problem solving and prioritization strategies

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A Better Way to Set Strategic Priorities

Derek Lidow

problem solving and prioritization strategies

It doesn’t involve rank ordering them.

Smart leaders understand that their job requires them to identify trade-offs, choosing what not to do as much as what to do. Grading the importance of various initiatives in an environment of finite resources is a primary test of leadership.

Derek Lidow teaches entrepreneurship, innovation and creativity at Princeton. He was the founder and former CEO of iSuppli Corporation and is the author of Startup Leadership (Jossey-Bass 2014). Follow him on Twitter: @DerekLidow .

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Essential Tools: Organization Prioritization, Time Management, Decision Making and Problem Solving

Learning Objectives:

Build trust through productive organization, prioritization, and time management
Identify strategies to increase organization and prioritization
Manage commitments to build trust and respect with peers and supervisors
Choose appropriate strategies and make sound and well-grounded decisions

Watch these videos on time management :

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Most+Popular+Time+Management+Funny&Form=VQFRVP#view=detail&mid=ED2A635BF1F59E96BB81ED2A635BF1F59E96BB81 time management techniques

https://youtu.be/0245yIOjdDk Eisenhower matrix

https://youtu.be/tT89OZ7TNwc Eisenhower matrix

Watch the Jar of Life Video—setting priorities :

https://youtu.be/v5ZvL4as2y0 Rocks, pebbles, sand story

Watch these videos on decision making :

https://youtu.be/lm9gOxnX5XM Big Bang Theory decision making; funny

https://youtu.be/VrSUe_m19FY decision making – take action; funny

Making and Keeping Commitments

Our relationships with other people are vital to our effective participation in the world. We live in a world of engagement and the language we choose to use creates a power that ripples outwards. Somewhat similar to the reaction that occurs when we drop a pebble in a pond. We use language to not only describe our world but to create it. And effective communication, including keeping our commitments is central to that. Keeping commitments is a crucial factor for every family, friendship or partnership, and for every team, association, or organization. Every one of these groups is comprised of us, and others, engaging in a continuing cycle of conversations and commitments

Of all the types of conversations we have, the most potent and productive is when we make an offer to another, or when we request a commitment from another. And when that offer or request is accepted this can be characterized as ‘The Promise Cycle’ . This simple act of making and managing promises then creates a mutual commitment from one person to another to take a specific future action.

And the responsibility that accompanies a promise is to do ‘what’ we said we would do, do it to the ‘standard’ to which we committed, and to do it at the ‘time’ we committed to. In other words, we must deliver what we promise, to the standard we promise and when we promise. The effectiveness of this process relies on the clarity of the conditions. In other words, how well formed and well expressed the commitment is, and how well it’s understood by both people.

The promise cycle can be described this way. It occurs when you offer to do something for another as an: Offer + Acceptance = Promise , or when another makes a request of you as a: Request + Acceptance = Promise . In life we bind ourselves to each other through promises and we begin to drift when we don’t deliver on those promises. Therefore the making and keeping of commitments is an important element of our communication. It determines predictability, certainty and continuity in all our various relationships.

Now imagine the profound impact that would occur in every aspect of life if all members of your family, your team, your associations, or your organization kept their commitments? Mutual trust would increase, and as a result efficiency, effectiveness and productivity would grow exponentially. Trust is central to our identity; such a simple process; such a profound impact. And In an organizational setting; understanding and using this process allows team and business leaders to develop a committed, collaborative, high- performance culture .

Reflection:

Now think of one instance in both your personal life and professional life where you have made a promise and delivered on that promise.

Then think of one instance in both your personal and professional life when you have made a promise and not delivered on that promise.

What were the implications and results?

Excerpt from the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey, 1989

Personal management has evolved in a pattern similar to many other areas of human endeavor. Major developmental thrusts, or ‘waves’ as Alvin Toffler calls them, follow each other in succession, each adding a vital new dimension.

Likewise, in the area of time management, each generation builds on the one before it – each one moves us toward greater control of our lives. The first wave or generation could be characterized by notes and checklists, an effort to give some semblance of recognition and inclusiveness to the many demands placed on our time and energy.

The second generation could be characterized by calendars and appointment books. This wave reflects an attempt to look ahead, to schedule events and activities in the future.

The third generation reflects the current time management field. It adds to those preceding generations the important idea of prioritization, of clarifying values, and of comparing the relative worth of activities based on their relationship to those values. In addition, it focuses on setting goals – specific long-, intermediate- and short-term targets toward which time and energy would be directed in harmony with values. It also includes the concept of daily planning, of making a specific plan to accomplish those goals and activities determined to be of greatest worth.

While the third generation has made a significant contribution, people have begun to realize that “efficient” scheduling and control of time are often counterproductive. The efficiency focus creates expectations that clash with the opportunities to develop rich relations, to meet human needs, and to enjoy spontaneous moments on a daily basis.

As a result, many people have become turned off by the time management programs and planner that make them feel too scheduled, too restricted, and they “throw the baby out with the bath water,” reverting to first or second generation techniques to preserve relationships, spontaneity, and quality of life.

But there is an emerging fourth generation that is different in kind. It recognizes that “time management” is really a misnomer – the challenge is not to manage time, but to manage ourselves. Satisfaction is a function of the expectation as well as realization. And expectation (and satisfaction) lies in our Circle of Influence.

Rather than focusing on things and time, fourth generation expectations focus on preserving and enhancing relationships and on accomplishing results – in short, on maintaining P/PC Balance [P stands for production of desired results and PC stands for the capacity to produce the desired results].

General Organizing Skills

Along with communication and computer skills, organizational skills are some of the most important transferable job skills a worker can possess. People need organizational skills at work to be more productive. Workers who know where to find notes or certain resources can save time. Therefore, they tend to get more done. There are a number of organizational skills for work, including those noted below.

Physical Organization

Clutter is often the culprit when it comes to disorganization in a work space. Make a point to clear out unneeded papers, file documents in the appropriate places and put unused supplies back in the supply closet. You don’t have to be a neat freak to be successful with physical organization. You might find that it fits your working style to designate a weekly session for busting through the accumulated clutter. Get into the habit of putting papers, gadgets, business cards, files, magazines, newspapers and supplies in their proper places. Throw away or shred items that are past their usable life.

Mental Organization

Keeping your mind organized can be a challenge when you are juggling the varied demands of performing a job. Prioritize projects and make to-do lists to keep yourself on track. Understand your personal working style and play to your strengths. Not everyone is cut out to be an accomplished multi-tasker. You might work best by focusing on finishing off one project at a time rather than balancing multiple tasks.

Planning is a needed workplace skill, and it is particularly important as person advances into more supervisory or managerial roles. Most work is centered on certain projects that must be completed within a specific time period. Projects are usually divided into many different tasks, and workers must plan their tasks ahead of time to bring the project to fruition. A person can also plan ahead in case certain problems come up that could potentially delay the project.

Set goals and outline the steps you need to take to reach them. Focus forward on goals that you may have set with your supervisor. Schedule time to work through the tasks involved so that you are making constant progress.

A goal is something you want to do, have or be or something your employer expects to happen over time.

The way you set your goals affects their effectiveness. Goal setting is deciding what you want to do, why you want to do it, when you are going to do it and how you are going to do it. Setting goals helps you to accomplish things which are important in both your work and home life. Plan the Plan and not the results. As you begin to think about your goals, keep the following things in mind.

Be Positive: have a good attitude
Be Realistic: know yourself and your comfort level
Set Deadlines: be realistic so you don’t become frustrated
Prioritize: make lists, break things into smaller pieces
Write down your goals & keep them visible: this will help you stay on task
Make your goals small and achievable : for better success
List your values : What’s important to you?
Plan for the future and place yourself there: visualize, fantasize

Time Management

Having good organizational skills is about making the best use of your time. Being organize reduces the amount of time you have to dig to uncover important work related information. Understand where your time goes. For example, if you check email every five minutes, you might want to create a twice-a-day email schedule to more effectively handle your inbox. Maintain a calendar so you don’t miss important deadlines.

Thinking about time management can generate many questions for exploration and reflection.

Do we manage time or manage capacity? Do we manage time or manage our values and what we care about? Do we manage time or manage our choices? Do we manage tasks or manage outcomes? Do we manage our time or our energy?

Use of time is clearly a choice. When those choices lack grounding in a larger purpose and clear discernment of what we care about and what’s really important, the choices of how we spend our time can sometimes fail to deliver purposeful outcomes.

Taking time to consider at a more than superficial level what we care about and centering our focus on those cares generates different outcomes. Those who are grounded in a clear purpose and who allow that purpose to drive conversations for action and commitments make different choices that enable personal as well as customer satisfaction. These commitments are grounded in outcomes that matter rather than task completion. Spending time on tasks without connection to a greater purpose can cause frustration, a sense of overwhelm energy depletion, disappointment, exhaustion, and loss of clear direction.

Meeting Deadlines

One of the most important organizational skills is the ability to meet deadlines and use time wisely. It usually takes a little experience before an individual can properly assign tasks, allocate resources and complete a project on time. Meeting deadlines requires time management skills, which is an important organizational skill itself

Employees need time management organizational skills to keep track of meetings, appointments, tasks and deadlines. Time management skills will help you stay on schedule with everything you do. Time management skills will also help you avoid the last minute rush to complete tasks, eliminating potential stress in the process

Tracking Tasks

Organizational skills are needed to keep track of projects. Finding a way to track tasks will help keep you ahead of the game. Projects require a lot of individual tasks. These tasks need to be completed on time to reach the project deadline. If you work with project deadlines, use a project log to keep track of your progress. You can keep the project log on file in your computer or on paper. There is no right way. The important point is to do it to simplify your life as well as that of others.

Good organizational skills can help lead to success through many paths. Time is money. Organization saves time by keeping valuable data easily accessible, goals in focus and everyone on the same page. Employees who have good organizational skills are efficient at covering the demands of their jobs. This directly relates to a company’s bottom line. Poor organization leads to frustration on the part of a business owner, employees and customers. Keep an orderly office, work space, computer and mind to cultivate an environment that is focused on meeting business goals in a timely manner.

Organizational Skills: Prioritization

Prioritization is a valuable organizational skill. Some tasks may require immediate attention, others can wait. This skill set is closely linked to time management. We only have a limited amount of time to utilize during our workday, so place those tasks that have to be completed first at the head of a list. In the military, on the battlefield, doctors apply the organizational skill of “triage”; injured soldiers are placed into one of three categories, since it is physically impossible for the doctor to get to everyone at once. Wounded soldiers who are going to die, no matter what is done to them, are placed in one category. Soldiers who have serious, but non-life-threatening injuries, go into another category. Finally, those soldiers who require immediate attention and can be saved go into the third category. This is prioritization.

Organizational skills such as prioritization, organizing the workspace, time management , form the core basis of good organizational habits. Practical organizational skills include wise planning, time optimization, detail orientation, and prioritization . Last, but not least, would be to relieve stress ! A stressed out worker makes more mistakes, and may say something to a co-worker or subordinate in the “heat of the moment”, that they will later regret! Do whatever it takes for you personally to be relaxed, yet professional, in making your business decisions and conducting efficient operations. Implementing these organizational skills will contribute to a healthy work environment.

There are five steps to prioritizing your work

Think about what needs to be done– First, think about what needs to be done. How do you juggle (prioritize) your daily activities? Make a list of daily activities, and think about how you work to accomplish them.
Decide and prioritize what to do– Now it is time to decide which goals are important to you, and how you can achieve them. Before you do, remember that relaxation is a key. How do you relax? Have you given yourself time to relax? What do you do to relax? Before you continue, think about relaxing and make a list of the things you do to relax. As you plan your day, allow time for yourself to relax and refresh.

By now, you have an idea of your goals. You should also have a list of how you organize your daily life and what your work style is. As a reminder, this list should tell you the following:

What your distractions are
When do you work best
What are your daily activities (commitments) are
When you work best

Keep your list in mind as you begin to set goals, break the goal into manageable pieces, order (prioritize) those pieces and achieve your goal. Learn to say no to distractions and extra demands on your time. Saying no can be difficult at first, but as you prioritize and work to achieve your goals you will see how important this can be.

Monitor and Evaluate : How am I doing? It is important to think about what you do while you do it.

It takes commitment to design a plan and stick to it. Remind yourself often of your objectives. Write short lists or put up photographs or articles to help remind you of our goal and your progress.

If you keep veering from the goal, maybe the objective is not something you want badly enough. If so, change it. Be flexible. Setting and achieving goals is a lifelong process. Set new objectives that are consistent with who you are and what you want. Objectives may change over time.

Here are some suggestions for monitoring and evaluating the way you work. Ask yourself the following questions:

What am I doing well?
What could I improve?
What are the opportunities facing you?
What is getting in your way?
Practice Prioritizing —Write a list of things you need to accomplish. Decide what is most important and most urgent. Prioritize list in order of importance Then, breakdown each item into a list of tasks that need to happen to complete it. Check off the tasks as you complete them.
Reward Yourself — Celebrate when you have completed your task.

Set up a reward system for yourself. It may be calling a friend, reading a couple of chapters of your favorite book, taking a bubble bath, shooting a few hoops, or taking a walk. Whatever it is should be meaningful to you.

Time Management: The Eisenhower Method

The Eisenhower Method helps you decide which action you should or shouldn’t do. It aids you to divide actions into one of four categories. The quadrants are divided by importance and urgency.

“What is important is seldom urgent and what is urgent is seldom important.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower

How to Use the Eisenhower Method

Using the Eisenhower quadrant is very easy. You pick an item from your to-do list and ask yourself these two questions.

“Is it urgent?”
“Is it important?”

You can now put the action into the correct quadrant.

Below is an explanation of each quadrant.

Not Urgent and Not Important Examples:
Time wasters (Ex: Facebook, checking e-mails all the time…)
Busy work (Ex: Work that doesn’t need to be done)
Procrastinating

You should not spend any time on activities in this quadrant. When is something not important? If it doesn’t progress you toward your goals, then why should you spend time doing it?

When is something not urgent? If it doesn’t matter when it is done, then it’s not urgent. It can be done today, or it can be done next week or even next year, it doesn’t matter.

The combination of not urgent and not important is the worst quadrant to spend your time in. Decrease your time in this quadrant and put it somewhere else. I prefer you put it in ‘not urgent and important’ .

Urgent and Not Important
Answering e-mails
Incoming phone calls
Interrupting colleagues

Since the tasks are still not important and you’re still not progressing towards your goals’ it’s better to not spend time here either. However, these tasks are urgent, therefore you can’t schedule them. They’re also hard to ignore, since urgent action often demands attention. Ex: A phone call or an interrupting colleague. Find a way to deal with these as quickly as possible.

Urgent and Important
Emergencies
Troubleshooting

You have to do these actions. They’re important. They progress you toward your goals, however, since they’re urgent, they’re often unplanned and unwanted.

You will always spend some time here, since emergencies will always happen. When they do, you have to deal with them. No excuses. After you deal with the situation, spend time to make sure it never happens again, minimize its occurrence or make preparations for when it happens again.

Not Urgent and Important
Building quality relationships with other people
Doing actual work to progress toward a major goal
Physical exercise

This is the quadrant in which you should spent most of your time. Most people however, don’t do this and spend most of their time in any of the other quadrants. Because these important tasks don’t scream to you like a ringing phone, they’re often neglected in favor of more urgent matters.

If you spend almost no time here, then your first important task is to save some time each day to work on the important things.

Urgent activities are often the ones we concentrate on and often forget about really important ones. If you spend all of your time concentrating on the urgent and important tasks you will just be firefighting. Managing time effectively, and achieving the things that you want to achieve, means spending your time on things that are important and not just urgent.

We can categorize tasks on two scales according to their importance and urgency. Making 4 categories and placing them in matrix known also as Time Matrix below.

What is Decision Making?

People often find it hard to make decisions – inevitably we all have to make decisions all the time, some are more important than others.

Some people put off making decisions by endlessly searching for more information or getting other people to offer their recommendations. Others resort to decision making by taking a vote, sticking a pin in a list or tossing a coin.

Regardless of the effort that is put into making a decision, it has to be accepted that some decisions will not be the best possible choice. This page examines one technique that can be used for effective decision making and that should help you to make effective decisions now and in the future.

Although the following technique is designed for an organisational or group structure, it can be easily adapted to an individual level.

In its simplest sense: ‘ Decision Making is the act of choosing between two or more courses of action ‘. However, it must always be remembered that there may not always be a ‘correct’ decision among the available choices.

There may have been a better choice that had not been considered, or the right information may not have been available at the time. Because of this, it is important to keep a record of all important decisions and the reasons why these decisions were made, so that improvements can be made in the future. This also provides justification for any decision taken when something goes wrong.

Hindsight might not be able to correct past mistakes, but it will aid improved decision making in the future.

Effective Decision Making

Although decisions can be made using either intuition or reasoning, a combination of both approaches is often used. Whatever approach is used, it is usually helpful to structure decision making in order to:

Reduce more complicated decisions down to simpler steps.
See how any decisions are arrived at.
Plan decision making to meet deadlines.

Stages of Decision Making

In psychology, decision-making is regarded as the cognitive process resulting in the selection of a belief or a course of action among several alternative possibilities. Every decision-making process produces a final choice that may or may not prompt action. Decision-making is the study of identifying and choosing alternatives based on the values and preferences of the decision maker. Decision-making is one of the central activities of management and is a huge part of any process of implementation.

Many different techniques of decision making have been developed, ranging from simple rules of thumb, to extremely complex procedures. The method used depends on the nature of the decision to be made and how complex it is.

The method described here follows seven stages:

Listing all possible solutions/options.
Setting a time scale and deciding who is responsible for the decision.
Information gathering.
Weighing up the risks involved.
Deciding on values, or in other words what is important.
Weighing up the pros and cons of each course of action.
Making the decision.
Listing Possible Solutions/Options

In order to come up with a list of all the possible solutions and/or options available it is usually appropriate to work on a group (or individual) problem-solving process. This process, could include brainstorming or some other ‘idea generating’ process (see our page: Problem Solving for more information).

This stage is important to the overall decision making processes as a decision will be made from a selection of fixed choices. Always remember to consider the possibility of not making a decision or doing nothing and be aware that both options are actually potential solutions in themselves.

Setting a Time Period and Deciding Who is Responsible for the Decision

In deciding how much time to make available for the decision making process, it helps to consider the following:

How much time is available to spend on this decision?
Is there a deadline for making a decision and what are the consequences of missing this deadline?
Is there an advantage in making a quick decision?
How important is it to make a decision? How important is it that the decision is right?
Will spending more time improve the quality of the decision?

Responsibility for the Decision

Before making a decision, it needs to be clear who is going to take responsibility for the decision. Remember that it is not always those making the decision who have to assume responsibility for it. Is it an individual, a group or an organisation? This is a key question because the degree to which responsibility for a decision is shared can greatly influence how much risk people are willing to take.

If the decision making is for work then it is helpful to consider the structure of the organization that you are in. Is the individual responsible for the decisions he or she makes or does the organization hold ultimate responsibility? Who has to carry out the course of action decided? Who will it affect if something goes wrong? Are you willing to take responsibility for a mistake?

Finally, you need to know who can actually make the decision. When helping a friend, colleague or client to reach a decision, in most circumstances the final decision and responsibility will be taken by them. Whenever possible, and if it is not obvious, it is better to make a formal decision as to who is responsible for a decision. This idea of responsibility also highlights the need to keep a record of how any decision was made, what information it was based on and who was involved. Enough information needs to be kept to justify that decision in the future so that, if something does go wrong, it is possible to show that your decision was reasonable in the circumstance and given the knowledge you held at the time.

3. Information Gathering

Before starting on the process of making a decision, all relevant information needs to be gathered.

If there is inadequate or out-dated information then it is more likely that a wrong decision might be made. Also, if there is a lot of irrelevant information then the decision will be difficult to make, it will be easier to become distracted by unnecessary factors.

There is a need for up-to-date, accurate information on which to make decisions. Such information needs to be gathered so that a well-informed decision can be made. The amount of time spent on information gathering has to be weighed against how much you are willing to risk making the wrong decision. In a group situation, such as at work, it may be appropriate for different people to research different aspects of the information required.

