Choose the problem before building the answer.

The final projects at NUS have brought me back to a familiar temptation. A promising idea appears, and it is easy to start thinking about the interface, the technology or the presentation. I enjoy that part. Before getting too far into it, I want to be able to explain the problem in a sentence someone else can question.¶

A broad theme gives a group somewhere to begin. It still leaves several decisions open: whose difficulty are we trying to understand, what is happening today, and what would improve if we addressed it? Writing those things down can reveal that we have been discussing several different problems under the same heading.¶

I find it useful to separate three questions. Does the problem remain unresolved? Is it important enough to deserve attention? What evidence would help us judge whether our proposed response fits? Each asks for something different. A large market can explain why a subject matters, while still leaving the specific difficulty to investigate.¶

Kopi gives me a concrete point of reference. Comparing outlet-week records can help decide which outlet to investigate first. Choosing a product change or arranging a roster takes more detailed material. Changing the question changes what I need to know, even when the dashboard looks equally complete.¶

I also want to keep alternatives open a little longer. If a proposal depends on one particular tool, what happens when I set that tool aside? There may be a change in process, a clearer handoff or a smaller trial worth comparing. Having another plausible route makes me explain why I prefer the first one.¶

Working in a group adds another useful check: can someone else restate the problem and still mean the same thing? We can agree on a topic while imagining different people, time horizons or outcomes. A short discussion of those differences can change which material we look for next.¶

That is the part I want to carry from this stage of studying in Singapore into later work. I still want to build ambitious things. Choosing the question carefully gives that ambition a more concrete direction: a person to help, a difficulty to examine and a next step we can actually assess.¶