Solutions to Problem: Having a Selection Criteria

This post discusses the case study, Choose Between Two Corrects.

Actually this was a trick question. The solution lies before and not after the fact. If you expect more than one solution to a problem - and it is very likely that you will have more than one solution, even if only one person is assigned the task - you never decide on the criteria after the solution is presented. Rather you must - must - always decide on the selection criteria before. In fact, whenever possible you should also make the selection criteria open. This helps in getting better solution. Always.

What if all the solutions presented meet the selection criteria laid down? Congratulations! You have a great team.

Software Is Not Like Making Shoes

Your team has been struggling for weeks with no solution in sight. The software seems ok. The HW is perfect. But the software is not behaving correctly in a particular mode for a given set of condition. The team is working day and night. Being a good PM, you have ensured that the customer is in the loop. They understand the situation but need the software the following week. You get a call from the customer. You explain the problem but they make it clear that it is your baby and that it is your responsibility to deliver the goods. You talk to the team. They say that software problems are like this. The solution may be trivial but it takes time to figure out what is the problem. This is not like making shoes. This is software. You need the team to kill the issue. The team is getting tired. They think this could be a problem that cannot be solved. The customer is acting difficult.

What do you do?

What do you do?

PS: My views here:
Determining Responsibility