Weighing up the Risks Involved

One key question is how much risk should be taken in making the decision? Generally, the amount of risk an individual is willing to take depends on:

The seriousness of the consequences of taking the wrong decision.
The benefits of making the right decision.
Not only how bad the worst outcome might be, but also how likely that outcome is to happen.

It is also useful to consider what the risk of the worst possible outcome occurring might be, and to decide if the risk is acceptable. The choice can be between going ‘all out for success’ or taking a safe decision.

Deciding on Values

Everybody has their own unique set of values – what they believe to be important.

Many people decide to buy a car for themselves but different people buy different cars based on their own personal values. One person might feel that price is the most important feature, whereas another person might be more concerned with its speed and performance. Others might value safety, luggage space or the cars impact on the environment or a combination of these features.

Depending on which values are considered important, different opinions may seem more or less attractive. If the responsibility for a decision is shared it is possible that one person might not have the same values as the others. In such cases, it is important to obtain a consensus as to which values are to be given the most weight. It is important that the values on which a decision is made are understood because they will have a strong influence on the final choice.

People do not make decisions based on just one of their values. They will consider all their values which are relevant to the decision and prioritise them in order of importance. If you were to buy a car, what would be the five most important factors to you?

Weighing the Pros and Cons

It is possible to evaluate the pros and cons of each possible solution/option by considering the possible advantages and disadvantages.

One aid to evaluating any solution/option is to use a ‘balance sheet’, weighing up the pros and cons (benefits and costs) associated with that solution. Having listed the pros and cons, it may be possible to immediately decide whether the option is viable.

However, it may be useful to rate each of the pros and cons on a simple 1 to 10 scale (with 10 high – most important to 1 low – least important):

In scoring each of the pros and cons it helps to take into account how important each item on the list is in meeting values. This balance sheet approach allows both the information to be taken into account as well as the values, and presents them in a clear and straight forward manner.

Making the Decision

There are many techniques that can be used to help in reaching a decision. The pros and cons method (as above) is just one way of evaluating each of the possible solutions/options available.

There are other techniques which allow for more direct comparisons between possible solutions. These are more complicated and generally involve a certain amount of calculation. These can be particularly helpful when it is necessary to weigh a number of conflicting values and options.

For example, how would you decide between a cheap to buy but expensive to run car and another more expensive car that is more economical to keep on the road?

Intuitive Judgments: In addition to making reasoned decisions using the techniques shown above, in many cases people use an intuitive approach to decision making. When making a decision many influences, which have not been considered, may play a part. For example, prejudice or wishful thinking might affect judgment. Reliance is often placed on past experience without consideration of past mistakes. Making a decision using intuition alone should be an option and not done merely because it is the easy way out, or other methods are more difficult.

Intuition is a perfectly acceptable means of making a decision, although it is generally more appropriate when the decision is of a simple nature or needs to be made quickly. More complicated decisions tend to require a more formal, structured approach. It is important to be wary of impulsive reactions to a situation and remember to keep a record of the decision for future reference, no matter whether the decision was made intuitively or after taking a reasoned approach.

If possible, it is best to allow time to reflect on a decision once it has been reached. It is preferable to sleep on it before announcing it to others. Once a decision is made public, it is very difficult to change.

Decision making is the act of choosing between a number of alternatives. In the wider process of problem solving, decision making involves choosing between possible solutions to a problem. Decisions can be made through either an intuitive or reasoned process, or a combination of the two. There are usually a number of stages to any structured decision making.

You should always remember that no decision making technique should be used as an alternative to good judgement and clear thinking. All decision making involves individual judgement, and systematic techniques are merely there to assist those judgements.

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Guidelines for Problem Solving and Decision Making

Much of what people do is solve problems and make decisions. Often, they are “under the gun”, stressed and very short of time. Consequently, when they encounter a new problem or decision they must make, they react with a decision that seemed to work before. It’s easy with this approach to get stuck in a circle of solving the same problem over and over again. Therefore, it’s often useful to get used to an organized approach to problem solving and decision making. Not all problems can be solved and decisions made by the following, rather rational approach. However, the following basic guidelines will get you started. Don’t be intimidated by the length of the list of guidelines. After you’ve practiced them a few times, they’ll become second nature to you — enough that you can deepen and enrich them to suit your own needs and nature.

(Note that it might be more your nature to view a “problem” as an “opportunity”. Therefore, you might substitute “problem” for “opportunity” in the following guidelines.)

Define the problem

This is often where people struggle. They react to what they think the problem is. Instead, seek to understand more about why you think there’s a problem.

Define the problem: (with input from yourself and others). Ask yourself and others, the following questions:

What can you see that causes you to think there’s a problem?
Where is it happening?
How is it happening?
When is it happening?
With whom is it happening? (HINT: Don’t jump to “Who is causing the problem?” When we’re stressed, blaming is often one of our first reactions. To be an effective manager, you need to address issues more than people.)
Why is it happening?
Write down a five-sentence description of the problem in terms of “The following should be happening, but isn’t …” or “The following is happening and should be: …” As much as possible, be specific in your description, including what is happening, where, how, with whom and why. (It may be helpful at this point to use a variety of research methods.

Defining complex problems:

If the problem still seems overwhelming, break it down by repeating steps 1-7 until you have descriptions of several related problems.

Verifying your understanding of the problems— it helps a great deal to verify your problem analysis for conferring with a peer or someone else.

Prioritize the problems— if you discover that you are looking at several related problems, then prioritize which ones you should address first.

Note the difference between “important” and “urgent” problems. Often, what we consider to be important problems to consider are really just urgent problems. Important problems deserve more attention. For example, if you’re continually answering “urgent” phone calls, then you’ve probably got a more “important” problem waiting.

Understand your role in the problem— your role in the problem can greatly influence how you perceive the role of others. For example, if you’re very stressed out, it’ll probably look like others are, too, or, you may resort too quickly to blaming and reprimanding others. Or, you are feeling very guilty about your role in the problem; you may ignore the accountabilities of others.

Look at potential causes for the problem
It’s amazing how much you don’t know about what you don’t know. Therefore, in this phase, it’s critical to get input from other people who notice the problem and who are affected by it.
It’s often useful to collect input from other individuals one at a time (at least at first). Otherwise, people tend to be inhibited about offering their impressions of the real causes of problems.
Write down what your opinions and what you’ve heard from others.
It’s often useful to seek advice from a peer or your supervisor in order to verify your impression of the problem.
Write down a description of the cause of the problem and in terms of what is happening, where, when, how, with whom and why.
Identify alternatives for approaches to resolve the problem

At this point, it’s useful to keep others involved (unless you’re facing a personal and/or other performance problem). Brainstorm for solutions to the problem. Very simply put, brainstorming is collecting as many ideas as possible, and then screening them to find the best idea. It’s critical when collecting the ideas to not pass any judgment on the ideas — just write them down as you hear them.

Select an approach to resolve the problem

When selecting the best approach, consider:

Which approach is the most likely to solve the problem for the long term?
Which approach is the most realistic to accomplish for now? Do you have the resources? Are they affordable? Do you have enough time to implement the approach?
What is the extent of risk associated with each alternative?

(The nature of this step, in particular, in the problem solving process is why problem solving and decision making are highly integrated.)

Plan the implementation of the best alternative (this is your action plan)
Carefully consider “What will the situation look like when the problem is solved?”
What steps should be taken to implement the best alternative to solving the problem? What systems or processes should be changed in your organization, for example, a new policy or procedure? Don’t resort to solutions where someone is “just going to try harder”.
How will you know if the steps are being followed or not? (these are your indicators of the success of your plan)
What resources will you need in terms of people, money and facilities?
How much time will you need to implement the solution? Write a schedule that includes the start and stop times, and when you expect to see certain indicators of success.
Who will primarily be responsible for ensuring implementation of the plan?
Write down the answers to the above questions and consider this as your action plan.
Communicate the plan to those involved in implementing it and, at least, to your immediate supervisor.

(An important aspect of this step in the problem-solving process is continual observation and feedback.)

Monitor implementation of the plan

Monitor the indicators of success:

Are you seeing what you would expect from the indicators?
Will the plan be done according to schedule?
If the plan is not being followed as expected, then consider: Was the plan realistic? Are there sufficient resources to accomplish the plan on schedule? Should more priority be placed on various aspects of the plan? Should the plan be changed?
Verify if the problem has been resolved or not

One of the best ways to verify if a problem has been solved is to return to normal. Watch to see that the solution implemented solved the problem. If not, revisit the process and make necessary corrections.

The Six Step Problem-solving Model

Problem solving is the mental process you follow when you have a goal but can’t immediately understand how to achieve it. It’s a process that depends on you – how you perceive a problem, what you know about it, and the end-state you want to reach.

Solving a problem involves a number of cognitive activities:

determining what the problem really is
identifying the true causes of the problem and the opportunities for reaching a goal
generating creative solutions to the problem
evaluating and choosing the best solution, and
implementing the best solution, then monitoring your actions and the results to ensure the problem is solved successfully

Clearly, problem solving isn’t a one-step process. Your success will depend on whether you approach and implement each of the stages effectively. The best way to do this is to use a well-established, systematic problem-solving model.

The six steps of problem solving

Problems vary widely, and so do their solutions. Sometimes a problem and its solution are clear, but you don’t know how to get from point A to point B. At other times, you may find it hard to define what’s wrong or how to fix it. Regardless of what a problem is, you can use a six-step problem-solving model to address it. This model is highly flexible and can be adapted to suit various types of problems. It also comes with a flexible set of tools to use at each step. The model is designed to be followed one step at a time, but you may find that some stages don’t require as much attention as others. This will depend on your unique situation.

The steps in the problem-solving model are as follows:

Identify the problem – Defining the problem is a crucial step that involves digging deeper to identify what it is that needs to be solved. The more clearly a problem is defined, the easier you’ll find it to complete subsequent steps. A symptom is a phenomenon or circumstance that results from a deeper, underlying condition. It’s common to mistake symptoms for problems themselves – and so to waste a lot of time and effort on tackling consequences of problems instead of their causes. To define a problem, you can use gap analysis, which involves comparing your current state to the future state you want to be in, to identify the gaps between them.

Gather the data and analyze the problem – You decide what type of problem it is – whether there’s a clear barrier or circumstance you need to overcome, or whether you need to determine how to reach a goal. You then dig to the root causes of the problem, and detail the nature of the gap between where you are and where you want to be. The five-why analysis is a tool that’ll help you get to the heart of the problem. Ask “Why?” a number of times to dig through each layer of symptoms and so to arrive at the problem’s root cause. You can get to the root of a more complicated problem using a cause-and-effect diagram. A cause is something that produces an effect, result, or consequence – or what contributed to the current state of affairs. Categories of causes include people, time, and the environment.

Identify as many potential solutions as you can – Brainstorm creatively – ask lots of questions about who, what, where, when, and how of the causes to point to various possibilities. Don’t limit yourself by considering practicalities at this stage; simply record your ideas.

Select and plan the solution – In evaluating your ideas, more options could present themselves. You could do this by rating each possible solution you came up with in step 3 according to criteria such as how effective it will be, how much time or effort it will take, its cost, and how likely it is to satisfy stakeholders.

During the planning step, you determine what steps must be taken, designating tasks where necessary. And you decide on deadlines for completing the actions and estimate the costs of implementing them. You also create a contingency plan in case of unforeseen circumstances so that if anything goes wrong with your plan, you have a “plan B” in place. Typically, this stage involves narrowing down the possible ways to implement the solution you’ve chosen, based on any constraints that apply. You also should draw up an action plan. The complexity of the plan will depend on the situation, but it should include the who, what, and when of your proposed solution.

Implement the solution – This is an ongoing process. You need to ensure the required resources remain available and monitor progress in solving the problem; otherwise, all the work you’ve done might be for nothing.

Evaluate the results —Check to see that your gained a favorable outcome and continue to monitor over time. If the result is not exactly what you hoped for, evaluate the places that may have contributed to the lesser outcome, revise your plan and try again.

Remember that this model is highly adaptable. Although you shouldn’t skip any of the six steps, you can tailor the amount of time you spend on each stage based on the demands of your unique situation.

The six-step problem-solving model, and the tools it provides, is an effective, systematic approach to problem solving. By following each step consciously, you can ensure that generating solutions is a fact-driven, objective, and reliable process. It encourages you to dig deeper to the root cause, allows you to get input from others, to be creative when finding solutions, and to monitor your solutions to make sure they’re working. So by following this model you’re more likely to come up with good, original, lasting solutions.

To solve problems effectively, you need to use a good problem-solving model. The six-step model is a tried-and-tested approach. Its steps include defining a problem, analyzing the problem, identifying possible solutions, choosing the best solution, planning your course of action, and finally implementing the solution while monitoring its effectiveness.

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How to master the seven-step problem-solving process

In this episode of the McKinsey Podcast , Simon London speaks with Charles Conn, CEO of venture-capital firm Oxford Sciences Innovation, and McKinsey senior partner Hugo Sarrazin about the complexities of different problem-solving strategies.

Podcast transcript

Simon London: Hello, and welcome to this episode of the McKinsey Podcast , with me, Simon London. What’s the number-one skill you need to succeed professionally? Salesmanship, perhaps? Or a facility with statistics? Or maybe the ability to communicate crisply and clearly? Many would argue that at the very top of the list comes problem solving: that is, the ability to think through and come up with an optimal course of action to address any complex challenge—in business, in public policy, or indeed in life.

Looked at this way, it’s no surprise that McKinsey takes problem solving very seriously, testing for it during the recruiting process and then honing it, in McKinsey consultants, through immersion in a structured seven-step method. To discuss the art of problem solving, I sat down in California with McKinsey senior partner Hugo Sarrazin and also with Charles Conn. Charles is a former McKinsey partner, entrepreneur, executive, and coauthor of the book Bulletproof Problem Solving: The One Skill That Changes Everything [John Wiley & Sons, 2018].

Charles and Hugo, welcome to the podcast. Thank you for being here.

Hugo Sarrazin: Our pleasure.

Charles Conn: It’s terrific to be here.

Simon London: Problem solving is a really interesting piece of terminology. It could mean so many different things. I have a son who’s a teenage climber. They talk about solving problems. Climbing is problem solving. Charles, when you talk about problem solving, what are you talking about?

Charles Conn: For me, problem solving is the answer to the question “What should I do?” It’s interesting when there’s uncertainty and complexity, and when it’s meaningful because there are consequences. Your son’s climbing is a perfect example. There are consequences, and it’s complicated, and there’s uncertainty—can he make that grab? I think we can apply that same frame almost at any level. You can think about questions like “What town would I like to live in?” or “Should I put solar panels on my roof?”

You might think that’s a funny thing to apply problem solving to, but in my mind it’s not fundamentally different from business problem solving, which answers the question “What should my strategy be?” Or problem solving at the policy level: “How do we combat climate change?” “Should I support the local school bond?” I think these are all part and parcel of the same type of question, “What should I do?”

I’m a big fan of structured problem solving. By following steps, we can more clearly understand what problem it is we’re solving, what are the components of the problem that we’re solving, which components are the most important ones for us to pay attention to, which analytic techniques we should apply to those, and how we can synthesize what we’ve learned back into a compelling story. That’s all it is, at its heart.

I think sometimes when people think about seven steps, they assume that there’s a rigidity to this. That’s not it at all. It’s actually to give you the scope for creativity, which often doesn’t exist when your problem solving is muddled.

Simon London: You were just talking about the seven-step process. That’s what’s written down in the book, but it’s a very McKinsey process as well. Without getting too deep into the weeds, let’s go through the steps, one by one. You were just talking about problem definition as being a particularly important thing to get right first. That’s the first step. Hugo, tell us about that.

Hugo Sarrazin: It is surprising how often people jump past this step and make a bunch of assumptions. The most powerful thing is to step back and ask the basic questions—“What are we trying to solve? What are the constraints that exist? What are the dependencies?” Let’s make those explicit and really push the thinking and defining. At McKinsey, we spend an enormous amount of time in writing that little statement, and the statement, if you’re a logic purist, is great. You debate. “Is it an ‘or’? Is it an ‘and’? What’s the action verb?” Because all these specific words help you get to the heart of what matters.

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Simon London: So this is a concise problem statement.

Hugo Sarrazin: Yeah. It’s not like “Can we grow in Japan?” That’s interesting, but it is “What, specifically, are we trying to uncover in the growth of a product in Japan? Or a segment in Japan? Or a channel in Japan?” When you spend an enormous amount of time, in the first meeting of the different stakeholders, debating this and having different people put forward what they think the problem definition is, you realize that people have completely different views of why they’re here. That, to me, is the most important step.

Charles Conn: I would agree with that. For me, the problem context is critical. When we understand “What are the forces acting upon your decision maker? How quickly is the answer needed? With what precision is the answer needed? Are there areas that are off limits or areas where we would particularly like to find our solution? Is the decision maker open to exploring other areas?” then you not only become more efficient, and move toward what we call the critical path in problem solving, but you also make it so much more likely that you’re not going to waste your time or your decision maker’s time.

How often do especially bright young people run off with half of the idea about what the problem is and start collecting data and start building models—only to discover that they’ve really gone off half-cocked.

Hugo Sarrazin: Yeah.

Charles Conn: And in the wrong direction.

Simon London: OK. So step one—and there is a real art and a structure to it—is define the problem. Step two, Charles?

Charles Conn: My favorite step is step two, which is to use logic trees to disaggregate the problem. Every problem we’re solving has some complexity and some uncertainty in it. The only way that we can really get our team working on the problem is to take the problem apart into logical pieces.

What we find, of course, is that the way to disaggregate the problem often gives you an insight into the answer to the problem quite quickly. I love to do two or three different cuts at it, each one giving a bit of a different insight into what might be going wrong. By doing sensible disaggregations, using logic trees, we can figure out which parts of the problem we should be looking at, and we can assign those different parts to team members.

Simon London: What’s a good example of a logic tree on a sort of ratable problem?

Charles Conn: Maybe the easiest one is the classic profit tree. Almost in every business that I would take a look at, I would start with a profit or return-on-assets tree. In its simplest form, you have the components of revenue, which are price and quantity, and the components of cost, which are cost and quantity. Each of those can be broken out. Cost can be broken into variable cost and fixed cost. The components of price can be broken into what your pricing scheme is. That simple tree often provides insight into what’s going on in a business or what the difference is between that business and the competitors.

If we add the leg, which is “What’s the asset base or investment element?”—so profit divided by assets—then we can ask the question “Is the business using its investments sensibly?” whether that’s in stores or in manufacturing or in transportation assets. I hope we can see just how simple this is, even though we’re describing it in words.

When I went to work with Gordon Moore at the Moore Foundation, the problem that he asked us to look at was “How can we save Pacific salmon?” Now, that sounds like an impossible question, but it was amenable to precisely the same type of disaggregation and allowed us to organize what became a 15-year effort to improve the likelihood of good outcomes for Pacific salmon.

Simon London: Now, is there a danger that your logic tree can be impossibly large? This, I think, brings us onto the third step in the process, which is that you have to prioritize.

Charles Conn: Absolutely. The third step, which we also emphasize, along with good problem definition, is rigorous prioritization—we ask the questions “How important is this lever or this branch of the tree in the overall outcome that we seek to achieve? How much can I move that lever?” Obviously, we try and focus our efforts on ones that have a big impact on the problem and the ones that we have the ability to change. With salmon, ocean conditions turned out to be a big lever, but not one that we could adjust. We focused our attention on fish habitats and fish-harvesting practices, which were big levers that we could affect.

People spend a lot of time arguing about branches that are either not important or that none of us can change. We see it in the public square. When we deal with questions at the policy level—“Should you support the death penalty?” “How do we affect climate change?” “How can we uncover the causes and address homelessness?”—it’s even more important that we’re focusing on levers that are big and movable.

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Simon London: Let’s move swiftly on to step four. You’ve defined your problem, you disaggregate it, you prioritize where you want to analyze—what you want to really look at hard. Then you got to the work plan. Now, what does that mean in practice?

Hugo Sarrazin: Depending on what you’ve prioritized, there are many things you could do. It could be breaking the work among the team members so that people have a clear piece of the work to do. It could be defining the specific analyses that need to get done and executed, and being clear on time lines. There’s always a level-one answer, there’s a level-two answer, there’s a level-three answer. Without being too flippant, I can solve any problem during a good dinner with wine. It won’t have a whole lot of backing.

