Problem Identification

• Problem Identification is the initial step in the problem-solving processes. You identify a problem that needs a solution.

• The problem may be identified by an individual, a group or an organisation. It can come from real-life situations or classic computer problems.

• This stage is essential. It’s vital to clearly understand what exactly requires solving, to prevent miscommunication or creating irrelevant solutions.

• The problem should be expressed clearly and concisely. There should not be any room for ambiguity or misunderstanding.

• The description of the given task should express what the expected outcome is. This is an especially useful thing to do when the task or problem is complex and difficult.

• The identified problem needs to be feasible. You need to consider the resources available such as time, skills, and technology before finalising a problem.

• The problem should allow you to showcase your understanding of the topic and should be complex enough to allow for the reasonable use of algorithms and data structures.

• It’s crucial to validate your understanding of the problem. Validate it with examples or running scenarios. This helps to ensure there’ll not be any misunderstanding in the future.

• Identify potential solutions to clarify the demands of the problem. This helps to better understand the problem and the steps required to solve it.

• Also, identify what is not part of the problem (out of scope). This helps to prevent wasting resources on unnecessary aspects.

• While identifying the problem, take notes. These can be used as a reference point throughout the entire process, from design to implementation and testing.

• When defining a problem, think about the input, the processing, and the output required, note any constraints, and consider potential risks or issues that may arise.

• Problem identification is the foundation for the next step in the OCR programming project which is to conduct a Problem Analysis.