Beyond Simon’s means-ends analysis : natural creativity and the unanswered ‘why’ in the design of intelligent systems for problem-solving

Goal-directed problem solving as originally advocated by Herbert Simon’s means-ends analysis model has primarily shaped the course of design research on artificially intelligent systems for problem-solving. We contend that there is a definite disregard of a key phase within the overall design process that in fact logically precedes the actual problem solving phase. While systems designers have traditionally been obsessed with goal-directed problem solving, the basic determinants of the ultimate desired goal state still remain to be fully understood or categorically defined. We propose a rational framework built on a set of logically interconnected conjectures to specifically recognize this neglected phase in the overall design process of intelligent systems for practical problem-solving applications.