Simon London: Not going to have a lot of depth to it.

Hugo Sarrazin: No, but it may be useful as a starting point. If the stakes are not that high, that could be OK. If it’s really high stakes, you may need level three and have the whole model validated in three different ways. You need to find a work plan that reflects the level of precision, the time frame you have, and the stakeholders you need to bring along in the exercise.

Charles Conn: I love the way you’ve described that, because, again, some people think of problem solving as a linear thing, but of course what’s critical is that it’s iterative. As you say, you can solve the problem in one day or even one hour.

Charles Conn: We encourage our teams everywhere to do that. We call it the one-day answer or the one-hour answer. In work planning, we’re always iterating. Every time you see a 50-page work plan that stretches out to three months, you know it’s wrong. It will be outmoded very quickly by that learning process that you described. Iterative problem solving is a critical part of this. Sometimes, people think work planning sounds dull, but it isn’t. It’s how we know what’s expected of us and when we need to deliver it and how we’re progressing toward the answer. It’s also the place where we can deal with biases. Bias is a feature of every human decision-making process. If we design our team interactions intelligently, we can avoid the worst sort of biases.

Simon London: Here we’re talking about cognitive biases primarily, right? It’s not that I’m biased against you because of your accent or something. These are the cognitive biases that behavioral sciences have shown we all carry around, things like anchoring, overoptimism—these kinds of things.

Both: Yeah.

Charles Conn: Availability bias is the one that I’m always alert to. You think you’ve seen the problem before, and therefore what’s available is your previous conception of it—and we have to be most careful about that. In any human setting, we also have to be careful about biases that are based on hierarchies, sometimes called sunflower bias. I’m sure, Hugo, with your teams, you make sure that the youngest team members speak first. Not the oldest team members, because it’s easy for people to look at who’s senior and alter their own creative approaches.

Hugo Sarrazin: It’s helpful, at that moment—if someone is asserting a point of view—to ask the question “This was true in what context?” You’re trying to apply something that worked in one context to a different one. That can be deadly if the context has changed, and that’s why organizations struggle to change. You promote all these people because they did something that worked well in the past, and then there’s a disruption in the industry, and they keep doing what got them promoted even though the context has changed.

Simon London: Right. Right.

Hugo Sarrazin: So it’s the same thing in problem solving.

Charles Conn: And it’s why diversity in our teams is so important. It’s one of the best things about the world that we’re in now. We’re likely to have people from different socioeconomic, ethnic, and national backgrounds, each of whom sees problems from a slightly different perspective. It is therefore much more likely that the team will uncover a truly creative and clever approach to problem solving.

Simon London: Let’s move on to step five. You’ve done your work plan. Now you’ve actually got to do the analysis. The thing that strikes me here is that the range of tools that we have at our disposal now, of course, is just huge, particularly with advances in computation, advanced analytics. There’s so many things that you can apply here. Just talk about the analysis stage. How do you pick the right tools?

Charles Conn: For me, the most important thing is that we start with simple heuristics and explanatory statistics before we go off and use the big-gun tools. We need to understand the shape and scope of our problem before we start applying these massive and complex analytical approaches.

Simon London: Would you agree with that?

Hugo Sarrazin: I agree. I think there are so many wonderful heuristics. You need to start there before you go deep into the modeling exercise. There’s an interesting dynamic that’s happening, though. In some cases, for some types of problems, it is even better to set yourself up to maximize your learning. Your problem-solving methodology is test and learn, test and learn, test and learn, and iterate. That is a heuristic in itself, the A/B testing that is used in many parts of the world. So that’s a problem-solving methodology. It’s nothing different. It just uses technology and feedback loops in a fast way. The other one is exploratory data analysis. When you’re dealing with a large-scale problem, and there’s so much data, I can get to the heuristics that Charles was talking about through very clever visualization of data.

You test with your data. You need to set up an environment to do so, but don’t get caught up in neural-network modeling immediately. You’re testing, you’re checking—“Is the data right? Is it sound? Does it make sense?”—before you launch too far.

Simon London: You do hear these ideas—that if you have a big enough data set and enough algorithms, they’re going to find things that you just wouldn’t have spotted, find solutions that maybe you wouldn’t have thought of. Does machine learning sort of revolutionize the problem-solving process? Or are these actually just other tools in the toolbox for structured problem solving?

Charles Conn: It can be revolutionary. There are some areas in which the pattern recognition of large data sets and good algorithms can help us see things that we otherwise couldn’t see. But I do think it’s terribly important we don’t think that this particular technique is a substitute for superb problem solving, starting with good problem definition. Many people use machine learning without understanding algorithms that themselves can have biases built into them. Just as 20 years ago, when we were doing statistical analysis, we knew that we needed good model definition, we still need a good understanding of our algorithms and really good problem definition before we launch off into big data sets and unknown algorithms.

Simon London: Step six. You’ve done your analysis.

Charles Conn: I take six and seven together, and this is the place where young problem solvers often make a mistake. They’ve got their analysis, and they assume that’s the answer, and of course it isn’t the answer. The ability to synthesize the pieces that came out of the analysis and begin to weave those into a story that helps people answer the question “What should I do?” This is back to where we started. If we can’t synthesize, and we can’t tell a story, then our decision maker can’t find the answer to “What should I do?”

Simon London: But, again, these final steps are about motivating people to action, right?

Charles Conn: Yeah.

Simon London: I am slightly torn about the nomenclature of problem solving because it’s on paper, right? Until you motivate people to action, you actually haven’t solved anything.

Charles Conn: I love this question because I think decision-making theory, without a bias to action, is a waste of time. Everything in how I approach this is to help people take action that makes the world better.

Simon London: Hence, these are absolutely critical steps. If you don’t do this well, you’ve just got a bunch of analysis.

Charles Conn: We end up in exactly the same place where we started, which is people speaking across each other, past each other in the public square, rather than actually working together, shoulder to shoulder, to crack these important problems.

Simon London: In the real world, we have a lot of uncertainty—arguably, increasing uncertainty. How do good problem solvers deal with that?

Hugo Sarrazin: At every step of the process. In the problem definition, when you’re defining the context, you need to understand those sources of uncertainty and whether they’re important or not important. It becomes important in the definition of the tree.

You need to think carefully about the branches of the tree that are more certain and less certain as you define them. They don’t have equal weight just because they’ve got equal space on the page. Then, when you’re prioritizing, your prioritization approach may put more emphasis on things that have low probability but huge impact—or, vice versa, may put a lot of priority on things that are very likely and, hopefully, have a reasonable impact. You can introduce that along the way. When you come back to the synthesis, you just need to be nuanced about what you’re understanding, the likelihood.

Often, people lack humility in the way they make their recommendations: “This is the answer.” They’re very precise, and I think we would all be well-served to say, “This is a likely answer under the following sets of conditions” and then make the level of uncertainty clearer, if that is appropriate. It doesn’t mean you’re always in the gray zone; it doesn’t mean you don’t have a point of view. It just means that you can be explicit about the certainty of your answer when you make that recommendation.

Simon London: So it sounds like there is an underlying principle: “Acknowledge and embrace the uncertainty. Don’t pretend that it isn’t there. Be very clear about what the uncertainties are up front, and then build that into every step of the process.”

Hugo Sarrazin: Every step of the process.

Simon London: Yeah. We have just walked through a particular structured methodology for problem solving. But, of course, this is not the only structured methodology for problem solving. One that is also very well-known is design thinking, which comes at things very differently. So, Hugo, I know you have worked with a lot of designers. Just give us a very quick summary. Design thinking—what is it, and how does it relate?

Hugo Sarrazin: It starts with an incredible amount of empathy for the user and uses that to define the problem. It does pause and go out in the wild and spend an enormous amount of time seeing how people interact with objects, seeing the experience they’re getting, seeing the pain points or joy—and uses that to infer and define the problem.

Simon London: Problem definition, but out in the world.

Hugo Sarrazin: With an enormous amount of empathy. There’s a huge emphasis on empathy. Traditional, more classic problem solving is you define the problem based on an understanding of the situation. This one almost presupposes that we don’t know the problem until we go see it. The second thing is you need to come up with multiple scenarios or answers or ideas or concepts, and there’s a lot of divergent thinking initially. That’s slightly different, versus the prioritization, but not for long. Eventually, you need to kind of say, “OK, I’m going to converge again.” Then you go and you bring things back to the customer and get feedback and iterate. Then you rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat. There’s a lot of tactile building, along the way, of prototypes and things like that. It’s very iterative.

Simon London: So, Charles, are these complements or are these alternatives?

Charles Conn: I think they’re entirely complementary, and I think Hugo’s description is perfect. When we do problem definition well in classic problem solving, we are demonstrating the kind of empathy, at the very beginning of our problem, that design thinking asks us to approach. When we ideate—and that’s very similar to the disaggregation, prioritization, and work-planning steps—we do precisely the same thing, and often we use contrasting teams, so that we do have divergent thinking. The best teams allow divergent thinking to bump them off whatever their initial biases in problem solving are. For me, design thinking gives us a constant reminder of creativity, empathy, and the tactile nature of problem solving, but it’s absolutely complementary, not alternative.

Simon London: I think, in a world of cross-functional teams, an interesting question is do people with design-thinking backgrounds really work well together with classical problem solvers? How do you make that chemistry happen?

Hugo Sarrazin: Yeah, it is not easy when people have spent an enormous amount of time seeped in design thinking or user-centric design, whichever word you want to use. If the person who’s applying classic problem-solving methodology is very rigid and mechanical in the way they’re doing it, there could be an enormous amount of tension. If there’s not clarity in the role and not clarity in the process, I think having the two together can be, sometimes, problematic.

The second thing that happens often is that the artifacts the two methodologies try to gravitate toward can be different. Classic problem solving often gravitates toward a model; design thinking migrates toward a prototype. Rather than writing a big deck with all my supporting evidence, they’ll bring an example, a thing, and that feels different. Then you spend your time differently to achieve those two end products, so that’s another source of friction.

Now, I still think it can be an incredibly powerful thing to have the two—if there are the right people with the right mind-set, if there is a team that is explicit about the roles, if we’re clear about the kind of outcomes we are attempting to bring forward. There’s an enormous amount of collaborativeness and respect.

Simon London: But they have to respect each other’s methodology and be prepared to flex, maybe, a little bit, in how this process is going to work.

Hugo Sarrazin: Absolutely.

Simon London: The other area where, it strikes me, there could be a little bit of a different sort of friction is this whole concept of the day-one answer, which is what we were just talking about in classical problem solving. Now, you know that this is probably not going to be your final answer, but that’s how you begin to structure the problem. Whereas I would imagine your design thinkers—no, they’re going off to do their ethnographic research and get out into the field, potentially for a long time, before they come back with at least an initial hypothesis.

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Hugo Sarrazin: That is a great callout, and that’s another difference. Designers typically will like to soak into the situation and avoid converging too quickly. There’s optionality and exploring different options. There’s a strong belief that keeps the solution space wide enough that you can come up with more radical ideas. If there’s a large design team or many designers on the team, and you come on Friday and say, “What’s our week-one answer?” they’re going to struggle. They’re not going to be comfortable, naturally, to give that answer. It doesn’t mean they don’t have an answer; it’s just not where they are in their thinking process.

Simon London: I think we are, sadly, out of time for today. But Charles and Hugo, thank you so much.

Charles Conn: It was a pleasure to be here, Simon.

Hugo Sarrazin: It was a pleasure. Thank you.

Simon London: And thanks, as always, to you, our listeners, for tuning into this episode of the McKinsey Podcast . If you want to learn more about problem solving, you can find the book, Bulletproof Problem Solving: The One Skill That Changes Everything , online or order it through your local bookstore. To learn more about McKinsey, you can of course find us at McKinsey.com.

Charles Conn is CEO of Oxford Sciences Innovation and an alumnus of McKinsey’s Sydney office. Hugo Sarrazin is a senior partner in the Silicon Valley office, where Simon London, a member of McKinsey Publishing, is also based.

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What is a problem solving process?

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What skills do i need to be an effective problem solver, how can i improve my problem solving skills.

Solving problems is like baking a cake. You can go straight into the kitchen without a recipe or the right ingredients and do your best, but the end result is unlikely to be very tasty!

Using a process to bake a cake allows you to use the best ingredients without waste, collect the right tools, account for allergies, decide whether it is a birthday or wedding cake, and then bake efficiently and on time. The result is a better cake that is fit for purpose, tastes better and has created less mess in the kitchen. Also, it should have chocolate sprinkles. Having a step by step process to solve organizational problems allows you to go through each stage methodically and ensure you are trying to solve the right problems and select the most appropriate, effective solutions.

What are the problem solving steps I need to follow?

All problem solving processes go through a number of steps in order to move from identifying a problem to resolving it.

Depending on your problem solving model and who you ask, there can be anything between four and nine problem solving steps you should follow in order to find the right solution. Whatever framework you and your group use, there are some key items that should be addressed in order to have an effective process.

We’ve looked at problem solving processes from sources such as the American Society for Quality and their four step approach , and Mediate ‘s six step process. By reflecting on those and our own problem solving processes, we’ve come up with a sequence of seven problem solving steps we feel best covers everything you need in order to effectively solve problems.

1. Problem identification

The first stage of any problem solving process is to identify the problem or problems you might want to solve. Effective problem solving strategies always begin by allowing a group scope to articulate what they believe the problem to be and then coming to some consensus over which problem they approach first. Problem solving activities used at this stage often have a focus on creating frank, open discussion so that potential problems can be brought to the surface.

2. Problem analysis

Though this step is not a million miles from problem identification, problem analysis deserves to be considered separately. It can often be an overlooked part of the process and is instrumental when it comes to developing effective solutions.

The process of problem analysis means ensuring that the problem you are seeking to solve is the right problem . As part of this stage, you may look deeper and try to find the root cause of a specific problem at a team or organizational level.

Remember that problem solving strategies should not only be focused on putting out fires in the short term but developing long term solutions that deal with the root cause of organizational challenges.

Whatever your approach, analyzing a problem is crucial in being able to select an appropriate solution and the problem solving skills deployed in this stage are beneficial for the rest of the process and ensuring the solutions you create are fit for purpose.

3. Solution generation

Once your group has nailed down the particulars of the problem you wish to solve, you want to encourage a free flow of ideas connecting to solving that problem. This can take the form of problem solving games that encourage creative thinking or problem solving activities designed to produce working prototypes of possible solutions.

The key to ensuring the success of this stage of the problem solving process is to encourage quick, creative thinking and create an open space where all ideas are considered. The best solutions can come from unlikely places and by using problem solving techniques that celebrate invention, you might come up with solution gold.

4. Solution development

No solution is likely to be perfect right out of the gate. It’s important to discuss and develop the solutions your group has come up with over the course of following the previous problem solving steps in order to arrive at the best possible solution. Problem solving games used in this stage involve lots of critical thinking, measuring potential effort and impact, and looking at possible solutions analytically.

During this stage, you will often ask your team to iterate and improve upon your frontrunning solutions and develop them further. Remember that problem solving strategies always benefit from a multitude of voices and opinions, and not to let ego get involved when it comes to choosing which solutions to develop and take further.

Finding the best solution is the goal of all problem solving workshops and here is the place to ensure that your solution is well thought out, sufficiently robust and fit for purpose.

5. Decision making

Nearly there! Once your group has reached consensus and selected a solution that applies to the problem at hand you have some decisions to make. You will want to work on allocating ownership of the project, figure out who will do what, how the success of the solution will be measured and decide the next course of action.

The decision making stage is a part of the problem solving process that can get missed or taken as for granted. Fail to properly allocate roles and plan out how a solution will actually be implemented and it less likely to be successful in solving the problem.

Have clear accountabilities, actions, timeframes, and follow-ups. Make these decisions and set clear next-steps in the problem solving workshop so that everyone is aligned and you can move forward effectively as a group.

Ensuring that you plan for the roll-out of a solution is one of the most important problem solving steps. Without adequate planning or oversight, it can prove impossible to measure success or iterate further if the problem was not solved.

6. Solution implementation

This is what we were waiting for! All problem solving strategies have the end goal of implementing a solution and solving a problem in mind.

Remember that in order for any solution to be successful, you need to help your group through all of the previous problem solving steps thoughtfully. Only then can you ensure that you are solving the right problem but also that you have developed the correct solution and can then successfully implement and measure the impact of that solution.

Project management and communication skills are key here – your solution may need to adjust when out in the wild or you might discover new challenges along the way.

7. Solution evaluation

So you and your team developed a great solution to a problem and have a gut feeling its been solved. Work done, right? Wrong. All problem solving strategies benefit from evaluation, consideration, and feedback. You might find that the solution does not work for everyone, might create new problems, or is potentially so successful that you will want to roll it out to larger teams or as part of other initiatives.

None of that is possible without taking the time to evaluate the success of the solution you developed in your problem solving model and adjust if necessary.

Remember that the problem solving process is often iterative and it can be common to not solve complex issues on the first try. Even when this is the case, you and your team will have generated learning that will be important for future problem solving workshops or in other parts of the organization.

It’s worth underlining how important record keeping is throughout the problem solving process. If a solution didn’t work, you need to have the data and records to see why that was the case. If you go back to the drawing board, notes from the previous workshop can help save time. Data and insight is invaluable at every stage of the problem solving process and this one is no different.

Problem solving workshops made easy

Problem solving strategies are methods of approaching and facilitating the process of problem-solving with a set of techniques , actions, and processes. Different strategies are more effective if you are trying to solve broad problems such as achieving higher growth versus more focused problems like, how do we improve our customer onboarding process?

Broadly, the problem solving steps outlined above should be included in any problem solving strategy though choosing where to focus your time and what approaches should be taken is where they begin to differ. You might find that some strategies ask for the problem identification to be done prior to the session or that everything happens in the course of a one day workshop.

The key similarity is that all good problem solving strategies are structured and designed. Four hours of open discussion is never going to be as productive as a four-hour workshop designed to lead a group through a problem solving process.

Good problem solving strategies are tailored to the team, organization and problem you will be attempting to solve. Here are some example problem solving strategies you can learn from or use to get started.

Use a workshop to lead a team through a group process

Often, the first step to solving problems or organizational challenges is bringing a group together effectively. Most teams have the tools, knowledge, and expertise necessary to solve their challenges – they just need some guidance in how to use leverage those skills and a structure and format that allows people to focus their energies.

Facilitated workshops are one of the most effective ways of solving problems of any scale. By designing and planning your workshop carefully, you can tailor the approach and scope to best fit the needs of your team and organization.

Problem solving workshop

Creating a bespoke, tailored process
Tackling problems of any size
Building in-house workshop ability and encouraging their use

Workshops are an effective strategy for solving problems. By using tried and test facilitation techniques and methods, you can design and deliver a workshop that is perfectly suited to the unique variables of your organization. You may only have the capacity for a half-day workshop and so need a problem solving process to match.

By using our session planner tool and importing methods from our library of 700+ facilitation techniques, you can create the right problem solving workshop for your team. It might be that you want to encourage creative thinking or look at things from a new angle to unblock your groups approach to problem solving. By tailoring your workshop design to the purpose, you can help ensure great results.

One of the main benefits of a workshop is the structured approach to problem solving. Not only does this mean that the workshop itself will be successful, but many of the methods and techniques will help your team improve their working processes outside of the workshop.

We believe that workshops are one of the best tools you can use to improve the way your team works together. Start with a problem solving workshop and then see what team building, culture or design workshops can do for your organization!

Run a design sprint

Great for:

aligning large, multi-discipline teams
quickly designing and testing solutions
tackling large, complex organizational challenges and breaking them down into smaller tasks

By using design thinking principles and methods, a design sprint is a great way of identifying, prioritizing and prototyping solutions to long term challenges that can help solve major organizational problems with quick action and measurable results.

Some familiarity with design thinking is useful, though not integral, and this strategy can really help a team align if there is some discussion around which problems should be approached first.

The stage-based structure of the design sprint is also very useful for teams new to design thinking. The inspiration phase, where you look to competitors that have solved your problem, and the rapid prototyping and testing phases are great for introducing new concepts that will benefit a team in all their future work.

It can be common for teams to look inward for solutions and so looking to the market for solutions you can iterate on can be very productive. Instilling an agile prototyping and testing mindset can also be great when helping teams move forwards – generating and testing solutions quickly can help save time in the long run and is also pretty exciting!

