Problem solving is a core skill that architects employ all the time, and this is the skill that enables businesses to justify the “why” - the value of the work to the business; and enable teams to arrive at a ‘reasonable starting point’ in an environment of uncertainty and ambiguity.

Regardless of what the ‘problem’ is, there is a consistent approach and learning process that enables a ‘solution’. To demonstrate this approach, let’s look at three very different use cases and talk through:

1. The ‘science’ of problem solving: a process with 3 simple elements of ‘framing the problem’, ‘understanding the problem space’ and ‘synthesising to a goal’
2. The ‘art’ of problem solving: digging into your toolkit to find one that applies, and continuously testing your approach to work through ambiguity
3. Cross-pollinating the art with approaches learnt from areas such as air-crash investigations, and cross-pollinating the science with non-tech anecdotes

As a takeaway from this talk, architects, analysts, developers, and broadly anyone working with real world problems, will be able to use their current toolbox more effectively within a problem solving context

- I presented a specific problem solved using a DDD approach at the domain-driven design Europe conference (2023). After that presentation, I felt there is a broader story to be told about problem solving which does not get addressed in conferences focussed on one specific tool or technique. Hence, I wrote this talk looking at different types of business problems
- Presented an early version of the "problem solving" talk at the Tech Leading Ladies meetup, Melbourne (2024)
- Another iteration presented at ADAConf, Melbourne (2024)