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    Are Your Lights On?
    Are Your Lights On?
    Are Your Lights On?
    Ebook163 pages1 hour

    Are Your Lights On?

    By Gerald M. Weinberg

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    About this ebook

    The fledgling problem solver invariably rushes in with solutions before taking time to define the problem being solved. Even experienced solvers, when subjected to social pressure, yield to this demand for haste. When they do, many solutions are found, but not necessarily to the problem at hand.
    Whether you are a novice or a veteran, this powerful little book will make you a more effective problem solver. Anyone involved in product and systems development will appreciate this practical illustrated guide, which was first published in 1982 and has since become a cult classic.
    Offering such insights as "A problem is a difference between things as desired and things as perceived," and "In spite of appearances, people seldom know what they want until you give them what they ask for," authors Don Gause and Jerry Weinberg provide an entertaining look at ways to improve one's thinking power. The book playfully instructs the reader first to identify the problem, second to determine the problem's owner, third to identify where the problem came from, and fourth to determine whether or not to solve it.
    Delightfully illustrated with 55 line drawings by Sally Cox, the book conveys a message that will change the way you think about projects and problems.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherGerald M. Weinberg
    Release dateApr 14, 2011
    ISBN9781458100108
    Are Your Lights On?
    Author

    Gerald M. Weinberg

    Gerald M. Weinberg (Jerry) writes "nerd novels," such as The Aremac Project, Aremac Power, First Stringers, Second Stringers, The Hands of God, Freshman Murders, and Mistress of Molecules—about how brilliant people produce quality work. His novels may be found as eBooks at or on Kindle. Before taking up his science fiction career, he published books on human behavior, including Weinberg on Writing: The Fieldstone Method, The Psychology of Computer Programming, Perfect Software and Other Fallacies, and an Introduction to General Systems Thinking. He also wrote books on leadership including Becoming a Technical Leader, The Secrets of Consulting (Foreword by Virginia Satir), More Secrets of Consulting, and the four-volume Quality Software Management series. He incorporates his knowledge of science, engineering, and human behavior into all of writing and consulting work (with writers, hi-tech researchers, and software engineers). Early in his career, he was the architect for the Mercury Project's space tracking network and designer of the world's first multiprogrammed operating system. Winner of the Warnier Prize and the Stevens Award for his writing on software quality, he is also a charter member of the Computing Hall of Fame in San Diego and the University of Nebraska Hall of Fame. The book, The Gift of Time (Fiona Charles, ed.) honors his work for his 75th birthday. His website and blogs may be found at http://www.geraldmweinberg.com.

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    • 3/5
      Cult classic? Really? I think ALL the authors were on acid when this book was compiled It is very odd, indeed.
    • 2/5
      As a programmer, what I was hoping to get out of this book were some insights into the most essential idea within my profession - that of problem solving. Theoretically, problem solving is indeed the subject of this book, however I feel like the presentation of subject matter suffers greatly due to the style of the book.There are indeed many useful "nuggets" of information and wisdoms presented throughout that are rather insightful, however what fails in my opinion are the stories that lead from one idea to another and are meant to hold it all together. My guess is that the intention of the authors was to use the comical context of these stories to make the ideas less "dry", however I just couldn't relate to the stories and felt like they distracted from the actual useful material within the book.Perhaps I am just not part of the intended audience of this book - the intention could be that the text is mainly applicable within the project management context. However as a programmer I am also interested in the general process of problem definition and solution within projects and interactions with clients; unfortunately I felt like I could not get much out of the book no matter what perspective I looked at it from.

    Book preview

    Are Your Lights On? - Gerald M. Weinberg

    Preface

    PROBLEM: Nobody reads prefaces.

    SOLUTION: Call the preface Chapter 1.

    NEW PROBLEM CREATED BY SOLUTION: Chapter 1 is boring.

    RESOLUTION: Throw away Chapter 1 and call Chapter 2 Chapter 1.

    PART 1 :

    PART 1 :

    Chapter 1. A Problem

    In the heart of Gotham City's financial district stands the glistening new 73-story Brontosaurus Tower. Even though this architectural masterpiece is not yet fully occupied, the elevator service has been found woefully inadequate by the tenants. Some tenants have actually threatened to leave if the service isn't improved, and quickly.

    Figure 1. Brontosaurus Tower

    A few facts of the case are as follows:

    (1) The building primarily houses offices doing business during the weekday hours of 9am to 5pm.

    (2) Nearly everyone using the building is associated in some way with the financial world.

    (3) The occupants are fairly uniformly distributed over the 73 floors, and so is the elevator traffic.

    (4) The owner has invested heavily in advertising in an attempt to rent the remaining office space.

    (5) Discouraging words spread like lightning in the tight little world of the financial district.

    WHAT IS TO BE DONE ABOUT THIS SITUATION?

    A number of ideas spring immediately to mind, such as:

    (1) Speed up the elevators.

    (2) Add elevators by cutting new shafts through the building.

    (3) Add elevators by constructing outside shafts.

    (4) Stagger working hours to spread the rush hour load over a longer period.

    (5) Move occupants to different floors to reduce total passenger traffic within the building.

    (6) Restrict the number of people entering the building.