Break problems down into smaller issues

Organizational challenges and problems are often complicated and large scale in nature. Sometimes, trying to resolve such an issue in one swoop is simply unachievable or overwhelming. Try breaking down such problems into smaller issues that you can work on step by step. You may not be able to solve the problem of churning customers off the bat, but you can work with your team to identify smaller effort but high impact elements and work on those first.

This problem solving strategy can help a team generate momentum, prioritize and get some easy wins. It’s also a great strategy to employ with teams who are just beginning to learn how to approach the problem solving process. If you want some insight into a way to employ this strategy, we recommend looking at our design sprint template below!

Use guiding frameworks or try new methodologies

Some problems are best solved by introducing a major shift in perspective or by using new methodologies that encourage your team to think differently.

Props and tools such as Methodkit , which uses a card-based toolkit for facilitation, or Lego Serious Play can be great ways to engage your team and find an inclusive, democratic problem solving strategy. Remember that play and creativity are great tools for achieving change and whatever the challenge, engaging your participants can be very effective where other strategies may have failed.

LEGO Serious Play

Improving core problem solving skills
Thinking outside of the box
Encouraging creative solutions

LEGO Serious Play is a problem solving methodology designed to get participants thinking differently by using 3D models and kinesthetic learning styles. By physically building LEGO models based on questions and exercises, participants are encouraged to think outside of the box and create their own responses.

Collaborate LEGO Serious Play exercises are also used to encourage communication and build problem solving skills in a group. By using this problem solving process, you can often help different kinds of learners and personality types contribute and unblock organizational problems with creative thinking.

Problem solving strategies like LEGO Serious Play are super effective at helping a team solve more skills-based problems such as communication between teams or a lack of creative thinking. Some problems are not suited to LEGO Serious Play and require a different problem solving strategy.

Card Decks and Method Kits

New facilitators or non-facilitators
Approaching difficult subjects with a simple, creative framework
Engaging those with varied learning styles

Card decks and method kids are great tools for those new to facilitation or for whom facilitation is not the primary role. Card decks such as the emotional culture deck can be used for complete workshops and in many cases, can be used right out of the box. Methodkit has a variety of kits designed for scenarios ranging from personal development through to personas and global challenges so you can find the right deck for your particular needs.

Having an easy to use framework that encourages creativity or a new approach can take some of the friction or planning difficulties out of the workshop process and energize a team in any setting. Simplicity is the key with these methods. By ensuring everyone on your team can get involved and engage with the process as quickly as possible can really contribute to the success of your problem solving strategy.

Source external advice

Looking to peers, experts and external facilitators can be a great way of approaching the problem solving process. Your team may not have the necessary expertise, insights of experience to tackle some issues, or you might simply benefit from a fresh perspective. Some problems may require bringing together an entire team, and coaching managers or team members individually might be the right approach. Remember that not all problems are best resolved in the same manner.

If you’re a solo entrepreneur, peer groups, coaches and mentors can also be invaluable at not only solving specific business problems, but in providing a support network for resolving future challenges. One great approach is to join a Mastermind Group and link up with like-minded individuals and all grow together. Remember that however you approach the sourcing of external advice, do so thoughtfully, respectfully and honestly. Reciprocate where you can and prepare to be surprised by just how kind and helpful your peers can be!

Mastermind Group

Solo entrepreneurs or small teams with low capacity
Peer learning and gaining outside expertise
Getting multiple external points of view quickly

Problem solving in large organizations with lots of skilled team members is one thing, but how about if you work for yourself or in a very small team without the capacity to get the most from a design sprint or LEGO Serious Play session?

A mastermind group – sometimes known as a peer advisory board – is where a group of people come together to support one another in their own goals, challenges, and businesses. Each participant comes to the group with their own purpose and the other members of the group will help them create solutions, brainstorm ideas, and support one another.

Mastermind groups are very effective in creating an energized, supportive atmosphere that can deliver meaningful results. Learning from peers from outside of your organization or industry can really help unlock new ways of thinking and drive growth. Access to the experience and skills of your peers can be invaluable in helping fill the gaps in your own ability, particularly in young companies.

A mastermind group is a great solution for solo entrepreneurs, small teams, or for organizations that feel that external expertise or fresh perspectives will be beneficial for them. It is worth noting that Mastermind groups are often only as good as the participants and what they can bring to the group. Participants need to be committed, engaged and understand how to work in this context.

Coaching and mentoring

Focused learning and development
Filling skills gaps
Working on a range of challenges over time

Receiving advice from a business coach or building a mentor/mentee relationship can be an effective way of resolving certain challenges. The one-to-one format of most coaching and mentor relationships can really help solve the challenges those individuals are having and benefit the organization as a result.

A great mentor can be invaluable when it comes to spotting potential problems before they arise and coming to understand a mentee very well has a host of other business benefits. You might run an internal mentorship program to help develop your team’s problem solving skills and strategies or as part of a large learning and development program. External coaches can also be an important part of your problem solving strategy, filling skills gaps for your management team or helping with specific business issues.

Now we’ve explored the problem solving process and the steps you will want to go through in order to have an effective session, let’s look at the skills you and your team need to be more effective problem solvers.

Problem solving skills are highly sought after, whatever industry or team you work in. Organizations are keen to employ people who are able to approach problems thoughtfully and find strong, realistic solutions. Whether you are a facilitator , a team leader or a developer, being an effective problem solver is a skill you’ll want to develop.

Problem solving skills form a whole suite of techniques and approaches that an individual uses to not only identify problems but to discuss them productively before then developing appropriate solutions.

Here are some of the most important problem solving skills everyone from executives to junior staff members should learn. We’ve also included an activity or exercise from the SessionLab library that can help you and your team develop that skill.

If you’re running a workshop or training session to try and improve problem solving skills in your team, try using these methods to supercharge your process!

Active listening

Active listening is one of the most important skills anyone who works with people can possess. In short, active listening is a technique used to not only better understand what is being said by an individual, but also to be more aware of the underlying message the speaker is trying to convey. When it comes to problem solving, active listening is integral for understanding the position of every participant and to clarify the challenges, ideas and solutions they bring to the table.

Some active listening skills include:

Paying complete attention to the speaker.
Removing distractions.
Avoid interruption.
Taking the time to fully understand before preparing a rebuttal.
Responding respectfully and appropriately.
Demonstrate attentiveness and positivity with an open posture, making eye contact with the speaker, smiling and nodding if appropriate. Show that you are listening and encourage them to continue.
Be aware of and respectful of feelings. Judge the situation and respond appropriately. You can disagree without being disrespectful.
Observe body language.
Paraphrase what was said in your own words, either mentally or verbally.
Remain neutral.
Reflect and take a moment before responding.
Ask deeper questions based on what is said and clarify points where necessary.

Active Listening #hyperisland #skills #active listening #remote-friendly This activity supports participants to reflect on a question and generate their own solutions using simple principles of active listening and peer coaching. It’s an excellent introduction to active listening but can also be used with groups that are already familiar with it. Participants work in groups of three and take turns being: “the subject”, the listener, and the observer.

Analytical skills

All problem solving models require strong analytical skills, particularly during the beginning of the process and when it comes to analyzing how solutions have performed.

Analytical skills are primarily focused on performing an effective analysis by collecting, studying and parsing data related to a problem or opportunity.

It often involves spotting patterns, being able to see things from different perspectives and using observable facts and data to make suggestions or produce insight.

Analytical skills are also important at every stage of the problem solving process and by having these skills, you can ensure that any ideas or solutions you create or backed up analytically and have been sufficiently thought out.

Nine Whys #innovation #issue analysis #liberating structures With breathtaking simplicity, you can rapidly clarify for individuals and a group what is essentially important in their work. You can quickly reveal when a compelling purpose is missing in a gathering and avoid moving forward without clarity. When a group discovers an unambiguous shared purpose, more freedom and more responsibility are unleashed. You have laid the foundation for spreading and scaling innovations with fidelity.

Collaboration

Trying to solve problems on your own is difficult. Being able to collaborate effectively, with a free exchange of ideas, to delegate and be a productive member of a team is hugely important to all problem solving strategies.

Remember that whatever your role, collaboration is integral, and in a problem solving process, you are all working together to find the best solution for everyone.

Marshmallow challenge with debriefing #teamwork #team #leadership #collaboration In eighteen minutes, teams must build the tallest free-standing structure out of 20 sticks of spaghetti, one yard of tape, one yard of string, and one marshmallow. The marshmallow needs to be on top. The Marshmallow Challenge was developed by Tom Wujec, who has done the activity with hundreds of groups around the world. Visit the Marshmallow Challenge website for more information. This version has an extra debriefing question added with sample questions focusing on roles within the team.

Communication

Being an effective communicator means being empathetic, clear and succinct, asking the right questions, and demonstrating active listening skills throughout any discussion or meeting.

In a problem solving setting, you need to communicate well in order to progress through each stage of the process effectively. As a team leader, it may also fall to you to facilitate communication between parties who may not see eye to eye. Effective communication also means helping others to express themselves and be heard in a group.

Bus Trip #feedback #communication #appreciation #closing #thiagi #team This is one of my favourite feedback games. I use Bus Trip at the end of a training session or a meeting, and I use it all the time. The game creates a massive amount of energy with lots of smiles, laughs, and sometimes even a teardrop or two.

Creative problem solving skills can be some of the best tools in your arsenal. Thinking creatively, being able to generate lots of ideas and come up with out of the box solutions is useful at every step of the process.

The kinds of problems you will likely discuss in a problem solving workshop are often difficult to solve, and by approaching things in a fresh, creative manner, you can often create more innovative solutions.

Having practical creative skills is also a boon when it comes to problem solving. If you can help create quality design sketches and prototypes in record time, it can help bring a team to alignment more quickly or provide a base for further iteration.

The paper clip method #sharing #creativity #warm up #idea generation #brainstorming The power of brainstorming. A training for project leaders, creativity training, and to catalyse getting new solutions.

Critical thinking

Critical thinking is one of the fundamental problem solving skills you’ll want to develop when working on developing solutions. Critical thinking is the ability to analyze, rationalize and evaluate while being aware of personal bias, outlying factors and remaining open-minded.

Defining and analyzing problems without deploying critical thinking skills can mean you and your team go down the wrong path. Developing solutions to complex issues requires critical thinking too – ensuring your team considers all possibilities and rationally evaluating them.

Agreement-Certainty Matrix #issue analysis #liberating structures #problem solving You can help individuals or groups avoid the frequent mistake of trying to solve a problem with methods that are not adapted to the nature of their challenge. The combination of two questions makes it possible to easily sort challenges into four categories: simple, complicated, complex , and chaotic . A problem is simple when it can be solved reliably with practices that are easy to duplicate. It is complicated when experts are required to devise a sophisticated solution that will yield the desired results predictably. A problem is complex when there are several valid ways to proceed but outcomes are not predictable in detail. Chaotic is when the context is too turbulent to identify a path forward. A loose analogy may be used to describe these differences: simple is like following a recipe, complicated like sending a rocket to the moon, complex like raising a child, and chaotic is like the game “Pin the Tail on the Donkey.” The Liberating Structures Matching Matrix in Chapter 5 can be used as the first step to clarify the nature of a challenge and avoid the mismatches between problems and solutions that are frequently at the root of chronic, recurring problems.

Data analysis

Though it shares lots of space with general analytical skills, data analysis skills are something you want to cultivate in their own right in order to be an effective problem solver.

Being good at data analysis doesn’t just mean being able to find insights from data, but also selecting the appropriate data for a given issue, interpreting it effectively and knowing how to model and present that data. Depending on the problem at hand, it might also include a working knowledge of specific data analysis tools and procedures.

Having a solid grasp of data analysis techniques is useful if you’re leading a problem solving workshop but if you’re not an expert, don’t worry. Bring people into the group who has this skill set and help your team be more effective as a result.

Decision making

All problems need a solution and all solutions require that someone make the decision to implement them. Without strong decision making skills, teams can become bogged down in discussion and less effective as a result.

Making decisions is a key part of the problem solving process. It’s important to remember that decision making is not restricted to the leadership team. Every staff member makes decisions every day and developing these skills ensures that your team is able to solve problems at any scale. Remember that making decisions does not mean leaping to the first solution but weighing up the options and coming to an informed, well thought out solution to any given problem that works for the whole team.

Lightning Decision Jam (LDJ) #action #decision making #problem solving #issue analysis #innovation #design #remote-friendly The problem with anything that requires creative thinking is that it’s easy to get lost—lose focus and fall into the trap of having useless, open-ended, unstructured discussions. Here’s the most effective solution I’ve found: Replace all open, unstructured discussion with a clear process. What to use this exercise for: Anything which requires a group of people to make decisions, solve problems or discuss challenges. It’s always good to frame an LDJ session with a broad topic, here are some examples: The conversion flow of our checkout Our internal design process How we organise events Keeping up with our competition Improving sales flow

Dependability

Most complex organizational problems require multiple people to be involved in delivering the solution. Ensuring that the team and organization can depend on you to take the necessary actions and communicate where necessary is key to ensuring problems are solved effectively.

Being dependable also means working to deadlines and to brief. It is often a matter of creating trust in a team so that everyone can depend on one another to complete the agreed actions in the agreed time frame so that the team can move forward together. Being undependable can create problems of friction and can limit the effectiveness of your solutions so be sure to bear this in mind throughout a project.

Team Purpose & Culture #team #hyperisland #culture #remote-friendly This is an essential process designed to help teams define their purpose (why they exist) and their culture (how they work together to achieve that purpose). Defining these two things will help any team to be more focused and aligned. With support of tangible examples from other companies, the team members work as individuals and a group to codify the way they work together. The goal is a visual manifestation of both the purpose and culture that can be put up in the team’s work space.

Emotional intelligence

Emotional intelligence is an important skill for any successful team member, whether communicating internally or with clients or users. In the problem solving process, emotional intelligence means being attuned to how people are feeling and thinking, communicating effectively and being self-aware of what you bring to a room.

There are often differences of opinion when working through problem solving processes, and it can be easy to let things become impassioned or combative. Developing your emotional intelligence means being empathetic to your colleagues and managing your own emotions throughout the problem and solution process. Be kind, be thoughtful and put your points across care and attention.

Being emotionally intelligent is a skill for life and by deploying it at work, you can not only work efficiently but empathetically. Check out the emotional culture workshop template for more!

Facilitation

As we’ve clarified in our facilitation skills post, facilitation is the art of leading people through processes towards agreed-upon objectives in a manner that encourages participation, ownership, and creativity by all those involved. While facilitation is a set of interrelated skills in itself, the broad definition of facilitation can be invaluable when it comes to problem solving. Leading a team through a problem solving process is made more effective if you improve and utilize facilitation skills – whether you’re a manager, team leader or external stakeholder.

The Six Thinking Hats #creative thinking #meeting facilitation #problem solving #issue resolution #idea generation #conflict resolution The Six Thinking Hats are used by individuals and groups to separate out conflicting styles of thinking. They enable and encourage a group of people to think constructively together in exploring and implementing change, rather than using argument to fight over who is right and who is wrong.

Flexibility

Being flexible is a vital skill when it comes to problem solving. This does not mean immediately bowing to pressure or changing your opinion quickly: instead, being flexible is all about seeing things from new perspectives, receiving new information and factoring it into your thought process.

Flexibility is also important when it comes to rolling out solutions. It might be that other organizational projects have greater priority or require the same resources as your chosen solution. Being flexible means understanding needs and challenges across the team and being open to shifting or arranging your own schedule as necessary. Again, this does not mean immediately making way for other projects. It’s about articulating your own needs, understanding the needs of others and being able to come to a meaningful compromise.

The Creativity Dice #creativity #problem solving #thiagi #issue analysis Too much linear thinking is hazardous to creative problem solving. To be creative, you should approach the problem (or the opportunity) from different points of view. You should leave a thought hanging in mid-air and move to another. This skipping around prevents premature closure and lets your brain incubate one line of thought while you consciously pursue another.

Working in any group can lead to unconscious elements of groupthink or situations in which you may not wish to be entirely honest. Disagreeing with the opinions of the executive team or wishing to save the feelings of a coworker can be tricky to navigate, but being honest is absolutely vital when to comes to developing effective solutions and ensuring your voice is heard.

Remember that being honest does not mean being brutally candid. You can deliver your honest feedback and opinions thoughtfully and without creating friction by using other skills such as emotional intelligence.

Explore your Values #hyperisland #skills #values #remote-friendly Your Values is an exercise for participants to explore what their most important values are. It’s done in an intuitive and rapid way to encourage participants to follow their intuitive feeling rather than over-thinking and finding the “correct” values. It is a good exercise to use to initiate reflection and dialogue around personal values.

Initiative

The problem solving process is multi-faceted and requires different approaches at certain points of the process. Taking initiative to bring problems to the attention of the team, collect data or lead the solution creating process is always valuable. You might even roadtest your own small scale solutions or brainstorm before a session. Taking initiative is particularly effective if you have good deal of knowledge in that area or have ownership of a particular project and want to get things kickstarted.

That said, be sure to remember to honor the process and work in service of the team. If you are asked to own one part of the problem solving process and you don’t complete that task because your initiative leads you to work on something else, that’s not an effective method of solving business challenges.

15% Solutions #action #liberating structures #remote-friendly You can reveal the actions, however small, that everyone can do immediately. At a minimum, these will create momentum, and that may make a BIG difference. 15% Solutions show that there is no reason to wait around, feel powerless, or fearful. They help people pick it up a level. They get individuals and the group to focus on what is within their discretion instead of what they cannot change. With a very simple question, you can flip the conversation to what can be done and find solutions to big problems that are often distributed widely in places not known in advance. Shifting a few grains of sand may trigger a landslide and change the whole landscape.

Impartiality

A particularly useful problem solving skill for product owners or managers is the ability to remain impartial throughout much of the process. In practice, this means treating all points of view and ideas brought forward in a meeting equally and ensuring that your own areas of interest or ownership are not favored over others.

There may be a stage in the process where a decision maker has to weigh the cost and ROI of possible solutions against the company roadmap though even then, ensuring that the decision made is based on merit and not personal opinion.

Empathy map #frame insights #create #design #issue analysis An empathy map is a tool to help a design team to empathize with the people they are designing for. You can make an empathy map for a group of people or for a persona. To be used after doing personas when more insights are needed.

Being a good leader means getting a team aligned, energized and focused around a common goal. In the problem solving process, strong leadership helps ensure that the process is efficient, that any conflicts are resolved and that a team is managed in the direction of success.

It’s common for managers or executives to assume this role in a problem solving workshop, though it’s important that the leader maintains impartiality and does not bulldoze the group in a particular direction. Remember that good leadership means working in service of the purpose and team and ensuring the workshop is a safe space for employees of any level to contribute. Take a look at our leadership games and activities post for more exercises and methods to help improve leadership in your organization.

Leadership Pizza #leadership #team #remote-friendly This leadership development activity offers a self-assessment framework for people to first identify what skills, attributes and attitudes they find important for effective leadership, and then assess their own development and initiate goal setting.

In the context of problem solving, mediation is important in keeping a team engaged, happy and free of conflict. When leading or facilitating a problem solving workshop, you are likely to run into differences of opinion. Depending on the nature of the problem, certain issues may be brought up that are emotive in nature.

Being an effective mediator means helping those people on either side of such a divide are heard, listen to one another and encouraged to find common ground and a resolution. Mediating skills are useful for leaders and managers in many situations and the problem solving process is no different.

Conflict Responses #hyperisland #team #issue resolution A workshop for a team to reflect on past conflicts, and use them to generate guidelines for effective conflict handling. The workshop uses the Thomas-Killman model of conflict responses to frame a reflective discussion. Use it to open up a discussion around conflict with a team.

Planning

Solving organizational problems is much more effective when following a process or problem solving model. Planning skills are vital in order to structure, deliver and follow-through on a problem solving workshop and ensure your solutions are intelligently deployed.

Planning skills include the ability to organize tasks and a team, plan and design the process and take into account any potential challenges. Taking the time to plan carefully can save time and frustration later in the process and is valuable for ensuring a team is positioned for success.

