Identifying the Components of a Problem

Definition

Problem Decomposition is the process of breaking down complex problems into smaller, more manageable components. This approach simplifies the design and implementation of solutions.

Key Point

Step	What to do
1	Identify major components of the problem
2	Break each component into subcomponents
3	Continue refining until tasks are small enough to implement
4	Repeat/iterate (top-down design / stepwise refinement)

Worked Example

Worked Example: Adventure Game Decomposition

Overall problem: Create an adventure game.

Level	Component	Subcomponents/examples
1	Characters	Player, NPCs, enemies
1	Environments	Level design, backgrounds, interactive objects, collision
1	Game mechanics	Combat, scoring, quests, progression
1	User interface	Menus, HUD, inventory screen
2 (Characters)	Player character	Appearance, stats, inventory
2 (Characters)	NPCs	Dialogue, quest logic
2 (Characters)	Enemies	AI behaviour, combat stats

This hierarchical breakdown lets developers focus on one manageable part at a time.

Structure Diagrams

Definition

A structure diagram (hierarchy chart) shows a problem decomposed level by level. The whole problem is a box at the top, and beneath each box are the smaller sub-problems it is split into, until every box at the bottom is a single task that could be written as one sub-procedure.

The diagram is drawn as boxes joined by lines. The same breakdown is shown here as an outline, with each level indented under the task it belongs to.

text

Online quiz
+-- Load the questions
+-- Run the quiz
|   +-- Ask a question
|   +-- Check the answer
|   +-- Update the score
+-- Show the results
    +-- Calculate the percentage
    +-- Display a message

Card 1 of 425%

Question

Components of a Problem

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Answer

The distinct sub-problems found when a task is analysed, each a single job that must be dealt with before the whole is solved, such as rolling dice, moving a counter and checking for a winner in a board game.

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Browse all 4 flashcards on Identify the Components of a Problem

Components of a Problem
The distinct sub-problems found when a task is analysed, each a single job that must be dealt with before the whole is solved, such as rolling dice, moving a counter and checking for a winner in a board game.
Decomposition
Breaking a problem down into smaller sub-problems that can each be solved independently. It is repeated until every sub-problem is simple enough to solve, and each can then be written as a subroutine or module.
Top-down Design
A design approach that begins with the whole system as a single task and works downwards one level at a time, postponing detail until the lowest-level modules are simple enough to code. Also known as stepwise refinement.
Structure (Hierarchy) Chart
A diagram showing a problem broken down level by level: the overall task is in a box at the top, and beneath each box are the smaller sub-tasks it is split into, joined by lines to show which module each belongs to.

Exam questions on Identify the Components of a Problem

1 OCR past paper question and 1 practice question (8 marks) with mark schemes

Question 1H446/023 marks
Eve would like to break a board game problem down into smaller sub problems so that each sub problem will complete one specific task. Identify three sub problems that Eve can use in her game.
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1 mark per bullet: Initialising a new board with 100 squares / Placing players on square 1 / Setting a new 30-minute timer / Rolling two dice and displaying the total / Moving the counters / Choosing an instruction card / Checking if a player has landed on square 100 / Checking if the timer is 0
Mark yourself: how many marks did you get?
/ 3
Question 2Practice question · H446/02 style5 marks
A school wants a program to produce a timetable for a parents' evening. Each parent books 10-minute appointments with up to five teachers between 4 pm and 7 pm, and no teacher or parent can be in two places at once. Identify the components of this problem and describe the order in which the program must carry out its steps, giving a reason for the order.
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1 mark for each point, to a maximum of 5: • Components of the problem: teachers and their availability; parents and the teachers they want to see; the time slots; the clash rules • Components of the solution: input/store teacher availability; input/store parent requests; allocate requests to slots; check for clashes; output the timetable • Order: all availability and requests must be collected before any allocation is made, because an allocation depends on that data • A clash check must follow each allocation (or run before output), because a slot can only be judged free once the other appointments are known • Output comes last, once every request has been allocated or reported as impossible
Mark yourself: how many marks did you get?
/ 5

Top-Down Design / Stepwise Refinement

Structure Diagrams

Exam questions on Identify the Components of a Problem

Past paper questions