Abstract: A method for analyzing system-problems, comprising the steps of: accepting from a user an input describing a system having a problem; parsing the user input to create a boolean representation of the system, the boolean representation comprising a series of equations; determining that the boolean representation comprises an unsatisfiable series of equations; for each equation in the series of equations, performing the steps of: creating a modified series of equations by removing the equation from the series of equations; and determining if the modified series of equations is satisfiable, and, if the modified series of equations is satisfiable, deriving a solution wording from the removed equation.

Abstract: A method for analyzing system-problems, comprising the steps of: accepting from a user an input describing a system having a problem; parsing the user input to create a boolean representation of the system, the boolean representation comprising a series of equations; determining that the boolean representation comprises an unsatisfiable series of equations; for each equation in the series of equations, performing the steps of: creating a modified series of equations by removing the equation from the series of equations; and determining if the modified series of equations is satisfiable, and, if the modified series of equations is satisfiable, deriving a solution wording from the removed equation.

Abstract: A computer implemented apparatus to identify problems that exist in a real-world system and to assist in finding a solution to such problems. The apparatus has an input device for receiving a description of the real-world system as input. A memory device stores a graph being a representation of the description of the real-world system. A processor produces the graph representing the description of the real-world system. The processor also determines if the graph complies with a set of structural rules and parses the graph to produce an ordered list of problem statements, each problem statement in the ordered list of problem statements identifying a problem that exists in the real-world system. The memory also stores a network of operators, each operator linked to at least one other operator in the network of operators. Each operator includes a recommendation for solving a problem, and can also include an example of the application of the recommendation.