Problems

Standard	No Evidence	Beginning	Developing	Proficient	Excellent	Mastering
E-1. Problems   Define problems that can be solved	No evidence of defining a problem	You define a problem	You define a real problem and its criteria and constraints	You completely, specifically, and accurately define the criteria and constraints of a real problem that can be reasonably solved	Your work is proficient and your presentation is excellent.	Your work is excellent and you explain how the problem impacts society

A Well-Defined Problem

• is specific
• is real and accurate
• can be reasonably solved by you
• clearly names criteria for success
• clearly names constraints 

A Really Well-Defined Problem

• Clear and concise
• Uses precise language and academic voice
• Uses specific examples from a variety of sources
• Is edited and appropriately formatted

Go Above & Beyond

by explaining how the problem impacts society. 

Engineers solve problems by creating new products, systems, or environments. ​

Before creating something, it is very important to define the problem. Otherwise, you might build something only to find that it does not meet the original goal!

To define your problem, answer each of these questions:

• What is the problem or need?
• Who has the problem or need?
• Why is it important to solve?

​
The answers to these three questions are the what, who, and why of your problem. 

Your problem statement should incorporate the answers as follows: 
[Who] need(s) [what] because [why]

In design terms, who, what, and why can be defined as: 

• Who = the user
• What = the need
• Why = the insight​

Once you have determined your problem you need to define the criteria for a successful solution and the constraints of the problem. ​

Criteria: the qualities that your final solution will have when it is complete
Constraints: the limits of your possible solution (including time, materials, cost, scientific knowledge, risk, and societies expectations)

Examples

​If we consider the problem of damage to homes during large earthquakes:

• Who? the user is  - people who live in buildings in earthquake zones
• What? the need is -  for less damage to their homes
• Why? the insight is -  the damage to homes is dangerous and expensive

The problem: "People who live in buildings in earthquake zones need less damage to be inflicted on their homes during earthquakes because the damage is dangerous and expensive."

Criteria:

• the solution will survive testing in the shake box
• the solution will be modeled out of materials from The Shop
• the solution will have reasonable proportions to a real building​

Constraints:

• we are only modeling the structural elements of the building, not electrical or plumbing
• we only have one week in The Shop to build