Economics, engineering, and really all of problem solving exists in the tradespace.
While it’s true that Most Problems are Solvable, few are solvable outright. Problems that are outright solvable cease being thought of as problems once they are effectively solved.
Most things we think of as problems don’t have a perfect solution with zero downsides. Instead they may have multiple competing potential solutions, each coming with its own pros and cons. The dimensions in play between these various potential solutions is known as the tradespace. You have to trade some negatives in order to get other positives.
A good Strategy Document will outline some of the top-level moves you’re making in your trade space. Essentially you Choose Your Problems.
Examples
This list could be never ending, but here are 5 that come to mind
- The Project Resource Triangle describes a tradespace
- You want a flashy car and a big bank account, but can only afford one of those
- You want your armor to be highly effective against all sorts of attack, but also lightweight to leave you agile enough to fight
- You want a nice new things, but don’t want to have a lot of things to maintain
- You can cook yourself a healthy meal that’s expensive and fast, or a healthy meal that’s cheap and slow, or an unhealthy meal that’s cheap and fast.
Source
- self