MegaMaester

Problem Solving & Decision Making · Module 3

Tackling Complex Problems

Module 1 built the core problem-solving toolkit; Module 2 sharpened decision-making. This module takes on the hard cases: problems that are ill-defined, tangled, or bigger than any single fix.

You will learn to frame and define problems well, to test ideas cheaply through prototyping and experimentation, to use AI and digital tools with judgement, to recognise wicked problems, to apply design thinking, to solve under real constraints, and to keep growing as a problem-solver.

Lessons
7 lessons
Estimated time
~6-8 hours
Assessment
Module quiz included

Not started yet

Lessons

Lesson 1 · 16 min

Framing and Defining Problems

Lesson 2 · 16 min

Prototyping and Experimentation

Lesson 3 · 16 min

Problem-Solving with AI and Digital Tools

Lesson 4 · 16 min

Wicked Problems and Complexity

Lesson 5 · 16 min

Design Thinking

Lesson 6 · 16 min

Problem-Solving Under Constraints

Lesson 7 · 16 min

Becoming a Better Problem-Solver

Check your understanding

Finish the lessons, then test yourself. Your best score is saved on this device. You can also open this quiz on its own page.

Tackling Complex Problems — Module Assessment

14 questions · pass mark 75%

  1. 1.A team spends a week fixing 'the export button is broken' and finds the button works fine. Users actually could not locate the exported file afterwards. What went wrong?
  2. 2.Why can solving the wrong problem well be worse than solving the right problem badly?
  3. 3.What is the primary purpose of a minimum viable product?
  4. 4.In Eric Ries's account, why did Dropbox's demonstration video qualify as an MVP even though it was not a working product?
  5. 5.In Mata v. Avianca (2023), what was the core problem with the lawyer's use of an AI chatbot?
  6. 6.Why does accountability for an AI-assisted decision stay with a person rather than the tool?
  7. 7.Which is a defining property of a wicked problem as described by Rittel and Webber?
  8. 8.Why is treating a wicked problem as if it were tame a costly error?
  9. 9.In design thinking, what is the main purpose of building a rough early prototype?
  10. 10.Which of these is a well-formed, human-centered problem statement?
  11. 11.What does "satisficing" mean?
  12. 12.On Apollo 13, what made the carbon-dioxide scrubbers a problem?
  13. 13.A recurring customer complaint keeps reappearing under different descriptions each month. What does this pattern most suggest about how to approach it?
  14. 14.Research on skilled problem-solvers consistently finds that, compared with novices, experts tend to:
Answer every question to submit.