Wicked Problems, Wickeder Solutions

Wicked problems are problems that have no obvious parameters, and the problem itself is obviously there but cannot be defined and seldom can have empirical evidence linked to it to show it actually exists. It is like when you say, “I feel terrible today,” but you don’t look it, and you have no idea why. Yet, the very act of saying you feel terrible makes you feel even more terrible. Worse still, as you try to find a solution and ingest some witches brew to help you feel better; it alleviates one symptom, but creates two other new pains.

Absolutely making the whole thing terribly wicked is that the parameters of wicked problems are dynamic, constantly shifting and evolving because there are always many, random human elements inside wicked problems. They never ever reach a definitive point where it can be said that the problem is resolved, and the problem never stops. What might stop are the resources available to solve the problem, at which point the solutions development team might say, “We have tamed to problem as far as we can; now everyone must work to continuously address outstanding issues.”

That’s not much of a solution, is it? It makes the solutions even wickeder, since no one will be accountable for it, and the solution might make the problem deteriorate even further.  Then of course, we have the many egos who will want to stamp their authority on the problem or the solution, and that changes the definition of the problem depending on whose perspective is being used.

I do hope you realise that I am running all over the place with this…Hey! It IS a wicked, VUCA issue!

Wicked problems truly personify the idea of VUCA in all its pitfalls – they are volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous.

Wicked problems are often intangible and hard to put a finger on, and solutions used make the problem even more complicated. So wickeder solutions have to be found, although you cannot quantify the problem that everyone knows exist.

Let’s try to get a handle on this and see where Design Thinking fits into the wicked picture of a wicked problem in an organisation.

The first step, or perhaps most of the steps involved in solving wicked problems lie in actually defining the problem, then drawing the problem and shaping it. How else would you know what the requirements are for solving the problem?

The question of course arises as to how we would know the above step has been done correctly, since we do not really know what the problem is.

That is where the Empathising, Ideation and fast Prototyping and Testing come in.

Again, we come to the most important step (for me at least) in Design Thinking and that is – FULL ENGAGEMENT WITH ALL STAKEHOLDERS IN THE ORGANISATION – from whomever it is who is at the entry point, right up to the CEO. The support of the administration in allowing the solutions team to go everywhere and engage with everyone, is vital so everyone feels they are a necessary step in the problem definition and solving process. Achieve this and you will be on your way to starting to tame the problem.

As you begin the problem defining stage, take it as absolutely right that everything is ambiguous and hazy, and it is difficult to recognise exactly what is going on. The way the brain works, it requires lots of hazy and clear details to create chaos in the mind, which then stimulates your intuition, that mysterious subconscious process that suddenly takes you to the Eureka moment. The more inclusive you have been, and the more you have ideated every idea no matter how crazy they were, the more likely you will be to say at this point, “It was so obvious all along, staring at us in our faces!”

The Eureka moment is a vital clue that should drive one message home. Anyone can have an Eureka moment, and the more people you include in the process to solve wicked problems, the more people you have who will more and more frequently experience the Eureka moment. That is the trick to solving organisational wicked problems. Get everyone involved to recognise the wicked gremlins at work, and have everyone quickly grow form novice Design Thinkers to becoming expert ones.

Here is an interesting wicked problem story, a wicked problem for New York City.

For New York City in 1980, the sky rocketing crime rate was a wicked problem. Who would have seen this peculiar connection, which emphasises the fact that in wicked problems, we do not even know a problem exists until a wickeder solution falls into our lap.  Police and subway officials started arresting fare evaders, and suddenly the crime rate for New York City started falling. Only then did officials realise that the same people who were evading the fare in the subways were also the same people who were committing the violent crimes. It seemed at first that it was sheer pettiness to arrest fare evaders but when they were arrested for these petty violations, it decreased the violent crimes. The crime rate in New York has been in decrease ever since.

I found that after bringing lots of trees into my apartment, my children started performing better in school.

How wicked is that?