3 Action Steps #hyperisland #action #remote-friendly This is a small-scale strategic planning session that helps groups and individuals to take action toward a desired change. It is often used at the end of a workshop or programme. The group discusses and agrees on a vision, then creates some action steps that will lead them towards that vision. The scope of the challenge is also defined, through discussion of the helpful and harmful factors influencing the group.

Prioritization

As organisations grow, the scale and variation of problems they face multiplies. Your team or is likely to face numerous challenges in different areas and so having the skills to analyze and prioritize becomes very important, particularly for those in leadership roles.

A thorough problem solving process is likely to deliver multiple solutions and you may have several different problems you wish to solve simultaneously. Prioritization is the ability to measure the importance, value, and effectiveness of those possible solutions and choose which to enact and in what order. The process of prioritization is integral in ensuring the biggest challenges are addressed with the most impactful solutions.

Impact and Effort Matrix #gamestorming #decision making #action #remote-friendly In this decision-making exercise, possible actions are mapped based on two factors: effort required to implement and potential impact. Categorizing ideas along these lines is a useful technique in decision making, as it obliges contributors to balance and evaluate suggested actions before committing to them.

Project management

Some problem solving skills are utilized in a workshop or ideation phases, while others come in useful when it comes to decision making. Overseeing an entire problem solving process and ensuring its success requires strong project management skills.

While project management incorporates many of the other skills listed here, it is important to note the distinction of considering all of the factors of a project and managing them successfully. Being able to negotiate with stakeholders, manage tasks, time and people, consider costs and ROI, and tie everything together is massively helpful when going through the problem solving process.

Record keeping

Working out meaningful solutions to organizational challenges is only one part of the process. Thoughtfully documenting and keeping records of each problem solving step for future consultation is important in ensuring efficiency and meaningful change.

For example, some problems may be lower priority than others but can be revisited in the future. If the team has ideated on solutions and found some are not up to the task, record those so you can rule them out and avoiding repeating work. Keeping records of the process also helps you improve and refine your problem solving model next time around!

Personal Kanban #gamestorming #action #agile #project planning Personal Kanban is a tool for organizing your work to be more efficient and productive. It is based on agile methods and principles.

Research skills

Conducting research to support both the identification of problems and the development of appropriate solutions is important for an effective process. Knowing where to go to collect research, how to conduct research efficiently, and identifying pieces of research are relevant are all things a good researcher can do well.

In larger groups, not everyone has to demonstrate this ability in order for a problem solving workshop to be effective. That said, having people with research skills involved in the process, particularly if they have existing area knowledge, can help ensure the solutions that are developed with data that supports their intention. Remember that being able to deliver the results of research efficiently and in a way the team can easily understand is also important. The best data in the world is only as effective as how it is delivered and interpreted.

Customer experience map #ideation #concepts #research #design #issue analysis #remote-friendly Customer experience mapping is a method of documenting and visualizing the experience a customer has as they use the product or service. It also maps out their responses to their experiences. To be used when there is a solution (even in a conceptual stage) that can be analyzed.

Risk management

Managing risk is an often overlooked part of the problem solving process. Solutions are often developed with the intention of reducing exposure to risk or solving issues that create risk but sometimes, great solutions are more experimental in nature and as such, deploying them needs to be carefully considered.

Managing risk means acknowledging that there may be risks associated with more out of the box solutions or trying new things, but that this must be measured against the possible benefits and other organizational factors.

Be informed, get the right data and stakeholders in the room and you can appropriately factor risk into your decision making process.

Decisions, Decisions… #communication #decision making #thiagi #action #issue analysis When it comes to decision-making, why are some of us more prone to take risks while others are risk-averse? One explanation might be the way the decision and options were presented. This exercise, based on Kahneman and Tversky’s classic study , illustrates how the framing effect influences our judgement and our ability to make decisions . The participants are divided into two groups. Both groups are presented with the same problem and two alternative programs for solving them. The two programs both have the same consequences but are presented differently. The debriefing discussion examines how the framing of the program impacted the participant’s decision.

Team-building

No single person is as good at problem solving as a team. Building an effective team and helping them come together around a common purpose is one of the most important problem solving skills, doubly so for leaders. By bringing a team together and helping them work efficiently, you pave the way for team ownership of a problem and the development of effective solutions.

In a problem solving workshop, it can be tempting to jump right into the deep end, though taking the time to break the ice, energize the team and align them with a game or exercise will pay off over the course of the day.

Remember that you will likely go through the problem solving process multiple times over an organization’s lifespan and building a strong team culture will make future problem solving more effective. It’s also great to work with people you know, trust and have fun with. Working on team building in and out of the problem solving process is a hallmark of successful teams that can work together to solve business problems.

9 Dimensions Team Building Activity #ice breaker #teambuilding #team #remote-friendly 9 Dimensions is a powerful activity designed to build relationships and trust among team members. There are 2 variations of this icebreaker. The first version is for teams who want to get to know each other better. The second version is for teams who want to explore how they are working together as a team.

Time management

The problem solving process is designed to lead a team from identifying a problem through to delivering a solution and evaluating its effectiveness. Without effective time management skills or timeboxing of tasks, it can be easy for a team to get bogged down or be inefficient.

By using a problem solving model and carefully designing your workshop, you can allocate time efficiently and trust that the process will deliver the results you need in a good timeframe.

Time management also comes into play when it comes to rolling out solutions, particularly those that are experimental in nature. Having a clear timeframe for implementing and evaluating solutions is vital for ensuring their success and being able to pivot if necessary.

Improving your skills at problem solving is often a career-long pursuit though there are methods you can use to make the learning process more efficient and to supercharge your problem solving skillset.

Remember that the skills you need to be a great problem solver have a large overlap with those skills you need to be effective in any role. Investing time and effort to develop your active listening or critical thinking skills is valuable in any context. Here are 7 ways to improve your problem solving skills.

Share best practices

Remember that your team is an excellent source of skills, wisdom, and techniques and that you should all take advantage of one another where possible. Best practices that one team has for solving problems, conducting research or making decisions should be shared across the organization. If you have in-house staff that have done active listening training or are data analysis pros, have them lead a training session.

Your team is one of your best resources. Create space and internal processes for the sharing of skills so that you can all grow together.

Ask for help and attend training

Once you’ve figured out you have a skills gap, the next step is to take action to fill that skills gap. That might be by asking your superior for training or coaching, or liaising with team members with that skill set. You might even attend specialized training for certain skills – active listening or critical thinking, for example, are business-critical skills that are regularly offered as part of a training scheme.

Whatever method you choose, remember that taking action of some description is necessary for growth. Whether that means practicing, getting help, attending training or doing some background reading, taking active steps to improve your skills is the way to go.

Learn a process

Problem solving can be complicated, particularly when attempting to solve large problems for the first time. Using a problem solving process helps give structure to your problem solving efforts and focus on creating outcomes, rather than worrying about the format.

Tools such as the seven-step problem solving process above are effective because not only do they feature steps that will help a team solve problems, they also develop skills along the way. Each step asks for people to engage with the process using different skills and in doing so, helps the team learn and grow together. Group processes of varying complexity and purpose can also be found in the SessionLab library of facilitation techniques . Using a tried and tested process and really help ease the learning curve for both those leading such a process, as well as those undergoing the purpose.

Effective teams make decisions about where they should and shouldn’t expend additional effort. By using a problem solving process, you can focus on the things that matter, rather than stumbling towards a solution haphazardly.

Create a feedback loop

Some skills gaps are more obvious than others. It’s possible that your perception of your active listening skills differs from those of your colleagues.

It’s valuable to create a system where team members can provide feedback in an ordered and friendly manner so they can all learn from one another. Only by identifying areas of improvement can you then work to improve them.

Remember that feedback systems require oversight and consideration so that they don’t turn into a place to complain about colleagues. Design the system intelligently so that you encourage the creation of learning opportunities, rather than encouraging people to list their pet peeves.

While practice might not make perfect, it does make the problem solving process easier. If you are having trouble with critical thinking, don’t shy away from doing it. Get involved where you can and stretch those muscles as regularly as possible.

Problem solving skills come more naturally to some than to others and that’s okay. Take opportunities to get involved and see where you can practice your skills in situations outside of a workshop context. Try collaborating in other circumstances at work or conduct data analysis on your own projects. You can often develop those skills you need for problem solving simply by doing them. Get involved!

Use expert exercises and methods

Learn from the best. Our library of 700+ facilitation techniques is full of activities and methods that help develop the skills you need to be an effective problem solver. Check out our templates to see how to approach problem solving and other organizational challenges in a structured and intelligent manner.

There is no single approach to improving problem solving skills, but by using the techniques employed by others you can learn from their example and develop processes that have seen proven results.

Try new ways of thinking and change your mindset

Using tried and tested exercises that you know well can help deliver results, but you do run the risk of missing out on the learning opportunities offered by new approaches. As with the problem solving process, changing your mindset can remove blockages and be used to develop your problem solving skills.

Most teams have members with mixed skill sets and specialties. Mix people from different teams and share skills and different points of view. Teach your customer support team how to use design thinking methods or help your developers with conflict resolution techniques. Try switching perspectives with facilitation techniques like Flip It! or by using new problem solving methodologies or models. Give design thinking, liberating structures or lego serious play a try if you want to try a new approach. You will find that framing problems in new ways and using existing skills in new contexts can be hugely useful for personal development and improving your skillset. It’s also a lot of fun to try new things. Give it a go!

Encountering business challenges and needing to find appropriate solutions is not unique to your organization. Lots of very smart people have developed methods, theories and approaches to help develop problem solving skills and create effective solutions. Learn from them!

Books like The Art of Thinking Clearly , Think Smarter, or Thinking Fast, Thinking Slow are great places to start, though it’s also worth looking at blogs related to organizations facing similar problems to yours, or browsing for success stories. Seeing how Dropbox massively increased growth and working backward can help you see the skills or approach you might be lacking to solve that same problem. Learning from others by reading their stories or approaches can be time-consuming but ultimately rewarding.

A tired, distracted mind is not in the best position to learn new skills. It can be tempted to burn the candle at both ends and develop problem solving skills outside of work. Absolutely use your time effectively and take opportunities for self-improvement, though remember that rest is hugely important and that without letting your brain rest, you cannot be at your most effective.

Creating distance between yourself and the problem you might be facing can also be useful. By letting an idea sit, you can find that a better one presents itself or you can develop it further. Take regular breaks when working and create a space for downtime. Remember that working smarter is preferable to working harder and that self-care is important for any effective learning or improvement process.

Want to design better group processes?

Over to you

Now we’ve explored some of the key problem solving skills and the problem solving steps necessary for an effective process, you’re ready to begin developing more effective solutions and leading problem solving workshops.

Need more inspiration? Check out our post on problem solving activities you can use when guiding a group towards a great solution in your next workshop or meeting. Have questions? Did you have a great problem solving technique you use with your team? Get in touch in the comments below. We’d love to chat!

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Project Management

Priority management: creating systems to prioritize team resources.

July 26, 2023

Imagine a world in which time and resources are unlimited. You could pursue endless possibilities, tackle ambitious projects, drive innovation, and do it all stress-free. 🙌

Unfortunately, that’s not how things work. In a fast-paced business environment, you always deal with some kind of constraint. You must learn to prioritize work to thrive despite constant setbacks and obstacles.

This article aims to sum up the key information on priority management. You’ll learn how to develop an effective priority management process and use it to level up your productivity.

What is Priority Management?

Why is priority management important , how to implement a priority management system for your team, 1. set and visualize high-level goals, 2. create a master list of all tasks, 3. evaluate and assign tasks, 4. track progress and collaborate, what’s the difference between priority management and time management, what are some of the most popular prioritization techniques, what are some common priority management challenges, and how can i overcome them.

Priority management or prioritization is a method of organizing work to deal with the most important and urgent tasks first . 🥇

The practice involves assessing your goals and objectives , using that info to create a hierarchy of tasks, and deciding which ones should be completed immediately. It’s a skill that can be useful in both formal project management and everyday life.

When you prioritize projects and tasks, you’re preparing to execute the work ahead of you in the most efficient way. The goal is to meet your project milestones and deadlines and set yourself up for success. 🏆

Having a priority management process in place is how teams stay focused on old or new tasks, adjust resources, and identify top priorities across high-value projects. Other major benefits include:

Makes the most of your day : Since you know exactly what you need to do each day, you can jump into work and specific tasks without hesitation to get the most out of your productive hours
Improves the quality of work : Instead of trying to complete everything with scattered attention, your team focuses on a few critical tasks at a time, reducing errors and delays
Ensures a better work-life balance : Prioritizing tasks affords your team more time for leisure and other personal pursuits
Aligns personal, team, and business goals : It’s easy to overlook the bigger picture when you’re overwhelmed with your own priorities while you manage and align them to company objectives—a solid priority management process prevents those struggles
Reduces work-related stress and anxiety : Meaningful assignment of work allows your employees to tackle their assignments with more confidence and less pressure
Facilitates flexibility : With a proper prioritization system, you can adapt to ongoing changes without getting derailed
Allows for effective resource management : Knowing what takes precedence enables you to allocate limited resources more efficiently when delegating tasks across your team

Follow these six tips to create and launch a successful priorities management strategy:

Define the goals : They serve as your main prioritization criteria. Determine short, mid, and long-term goals and objectives so you can craft detailed plans to achieve them all
Start with an overview : Create a master to-do list of tasks. As you evaluate and assign them, break your to-do lists down into monthly, weekly, and daily priorities
Evaluate the cost/effort and reward : Compare the cost or effort needed to complete tasks with the value they bring. If possible, follow the Pareto rule—prioritize the 20% of work that leads to an 80% impact
Consider team capacity and strengths : To assign work realistically, you need to identify each team member’s capacity, productivity habits, task difficulty, and risk levels to efficiently manage objectives
Delegate tasks : Reserve critical and complex tasks for the higher-ups, but don’t put too much on their shoulders. Assign less impactful work to employees with less experience and allow them to develop their skills, grow, and have a chance to succeed at something new
Be flexible : You can’t create a task hierarchy and call it a day. You should organize, evaluate, and prepare to adapt to ongoing changes in your process

Doing all this work manually would be excruciating. Luckily, apps like ClickUp help you prioritize tasks and develop a robust and flexible priority management system.

How ClickUp Revolutionizes Priority Management

ClickUp is an all-in-one project management software that allows you to tackle all aspects of task prioritization—from initial brainstorming to execution. With over 10 outlines (Views) and hundreds of features and customization options, you can adapt it to various contexts.

In the following section, we’ll show you what makes ClickUp an excellent work prioritization tool and how to unlock its potential step-by-step. 🔓

Before dealing with individual tasks, take a step back and remember the bigger picture. That will help you stay on track toward your most important goals. 🛣️

With the higher goal in mind, reevaluate the relevance and impact of each task. That way, you can ensure you’re investing your time and energy in activities that align with your long-term strategy.

Use ClickUp to develop and visualize strategies, roadmaps, and workflows . The platform’s Whiteboard View provides a blank canvas and various tools to bring your ideas to life. You can start from scratch or use one of many pre-built Whiteboard templates.

In Whiteboard View, you can:

Create workflows to identify any dependency issues or bottlenecks
Write and edit text or assign comments or tasks
Add shapes, sticky notes, and connectors between them
Embed images, videos, website cards, and Docs

ClickUp also features Mind Map View , which lets you create eye-catching hierarchical diagrams. Use it to define different levels of priorities and relationships between tasks.

Choose between node-based and task-based maps with interactive tasks instead of nodes.

Compile a master list of tasks to understand the scope of work you’re dealing with. Next, start breaking it into more manageable sections, each with defined deadlines.

ClickUp’s List View is the ideal tool for that. It gives you a rundown of all tasks, subtasks, and their dependencies . Rearranging them is easy with the drag-and-drop functionality. 👆

The lists’ columns display all the information you need to decide on a task’s importance. You can customize them, choosing between over 20 field types , including:

Progress bar

It’s ClickUp’s most flexible view, allowing you to play around with different organization options. Once you’ve finished sorting tasks, group or filter them by priority to single out the most urgent ones.

You can use the Agile Board view for a more simplified presentation of all tasks. This helps you get your priorities management process in place with a clear Board view.

In most ClickUp views, you can click on a task to open the Task Tray , which reveals additional information and options. You and your team can, among other activities, add comments, attach files, and view the change log.

The Gantt and Timeline views allow you to focus on time management . Timeline gives you a bird’s eye view of the schedule on a single line, whereas the Gantt chart is two-dimensional and lets you get into the nitty-gritty of projects.

The Calendar View makes scheduling events such as sprints and one-on-one meetings a breeze. You only need to drag and drop tasks into their respective slots, and you’re good to go.

After considering the tasks’ urgency, impact, or any other relevant factor, you can add the information to List View’s columns. Rank tasks, introduce a scoring system with formulas, and calculate the costs.

To assign a priority tag to a task , click on the flag icon and choose the appropriate option from the dropdown menu. The labels range from Low to Urgent and are color-coded for easier distinction.

Once you’ve decided which tasks should go first, it’s time to delegate them. Do so with ease and accuracy using the ClickUp Workload View !

Estimate the level of effort needed to complete a task. Define and view the average capacity of each team member to ensure they always have something to work on but aren’t overworked. By looking at the colors, you’ll get insight into how much work each person’s got on their plate. 🍽️

Once you assign the task, it’ll be evenly distributed across the dedicated timeline based on its previously set due date.

The view is highly customizable. You can change anything from the filters and the displayed timeline (day, week, month) to individual elements and coloring.

As you complete your tasks, the progress bar in List View will update to give you real-time insights. You can change the task’s status and add custom categories to reflect your workflow.

By introducing automation , you can streamline the entire process. For instance, you can automatically update the status to “Done” after completing all the subtasks. Another idea is to change the priority label when a task is overdue.

In ClickUp, you can do much more than prioritize. Invite your team to join and use the platform as your planning and collaboration hub .

Communicate with teammates via built-in chat, discuss specific matters in task comments, and view the history of changes for each task. You and your team can also track time in-app, which helps with task allocation and billing immensely.

Priority Management FAQs

Still have questions about prioritization? You might find your answers below:

Time management and priority management are related concepts with the same goal—making your work more efficient. Still, while prioritization focuses on what’s important, time management is a broader term referring to how you spend your available time . ⌛

For example, someone managing their time will allocate time slots to their tasks. But, someone who’s prioritizing will select the most significant tasks and assign them larger time slots.

Priority management leans on time management. They both require skills such as problem-solving and strategic thinking. Time management includes other subskills, such as distraction reduction and task categorization.

Both skills are useful and applicable to many spheres of life. Time management might be more common, but prioritization is the better choice for output-based work.

When managing priorities, use different evaluation criteria and techniques to see what works for your team. Read about the most popular prioritization strategies below:

Master list

The master list is not so much an independent prioritization technique but rather the basis for all others. Before prioritizing, create a mega to-do list with all the tasks you want to achieve. You can then break it down and categorize it as you please.

A common method is to use time period categories . For instance, you can group the tasks based on when you want to complete them—today, this week, this month, etc.

Eisenhower prioritization matrix

Although he didn’t invent it, this method was named after former U.S. President Dwight E. Eisenhower, as he had to make many high-impact decisions on a daily basis.

The Eisenhower prioritization matrix compares the cost or effort that goes into a task with the value it brings .

To apply this method, draw a big square on paper or in an app of your choice. Divide it into four parts along two axes—Urgency and Importance. You’ll end up with four categories:

Urgent and important: Do it ❗
Urgent and not important: Schedule it 📅
Not urgent but important: Delegate it 👥
Not urgent and not important: Delete it ❌

Place tasks into the most appropriate categories and start completing them, beginning with the urgent and important ones in the upper-right corner.

Don’t feel like drawing? Use the colorful ClickUp Priority Matrix Template and start prioritizing in minutes for free!

Most Important Tasks (MIT) list

If you’re looking for a method that’s simple, practical, and easy to implement , try the MIT list. It suggests listing one to three essential tasks every day. You shouldn’t focus on any other tasks until you’ve completed the ones from the list.

When you find yourself overwhelmed with work, this method helps you return to the basics and get out of the rut.

ABCDE method

The ABCDE prioritization method requires you to sort tasks into five categories:

Essential tasks
Important tasks
Nice-to-do tasks
Tasks to delegate
Tasks to eliminate

Evaluate and classify tasks based on how severe the consequences of not completing them would be. Keep the A list short, with only one or two tasks in it.

