what core, whose core?

Deciding on the CORE of a problem is not as obvious as it might seem. In Project #2, the core was specified. However, in Project #3, the core is not obvious. In fact, determining the core of the problem is a major design challenge. (Project #2;  Project #3)

 

What are some ways to think about this problem? In class, we described one way. Think of it as a Venn diagram. Each circle represents a major part of the problem. The intersection represents the common elements and therefore the core to be developed first.

 

But there is another way to think about the core. We can think of a range of emergency situations that may occur, from more typical emergencies (for example, weather conditions resulting in cancelled flights) to extreme emergencies (for example, a terrorist attack in the airport). Certainly the airport administrator needs to think about the extreme possibilities, and in conjunction with Homeland Security, plan what might happen. But what the administrator must worry about on a more frequent basis is the ordinary emergency—the one that repeats a few times a year. For the extreme case, paper plans are put into place, and there might even be a simulation staged with many emergency responder units involved. For the typical case, software and hardware are likely to be developed; the investment is worth it because it will hopefully relieve common passenger problems.

 

 

Finally, a third way to think of the core is as a multi-phased core. Given the more typical problem, the one that will happen versus the one that may never happen, it makes sense to build systems for the first, and to have emergency plans for the second. Or put it another way, if a true terrorist attack hits the airport, the administrator has bigger problems than helping passengers find their next available flight! But for the more typical problem, the one that happens several times a year, better planning is in order. The core of that problem may be divided into phases, with phase 1 being the most important to implement (it’s a minimal system but it’s crucial), phase 2 being less important but providing more human-centered focus, and so on. From this perspective, the core of the core is phase 1, and that’s the place to begin.