The normal process for solving a problem will initially involve defining the problem you want to solve. You need to decide what you want achieve and write it down. Often people keep the problem in their head as a vague idea and can so often get lost in what they are trying to solve that no solution seems to fit. Merely writing down the problem forces you to think about what you are actually trying to solve and how much you want to achieve. The first part of the process not only involves writing down the problem to solve, but also checking that you are answering the right problem.

The next step in the process is often to check where we are, what is the current situation and what is involved in making it a problem. For example, what are the benefits of the current product/service/process? And why did we decide to make it like that? Understanding where the problem is coming from, how it fits in with current developments and what the current environment is, is crucial when working out whether a solution will actually work or not. Similarly you must have a set of criteria by which to evaluate any new solutions or you will not know whether the idea is workable or not.

When you have discovered the real problem that you want to solve and have investigated the climate into which the solution must fit, the next stage is to generate a number of possible solutions. At this stage you should concentrate on generating many solutions and should not evaluate them at all. Often an idea, which would have been discarded immediately, when evaluated properly, can be developed into a superb solution. At this stage, you should not pre-judge any potential solutions but should treat each idea as a new idea in its own right and worthy of consideration.

This section of the problem solving process is where you investigate the various factors about each of the potential solutions. You note down the good and bad points and other relevant things for each solution. Even at this stage you are not evaluating the solution because if you do so then you could decide not to write down the valid good points about it because you think it will not work. However you might discover that by writing down its advantages that it is totally unique. Only by discovering this might you choose to put the effort in to develop the idea so that it will work.

This is where you look through the various influencing factors for each possible solution and decide which solution to keep and which to disregard. You look at the solution as a whole to understand whether it is applicable to the problem or not. You can vote using either a Yes/No/Interesting process tool or on a sliding scale depending on how good the idea is. Sometimes pure facts and figures dictate which ideas will work and which will not. In other situations, it will be purely feelings and intuition that decides. Intuition is a lifetime of experience and judgment compressed into a single decision.

This section of the process is where you write down what you are going to do next. Now that you have a potential solution or solutions you need to decide how you will make the solution happen. This will involve people doing various things at various times in the future and then confirming that they have been carried out as planned. This stage ensures that the valuable thinking that has gone into solving the problem becomes reality. This series of Next Steps is the logical step to physically solving the problem. It will take you to the next phase of the project which is the implementation./p>