Decomposition
Breaking down a complex problem or system into smaller more manageable parts
Systematic Approach
A Divide-and-conquer strategy
Recursion
Scientific Method
Polya(1973)
Form hypothesis
Understand the problem
Plan experiment
Execute experiment
Evaluate results
Devise a plan
Execute the plan
Review and extend
When the problem is too large/complex to deal with all at once
Pick apart the interrelated parts, or numerous steps of a process
A technique used to simplify a problem
Defines the solution
to a large, complex problem
in terms of smaller, simpler probs
Tree structure
Proble analysis tree
Other effective strategies
Solve a concrete instance
Find a related problem
Think critically
Work backwards
An approach that seeks to break a complex problem down into simpler parts
A very powerful idea and that is heavily used in CS