PROBLEM-DEFINITION FRAMEWORK

If, as stated previously, a problem represents a gap between what you have and what you want, that gap did not arise in a vacuum. It resulted from an existing situation and developed in response to a particular set of circumstances. These circumstances can be quite simple or they can involve a complex interaction of cause and effect. Either way, understanding the history of their development is essential both to pinpointing the nature of the gap and to grasping its significance.