Often, the work of problem-solving spurs the creation, or escalation of other problems. Most are implications of solution execution; expected or not.
Sometimes though, the new problem is a result of poking and prodding the original problem, long before solution work. While considering your problem, you unearth a better problem.
Not better as in more interesting to solve, but better as in more approachable. This is a technique I used recently to describe my own work.
What work? Making technology knowledge and participation more accessible — Because technology is everywhere, but technology knowledge isn’t.
The illustrations:
In the first illustration, the original problem, the difficulty onus is on the technology knowledge receiver. To achieve topical depth, the knowledge seeker has to conquer increasingly difficult material, most likely written by an expert technologist for industry peers.
In the second illustration, a better problem, the difficulty onus is flipped to the technology knowledge teller. By pushing ourselves to adopt, and in some cases master, new explaining techniques and forms, technology knowledge seekers can go further with consistent effort.
Now, one-to-one, the degree of difficulty is still unbalanced. But, the multiplying (one-to-many) impact of any single teller/telling serving numerous receivers makes shifting the burden a better problem.
Not simple by any means, but better.
