Problem Formulation

Statement-Restatement Technique

  • Problem Statement: The world is suffering from a global pandemic and despite efforts, COVID-19 continues to spread.

  • Real Problem: The CDC gives guidelines but there is a lot of misinformation which contributes to the ongoing spread of the virus due to unknown exposure and lack of understanding on how and when to effectively quarantine. Current tracking symptoms are reactive and processed by the government and/or medical professionals. People are testing too soon and not completing quarantines leading to unknown transmissions between people.


Present State - Desired State Strategy

  • Present State: People are not completing quarantines effectively for COVID-19 exposures in relation to when they had exposure and when they experience symptoms.

  • Desired State: Reduce possible exposures of COVID-19.


Kepner-Tregoe Situation Analysis

  • Timing: Globally, people are being exposed to COVID-19 from 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and so on contact. Oftentimes, individuals are testing too soon after known exposure leading to negative test results. People need an application to inform them when to properly get tested as well as how long to quarantine.

  • Trend: People hate being inconvenienced by COVID-19, but generally respect the health of others. If people knew when to most efficiently start testing and quarantining, it would limit mental stress on people exposed as well as limit future exposures.

  • Impact: A COVID-19 tracker specifically for quarantine, symptoms, and vaccine information will reduce the potential exposures for other individuals to COVID-19.


Kepner-Tregoe Problem Analysis

  • What: COVID-19 quarantine procedures are confusing for people when determining when they should quarantine and get tested. Due to this, people are ineffectively quarantining, which has contributed to the spread of the virus.

  • When: The pandemic has been ongoing since March 2020 with loose predictions of being contained in 6 months to 4 years. To reduce the longevity of the pandemic, it is paramount that we produce this application as soon as possible.

  • Who: The global population is affected by the problem. This application will help the general public, but could also be expanded to lower and higher education as well as private companies for information tracking on people entering facilities. The CDC provides guidance on effective rules and regulations on COVID-19.

  • Where: This problem occurs globally and our application can be used whenever and wherever by smart phone.

  • Why: The creation of this application has the capability to provide an accurate tracking system that will minimize the transmission of COVID-19. The application will notify users when to quarantine and when to get tested to ensure whether they were actually infected. This will allow users and their closed contacts to stay as safe as possible during a pandemic.

  • How: People are experiencing pandemic fatigue and want to return to seeing friends and family. Consequentially, this is causing outbreaks of exposure especially for young people, who do not always exhibit symptoms. For this reason, people are quarantining ineffectively, thus increasing the spread of the virus. COVID-19 exacerbates medical supplies, facilities, and personnel. The pandemic has also significantly affected employment leading to financial implications at the personal, local, state, and national level.