Let's call the width of the rectangular outdoor patio "x" feet. Since the length is 7 feet less than the width, we can express the length as "x - 7" feet.
The area of a rectangle is calculated by multiplying the length and width. So, we have the equation:
(x)(x - 7) = 294
To solve for x, we can expand the equation and rearrange it into a quadratic equation.