How we change what others think, feel, believe and do

Propagate Problem

Techniques > Resisting persuasion > Propagate Problem

Method | Example | Discussion | See also

Method

Take the problem you face and show all the other problems that it will cause. Say 'As this is a problem, then this and this and this will also be problematic'.

Or take the existence of several problems as an indication that there are many more yet to find. Show problems are a symptom of a deeper unreliability and poor quality of what is being proposed.

Example

The solution you are proposing is unproven. This means we would get lots of questions from users and there are always going to be corner cases. The finance committee will also raise further objections.

It's the wrong shade, too big and rather awkward. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Who knows what else will be wrong?

Discussion

Any problem causes work. Multiple problems multiply this difficulty in a disproportionately escalating way. So the more problems you find, the much worse it gets.

The nature of reliability and quality is such that a high quality item will have few problems with it, but a low quality item will have many hidden issues. Consequently if you assume low quality, finding just one problem is the 'thin end of the wedge'.