What is solving problem

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Understanding Complexity
Tools like 5 Whys , Appreciation and Root Cause Analysis help
you ask the right questions, and work through the layers of a
problem to uncover what's really going on.
At this stage, it's also important to ensure that you look at the issue
from a variety of perspectives. If you commit yourself too early,
you can end up with a problem statement that's really a solution
instead. For example, consider this problem statement: "We have to
find a way of disciplining of people who do substandard work."
This doesn't allow you the opportunity of discovering the real
reasons for under-performance. The CATWOE checklist provides a
powerful reminder to look at many elements that may contribute to
the problem, and to expand your thinking around it.

Having good strong problem solving skills

can make a huge difference to your career.
Problems are at the center of what many people do at work every
day. Whether you're solving a problem for a client (internal or
external), supporting those who are solving problems, or
discovering new problems to solve, the problems you face can be
large or small, simple or complex, and easy or difficult.

A fundamental part of every manager's role is finding ways to solve

them. So, being a confident problem solver is really important to
your success. Much of that confidence comes from having a good
process to use when approaching a problem. With one, you can
solve problems quickly and effectively. Without one, your solutions
may be ineffective, or you'll get stuck and do nothing, with
sometimes painful consequences.

There are four basic steps in solving a problem:

1. Defining the problem.

2. Generating alternatives.
3. Evaluating and selecting alternatives.
4. Implementing solutions.
Steps 2 to 4 of this process are covered in depth in other areas of
Mind Tools. For these, see our sections on Creativity for step 2
(generating alternatives); Decision Making for step 3 (evaluating
and selecting alternatives); and Project Management for step 4
(implementing solutions).
The articles in this section of Mind Tools therefore focus on helping
you make a success of the first of these steps – defining the
problem. A very significant part of this involves making sense of
the complex situation in which the problem occurs, so that you can
pinpoint exactly what the problem is. Many of the tools in this
section help you do just that. We look at these, and then review
some useful, well-established problem-solving frameworks.

Defining the Problem

The key to a good problem definition is ensuring that you deal with
the real problem – not its symptoms. For example, if performance in
your department is substandard, you might think the problem is with
the individuals submitting work. However, if you look a bit deeper,
the real issue might be a lack of training, or an unreasonable
workload.