Shannon O’Leary
Lawrence University
PNACP 2011
Go-To Guide
Strategies for solving problems/making progress in physics research
Prepared by Doug Martin and Shannon O’Leary, following Nightline’s “Deep Dive”, a 20 minute segment about the
design company IDEO in their 5-day quest to design a better shopping cart. Also included is the combined research
experience of Professors Brandenberger, Collett, Martin, O’Leary, Pickett, Stoneking, and Clausen.
(i) Identify the problem in need of a solution such as some system that needs replacing, or a
computer routine that requires too much user involvement, or this post needs to be damped,
or this laser needs to be less noisy. This problem should be well defined. In the Deep Dive, the
participants were simply given a problem: Build a better shopping cart.
(ii) Background phase: your goal is to think broadly about the problem, the origins of the
problem, and reasons why you seek a solution. Deep Dive showed a broad-ranging discussion
of issues with the current system, with the statement “Everyone has good ideas.” Some
questions to ask yourself:
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what are the issues with the current system? (discuss with peers, self, advisors, etc.)
what the required parameters of the solution (e.g. RMS noise of less than 1%)? If 1% is
really necessary, fine. If 1% would be nice but 3% would be ok, do not make extra work
for yourself.
what is the background behind the problem.? Why do you need <1% RMS noise? What
type of measurement will that enable? Is there another way to make the same
measurement? Is there another way to conceive of the experiment?
Who are experts who may have already dealt with the problem? These experts may
include advisors, peers, other researchers (reports in the literature), etc.
Some preliminary actions to consider:
 Keep active: work on other things and live with the problem for a while. Sometimes
you’ll find solutions in related issues.
 Write up carefully what you have already done, up to the point you became stuck.
 Talk to smart people (your peers, advisors, friends). Explain where you are and how you
got there, not what the problem is.
 Build a flow chart or story board of the system you’re working on, and identify
unknowns.
 Draw out what you actually built/programmed. Then compare that to what you
thought you did.
 Implement a simple, partial, temporary fix.
(iii) Search for solutions (brainstorming). Once you’ve defined the problem and the reasons you
seek solutions, you’re ready for a brainstorming session such as the Deep Dive itself in Deep
Dive. Gather your audience, and prepare them: Present a specific problem; the reasons you
want to solve it (e.g. we need to measure the line-width of a narrow transition); the history of
past attempts, etc. Rules for successful brainstorming:
shannon.oleary@lawrence.edu
Shannon O’Leary
Lawrence University
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PNACP 2011
Your problem must be well defined, but with an answer that is not simply a matter of
more study on your own part (a poor example might be “I need help understanding
interference phenomena”).
Your audience must have some experience or expertise to bring to bear. Your
preparation is essential to draw out constructive ideas.
Once the stage is set, the goal is to encourage a large number of wild ideas (go for
quantity). The rules IDEO sets are:
o One conversation at a time (only one person talks at a time)
o Stay focused on the topic at hand (only present ideas related to the
brainstorming target)
o Encourage wild ideas (but outlandish ideas are great)
o Defer judgment (now is not the time to evaluate ideas, just to get them down)
o Build on the ideas of others (if someone else has a good idea that you can
enhance, suggest it)
o Be visual (this is not an explicit rule, but lots of ideas have drawings associated
with them, and are better communicated visually)
In Deep Dive, one person is in charge of writing down the ideas – on a whiteboard, if
possible – and also in charge of immediately stopping evaluation of ideas (with the bell).
Finally, capture the range of ideas by copying them into your lab book, or taking a
picture, printing it out, and copying that into your lab book.
(iv) Evaluate and refine the possible solutions. In Deep Dive, mention is made of a time for
grownups – this is it. Collect related ideas, and rank all of the ideas from the brainstorming
session. Some possible ways to rank: which have the highest probability of success in the time
available? Which have the biggest potential payoff? Which must be addressed before others
can? You need to be realistic about what is doable in the time you have! Select one or two
solutions to work on, but be prepared to return to the drawing board if they don’t pan out. The
IDEO quote is “Adults take over to stop the cycle.”
(v) Prototype. Build as simple, as quick and dirty, a solution as you possibly can. Your goal is to
figure out whether this idea has any possibility of success, not to produce the perfect solution.
There is real danger in doing everything down to the last epsilon and sigma at this point – you
can spend days or weeks perfecting a prototype that doesn’t solve the problem! Remember
that IDEO dictum, “Fail often to succeed sooner.”
(vi) Refine. In Deep Dive, all the first prototypes had strengths and weaknesses, and all needed
to be redone. David Kelly said “More work must be done before you can continue.” Expect
your advisor to step in and demand substantial revision. This idea of revision is critical –
successful innovations are not born, Athena-like, perfect on the first attempt. Instead, a
successful innovation requires lots of hours and lots of hard work.
On that dour note, remember that Deep Dive also has words of wisdom like, “Fresh ideas come
faster in a fun place,” and “being playful is of huge importance!” Expect this summer to be
filled with hard work, but that work will be more bearable if you have fun along the way.
shannon.oleary@lawrence.edu