Introduce another layer of ranking by enumerating each of the tasks. The most important task of the day will be labeled A1, whereas nice-to-do tasks will be marked as C1, C2, C3, and so on.

Eat the frog

This method was inspired by a clever Mark Twain quote: “If you have to eat a live frog, it does not pay to sit and look at it for a very long time!” 🐸

It suggests that you should do the most dreaded tasks first, making all the others less intimidating . It’s useful for those situations when you have multiple tasks of similar urgency and importance and don’t know which one to start with.

According to this method, your daily to-do list should contain:

One big task 🐘
Three medium tasks 🐅
Five minor tasks 🐁

Feel free to alter the numbers based on your current capacity and preference.

The Warren Buffet Method

“The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say no to almost everything.”

These are the words of the supersuccessful Warren Buffett, who came up with a prioritization model called the Two Lists.

This method requires you to write down your top 25 list of tasks and circle the 5 most important ones. You should complete the top 5 first and, more importantly, ignore the other 20 tasks to preserve your focus.

Despite your best efforts, project execution likely won’t go as smoothly as you wish . Still, all is not lost. With the right approach and tools, you can conquer most challenges and get back on track quickly.

Below, you can familiarize yourself with some common prioritization problems and the methods for resolving them:

Unprecedented situations and changing priorities

Firstly, you should accept that plans will inevitably change and prepare to adapt once that happens.

Instead of planning only for the best-case scenario, you should consider all possible outcomes . Avoid setting strict deadlines and provide loose time estimates instead, leaving some wiggle room.

Limited and competing resources

In light of priority changes, you might need to revisit your resource management choices. If you run into conflicts, reassess the prioritization criteria. Analyze tasks in-depth and introduce additional factors to further differentiate tasks with the same level of importance.

You may even need to rethink your entire prioritization system to make it more flexible . Ideally, you should use an app like ClickUp, which updates other tasks and deadlines when you make a change.

Teammates wasting time on non-essential tasks

Many problems can be ironed out with regular and honest communication. Set clear expectations and goals from the start and ensure everybody’s on the same page.

Support your teammates and employees when they encounter an issue, especially when it’s outside their field of expertise or responsibility.

Distraction, procrastination, and delays

Let’s be honest—nobody is 100% productive all the time. Still, if you notice that one of the employees is consistently struggling to keep up, it may be time to act on it.

Instead of pushing or punishing them, offer help. Provide them with resources and training to encourage the development of their individual time management skills .

Switching between different tasks

Simultaneously working on multiple tasks with different requirements can be problematic. It’s stressful, exhausting, and often results in errors and overall subpar quality of work.

Instead of bombarding employees with various tasks, limit their work to one project at a time. Set task dependencies and critical paths to ensure focused work and smooth sailing. ⛵

Overworking and burnout

If you’re an employee and feel overwhelmed with work, don’t hesitate to say no. Ignoring the warning signs of burnout can have severe consequences. Before things get out of hand, communicate your availability and maximum daily workload to higher-ups so they can plan accordingly.

With a more realistic workload, you’ll be able to focus on quality rather than quantity. You’ll also enjoy a more sustainable work schedule , protect your well-being, and contribute to a healthier workplace culture. 💪

Unleash Your Potential With Priorities Management and ClickUp

Priorities management is far from easy, but it is the secret to success, no matter if you’re organizing personal or your team’s work. It can give you direction when you’re feeling lost among the winding roads of tasks.

With a handy tool like ClickUp, you can hack your way to productivity in no time! ⏩

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Prioritization

“Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least.”

– Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 18th Century German Author

A strategy is simply arranging actions in order of importance. Strategic leadership is simply a massive ongoing exercise in prioritization.

– Prioritizing what customers, geographies, and markets to go after – Prioritizing the needs of customers to address – Prioritizing the innovation and ways to serve customers better – Prioritizing what is important to focus on – Prioritizing a company’s resources, capital, and investments – Prioritizing actions, people’s time and resources to achieve the goals – People prioritizing what they do every single day

It sounds strange, but prioritization is the main role of a strategic leader. All of the strategic concepts and tools we go over are to help strategic leaders prioritize the actions necessary to achieve a goal. And, if there is one thing that all strategic leaders should focus on day in and day out, across everything they do, it is prioritizing.

When I was a strategy analyst at Mercer Management Consulting , fresh out of Stanford, my manager and I were debating a PowerPoint slide for the executive team of a multi-billion manufacturer. It was a pretty dull slide, with some bullet points on one side of the slide, and a chart on the other, it was 8 pm, and I just wanted to feed my rumbling stomach.

My manager, Jonathan, looked at a slide for a few minutes, looked at me, paused, and then said, “How are these bullet points and this chart prioritized?” Confused, I said, “What do you mean?” He replied, “Joe, everything you do should be prioritized, whether it is figuring out what you are going to do today, analyzing data, or communicating recommendations. “

What Jonathan said that evening had a profound impact on me. And, from that day on, I embraced prioritization as one of my core principles that I try to apply to everything. The essence of problem solving is simply prioritizing the largest problems and opportunities, and prioritizing the most effective and efficient solutions to those problems and opportunities.

Why is prioritization so important?

I often find myself telling CEOs and leaders, “Imagine how much you would grow, if every day, every person, prioritized everything they worked on?”

We only have so much time in a day, so much energy, so many resources, and so much money in the bank. Constant prioritization of problems, activities, investments, and hires, is critical to making sure the actions we take will create the most value .

How do you prioritize everything?

It takes the right mindset , goal orientation, use of the right tools, and vigilance to prioritize everything continually. Here are some of the best practices for making it happen.

Prioritize Prioritization

More than anything, prioritization is a mindset of figuring out and navigating through the magnitude and importance of problems, opportunities, and solutions. Strategic leaders infuse prioritization within an organization . The simplest way to prioritize prioritization is to continually use a simple question, “How do we prioritize…fill in the blank…?”

Understand Magnitude

Prioritization is arranging things in order of importance, which necessitates understanding the magnitude of things. A substantial amount of analysis within organizations is done to try to understand the magnitude of things. We’ll go over some of the most important analytical tools to help understand the magnitude, including Pareto analysis, trend, sensitivity, variance, correlation, benchmarking , and voice of customer analysis.

Create More Options and Understand Opportunity Cost

Strong strategies and prioritization necessitate creating better options . Often, the best thing to do is not even in the current options. Spend more time figuring out what are all the options and then prioritize. If you prioritize a bunch of options that aren’t going to drive much value, then you are optimizing a sub-optimal solution.

Align Efforts to the Mission and Goals

One of the easiest ways to ensure activities are naturally prioritized is to filter them through the mission and goals of an organization. Once again, use simple questions , such as “How does this idea help us achieve our mission or goals?”

Focus on Return on Investment (ROI)

Another way to think about prioritization is to understand and rank order the relative ROI of a set of options. Whether you are thinking through a big project or figuring out your daily priorities, there are always two parts to the ROI equation. The investment of doing something, which represents the costs and capital tied to the time, and resources for doing something. And, the return, or the positive impact to revenues, cost, and/or capital of doing something. In a later section on decision-making, we’ll go over cost-benefit analysis, prioritization matrices, and decision matrices to help you understand the relative ROI of options.

Focus on Low-Hanging Fruit

Anytime I work with an organization, there is often a substantial amount of low-hanging fruit, or activities, which necessitate little time and investment to capture a large amount of value. Use the prioritization matrix as a nice tool to help you identify low-hanging fruit.

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Overcoming prioritization challenges at work: 8 Strategies for success

What is prioritization, why is prioritization important in the workplace, common prioritization challenges in the workplace , how to prioritize when everything is important at work, 8 strategies for overcoming prioritization challenges at work, conclusion , frequently asked questions.

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It helps employees focus on the most critical tasks and align them with their goals and objectives. Employees can optimize their productivity and achieve better results by identifying and prioritizing tasks with the greatest impact and value.
Prioritization helps employees manage their time and resources efficiently, ensuring tasks are completed on time and meeting their deadlines. This reduces the risk of missed deadlines, last-minute rushes, and unnecessary stress.
Prioritization allows employees to adapt to changing circumstances and effectively handle competing tasks and responsibilities. Given the limited time and resources, it helps them make informed decisions about which tasks to tackle first.
Effective prioritization helps employees maintain a healthy work-life balance by ensuring that they allocate time and energy to significant personal and professional responsibilities.
Conflicting priorities: Different tasks or projects may compete for attention, making determining which ones to prioritize challenging. Conflicting priorities can arise due to changing business needs, shifting deadlines, or unclear expectations, resulting in confusion and difficulty allocating resources effectively.
Lack of clarity: Unclear goals, expectations, or communication can make it challenging to prioritize tasks. If team members are not provided with clear direction or if priorities are not communicated effectively, it can result in confusion and misaligned efforts.
Overwhelming workload: A heavy workload with multiple tasks and responsibilities can make it challenging to prioritize effectively. Too many tasks to handle simultaneously can lead to stress, burnout, and difficulties in determining which tasks are most important or urgent.
Limited resources: Limited availability of resources, such as time, budget, or staffing, can pose challenges in prioritization. When resources are scarce, allocating them judiciously among competing tasks or projects becomes crucial, which can be challenging.
Lack of decision-making frameworks: The absence of clear decision-making frameworks or criteria can hinder effective prioritization. Without established guidelines or criteria for evaluating and ranking tasks, making informed decisions about which tasks to prioritize can be difficult.
Procrastination and distractions: Procrastination and distractions can hinder effective prioritization. If team members delay tasks or get easily distracted by non-essential activities, it can impact their ability to prioritize and complete important tasks on time.
Lack of delegation: The inability to delegate tasks or responsibilities can also be a challenge in prioritization. If team members are overloaded with tasks and unable to delegate or distribute workload effectively, it can impact their ability to prioritize and focus on critical tasks.
Emotional attachments: Emotional attachments or biases towards certain tasks or projects can hinder effective prioritization. Personal preferences, attachments to familiar tasks, or emotional investments in certain projects may influence decision-making, leading to skewed prioritization and neglect of other important tasks.
Changing deadlines: Changing or shifting deadlines can pose challenges in prioritization. If deadlines are constantly revised or extended, it can disrupt the prioritization process and lead to confusion or delays in completing tasks.
Unforeseen interruptions: Unforeseen interruptions, such as unexpected meetings, urgent requests, or emergencies, can disrupt the prioritization process and impact the ability to focus on essential tasks. Dealing with unplanned interruptions can be challenging and require quick adjustments to the prioritization plan.
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Assess and clarify goals: Begin by assessing and clarifying your work or project’s overarching goals and objectives. Understanding the strategic priorities and aligning tasks with those goals can help you identify which tasks are truly important and contribute the most to achieving those goals.
Evaluate urgency and impact: Consider the urgency and impact of each task or project. Urgent tasks are those that require immediate attention, while impactful tasks are those that have a significant impact on achieving the desired outcomes. Evaluate tasks based on their urgency and impact to determine their priority level.
Consider dependencies: Consider the dependencies between tasks or projects. Some tasks may be dependent on others for completion, and prioritizing dependent tasks can ensure smooth progress across the board. Identify tasks that are dependent on others and prioritize them accordingly.
Consider long-term impact: Consider the long-term impact of tasks or projects rather than short-term urgency. Prioritize tasks that contribute to long-term goals or strategic initiatives, even if they may not be urgent immediately.
Review and adjust regularly: Regularly review and adjust priorities based on changing circumstances, such as shifting deadlines, new information, or changing business needs. Flexibility and adaptability are key to effective prioritization.
Learn to say no: If you are overwhelmed with tasks, and everything appears important, learn to say no or delegate tasks when appropriate. It’s important to recognize your limitations and focus on tasks aligning with your responsibilities and expertise.

Overcoming prioritization challenges at work: 8 Strategies for success

Use time management techniques: Adopt time management techniques, such as the Pomodoro Technique, where you work in focused bursts of time, followed by short breaks, to enhance productivity and manage time effectively.
Prioritize based on importance: Evaluate tasks based on their importance, urgency, and impact. Prioritize tasks that are important and urgent, and have a significant impact on your overall goals and objectives.
Leverage productivity tools and apps: Use productivity tools and apps, such as task management apps and productivity apps, to help you organize and prioritize tasks effectively. These tools can provide reminders, notifications, and visual cues to help you stay focused and on track.
Communicate with team members: Communicate with your colleagues and managers to understand their priorities and deadlines. This can help you align your tasks with the overall goals of your team and make informed decisions about how to prioritize your tasks.
Break down tasks into smaller chunks: Large tasks can be overwhelming and difficult to prioritize. Break them into smaller, more manageable chunks, and prioritize them based on their importance and deadlines. This can help you tackle them more effectively and avoid procrastination.
Limit distractions and interruptions: Minimize distractions and interruptions by setting boundaries, turning off notifications, and creating a conducive work environment. This can help you stay focused and prioritize tasks without unnecessary disruptions.
Be flexible and adaptable: Priorities can change, and it’s essential to be flexible and adaptable. Be open to reprioritizing tasks based on changing circumstances or new information.
Practice self-awareness and reflection: Regularly reflect on your work habits, productivity levels, and decision-making biases. Practice self-awareness to understand your strengths and weaknesses in prioritization and make necessary adjustments to improve your skills.

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The Role of Prioritization in Problem Solving

Different approaches to problem solving, enhancing efficiency and effectiveness, reducing stress and overwhelm, facilitating clear communication and collaboration, identifying the problem, breaking down the problem into manageable steps, prioritizing the steps, overcoming common obstacles, dealing with complex problems, utilizing prioritization tools and techniques, developing a flexible problem-solving mindset, continual evaluation and adjustment of priorities, why is it important to prioritize steps to solve a problem.

For any resourceful product manager, time is of the essence. It is crucial to understand the importance of prioritizing steps to efficiently solve the challenges we encounter. By employing this strategic approach, we can make significant progress towards overcoming obstacles and achieving success. Let’s delve into the concept of problem-solving and explore the role that prioritization plays in this process.

Understanding the Concept of Problem Solving

Problem-solving is an integral part of our personal and professional lives. From tackling complex technical issues in software development to resolving conflicts in team dynamics, the ability to effectively solve problems is a valuable skill. At its core, problem-solving involves analyzing situations, identifying the underlying issues, and devising viable solutions.

When faced with a problem, it is important to approach it with a clear and logical mindset. This involves breaking down the problem into smaller, more manageable parts. By doing so, we can better understand the root causes and potential solutions. Additionally, problem-solving requires creativity and critical thinking. It is essential to think outside the box and explore alternative perspectives to find innovative solutions.

Furthermore, problem-solving is not a linear process. It often involves trial and error, as well as the ability to adapt and adjust strategies along the way. This flexibility is crucial in navigating the complexities of problem-solving, as it allows us to learn from our mistakes and refine our approach.

Prioritization is the secret ingredient that elevates problem-solving to new heights. It allows us to focus our efforts on the most critical components of a problem, leading to increased efficiency and effectiveness. By identifying and prioritizing the steps involved in solving a problem, we can eliminate unnecessary distractions and allocate resources in a targeted manner.

When prioritizing, it is important to consider the urgency and impact of each component. Some issues may require immediate attention, while others can be addressed at a later stage. Prioritization also involves evaluating the potential risks and benefits associated with different solutions. By weighing these factors, we can make informed decisions and allocate our time and resources accordingly.

Moreover, prioritization helps us avoid getting overwhelmed by the complexity of a problem. By breaking it down into smaller, more manageable tasks, we can tackle each component systematically. This not only enhances our problem-solving abilities but also improves our overall productivity and effectiveness.

There are various approaches to problem-solving, each with its own merits. Some individuals prefer a systematic approach, breaking down a problem into smaller, manageable parts. This method allows for a structured and organized problem-solving process, ensuring that no aspect is overlooked.

On the other hand, some problem solvers rely on their intuition and experience to guide them towards solutions. This approach is often seen in professionals who have developed a deep understanding of their field and can draw on their expertise to solve complex problems. Intuitive problem-solving can be particularly effective when time is limited or when faced with unique challenges that require a creative solution.

Regardless of the approach, prioritization is a common thread that helps steer problem solvers towards success. By identifying the most critical components and allocating resources accordingly, we can streamline our problem-solving process and increase the likelihood of finding effective solutions.

The Importance of Prioritizing Steps in Problem Solving

Prioritizing steps in problem-solving is akin to charting a course for a successful voyage. Let’s explore the benefits that this approach brings to the table.

By prioritizing steps, we optimize our use of time and resources. We can focus our energy on the most impactful actions, making progress towards our objectives at a faster pace. For example, in software development, a developer may prioritize fixing critical bugs before addressing minor cosmetic issues, ensuring that a stable and functional product is delivered to users.

When faced with a complex problem, it is easy to become overwhelmed and lose sight of the bigger picture. Prioritization provides clarity, enabling us to break down a problem into smaller, manageable chunks. By taking it one step at a time, we can make progress while keeping stress at bay. Consider a product manager faced with tight deadlines and limited resources. By prioritizing tasks and focusing on critical functionalities, they can alleviate stress and deliver a successful product.

In problem-solving endeavors, effective communication and collaboration are pivotal. Prioritizing steps creates a shared understanding of the key actions required to address a problem. This promotes clear communication among team members and ensures that everyone is working towards a common goal. For instance, in a software development team, defining priority tasks allows developers, designers, and testers to align their efforts and work together seamlessly.

The Process of Prioritizing Problem-Solving Steps

Now that we grasp the significance of prioritization, let’s explore the process involved.

The first step in the process is identifying the problem at hand. We need to define the issue clearly and understand its impact. By gaining a deep understanding of the problem, we can lay the foundation for effective prioritization. In software development, this could involve identifying a critical functionality that is causing user dissatisfaction or system crashes.

Once the problem is clearly defined, breaking it down into manageable steps paves the way for effective prioritization. We can analyze the problem, identify dependencies, and determine the sequence in which steps need to be taken. This approach is analogous to a software developer dividing a large project into smaller tasks to ensure smooth progress and efficient resource allocation.

With a clear understanding of the problem and a breakdown of the steps required, it is time to prioritize! We can assign importance and urgency to each step based on a variety of factors, such as the impact on stakeholders or potential risks involved. Prioritization allows us to focus our efforts on the steps that will yield the greatest results. In the realm of software development, this could involve fixing critical security vulnerabilities before optimizing website performance.

Challenges in Prioritizing Problem-Solving Steps

Prioritizing problem-solving steps is not without its challenges. Let’s examine some common obstacles and strategies for overcoming them.

One challenge in prioritizing steps is navigating conflicting priorities. Different stakeholders may have divergent views on what should be prioritized. Effective communication, stakeholder engagement, and data-driven decision-making can help bridge the gaps and align priorities.

Complex problems can be daunting to prioritize, as there may be numerous interdependencies and variables to consider. It is important to approach these problems systematically, breaking them down into smaller, more manageable components. Iterative prioritization and continual evaluation allow us to adapt and adjust our approach as we gain insights and make progress.

Tips for Better Prioritization in Problem Solving

Now that we understand the importance of prioritization and the challenges involved, let’s explore some tips to enhance our prioritization skills.

Various tools and techniques can help us prioritize effectively. From the simple Eisenhower Matrix, which categorizes tasks based on their importance and urgency, to more sophisticated software tools, leveraging these resources can enhance our ability to make informed decisions. For example, a product manager can use product management software with built-in prioritization features to visualize and manage tasks efficiently.

Flexibility is key in problem-solving. Embrace the concept that priorities may shift as new information emerges or circumstances change. By cultivating adaptability and open-mindedness, we can respond to evolving situations and adjust our priorities accordingly. For instance, in software development, unforeseen technical challenges may arise, requiring developers to adjust their priorities and address critical issues promptly.

Prioritization is not a one-time activity, but an ongoing process. Regularly evaluating and adjusting priorities ensures that we stay on track and aligned with our goals. It allows us to adapt to changing circumstances and seize new opportunities. For example, in an agile software development environment, teams engage in frequent iterations and evaluations, continuously reprioritizing tasks to deliver high-value features.

In conclusion, prioritizing steps in problem-solving is an essential practice that enables us to optimize our efforts, reduce stress, and foster collaboration. By understanding the process, overcoming challenges, and employing effective strategies, we can enhance our ability to resolve problems successfully. So, next time you face a problem, remember the power of prioritization and let it guide you towards triumph!

