PROBLEM: Suggestions can start out vague and chaotic with major details missing which affects the process of making more effective suggestions.
BACKGROUND: So after stalking about the suggestions forum a lot I noticed a trend. People often put out very vague and mostly unfilled out suggestions. Then they either get shot down quick and become quiet (we don't want this) or much of the thread is spent pulling out details and information that could have been in the original post.
I think one of the big reasons is many people don't have a background in engineering which is totally fine. But daily life doesn't lend to a written system of solving problems, normal daily activity is normally solved from from the hip guesswork and instinct. Humans are by nature chaotic without some method to curb that behavior.
SOLUTION: A Sticky post with a very simple request and maybe explanation of a VERY basic engineering problem solving process.
In engineering the first step is identify the PROBLEM. Problems don't mean its broken or causing serious issues. A problem is just the issue that you are planning to work on. A problem in real life can be as simple as 'How will I pay my bills this month?' The best problems are ones that are closer to the root of the issue. The statement 'I have 5 bucks in my pocket' has nothing to do with the problem directly, that is a detail. To keep the problem most effective it shouldn't be super complex in its form.
Once you identify the Problem then you gather details. Often this is called the BACKGROUND or GATHERING phase. You gather information without an attempt to make a decision. This where you state things like 'I have 5 bucks in my pocket' 'My bank account has 2k US in it' 'There is a bank down the street.'
The next part is the SOLUTIONS. This is the part where you brainstorm multiple solutions from what you have gathered information on. If you are having trouble coming up with multiple solutions the most likely reason is a lack of information gathered, or the problem is poorly worded, vague or emotional. 'Rob the bank', 'Go withdraw 2k and gamble it to make more money', 'use the 2k to pay your bills like a responsible person', 'Go buy a coke and a burger with the 5 bucks and contemplate being homeless.'
At this point you can present the ideas. You don't need much. Just a decent PROBLEM statement, a BACKGROUND of information about the issue that includes details, facts, experiences and even anecdotes. Then a SOLUTION or even better yet multiple solutions (Bad solutions aren't bad to have, sometimes a bad solution has a nugget of truth in it that someone knows how to use).
There is more in the formal process after Solutions are identified, but that would be stuff the Council and Devs would do so we can skip that. We should just be finding things to solve, getting information and then making suggestions of solutions to them.
BACKGROUND: So after stalking about the suggestions forum a lot I noticed a trend. People often put out very vague and mostly unfilled out suggestions. Then they either get shot down quick and become quiet (we don't want this) or much of the thread is spent pulling out details and information that could have been in the original post.
I think one of the big reasons is many people don't have a background in engineering which is totally fine. But daily life doesn't lend to a written system of solving problems, normal daily activity is normally solved from from the hip guesswork and instinct. Humans are by nature chaotic without some method to curb that behavior.
SOLUTION: A Sticky post with a very simple request and maybe explanation of a VERY basic engineering problem solving process.
In engineering the first step is identify the PROBLEM. Problems don't mean its broken or causing serious issues. A problem is just the issue that you are planning to work on. A problem in real life can be as simple as 'How will I pay my bills this month?' The best problems are ones that are closer to the root of the issue. The statement 'I have 5 bucks in my pocket' has nothing to do with the problem directly, that is a detail. To keep the problem most effective it shouldn't be super complex in its form.
Once you identify the Problem then you gather details. Often this is called the BACKGROUND or GATHERING phase. You gather information without an attempt to make a decision. This where you state things like 'I have 5 bucks in my pocket' 'My bank account has 2k US in it' 'There is a bank down the street.'
The next part is the SOLUTIONS. This is the part where you brainstorm multiple solutions from what you have gathered information on. If you are having trouble coming up with multiple solutions the most likely reason is a lack of information gathered, or the problem is poorly worded, vague or emotional. 'Rob the bank', 'Go withdraw 2k and gamble it to make more money', 'use the 2k to pay your bills like a responsible person', 'Go buy a coke and a burger with the 5 bucks and contemplate being homeless.'
At this point you can present the ideas. You don't need much. Just a decent PROBLEM statement, a BACKGROUND of information about the issue that includes details, facts, experiences and even anecdotes. Then a SOLUTION or even better yet multiple solutions (Bad solutions aren't bad to have, sometimes a bad solution has a nugget of truth in it that someone knows how to use).
Code:
PROBLEM (A simple statement of the
issue or need for the game):
BACKGROUND (The information that includes
data, experiences, facts and anecdotes):
SOLUTIONS (One or more solutions to the problem
with maybe an explanation why it works or doesn't
work):