Problem Solving Techniques

• Ask questions.
  • You need to understand the problem.
  • Clarify things that are unclear.
  • Find hidden/unknown parts of the problem.
• Look for things that are familiar/ Solve by analogy
  • Many problems are like others
  • Try to see how this problem matches another problem you know how to solve.
  • Example: Finding maximum value in a list of values.

    Read in the first data item
    Set the maximum to that
    for all other data values
         read in the next value
         if the new value is greater than the maximum
              set the maximum to the new value
    

  • Now, how would you find the minimum?
  • How about the total number of data items?
• Means-Ends Analysis
  • Find a way to go from the beginning to the end.
• Divide and Conquer
  • Can you split the problem (usually data) into two parts?
  • Is it somehow easier to deal with the two sub-parts?
• Building Block Approach
  • Dont't try to solve the problem directly, just work on little pieces
  • As you make little pieces work, you will be able to build up to a solution.

If you run into a block, keep working. Look at it from different prospectives. Write down what you know. Come up with questions, figure out the things you don't understand.

Please Read Chapter 1.