Start solving problems efficiently with these five steps

What exactly is problem solving?

Problem solving is the ability to identify and resolve issues. It's a skill that can be learned and improved upon, but it's also something you want to be good at if you want to succeed in business or any other field. Solving problems is a part of any job. Whether it's fixing bugs in code, diagnosing an illness, or unclogging a toilet, problem solving is part of what makes us human and gets things done.

By breaking them down into smaller pieces that are easier for your brain to handle problem solving helps you to figure out solutions. This allows for more efficient problem-solving, which means less time spent on figuring out what went wrong and more time spent making things right again!

In this article we'll look at 5 steps to solve problems efficiently so you can get back to doing what you love: producing quality work!

Describe the problem in detail

The first step in solving a problem is to describe it in detail. This means that you need to define the problem in a way that is easily understood by others, and you should also ensure that you are being as objective and rational as possible. For example, if your business has been losing money due to poor sales numbers, then describing this issue as "we're losing money" would not be enough information for anyone else (including yourself) who may want to help solve it. Instead, try explaining why exactly these sales numbers have declined: perhaps customers aren't interested in what products are being offered; maybe there aren't enough advertising campaigns; or maybe prices have risen too high compared with competitors'.

The second thing we recommend doing when starting solve problems is using the 5 Why's Method in order to determine root causes behind problems such as those mentioned above--this helps clarify any confusion surrounding them so everyone involved can better understand where they stand at any given time. If you want to try it out, the 5 Why's Method works like following:

1) Ask "Why?" five times, each time trying to get at the root cause of the problem.

2) When arriving at the fifth time, this should be the final and real root cause.

3) Record the responses on a whiteboard, notepad or other type of document.

Brainstorm ideas for possible solutions

Once you have a problem to solve, the next step is to come up with as many ideas as possible for possible solutions. This can be done individually or in teams. It's important not only to think of obvious solutions but also out-of-the-box ones that may seem like they won't work at first glance.

Once you have brainstormed all your ideas, write down each one on a separate sheet of paper or index card--including those that seem like bad ideas! You never know when an idea might spark another one later on in the process of solving this particular problem. If working with others on this project, share your thoughts with them so they can offer feedback and help guide the brainstorming process if needed.

You could also use a method like Channel Brainwriting which can help you to brainstorm a topic in a structured and organized way by utilizing channels for different topics and then going through each channel one after the other or if you're working in a team you could also assign each group a channel. Then at after brainstorming the channels you could select your best ideas (e.g. top 10 or top 5 ideas).

Evaluate and select the ideas

You should now have a number of ideas and options to consider. The next step is to evaluate each one, starting with the most promising ones.

You'll want to determine whether an idea is feasible and will work. You can do this by considering the cost and resources required for implementation, how much time and effort it will take for you or your team members, as well as whether or not the idea meets your objectives for solving this particular problem.

One way you can evaluate your options is using a tool like a benefit-effort analysis. This involves creating a graph on paper or in a software with two lines: a x-axis and a y-axis. The x-axis (the horizontal line) will be labeled effort and the y-axis (the vertical line) will be labeled benefit. Once you have done this you can take your sticky notes or index cards with the ideas on them and place them on the graph according to your estimation of how much benefit they will bring compared to how much effort it wall take to execute the idea. Selected ideas should come out of the space where effort is low but benefit is high.

Implement the generated solution

Once you have identified the problem, generated a solution and determined its viability, it is time to get started on implementing it.

Make sure that you have all the resources required for solving your problem at hand. If not, try to find them as soon as possible; otherwise, you might end up wasting time searching for them later on in an inefficient manner (e.g., using Google).

Also ensure that everyone involved understands what needs to be done and how they should do it; otherwise there will be confusion among team members which could lead them astray from their initial goals or even fail altogether due lack knowledge about certain aspects of solving this particular type of problem (e.g., building bridges).

Then choose where exactly you should start working: home office? coffee shop? library? The choice depends mostly on personal preferences but also factors such as safety/security issues or availability of online services like free WiFi access points nearby locations (e.g., cafes) may come into play here too!

As a last point to mention here is that you can also use a tool like an action point plan to help you plan your implementation. An example of an action point plan is a table with the columns: Who, what and when. The action point will be sorted into the What tab and the Who tab is reserved for defining who is or should do that action point. What the When tab means is up to you, it can mean when to start or when to finish or it can be the intended time frame for completion.

Review the results of your solution

Now that you've found a solution, it's time to review how well it worked. Was the outcome of the solution compared to what you expected? Did the solution meet your expectations? If not, why do you think this happened? If there was anything that could have been improved upon in this experience or if there were any lessons learned along the way (e.g., "I should have taken more time planning out my proposal before submitting it" or "I need to get more feedback from others before making big decisions"), consider how those things would affect future decisions and plans for solving similar problems in the future.

Getting the most out of your problem solving

The key to effective problem solving is to begin with a clear understanding of what the problem is and how it can be solved. This means that you have to spend time gathering information about your issue so that you have all the facts before you start brainstorming ideas. Then once you've evaluated these ideas, choose one or two that seem most promising for implementation. Finally start implementing the selected solution, and make sure that it works! If not try again until finding something better that works out in your favor. Do you want to see some workshop solutions that have been proven to work? DeYuCo Academy has developed professional brainstorming templates, so that you can short-cut your efforts. Here are some examples: