1.2 Problem Solving: The Most Important Skill in Information Systems

Problem solving in the IS discipline has a unique definition, and it can mean either solving a current organizational problem or exploiting an opportunity (see Figure 1.1). An example of problem solving in the traditional sense is found in Vignette 1.1, in which an organization cannot determine basic financial information in a reasonable amount of time. The organization quite literally has a problem with its current method of conducting business that is costing it time and money.

An example of a problem solving that instead exploits an opportunity is a brick and mortar business, such as a furniture store, that sees an opportunity to increase sales by adding the ability to sell online. An IS professional exploits that opportunity by determining and designing the best option for selling online. Designing a solution to the opportunity facing the furniture store is considered “problem solving.”

Related to problem solving, employers have indicated the main capabilities expected of all IS graduates.1 These include the ability to:

• Improve Organizational Processes

• Exploit Opportunities Created by Technology Innovations

• Understand and Address Information Requirements

• Identify and Evaluate Solution and Sourcing Alternatives

• Design and Manage Enterprise Architecture

• Secure Data and Infrastructure

• Understand, Manage, and Control IT Risks

The capabilities in the list above may be somewhat unfamiliar to you right now, but recognize that the ones that have been italicized require problem-solving skills. Therefore, regardless of the IS classes that an IS graduate may take when completing a degree, over half of the capabilities employers expect of graduates involve the ability to solve problems in a technology context. For example, improving organizational processes means that an IS professional needs to first understand what is wrong with an organizational process, and then design a solution. Similarly, exploiting an opportunity means that an IS professional must understand the opportunity, then design a solution with a technology that takes advantage of the opportunity. Understanding and addressing information requirements means that an IS professional needs to understand what is wanted from stakeholders, and then meet those wants through a solution that the professional designs. Lastly, identifying and evaluating solutions and sourcing alternatives means that an IS professional first understands a problem to be solved, and then thoughtfully selects the best way to solve the problem, which will include alternatives such as either building custom software from scratch or buying existing software that other software companies have already created.

The job placement statistics for IS graduates provide further evidence of the importance of problem-solving skills. According to a 2019 job index report sponsored by AIS and Temple University, the leading job categories for graduates include the following:2

• IT Consulting

• Computer Systems Analyst

• Data Analytics

• IT Audit

• Software Development

• Information Security

The primary responsibility of professionals working in IT Consulting and Computer Systems Analyst jobs is to solve problems for organizations using technology. Together, these two job categories represent over one-fourth of the jobs in IS. Other job roles in IS also require significant problem-solving skills, even if those skills aren't considered a primary responsibility. Consider the role of a software developer. They might think of their job as merely writing code, but in reality, they are asked to do far more than this by providing solutions to important organizational problems. For example, they may be asked to solve the business problem of not having web-based payment options for customers, or they may be asked to solve the problem of expensive and inefficient public transportation (think of Uber as a solution), or they may be asked to solve the problem of a sales team that has no means of accessing organizational data when they are away from the office (see Vignette 1.2 for an example of a problem that was solved in a university setting).

Any time a developer is required to build a solution to a problem, they first have to research it and determine what they need to do. In other words, they have to solve the problem conceptually before they can physically implement its solution. That is precisely what this book teaches IS professionals to do: solve problems conceptually before implementing them physically.