Have you gone through the problem-solving process only to find out?
- Your solution is not viable.
- The design is considered late to the market.
- The solution is not innovative when compared to competitors.
- The cost is too high, or the quality is poor.
More than likely, you added bias into the process. The fix for this is a solution-neutral approach.
What does it mean to have a solution-neutral approach?
The solution-neutral approach is when the solution comes from the process or the solution “followed the numbers.” At this point, you are saying, “Yeah!! We did that!”
But did you? Bias can be added by simply not defining your objective statement correctly. For example, when a ‘How’ clause is added, “The device design will have 3 wheels, be painted red and be 3 feet wide.” Or a stakeholder “recommends” a material to use or a process or, worse unnecessary features, all without any justification or confirmation for their need to be included.
So, why is the solution-neutral approach essential to include in my problem-solving?
• It is easier to justify a design feature or change. This is especially necessary when communicating with senior management or key stakeholders.
• It makes the design come from the team’s consensus, with no one stakeholder influencing the solution in the wrong direction.
• The solution is more robust.
• The solution will have a greater chance of performing even if it experiences an unexpected operating condition.
• The unknown unknowns are reduced. Yes, this is a real thing. We do not have infinite knowledge and do not know what the solution will experience over its lifetime. However, by reducing the unknown unknowns, we build robustness and increase the solution’s operating range.
• The reduction of problems related to cognitive bias. For example, wrong operating assumptions, use of stereotypes, use of racial bias, or cultural bias.
The harm of cognitive bias
The harm of cognitive bias is far-reaching and can be detrimental to the user and the company. For example, by assuming a stereotype without confirmation, you can lose out on an entire market segment or design the solution for the wrong group of people. More insidiously, having a racial or cultural bias in the system can harm groups of people, or your solution is not adapted or used worldwide. A perfect example of racial bias is when AI incorrectly processes faces with darker skin tones are labels persons with darker skin with negative attributes. This bias innocently comes from the test set used to teach the AI. Most of the test data consists mainly of males and a few persons of darker skin tones.
This will cause a disservice to the users and your organization. Another example is in the form of developing new medicines and vaccines. The sample group tends to be limited, and the persons involved tend to have similar characteristics. As a result, the efficacy of the tested medicine is not widespread.
Ok, so can you give me some examples of the solution-neutral approach?
• When Sony came out with Walkman, it was revolutionary, but they kept evolving it with the assumption that media (cassettes or CDs) must be put into a device to listen to music. However, Apple took a different approach and defined its objective simply as ‘Putting 1000 songs in your pocket’. In so doing, they were to follow the process, go digital, and the iPod was born, and the Walkman faded into history.
• The Minivan changed the way we looked at family cars forever. The developers throughout the assumption that the new solution should be like what was defined as a family car at the time, especially the station wagon. By following the solution-neutral approach, the designers could capture the experience of a parent who needed to get to the back of the vehicle while it was raining or snowing or did not want to open the doors. Thus, the feature of being able to move from the driver’s seat all the way to the back of the vehicle was developed.
• SpaceX revolutionized the space industry. It was a long-held belief that rockets had to be single-use and expensive. But SpaceX threw out this assumption and now has developed reusable rockets which have a quick turn-around and can land both at sea and on land. In so doing, they have dramatically dropped the cost of deploying objects to space.
• McDonald’s food delivery. For many, it was assumed that McDonald’s food delivery was viable. However, the Middle East and Asia Franchisees threw out this assumption and started to deliver. To the point, their delivery-based service is now a vital part of their business. It is only recently McDonald’s has started to deliver in the States. How much revenue did they lose over the years over a faulty assumption?
Therefore, when problem-solving, take the solution approach and be aware of bias creeping into the process.