When confronted with a client problem I often find it is not well defnined or fully considered. To resolve this and get to a common understanding of the problem the TOSCA framework is a useful tool. It allows all the information required to fully understand the problem:
- Trouble: What’s the symptom or trouble that makes this problem real?
- Owner: Whose problem is it?
- Success: How and when do we know that we have effectively solved the problem?
- Constraints: What limits do we have to consider when solving the problem? e.g. resources, time, skills, preexisting commitments, etc.
- Actors: Who is concerned with how we solve the problem and what do they want?
With this collected it is possible to create the core problem statement and ensure consensus.
Let's work through a simple example: