Problem solving discussion support system based on hypothesis thinking

Toward a sustainable society, when a problem occurs in an organization or a group, the members of the group usually hold a discussion to decide what actions to take. In order to come up with an effective solution in limited time and information, the members of the group must think logically with clear road maps to the conclusion. However, each member of the group possesses their own standpoints, and their ways of thinking also differs. Therefore, it is not easy to realize a discussion with every member being assent to the conclusion. In this paper, a discussion method based on hypothesis oriented thinking is proposed. The proposed method aims for effective problem solving by supporting the members of the group to think logically and make clear mutual understandings of the opinions among other members. To provide more efficiency to the proposed method, a discussion support system which conforms to the method is proposed. The conducted 3 experiments show the capability of use of the proposed method and software.