The Nature of Complex Problems for Engineering Systems Change

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Team notes during training session with Jerry Koh

Do you remember the time you worked on your first year engineering design problems? Was there an obvious solution to them, or did it require a lot of research before getting to one? Many engineering problems today are complex problems that need to be solved in order to create change in society. The question is, how do you solve them?

On November 13, Jerry Koh, the manager of the MaRS Solutions Lab, came in to host a session of The Game in WB342 titled “Engineering Systems Change.” He shared his knowledge and wisdom of solving complex problems through interactive activities, and gave us all a deeper sense on what it takes to solve them.

I worked directly with my team for The Game. Jerry started by asking our team to write down one problem that needs to be solved in seven words or less in under 30 seconds. When picking on which problem to solve together, my team chose to tackle “bias based on engineering professional identity” (that engineers don’t always have all the answers and that working effectively with people with other educational and professional backgrounds means recognizing our own biases as engineers).

Jerry then asked us to answer why the problem we agreed as a group to solve is actually a problem. Interestingly, everyone in my team had different viewpoints on why this is a problem. We had a 10-minute discussion to figure out the root of the problem, and brainstorm ideas on how we can approach a solution.

The next question Jerry asked came as a surprise to everyone: “How would the world be different if this problem didn’t exist?” As a team, we believed that if people are aware of their biases and if they are able to overcome them while interacting with other individuals, there would be fewer conflict in interdisciplinary teamwork. As a result, working environments would become more positive, productive and engaging. Answering this question helped me and my team assess how important this problem actually is , which allowed us to assess the potential impact this particular problem has on society.

With this in mind, Jerry then engaged the whole room to participate in a debate. For every team that came up to share their problem, Jerry questioned the rest of the teams, “Do you guys support them with the problem they want to solve?” I always would challenge each team’s ideas by saying that they are not specific enough, or that they aren’t realistic or achievable. It is evident that there are people that support and refute issues presented by the teams. This debate with my peers revealed one important aspect of complex problems, which is that people always have different viewpoints on every problem. The problem needs to be defined differently for various target audiences so that they can support the problem.

By the end of this session, I learned that the nature of solving complex problems requires more than just defining the problem statement. There are a multitude of obstacles such as bias and multiple perspectives that make it difficult to find solutions to complex problems. As a result, it always takes a lot of time to develop solutions that will address the underlying issues.

-Kevin Saludares