1. Complex Information for Problem Solving
Michael J. Albers
East Carolina University

2. People come to information sources to FIND information and to SOLVE problems.
How well the information source provides that information is a different question
2/27/2017
SCCI 2017

3. Defining terms Data is raw stuff that needs interpretation.
Information informs intelligently, providing useful meaning. Noise is data that distracts.
Restructuring data to provide information requires a deep rethinking of what is meant by writing and audience
Information sits within the relationships, not the raw data itself
Part of our problem is the lack of the deep thinking to find the deeper structures that support what people really need
2/27/2017
SCCI 2017

4. Building a Cathedral is long term problem-solving
Cutting stones even perfectly is short term problem-solving
The short term can’t be properly addressed without considering the long term
Cathedral story
Too many information sources only focus on a single stone and never place it within the context of being part of a cathedral.
We focus on cutting stone (translating text for a general reader) without the focus on why we are doing it (helping to solving a problem)
Documentation that explains what buttons to push, but never explain why you want to push them in the first place
2/27/2017
SCCI 2017

5. We need to change from a mind-set of shifting from providing information to asking why the person needs the information in the first place and how they going to use it, and what problem they are solving….
Answering what drives why they are looking at the information in the first place.
2/27/2017
SCCI 2017

6. Frescoes are the old way (Romanesque)
Frescoes are the old way (Romanesque). They cover the heavy walls that provided lots of wall space with tiny windows.
Stained glass (Gothic) works because of the use of columns. A new way of building that eliminated the need for the wall to support the entire building.
Frescoes don’t work because of the lack of wall space, but many people still only want to do them. Teaching/writing the old style of documentation.
Stained glass creation is different from fresco creation. In look, in needed skills, in basic structure.
Still a short term goal of creating a single piece, but it remains part of the overall long term piece. It is still part of a cathedral.
In early Romanesque buildings, such as Durham Cathedral, frescoes were most common means of interior decoration, and stone carving was restrained. However as stone cutters' skills developed, sculpture evolved into an essential component of the design of later buildings. Stone sculptors became more and more independent, seeing themselves as artists rather than skilled craftsmen.
In parallel, as architectural technology developed further, greater expanses of glass became possible. This led to stained glass becoming an important decorative medium in religious buildings, replacing frescoes as the means to depict religious scenes.   
2/27/2017
SCCI 2017

7. Stone cutting is but one small part of building a cathedral
Stone cutting is but one small part of building a cathedral. Too tight of a focus on stone cutting, even in the design of a cathedral, means the problem-solving is at too small of a focus.
Problem solving means putting the content in terms of the sociotechnical situation and requires the writer to use critical thinking skills to reflect on the needs and the overall implications.
The sociotechnical situation tends to be larger that what it normally considered within either audience analysis or any studies of the rhetorical situation.
2/27/2017
SCCI 2017

8. “What is the purpose of this stone
“What is the purpose of this stone?” and “What is the purpose of the cathedral?” are two different questions. Yet, the answer to both must be woven into cutting the stone.
Ask why audience is important and you get true statements such as: you must understand the audience so the text can be shaped to their needs.”
Instead ask: “what will they do with it,” “how will they use it,” and “what enhances/inhibits their use of it.”
Indisputably true, but that statement can’t be applied to creating better texts.
2/27/2017
SCCI 2017

9. Decisions on how and what to write are major decisions which profoundly influence the overall communication of the text.
Mapping information needs onto user goal space drives the presentation and content. It defines what is data, what is information, and what is noise.
That mapping depends on the relationships of information to the situation
All of the user’s information needs, text constraints, and content decisions make up the text’s problem space, which must be mapped onto the design space and both of these must be mapped onto the user’s goal space.
2/27/2017
SCCI 2017

10. Relationships that exist in a matrix structure (not hierarchical).
Most information which people need to make decisions is not really hierarchical, it’s matrix.
Reductionist design gives a beautifully clean hierarchy, but does not lead to a coherent whole
The information needs are not a sum of the parts
, those where the relationships are fairly equal in importance, and one where there isn't already a strong cultural mental model of how that data should be displayed.
2/27/2017
SCCI 2017

11. The nature of a complex situation changes the shape of the puzzle pieces as the situation changes.
The problem is not trying to define the shape of a piece, but predicting its shape at various points in the situation’s lifespan.
The information a person needs changes as a situation develops
The information relationships change as a situation develops
2/27/2017
SCCI 2017