Spring ÇGIE398 - lecture 21 lecture 2 : the problem situation we discuss: the components of a problem situation mind maps rich pictures

Spring ÇGIE398 - lecture 22

Spring ÇGIE398 - lecture 23 components of a problem issues and problems that are the subject of inquiry occur within a context that we call the “problem situation” (the context is that part of a system's environment that can neither be influenced nor controlled) involved in each problem situation, are –decision makers – objectives – decision criterion – performance measure – control inputs or courses of action we can make these more clear as follows

Spring ÇGIE398 - lecture 24 goal indicates overall purpose e.g. setting up an ambulance service objective is more specific than a goal e.g. finding the best location for an ambulance service (the textbook makes no distinction between a goal and an objective) decision criterion : a rule by which we judge the achievement of an objective e.g. maximising expected profits or the rate of return on investments; minimising total distance travelled, or the longest distance travelled etc. performance measure: an output that serves to measure system performance objective function: mathematical expression of performance measure, expressing o/p as a function of control i/p’s, (decision variables)

Spring ÇGIE398 - lecture 25 stakeholders (roles assumed with respect to the narrow system of interest): –problem owners who have control over some aspects of the problem situation, such as choosing a course of action –problem users who use the “solution”, ie. implement the decisions of problem owners –problem customers, the affected beneficiaries or victims of the solution to be implemented –analysts (e.g. the OR analyst or the IE) address the problem and develop a solution that must be approved by peroblem owners

role definition is important; e.g. consider the case of screening for breast cancer: –if the Health Minister initiates the project, concern will be about effective allocation of funds, priorities, trade-offs, costs; the entire health system will be the of interest –if doctors or women’s groups initiate the project, concern will be about minimising incidence of cancer and fatalities, not directly over costs –users may need to be persuaded and trained lest they sabotage implementation –roles may need to be reassigned for efficiency or efficacy Spring ÇGIE398 - lecture 26

Spring ÇGIE398 - lecture 27 mind maps and rich pictures these are useful as a first step in setting down and representing our perception of the problem situation where: all aspects of a problem situation are mapped on a free-style diagram with or without pictures including as much or as little detail as necessary independently of any particular W (ie. world view) but as a joint product of conflicting views of the situation without trying to identify any systems as yet redrawn as many times as needed in the course of the project

Spring ÇGIE398 - lecture 28

Spring ÇGIE398 - lecture 29

Spring ÇGIE398 - lecture 210 these diagrams should show: elements of structure; stable or slow-changing aspects such as buildings, equipment, products, rules, advantages, difficulties etc. elements of process; dynamic aspects that change fast such as activities, material flows, information etc. relationships between structure and process and consequences of these relationships soft as well as hard facts multiple aspects to facilitate learning and discussion not too many connectors, precedences or flows

Spring ÇG11IE398 - lecture 2

Spring ÇG12IE398 - lecture 2