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> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Video: Wicked Problems
- URL: https://www.workroom-productions.com/video-wicked-problems/
- Published: 2021-06-27T21:46:54.000Z
- Updated: 2021-06-27T21:48:18.000Z
- Author: James Lyndsay

Explore this topic further by using one of the tasks / questions below.

> ### Go deeper
> 
> Here's [Wikipedia's entry on Wicked Problems](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicked%5Fproblem) – which definition (Rittel & Webber / Conklin) resonates most with you? Which quality in particular?
> 
> Do you think that a problem has to meet every qualification in a definition to be *wicked*?
> 
> Are all unsolvable problems wicked? Are all wicked problems unsolvable?
> 
> Is it useful to distinguish between wicked and tame problems? Why? What other distinctions do you use?

> ### Application to your work
> 
> What examples of wicked problems are meaningful to you? Can you think of an example from your own context?
> 
> How do you approach problems in your work where you don't know the scope?
> 
> Can you think of a problem in your work where the solution was not obvious – until you found it?
> 
> Can you think of a time that you started work on a problem as if it was tame, and then realised it might be more wild?
> 
> What problems do you have, in your work, that might be combinations of tame and wicked problems?
> 
> What problems do you have, in your work, that seem particularly wicked? Why?
> 
> What problems do you have, in your testing work, that you cannot experiment with? How could you change your context to allow you to experiment?
> 
> As testers, we *find* problems. Do we find *wicked* problems?

> ### Further Reading
> 
> Stahl and DeGrace wrote "Wicked Problems, Righteous Solutions" in 1990, about wicked problems in software development. Research it – is it still relevant?
> 
> In this short [Guardian article](https://www.theguardian.com/social-enterprise-network/2012/jun/08/wicked-problems), Robert Ashton ascribes Jeff Conklin's principles to Tim Curtis. Consider the "four barriers" listed in the article – do you see them? Do you see others?
> 
> Have a look at Tom Wujec's [Draw How to Make Toast](https://www.drawtoast.com) exercise and TED talk.