    (7) Replace existing elevators with bigger cars stretching two or three stories.

    (8) Provide more services locally on each floor to reduce floor-to-floor traffic.

    (9) Reschedule the elevators with special local and express arrangements, as needed.

    Having followed our natural problem-solving tendencies, we have rushed right into solutions. Perhaps it would be wiser to ask a few questions before stating answers.

    What sorts of questions? Who has the problem? What is the problem? Or, at this juncture, just what is a problem?

    Consider the question, Whose problem is it? This question attempts to

    (1) determine who is the client—that is, who must be made happy

    (2) establish some clues that may lead to appropriate solutions.

    Our first list of solutions, diverse as they were, all shared a single point of view—that the elevator users were the people with the problem.

    Suppose we try taking the point of view of Mr. Diogenes Diplodocus, the landlord. With him as our client, we might develop a rather different list, such as:

    (1) Increase the rents, so fewer occupants will be needed to pay off the mortgage.

    (2) Convince the occupants that Brontosaurus Tower is a terrific leisurely place to work because of the elevator situation.

    (3) Convince the occupants that they need more exercise—which they could get by walking the stairs rather than riding the elevators—by posting walking times and calorie consumption estimates over well- traveled routes.

    (4) Burn down the building and collect the fire insurance.

    (5) Sue the builder.

    (6) Steal elevator time from the next-door neighbor.

    These two lists, though not necessarily mutually exclusive, do show somewhat different orientations. This difference should arrest our natural tendency to produce hasty solutions before asking:

    WHAT IS THE PROBLEM?

    The fledgling problem solver invariably rushes in with solutions before taking time to define the problem being solved. Even experienced solvers, when subjected to social pressure, yield to this demand for haste. When they do, many solutions are found, but not necessarily to the problem at hand. As each person competes for acceptance of a favored solution, each one accuses the other of stubbornness, not of having an alternative point of view.

    Not every problem-solving group founders on lack of attention to definition. Some come to grief by endlessly circling around attempted definitions, never amassing the courage to get on with the solution in spite of definitional dangers.

    As a practical matter, it is impossible to define natural, day-to-day problems in a single, unique, totally unambiguous fashion. On the other hand, without some common understanding of the problem, a solution will almost invariably be to the wrong problem. Usually, it will be the problem of the person who talks loudest, or most effectively. Or who has the biggest bank account.

    For the would-be problem solver, whose problem is to solve the problems of others, the best way to begin is mentally to shift gears from singular to plural—from Problem Solver to Problems Solver, or, if you find that hard to pronounce, to Solver of Problems.

    To practice this mental shift, the Solver should, early in the game, try to answer the question:

    WHO HAS A PROBLEM?

    and then, for each unique answering party, to ask

    WHAT IS THE ESSENCE OF YOUR PROBLEM?

    Figure 1.2. What is the essence of your problem?

    Chapter 2. Peter Pigeonhole Prepares a Petition

    From the perspective of the office workers, the Brontosaurus problem might be stated as

    HOW CAN I COVER MY APPOINTED ROUNDS WITH MINIMUM TIME, EFFORT, AND/OR AGGRAVATION?

    For Mr. Diplodocus, the problem may be abstracted to

    HOW CAN I DISPOSE OF ALL THESE BLANKETY-BLANK COMPLAINTS?

    If these two parties (are there others?) cannot get together, a mutually satisfactory solution seems improbable. Unpleasant as the prospect may be, an effective problems solver must work towards achieving a meeting—if not of minds, then of bodies.

    In order to call the landlord's attention to the problem, a mailboy at Finicky Financial Fiduciary, Peter Pigeonhole, prepares a petition. Using his role as mailboy, he is able to obtain an impressive list of signatures at 3F. Using his class connections with other firms' mailboys, he expands the list.

    Peter needs many signatures because a petition is exactly what Diplodocus doesn't want. His problem as he sees it, is to eliminate complaints. If complaints are never recorded, but merely mumbled and grumbled into the air, he may be able to solve his problem by ignoring it. Who knows? This may turn out to be a phantom problem! Therefore, even when faced with four-and-twenty signatures baked into a petition, he does nothing. More precisely, he returns the petition envelope marked REFUSED BY ADDRESSEE.

    Trying to discourage a mailboy by refusing a letter is like trying to discourage a capitalist bull by waving a communist red flag. The landlord's solution merely infuriates the office workers. In retaliation, they escalate. (Now there's an idea!)

    A large group of representatives pays a call on Mr. Diplodocus, who continues to solve his problem by pretending ignorance. He is, his secretary says, not in.

    If Diplodocus thought this tactic would discourage the petitioners, he was sadly misinformed about the persistence of mailboys in making their appointed rounds. After some discussion of tactics, the group decides to visit Diplodocus at his Scarsdale Estate. To help deliver their message, they bring four picket signs, three stink bombs, and two immigrant workers. Mrs. Diplodocus speaks sharply to Mr. Diplodocus, and it's a phantom problem no longer.

    Figure 2.1. Mrs. Diplodocus speaks sharply to Mr. Diplodocus about despoiling their neighborhood.

    After a brief meeting with a worker delegation,

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