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10 Problem-solving strategies to turn challenges on their head

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What is an example of problem-solving?

What are the 5 steps to problem-solving, 10 effective problem-solving strategies, what skills do efficient problem solvers have, how to improve your problem-solving skills.

Problems come in all shapes and sizes — from workplace conflict to budget cuts.

Creative problem-solving is one of the most in-demand skills in all roles and industries. It can boost an organization’s human capital and give it a competitive edge.

Problem-solving strategies are ways of approaching problems that can help you look beyond the obvious answers and find the best solution to your problem .

Let’s take a look at a five-step problem-solving process and how to combine it with proven problem-solving strategies. This will give you the tools and skills to solve even your most complex problems.

Good problem-solving is an essential part of the decision-making process . To see what a problem-solving process might look like in real life, let’s take a common problem for SaaS brands — decreasing customer churn rates.

To solve this problem, the company must first identify it. In this case, the problem is that the churn rate is too high.

Next, they need to identify the root causes of the problem. This could be anything from their customer service experience to their email marketing campaigns. If there are several problems, they will need a separate problem-solving process for each one.

Let’s say the problem is with email marketing — they’re not nurturing existing customers. Now that they’ve identified the problem, they can start using problem-solving strategies to look for solutions.

This might look like coming up with special offers, discounts, or bonuses for existing customers. They need to find ways to remind them to use their products and services while providing added value. This will encourage customers to keep paying their monthly subscriptions.

They might also want to add incentives, such as access to a premium service at no extra cost after 12 months of membership. They could publish blog posts that help their customers solve common problems and share them as an email newsletter.

The company should set targets and a time frame in which to achieve them. This will allow leaders to measure progress and identify which actions yield the best results.

Perhaps you’ve got a problem you need to tackle. Or maybe you want to be prepared the next time one arises. Either way, it’s a good idea to get familiar with the five steps of problem-solving.

Use this step-by-step problem-solving method with the strategies in the following section to find possible solutions to your problem.

1. Identify the problem

The first step is to know which problem you need to solve. Then, you need to find the root cause of the problem.

The best course of action is to gather as much data as possible, speak to the people involved, and separate facts from opinions.

Once this is done, formulate a statement that describes the problem. Use rational persuasion to make sure your team agrees .

2. Break the problem down

Identifying the problem allows you to see which steps need to be taken to solve it.

First, break the problem down into achievable blocks. Then, use strategic planning to set a time frame in which to solve the problem and establish a timeline for the completion of each stage.

3. Generate potential solutions

At this stage, the aim isn’t to evaluate possible solutions but to generate as many ideas as possible.

Encourage your team to use creative thinking and be patient — the best solution may not be the first or most obvious one.

Use one or more of the different strategies in the following section to help come up with solutions — the more creative, the better.

4. Evaluate the possible solutions

Once you’ve generated potential solutions, narrow them down to a shortlist. Then, evaluate the options on your shortlist.

There are usually many factors to consider. So when evaluating a solution, ask yourself the following questions:

Will my team be on board with the proposition?
Does the solution align with organizational goals ?
Is the solution likely to achieve the desired outcomes?
Is the solution realistic and possible with current resources and constraints?
Will the solution solve the problem without causing additional unintended problems?

woman-helping-her-colleague-problem-solving-strategies

5. Implement and monitor the solutions

Once you’ve identified your solution and got buy-in from your team, it’s time to implement it.

But the work doesn’t stop there. You need to monitor your solution to see whether it actually solves your problem.

Request regular feedback from the team members involved and have a monitoring and evaluation plan in place to measure progress.

If the solution doesn’t achieve your desired results, start this step-by-step process again.

There are many different ways to approach problem-solving. Each is suitable for different types of problems.

The most appropriate problem-solving techniques will depend on your specific problem. You may need to experiment with several strategies before you find a workable solution.

Here are 10 effective problem-solving strategies for you to try:

Use a solution that worked before
Brainstorming
Work backward
Use the Kipling method
Draw the problem
Use trial and error
Sleep on it
Get advice from your peers
Use the Pareto principle
Add successful solutions to your toolkit

Let’s break each of these down.

1. Use a solution that worked before

It might seem obvious, but if you’ve faced similar problems in the past, look back to what worked then. See if any of the solutions could apply to your current situation and, if so, replicate them.

2. Brainstorming

The more people you enlist to help solve the problem, the more potential solutions you can come up with.

Use different brainstorming techniques to workshop potential solutions with your team. They’ll likely bring something you haven’t thought of to the table.

3. Work backward

Working backward is a way to reverse engineer your problem. Imagine your problem has been solved, and make that the starting point.

Then, retrace your steps back to where you are now. This can help you see which course of action may be most effective.

4. Use the Kipling method

This is a method that poses six questions based on Rudyard Kipling’s poem, “ I Keep Six Honest Serving Men .”

What is the problem?
Why is the problem important?
When did the problem arise, and when does it need to be solved?
How did the problem happen?
Where is the problem occurring?
Who does the problem affect?

Answering these questions can help you identify possible solutions.

5. Draw the problem

Sometimes it can be difficult to visualize all the components and moving parts of a problem and its solution. Drawing a diagram can help.

This technique is particularly helpful for solving process-related problems. For example, a product development team might want to decrease the time they take to fix bugs and create new iterations. Drawing the processes involved can help you see where improvements can be made.

woman-drawing-mind-map-problem-solving-strategies

6. Use trial-and-error

A trial-and-error approach can be useful when you have several possible solutions and want to test them to see which one works best.

7. Sleep on it

Finding the best solution to a problem is a process. Remember to take breaks and get enough rest . Sometimes, a walk around the block can bring inspiration, but you should sleep on it if possible.

A good night’s sleep helps us find creative solutions to problems. This is because when you sleep, your brain sorts through the day’s events and stores them as memories. This enables you to process your ideas at a subconscious level.

If possible, give yourself a few days to develop and analyze possible solutions. You may find you have greater clarity after sleeping on it. Your mind will also be fresh, so you’ll be able to make better decisions.

8. Get advice from your peers

Getting input from a group of people can help you find solutions you may not have thought of on your own.

For solo entrepreneurs or freelancers, this might look like hiring a coach or mentor or joining a mastermind group.

For leaders , it might be consulting other members of the leadership team or working with a business coach .

It’s important to recognize you might not have all the skills, experience, or knowledge necessary to find a solution alone.

9. Use the Pareto principle

The Pareto principle — also known as the 80/20 rule — can help you identify possible root causes and potential solutions for your problems.

Although it’s not a mathematical law, it’s a principle found throughout many aspects of business and life. For example, 20% of the sales reps in a company might close 80% of the sales.

You may be able to narrow down the causes of your problem by applying the Pareto principle. This can also help you identify the most appropriate solutions.

10. Add successful solutions to your toolkit

Every situation is different, and the same solutions might not always work. But by keeping a record of successful problem-solving strategies, you can build up a solutions toolkit.

These solutions may be applicable to future problems. Even if not, they may save you some of the time and work needed to come up with a new solution.

three-colleagues-looking-at-computer-problem-solving-strategies

Improving problem-solving skills is essential for professional development — both yours and your team’s. Here are some of the key skills of effective problem solvers:

Critical thinking and analytical skills
Communication skills , including active listening
Decision-making
Planning and prioritization
Emotional intelligence , including empathy and emotional regulation
Time management
Data analysis
Research skills
Project management

And they see problems as opportunities. Everyone is born with problem-solving skills. But accessing these abilities depends on how we view problems. Effective problem-solvers see problems as opportunities to learn and improve.

Ready to work on your problem-solving abilities? Get started with these seven tips.

1. Build your problem-solving skills

One of the best ways to improve your problem-solving skills is to learn from experts. Consider enrolling in organizational training , shadowing a mentor , or working with a coach .

2. Practice

Practice using your new problem-solving skills by applying them to smaller problems you might encounter in your daily life.

Alternatively, imagine problematic scenarios that might arise at work and use problem-solving strategies to find hypothetical solutions.

3. Don’t try to find a solution right away

Often, the first solution you think of to solve a problem isn’t the most appropriate or effective.

Instead of thinking on the spot, give yourself time and use one or more of the problem-solving strategies above to activate your creative thinking.

two-colleagues-talking-at-corporate-event-problem-solving-strategies

4. Ask for feedback

Receiving feedback is always important for learning and growth. Your perception of your problem-solving skills may be different from that of your colleagues. They can provide insights that help you improve.

5. Learn new approaches and methodologies

There are entire books written about problem-solving methodologies if you want to take a deep dive into the subject.

We recommend starting with “ Fixed — How to Perfect the Fine Art of Problem Solving ” by Amy E. Herman.

6. Experiment

Tried-and-tested problem-solving techniques can be useful. However, they don’t teach you how to innovate and develop your own problem-solving approaches.

Sometimes, an unconventional approach can lead to the development of a brilliant new idea or strategy. So don’t be afraid to suggest your most “out there” ideas.

7. Analyze the success of your competitors

Do you have competitors who have already solved the problem you’re facing? Look at what they did, and work backward to solve your own problem.

For example, Netflix started in the 1990s as a DVD mail-rental company. Its main competitor at the time was Blockbuster.

But when streaming became the norm in the early 2000s, both companies faced a crisis. Netflix innovated, unveiling its streaming service in 2007.

If Blockbuster had followed Netflix’s example, it might have survived. Instead, it declared bankruptcy in 2010.

Use problem-solving strategies to uplevel your business

When facing a problem, it’s worth taking the time to find the right solution.

Otherwise, we risk either running away from our problems or headlong into solutions. When we do this, we might miss out on other, better options.

Use the problem-solving strategies outlined above to find innovative solutions to your business’ most perplexing problems.

If you’re ready to take problem-solving to the next level, request a demo with BetterUp . Our expert coaches specialize in helping teams develop and implement strategies that work.

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9 strategies to help you prioritize personal and team projects

Most of us struggle to find a single tried-and-true way to handle our day-to-day commitments. We keep wondering about how to prioritize various tasks at home and at work and to enjoy a harmonious and peaceful life.

Managing personal schedules is hard. Things get even more complicated when there are organizations at stake. Team managers juggle to oversee dozens of activities at once – meet deadlines and make surgically-precise forecasts.

It seems that these days, we are all about recognizing the value of time and increasing the efficiency of spending productive hours. However, after years of trying, we still don’t get everything done on time.

If that’s the case — maybe we shouldn’t?

In this post, I want to talk about an important yet often misinterpreted aspect of time management — prioritization.

I will take a look at strategies and tools companies and individuals can use to tell impactful tasks apart from time-eaters and reduce the heavy-workload-induced stress.

There’s no plural to priority

A few months ago, I got a Hustle newsletter in my mailbox that covered three Ps of burnout. At that time, I had quite burned out myself so I checked it out. One of the observations the writer made caught me by surprise.

The post pointed out that, if you compare the usage of words “priority” and “priorities” over centuries using Google N-Gram , you’ll discover that priority was used as a singular noun all the way until the 1940s.

Then, after the post-war industrialization and factory boom people started growing into the habit of juggling commitment, the plural form appeared — priorities.

Image Source

Then I went ahead and looked up the definition of “priority”. The dictionary read:

Priority — Something given or meriting attention before competing alternatives.

In other words, literature and science define priority as something that comes first. Naturally, there’s no way two or more things can do that at the same time.

Thus, the very desire to have “priorities” instead of “priority” is the reason why employees burn out when juggling tasks, and managers lose the sense of reality when coming up with strategies.

Takeaway : Prioritizing one goal, vision or idea is the first step to improving the efficiency of time management.

With that out of the way, let’s move on to the next important point — the science behind prioritizing.

How to prioritize personal activities

Even if you don’t manage large teams, chances are, you still wouldn’t mind getting better at time management and prioritization.

Personally, as a content writer, I am always on the lookout for ways to work productively and accomplish all tasks on my to-do list. On my quest for time management efficiency and prioritization, I tried using various strategies.

Here are the four ways to separate important tasks from less relevant projects that help me the most.

1. Triaging

In a TED Talk titled “An ER doctor on how to triage your busy life,” Darria Long, who is an emergency room physician, explains the system medical professionals use to choose which patient to help on the accident scene. She also shares how it is just as efficient when it comes to handling personal life emergencies.

She describes that in ER medicine triaging is used to assess a patient’s condition and make a choice: “Is it urgent?”, “Can it wait?”.

Physicians use colored tags to label the injured based on their physical condition.

Black tags are used when the injury is so life-threatening that a patient will not make it to the hospital. In this case, a doctor has to focus on explaining the situation to the family and move on to helping other accident victims.
Red tags are used to identify first-priority patients. Although their injuries are severe, time is the key to whether they live or die. That’s why taking care of red-tag patients first is an ER doctor’s duty.
Yellow tags are assigned to cases that aren’t as urgent. These patients will survive even if they are taken care of on the accident site.
Green tags are assigned to mildly injured people who don’t require around-the-clock assistance and can function properly.

The same system, according to Dr. Long, works efficiently when prioritizing errands or work-related tasks. We, too, can label the most urgent, impactful, and responsible tasks as red, mildly important ones as yellow, and low-urgency tasks as green.

Such a system helps remove stress from our daily lives. Rather than focusing on crossing everything off the to-do list, we can take baby-steps to get rid of the most pressing tasks. We should not worry about the “yellow” and “green” ones — no one is going to die if we don’t tick these checkboxes right away.

Takeaway : Know your reds and make sure that your non-reds cannot distract you from them.

2. Clearing the decks

Some tasks are predictable like clockwork.

When I am cooking a meal or doing grocery shopping, I have a solid understanding of how much time each step takes (getting to the store — 5 minutes, shopping — 15 minutes, paying at the cash deck — 3 minutes, coming back — 5 minutes).

Thus, when planning my day, I can comfortably allocate about 40 minutes for groceries.

However, there are assignments we haven’t done before so we have no idea how much time they are going to take. Ironically, these are often the most impactful tasks on our to-do lists — research a business opportunity, finish a thesis, email prospective partners, or brainstorm product ideas.

To avoid the anxiety associated with these tasks, I love using the strategy Harvard Business Review refers to as “clearing the deck”.

Here’s how it works:

When you face a complex task, dedicate the entire day to this assignment, without imposing deadline restrictions.
Shrink highly intimidating tasks to make them feel realistic (for example, if you plan to clean the house, break the process down into smaller action-based tasks like “organize the drawer, water the flowers, etc).
Accept anxiety associated with a challenging task. As soon as you understand that working on an unpredictable assignment makes you feel uncomfortable, the feelings become much easier to manage.

Takeaway : Don’t put deadlines on unpredictable tasks.

3. Changing focus

While taking care of the most important and urgent tasks seems compelling, I discovered that stacking the to-do list up with mentally-challenging tasks leads to faster burnout.

There are two reasons why putting only the most challenging tasks on the to-do list makes it much harder to stay productive:

Challenging tasks demand constant focus . When asked to work on several mentally strenuous tasks in a row, there’s no way to let our guard down. On the other hand, by mixing intense and mundane tasks, we create a window for mental rest.
There’s a cognitive limit past which people lose productivity . In a survey studying the practice habits of virtuoso violin players, scientists were surprised to discover that few players can play more than four hours in a row. Practicing an instrument as cognitively challenging as violin takes a lot of concentration. Therefore, the limit of concentration and focus is easier to reach than that for other, less demanding tasks.
Taking a break from a task and switching to a new one improves problem-solving . Another argument in favor of task rotation is that, after staying at one activity for a long time, we make it harder for our brains to pull facts or details from the memory. On the other hand, working on a more relaxing task with less mental pressure allows our minds to enter a diffused state and acquire a fresh perspective once we are back to a difficult project.

Takeaway : Take turns between demanding and easy-to-accomplish tasks to be more efficient.

4. Get help from technology

Until recently, I was quite skeptical about using productivity and prioritization apps. I thought I was managing my life well on my own — until I no longer wasn’t.

To make sure I can keep up with work, home errands, and family commitments, I started researching useful prioritization apps.

Here are a few of my favorite tools for sorting through my personal schedule:

Todoist — allows creating and managing to-do lists. Easy-to-use interface and a well-designed mobile app.
Remember the Milk — a perfect tool for managing errands and grocery shopping. This app, too, allows creating to-do lists and sharing them with family members.
OmniFocus — another simple and easy-to-use task manager for personal use.

Takeaway : Look for technology that helps sort through tasks.

How to prioritize team projects

Keeping personal work and family commitments under control and identifying time-consuming tasks is challenging enough. Managing a team and wondering how to prioritize everybody’s tasks takes the challenge to a new level.

When it comes to prioritizing the projects of your employees, it’s better to get technical and dive into research before you make executive decisions.

Here are the strategies that helped the managers I admire successfully juggle busy workloads.

1. Create a prioritization matrix

Drawing diagrams instead of clearing to-do lists sounds counterproductive. However, a priority matrix is, in fact, a powerful way to separate relevant projects from those your team can easily postpone.

Let’s take a closer look at how to make a priority matrix for your team.

Step #1. Draw a rectangle on a whiteboard, and divide it into four quarters.

Step #2. Put the selection criteria on the matrix:

Not crucial
Do now

This is a powerful way to represent task urgency and impact.

Step #3. Sort through assignments

The most important assignments will be those the team puts in the upper left quadrant. These are the tasks that are both impactful and urgent.

There are tasks that will pay off but don’t have a deadline. The team should take care of these as soon as they are done handling the important assignments.

As for assignments that are urgent but not impactful — allocate them to a team employee. The tasks that are in the fourth quadrant of the matrix are the team’s time-eaters — be sure to remove them from the to-do list.

2. A priority master-list

We can aim for having a single high-priority task when it comes to personal lives. But when it comes to teams, your team members typically have different tasks, work-related goals, and priorities. How can a manager keep track of all the important work?

One of the most effective ways to manage workload is by creating time-based master lists. One of my team managers used to group all tasks in four separate Trello boards:

Long-term goals . This list included all the tasks a team can’t accomplish in a day, week, even a month. To make sure these long-term goals aren’t forgotten about in the daily rush, my manager put goals, ideas, and far-fetched project plans on this board. Once in three months, the entire team would comment on the progress for each of these tasks and assess their relevance.
A board with monthly goals. Here, a manager can put large-scale tasks that will take about one month to complete. Putting essential but not urgent tasks in such a monthly agenda board helps the team separate daily routine tasks from far-fetched projects.
A list of weekly assignments . These are the tasks that give teammates an understanding of how to structure their next week. Ideally, a manager should assign weekly assignments to employees on Friday of the previous week. This way, you will help your team reduce their anxiety levels for the upcoming week.
Daily to-do list . This one should feature the tasks that are urgent — if the team doesn’t handle them today, these assignments will no longer be relevant tomorrow.

3. Prioritizing time management

If you want to make sure everyone on the team carefully prioritizes their daily tasks, it’s important to educate the members of the organization on the importance of time management.

In my experience, project progress suffers because everyone in the company treats time as a limitless resource . When teams lack awareness of how important time is, they struggle to prioritize it.

Eventually, managers start facing some or all of the following issues:

Initiative overload — teammates offer a lot of exciting ideas — however, no one has a clear understanding of how much time accomplishing them takes.
Spending too much time communicating — Sometimes asynchronous communication (email and messengers) eat-up a lot of the team’s time. Instead, quickly tackling issues in to-the-point video or phone conversations can help. According to McKinsey’s survey of top executives , most successful managers prefer face-to-face video meetings over other forms of communication .
Lack of documentation — If there is no documentation, managers and employees have to ask and answer repetitive questions.

So, one of the ways to become great at prioritizing tasks is to make time your team’s priority . Keep track of how long your meetings are , be thorough in documenting insights and ideas to avoid repetitive discussions, and offer teammates ways to monitor personal productivity.

Using Time Doctor , for one, is a way for managers and team members to get the awareness of how much time each routine task takes and find ways to optimize routines.

4. Introduce the rule of 5 to team meetings

Although running daily standups is a powerful way to share insights and discuss work issues as a team, unfortunately, most managers don’t structure their meetings .

As a result, more outspoken employees elaborate on their work progress while reserved teammates might feel uncomfortable talking for a long time in front of colleagues.

To improve the team’s skills at task prioritization, introduce them to the Rule of 5 .

