Welcome to

FPS
 What is FPS?
FPS stands for future problem solving. You will be given a future scene
with a problem. You will have to come up with challenges and
solutions for this problem and an overall action plan to make the
problem go away. You will also have about two months in advance to
research about the topic. We will provide the Research document
needed for researching. Remember: the more research, the better the
booklet. The booklet includes 6 steps that are needed to solve the
problem. You will have to research challenges and solutions to the
problem as a team and come up with at least 20 possible challenges
and solutions for the problem. The booklet will require you to have 16
challenges and solutions, which you can split between you and your
team. The other steps will be explained in the next slides.
Step 1: Identifying
Challenges
 How do we find challenges?
Finding challenges can be simple or difficult based on the future scene. Sometimes,
the future scene may not a sufficient number of challenges to meet your needs. If
you need to identify 16 challenges together but you only find 8, what are you going to
do? That’s where your research comes in. Sometimes, using our research to suit the
needs of the future scene can be the best way to go. While doing research, it is best
to make a list of all of the challenges and solutions you find. Another thing about
identifying challenges (and solutions for that matter) is that not only is it hard to find
them, but you also have to make sure that each challenge falls into an fps category.
While researching, we also have to make sure that we are not only researching in one
category, but covering at least 20 categories since categories contribute a lot towards
the number of points you will get for this section of the booklet. You challenges
should be broad, and allow for you to come up with multiple solutions for them.
 Challenges checklist/simplified version
● Should be related to the future scene
● Each one should be a different category
● Should be broad
● Should include research
● Should be creative
● Should be split between teammates
Step 2: Underlying
Problem
 Underlying problem
The underlying problem is the challenge that you and your teammates think is the
most important challenge out of the 16 challenges that you have come up with for
the future scene. The underlying problem has 3 main parts. These are the Key Verb
Phrase, the Conditions Phrase, and the Purpose. The conditions phrase is the link to
the future scene, then the Key verb phrase often starts with how might we and
indicates what you want to do, and the purpose states what problem you want to fix
and how you want to fix it. You team will have a designated UP writer who you will
choose as a team based on everyone’s UP writing skills. The UP contributes to a lot of
points in your booklet, so it should be well written and full of research.
 UP CHECKLIST/SIMPLIFIED VERSION
● Most important challenge
● Should decided by the entire team
● Three parts: Key Verb Phrase, Conditions Phrase, Purpose
● Key Verb Phrase: How might we… Indicates what we want to do
● Conditions Phrase: links to the future scene
● Purpose: often starts with so that…, tells what is going to be solved
● UP contributes a lot to booklet points
Step 3: Identifying
Solutions
 How do we identify solutions?
Identifying solutions is a lot like identifying challenges. All of the rules that apply to
challenges apply to solutions. All of your solutions should be doable, and they should
have lots of research embedded into them. A lot of your research should be on
solutions to the problem, so when writing solutions, none of them should not be
based off of research. The evaluators will often judge how well a challenge or solution
is written based on how much research and creativity is put into it. Futuristic thinking
also plays a huge role in how many points you get for these sections.
 Solutions checklist/simplified version
● Should be related to the future scene
● Each one should be a different category
● Should include research
● Should be creative
● Should be split between teammates
● Team should be able to come up with at least 16 solutions
Step 4: Criteria
 How do we write criteria and what is it?
Criteria is a list of 5 questions that you will write and use in your booklet to narrow
your 16 solutions down to one main solution. Just like the UP, criteria also have a
specific format. Criteria are often written as “Which solution will (best, most, least,
etc.)...” After writing the Which solution will, which is how you will start off your
criterion question, you will then use a superlative, or a word that ends in -st. The
superlative makes sure that you are trying to have the most of your solution. Like the
UP, there will also be a designated writer for the criteria on your team. Criteria are
evaluated based on creativity, futuristic thinking, and how advanced it is.
 Criteria checklist/simplified version
● Starts with “Which solution will…
● Includes superlative or word that ends in -st
● Narrows down solutions to 1 big solution
● Should be creative
● Should be futuristic
● Should be advanced
Step 5: The Grid
 How do we do the grid and what is it?
The Grid is another tool that helps us to narrow down our solutions. The grid puts the
solutions to one side and the criteria to one side. You will have to grade your
solutions going by the criteria on a scale of one to 5, and then add up the scores of
each solution. Whichever solution has the most points according to you and the grid
gets to be the solution that will be used as the base of the action plan which is the
final step.
 Grid checklist/simplified version
● Graded on a scale of 1-5
● Pick 8 solutions from 16 to grade
● Should add up to
Example grid
Step 6: Action plan
 How do we write the action plan?
The action is the last and final step of your booklet, and also the most important
because it explains exactly what you will do to solve the underlying problem. It scores
a lot of points, and will have a designated person to write it. This person will have to
be good at writing, and futuristic thinking, and combining all categories. It will have a
structure, which is who, what where when why and how.
 Action plan checklist/simplified version
● Who, what, where, when, why, how
● Should include Future scene parameters
● Should address all aspects and categories
● Should go in depth
● Should be based off of a well researched solution
● Should show that you addressed the criteria
● Should address the criteria