9 parts · 15 chapters
Problem Solving, from Puzzles to Problems at Scale
Problem solving is a skill with a method, not a talent. The same moves that crack an interview puzzle (understand, plan, execute, look back) also unblock a stalled migration or an ambiguous organisational problem, once you learn to recognise which move a situation needs.
Nine parts: Pólya's method and its modern form; understanding the problem before solving it; decomposition, analogy and working backwards; debugging as problem solving; estimation and back-of-envelope maths; problems with no right answer; problems at scale that are ambiguous, organisational and long-running; unblocking a stuck team or project; and case drills across software, operations and product.
methodUnderstand, plan, execute, look back.
heuristicsDecompose, find a related problem, work backwards, specialise, generalise.
debuggingBisection, minimal reproduction, rubber ducking, changing one thing.
estimationFermi questions, orders of magnitude, sanity checks.
trade-offsConstraints, criteria and choosing when no answer is right.
scaleAmbiguous, organisational, long-running problems and unblocking.
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Pólya's Method and Its Modern Form
Four steps · Heuristics you can use tomorrow
2 ch · ~12 min01Understanding the Problem Before Solving It
Restate, question, define done
1 ch · ~8 min02Decomposition, Analogy and Working Backwards
Three moves on one problem · A catalogue of known problems
2 ch · ~12 min03Debugging as Problem Solving
Bisection, everywhere · Minimal reproductions and other habits
2 ch · ~12 min04Estimation and Back-of-Envelope Maths
Fermi problems · Estimating projects
2 ch · ~12 min05Problems with No Right Answer
Making the trade-off explicit · Explaining the decision
2 ch · ~12 min06Problems at Scale: Ambiguous, Organisational, Long-Running
Why they feel different · A method for big, fuzzy problems
2 ch · ~12 min07Unblocking a Stuck Team or Project
Why things get stuck, and what unsticks them
1 ch · ~8 min08Case Drills
Six drills
1 ch · ~8 minPairs with Thinking and AlgorithmsThinking (course 52) covers reasoning and biases; DSA (course 26) covers algorithmic problem solving; Backend Debugging covers the tools.