
Write your project’s problem statement in one sentence, then answer the five defining questions underneath it. Under four headings, scope, constraints, assumptions and improvement criteria, write two lines each and check that no line could sit under a different heading.
Bring the page to your tutorial and ask a classmate to reframe your problem; if Sia can find a framing you had not considered, test it against the evidence before you decide. Keep this page in your work log; you will revise it when the group chooses its problem.
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