The Three P’s Approach to Understanding a Problem
While studying at Teachers College, I took a class on Education Law that was co-listed with Columbia Law School. For those of us in the education program, the professor provided additional readings and took the time to explain foundational legal concepts such as contracts, torts, and property law. He also offered a simple yet elegant framework for analyzing legal cases : The Three P’s - Power, Process, Product. In some cases, the key question revolved around power - who had it, who didn’t, and whether authority or jurisdiction had been properly exercised. Other cases turned on process – the procedures, steps, or barriers that determined how actions were taken or blocked. Finally, the product referred to the outcome or judgment—the relief granted and its potential implications for future cases. The Three P’s are deeply interrelated. Power shapes process. Process influences product. And product can change reality, including power and future processes. This approach helps explain wh...