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Heuristics

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Submitted By JamesL26
Words 870
Pages 4
James Hulmes
GS1140: Problem Solving Theory
Week 2: Lab
Professor R. Cornell

Essay

Heuristics (and intuition) plays a dominant role in the creative thinking involved in problem solving. They are so widely used and relied upon that for decades and heuristics has been searched, collected, named, categorized, computerized, and taught in problem solving classes. However, they are not nearly as generally accepted, as are algorithms, in the scaling phase of problem solving. This, I think, is due in part to a misunderstanding leading to unrealistic expectations of heuristics, or how it may be regarded that they are used. Heuristics are often referred to as techniques for finding conceptual solutions and inventive ones at that. Henceforth, they may be incorrectly thought of as algorithms for formulated production of ideas from the (intractable) subconscious. Nonetheless, heuristics are gaining recognition, as methodologies that explicitly use them are becoming known. Heuristic is a structured approach, or algorithm, that consists of five steps: define goals and opportunities, map the process or system, express impact of each step or element, link each impact back to each goal, and organize and consolidate statements.

Objectives must be clearly stated when defining goals and opportunities. It’s a process metric that needs improvements. There is functionality that needs to be integrated into the current system or process. There is an undesirable effect to be reduced or eliminated. Map the process or system can help you break down each step of the process or constituent element of the system must be identified. While this most often takes the form of a process map systems are sometimes described using inter-relational diagraph or tree representations. Express impact of each step or element process steps or system element is analyzed in turn. How does this step or

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