When the founder of Stack Exchange described how he is using the method he said that, during a standup meeting, team members describe:

Two tasks they are working on at the moment.
Two tasks they plan to work on in the future.
One task people expect them to do that they don’t actually work on.

Such a structure gives both managers and peers a clear understanding of the tasks everyone on the team is and isn’t responsible for.

5. Automate time-consuming tasks and optimize processes

Despite a manager’s desire to get rid of as many tedious and time-consuming tasks as possible, some assignments are impossible to fully get rid of — updating task manager boards, reviewing and editing designs, or publishing social media posts (for marketing teams).

While it’s impossible to give daily tasks up, a manager should try to make them as fast and straightforward as possible. One of the ways to do that is by introducing automation tools and other assistive technology.

Here are the examples of workplace automation tools I find helpful:

Pics.io — a digital asset manager that reduces the time needed to file, share, or comment on a draft by huge numbers.
Spark — a smart tool that aggregates all mailboxes on different hostings and accounts into a single inbox.
Sisense — a business intelligence tool teams use to generate detailed reports automatically.
Google Canned Response feature helps quickly answer low-priority emails using canned reply templates.
Kissflow — a tool for creating automatic workflows, saving your team from refreshing pages manually, or wasting time on repetitive tasks.
Social Pilot: a digital marketing tool that streamlines social media marketing. With its precise analytics and automation tools, you can seamlessly manage your Pinterest , Twitter, and Instagram accounts.

Prioritizing is a smart way to avoid burnout and stick to family commitments and work projects.

Granted, choosing a single thing to fully dedicate your time to is challenging. However, having a well-defined focus and knowing how to prioritize crucial projects over non-relevant tasks is a life-saver both for personal and team projects.

By using the prioritization strategies listed above, business owners and team managers can use their time carefully, meet deadlines, and have enough time for strategic planning of projects.

About the Author

Nadia Vashkovska is a freelance writer and editor. She has contributed to business, design, and marketing blogs. She currently writes for Pics.io, a company that specializes in digital asset management.

View a free demo of Time Doctor

help managers focus on what matters most

Liam Martin is a co-founder of Time Doctor which is software to improve productivity and help keep track and know what your team is working on, even when working from home.

Kronos vs Replicon vs Time Doctor: A detailed comparison

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3.5 Prioritization: Self-Management of What You Do and When You Do It

Estimated completion time: 21 minutes.

Questions to Consider:

Why is prioritization important?
What are the steps involved in prioritization?
How do I deal with situation where others’ priorities are not the same as my own?
What do I do when priorities conflict?
What are the best ways to make sure I complete tasks?

Prioritization: Self-Management of What You Do and When You Do It

Another key component in time management is that of prioritization. Prioritization can be thought of as ordering tasks and allotting time for them based on their identified needs or value.

This next section provides some insight into not only helping prioritize tasks and actions based on need and value, but also how to better understand the factors that contribute to prioritization.

How to Prioritize

The enemy of good prioritization is panic, or at least making decisions based on strictly emotional reactions. It can be all too easy to immediately respond to a problem as soon as it pops up without thinking of the consequences of your reaction and how it might impact other priorities. It is very natural for us to want to remove a stressful situation as soon as we can. We want the adverse emotions out of the way as quickly as possible. But when it comes to juggling multiple problems or tasks to complete, prioritizing them first may mean the difference between completing everything satisfactorily and completing nothing at all.

Make Certain You Understand the Requirements of Each Task

One of the best ways to make good decisions about the prioritization of tasks is to understand the requirements of each. If you have multiple assignments to complete and you assume one of those assignments will only take an hour, you may decide to put it off until the others are finished. Your assumption could be disastrous if you find, once you begin the assignment, that there are several extra components that you did not account for and the time to complete will be four times as long as you estimated. Or, one of the assignments may be dependent on the results of another—like participating in a study and then writing a report on the results. If you are not aware that one assignment depends upon the completion of the other before you begin, you could inadvertently do the assignments out of order and have to start over. Because of situations like this, it is critically important to understand exactly what needs to be done to complete a task before you determine its priority.

Make Decisions on Importance, Impact on Other Priorities, and Urgency

After you are aware of the requirements for each task, you can then decide your priorities based on the importance of the task and what things need to be finished in which order.

To summarize: the key components to prioritization are making certain you understand each task and making decisions based on importance, impact, and urgency.

To better see how things may need to be prioritized, some people make a list of the tasks they need to complete and then arrange them in a quadrant map based on importance and urgency. Traditionally this is called the Eisenhower Decision Matrix. Before becoming the 34th president of the United States, Dwight Eisenhower served as the Allied forces supreme commander during World War II and said he used this technique to better prioritize the things he needed to get done.

In this activity you will begin by making a list of things you need or want to do today and then draw your own version of the grid below. Write each item in one of the four squares; choose the square that best describes it based on its urgency and its importance. When you have completed writing each the tasks in its appropriate square, you will see a prioritization order of your tasks. Obviously, those listed in the Important and Urgent square will be the things you need to finish first. After that will come things that are “important but not urgent,” followed by “not important, but urgent,” and finally “not urgent and not important.”

Who Is Driving Your Tasks?

Another thing to keep in mind when approaching time management is that while you may have greater autonomy in managing your own time, many of your tasks are being driven by a number of different individuals. These individuals are not only unaware of the other things you need to do, but they often have goals that are in conflict with your other tasks. This means that different instructors, your manager at work, or even your friends may be trying to assert their needs into your priorities. An example of this might be a boss that would like for you to work a few hours of overtime, but you were planning on using that time to do research for a paper.

Just like assessing the requirements and needs for each priority, doing the same with how others may be influencing your available time can be an important part of time management. In some cases, keeping others informed about your priorities may help avert possible conflicts (e.g., letting your boss know you will need time on a certain evening to study, letting your friends know you plan to do a journal project on Saturday but can do something on Sunday, etc.).

It will be important to be aware of how others can drive your priorities and for you to listen to your own good judgment. In essence, time management in college is as much about managing all the elements of your life as it is about managing time for class and to complete assignments.

Making the Tough Decision When It Is Needed

Occasionally, regardless of how much you have planned or how well you have managed your time, events arise where it becomes almost impossible to accomplish everything you need to by the time required. While this is very unfortunate, it simply cannot be helped. As the saying goes, “things happen.”

Finding yourself in this kind of situation is when prioritization becomes most important. You may find yourself in the uncomfortable position of only being able to complete one task or another in the time given. When this occurs with college assignments, the dilemma can be extremely stressful, but it is important to not feel overwhelmed by the anxiety of the situation so that you can make a carefully calculated decision based on the value and impact of your choice.

“What do you do when faced with priority conflicts?”

As an illustration, imagine a situation where you think you can only complete one of two assignments that are both important and urgent, and you must make a choice of which one you will finish and which one you will not. This is when it becomes critical to understand all the factors involved. While it may seem that whichever assignment is worth the most points to your grade is how you make the choice, there are actually a number of other attributes that can influence your decision in order to make the most of a bad situation. For example, one of the assignments may only be worth a minimal number of points toward your total grade, but it may be foundational to the rest of the course. Not finishing it, or finishing it late, may put other future assignments in jeopardy as well. Or the instructor for one of the courses might have a “late assignment” policy that is more forgiving—something that would allow you to turn in the work a little late without too much of a penalty.

If you find yourself in a similar predicament, the first step is to try to find a way to get everything finished, regardless of the challenges. If that simply cannot happen, the next immediate step would be to communicate with your instructors to let them know about the situation. They may be able to help you decide on a course of action, or they may have options you had not thought of. Only then can you make the choices about prioritizing in a tough situation.

The key here is to make certain you are aware of and understand all the ramifications to help make the best decision when the situation dictates you make a hard choice among priorities.

Completing the Tasks

Another important part of time management is to develop approaches that will help you complete tasks in a manner that is efficient and works for you. Most of this comes down to a little planning and being as informed about the specifics of each task as you can be.

Knowing What You Need to Do

As discussed in previous parts of this chapter, many learning activities have multiple components, and sometimes they must occur in a specific order. Additionally, some elements may not only be dependent on the order they are completed, but can also be dependent on how they are completed. To illustrate this we will analyze a task that is usually considered to be a simple one: attending a class session. In this analysis we will look at not only what must be accomplished to get the most out of the experience, but also at how each element is dependent upon others and must be done in a specific order. The graphic below shows the interrelationship between the different activities, many of which might not initially seem significant enough to warrant mention, but it becomes obvious that other elements depend upon them when they are listed out this way.

As you can see from the graphic above, even a task as simple as “going to class” can be broken down into a number of different elements that have a good deal of dependency on other tasks. One example of this is preparing for the class lecture by reading materials ahead of time in order to make the lecture and any complex concepts easier to follow. If you did it the other way around, you might miss opportunities to ask questions or receive clarification on the information presented during the lecture.

Understanding what you need to do and when you need to do it can be applied to any task, no matter how simple or how complex. Knowing what you need to do and planning for it can go a long way toward success and preventing unpleasant surprises.

Knowing How You Will Get It Done

After you have a clear understanding of what needs to be done to complete a task (or the component parts of a task), the next step is to create a plan for completing everything.

This may not be as easy or as simple as declaring that you will finish part one, then move on to part two, and so on. Each component may need different resources or skills to complete, and it is in your best interest to identify those ahead of time and include them as part of your plan.

A good analogy for this sort of planning is to think about it in much the same way you would preparing for a lengthy trip. With a long journey you probably would not walk out the front door and then decide how you were going to get where you were going. There are too many other decisions to be made and tasks to be completed around each choice. If you decided you were going by plane, you would need to purchase tickets, and you would have to schedule your trip around flight times. If you decided to go by car, you would need gas money and possibly a map or GPS device. What about clothes? The clothes you will need are dependent on how long will you be gone and what the climate will be like. If it far enough away that you will need to speak another language, you may need to either acquire that skill or at least come with something or someone to help you translate.

What follows is a planning list that can help you think about and prepare for the tasks you are about to begin.

What Resources Will You Need?

The first part of this list may appear to be so obvious that it should go without mention, but it is by far one of the most critical and one of the most overlooked. Have you ever planned a trip but forgotten your most comfortable pair of shoes or neglected to book a hotel room? If a missing resource is important, the entire project can come to a complete halt. Even if the missing resource is a minor component, it may still dramatically alter the end result.

Learning activities are much the same in this way, and it is also important to keep in mind that resources may not be limited to physical objects such as paper or ink. Information can be a critical resource as well. In fact, one of the most often overlooked aspects in planning by new college students is just how much research, reading, and information they will need to complete assignments.

For example, if you had an assignment in which you were supposed to compare and contrast a novel with a film adapted from that novel, it would be important to have access to both the movie and the book as resources. Your plans for completing the work could quickly fall apart if you learned that on the evening you planned to watch the film, it was no longer available.

What Skills Will You Need?

Poor planning or a bad assumption in this area can be disastrous, especially if some part of the task has a steep learning curve. No matter how well you planned the other parts of the project, if there is some skill needed that you do not have and you have no idea how long it will take to learn, it can be a bad situation.

Imagine a scenario where one of your class projects is to create a poster. It is your intent to use some kind of imaging software to produce professional-looking graphics and charts for the poster, but you have never used the software in that way before. It seems easy enough, but once you begin, you find the charts keep printing out in the wrong resolution. You search online for a solution, but the only thing you can find requires you to recreate them all over again in a different setting. Unfortunately, that part of the project will now take twice as long.

It can be extremely difficult to recover from a situation like that, and it could have been prevented by taking the time to learn how to do it correctly before you began or by at least including in your schedule some time to learn and practice.

Set Deadlines

Of course, the best way to approach time management is to set realistic deadlines that take into account which elements are dependent on which others and the order in which they should be completed. Giving yourself two days to write a 20- page work of fiction is not very realistic when even many professional authors average only 6 pages per day. Your intentions may be well founded, but your use of unrealistic deadlines will not be very successful.

Setting appropriate deadlines and sticking to them is very important—so much so that several sections in the rest of this chapter touch on effective deadline practices.

Be Flexible

It is ironic that the item on this list that comes just after a strong encouragement to make deadlines and stick to them is the suggestion to be flexible. The reason that being flexible has made this list is because even the best-laid plans and most accurate time management efforts can take an unexpected turn. The idea behind being flexible is to readjust your plans and deadlines when something does happen to throw things off. The worst thing you could do in such a situation is panic or just stop working because the next step in your careful planning has suddenly become a roadblock. The moment when you see that something in your plan may become an issue is when to begin readjusting your plan.

Adjusting a plan along the way is incredibly common. In fact, many professional project managers have learned that it seems something always happens or there is always some delay, and they have developed an approach to deal with the inevitable need for some flexibility. In essence, you could say that they are even planning for problems, mistakes, or delays from the very beginning, and they will often add a little extra time for each task to help ensure an issue does not derail the entire project or that the completion of the project does not miss the final due date.

“As you work through tasks, make certain you are always monitoring and adapting to ensure you complete them.”

Student Profile

“While in college, I recall an instance where I was awake for two nights in a row trying to cram for upcoming midterms. I quickly learned that trying to navigate through college while working full time posed a significant challenge. Because of inability to manage my responsibilities, my first year of college was quite miserable. I went through a lot of trial and error to find out that time management was the key. From my experiences, I have extrapolated three important components to this skill. First, knowing your values is imperative. Values will serve as a guide, which will help you to determine which actions bring you closer to your goals and those that don't. Second, know your constraints . Constraints (in form of time or other responsibilities) can help you set the parameter within which you can function efficiently. The last component is action . This component was the hardest for me to master, but it was the most fruitful. Because knowing values and limitations without engaging in appropriate actions does not serve any meaningful purpose. I strongly believe that learning time management can contribute greatly towards positive university experience.”

—Firdavs Khaydarov , Psychology Major, Minnesota State University, Mankato

The Importance of Where You Do Your Work

A large part of ensuring that you can complete tasks on time comes to setting up conditions that will allow you to do the work well. Much of this has to do with the environment where you will do your work. This not only includes physical space such as a work area, but other conditions like being free from distractions and your physical well-being and mental attitude.

The Right Space

Simple things, like where you are set up to do your work, can not only aid in your efficiency but also affect how well you can work or even if you can get the work completed at all. One example of this might be typing on a laptop. While it might seem more comfortable to lie back on a couch and type a long paper, sitting up at a desk or table actually increases your typing speed and reduces the number of mistakes. Even the kind of mouse you use can impact how you work, and using one you are comfortable with can make a big difference.

There are a host of other factors that can come into play as well. Do you have enough space? Is the space cluttered, or do you have the room to keep reference materials and other things you might need within arm’s reach? Are there other ways you could work that might be even more efficient? For example, buying an inexpensive second monitor—even secondhand—might be the key to decreasing the amount of time you spend when you can have more than one document displayed at a time.

The key is to find what works for you and to treat your work space as another important resource needed to get the task finished.

Distraction Free

Few things are more frustrating than trying to do work while distractions are going on around you. If other people are continually interrupting you or there are things that keep pulling your attention from the task at hand, everything takes longer and you are more prone to mistakes. 4

Many people say they work better with distractions—they prefer to leave the television or the radio on—but the truth is that an environment with too many interruptions is rarely helpful when focus is required. Before deciding that the television or talkative roommates do not bother you when you work, take an honest accounting of the work you produce with interruptions compared to work you do without.

If you find that your work is better without distractions, it is a good idea to create an environment that reduces interruptions. This may mean you have to go to a private room, use headphones, or go somewhere like a library to work. Regardless, the importance of a distraction-free environment cannot be emphasized enough.

Working at the Right Time

Most people are subject to their own rhythms, cycles, and preferences throughout their day. Some are alert and energetic in the mornings, while others are considered “night owls” and prefer to work after everyone else has gone to sleep. It can be important to be aware of your own cycles and to use them to your advantage. Rarely does anyone do their best work when they are exhausted, either physically or mentally. Just as it can be difficult to work when you are physically ill, it can also be a hindrance to try to learn or do mental work when you are tired or emotionally upset.

Your working environment definitely includes your own state of mind and physical well-being. Both have a significant influence on your learning and production ability. Because of this, it is not only important to be aware of your own condition and work preferences, but to actually try to create conditions that help you in these areas. One approach is to set aside a specific time to do certain kinds of work. You might find that you concentrate better after you have eaten a meal. If that is the case, make it a habit of doing homework every night after dinner. Or you might enjoy reading more after you are ready for bed, so you do your reading assignments just before you go to sleep at night. Some people find that they are more creative during a certain time of the day or that they are more comfortable writing with subtle lighting. It is worth taking the time to find the conditions that work best for you so that you can take advantage of them.

Analysis Question

Student survey on work environment.

Analysis: Take the time to think about where you will do your work and when. What can you do to help ensure your working environment will be helpful rather than harmful? What do you know doesn’t work for you? What will you do to prevent those adverse conditions from creeping into your work environment?

Below is a quick survey to help you determine your own preferences in regard to your work space, the time you work, and distractions. Rank each option: 1–4, 1 meaning “least like me” and 4 meaning “most like me.”

I like my workspace to be organized and clean.
There are certain places where I am more comfortable when I work.
I prefer to be alone when I work on certain things.
I find it difficult to read with other sounds or voices around me.
There are certain times of the day when I can be more focused.
My moods or emotions can interfere with my ability to concentrate
4 https://en.calameo.com/read/00009178915b8f5b352ba

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Brain Power

8 surefire problem-solving strategies that always work.

Whether you’re dealing with a creative block on a personal project or you’re facing challenges in the workplace, finding sustainable solutions to problems is an integral part of personal and professional growth. As the British-Australian philosopher Karl Popper once said, “all life is problem-solving.”

As important as problem-solving is to success, not all approaches are created equal. The best problem-solving strategies ensure both efficiency (finding a solution as quickly as possible, with the minimum number of barriers) and effectiveness (finding a solution that actually solves the problem long-term).

To accomplish both, you may need to try out some new ways of seeing and handling challenges.

Problem-Solving Strategies That Always Work

Here are 8 surefire problem-solving strategies that work, no matter what you’re struggling with.

1. Break It Down Into Smaller Pieces

Staring down a big problem can feel overwhelming, especially when the stakes are high. That sense of overwhelm doesn’t just cause you to feel on edge, but it also compromises your ability to work effectively. Studies show when the stress response is active, the part of the brain required for problem-solving tasks essentially shuts down. [1]

To ease that stress and enlist the much-needed logical part of your brain, try breaking the problem down into smaller, individual issues you feel more confident tackling. For example, if you’ve missed your revenue goal two quarters in a row, try to resist framing the problem as “we’re losing money.”

Instead, identify the individual problems contributing to the larger one—for example, marketing, supply chain, or communication issues that may be at play. Then, work—slowly but surely—to overcome barriers in each area, ideally, in order of importance. Not only will you feel less stressed in the process (which leads to smarter decision-making), but you’ll also feel more motivated to press on as you gain a sense of accomplishment, one step at a time. [2]

2. Ask Someone Else for Input

I remember it clearly: I was sitting in my office, staring at the computer screen, trying to figure out where I went wrong in a line of code. Two hours in, and I wasn’t any closer to figuring out where I’d messed up (and, more importantly, how to fix it). Then, a colleague I’d planned to have lunch with came in. Almost instantaneously, she looked over my shoulder and saw the issue. I had to laugh—she hadn’t even been working on this project with me, but her fresh set of eyes solved my problem.

One of the most effective ways to reach a solution, faster? Don’t rely only on your own mind for an “aha” moment. Involving people who see the world differently than you—ideally, someone with a different skillset or from a different department—to chime in will help you more easily and quickly find the right approach.

3. Understand the Root Cause

Albert Einstein famously said, “If I were given one hour to save the planet, I would spend 59 minutes defining the problem and one minute resolving it.”

It sounds like common sense, but it bears repeating—you can’t solve a problem unless you know what the issue actually is. Before you start mapping out potential solutions, ask yourself, “why did this problem occur in the first place?”

For example, imagine one department in your business is consistently not meeting its goals. That’s certainly a problem, but it may not be the problem. When you dig a little deeper, you might find a need for better communication or more training.

Ensuring you have a deep and accurate understanding of what’s causing the problem will save you time working toward a solution and prevent you from having to backtrack to find a better one. [3]

4. Define Success

One of the most important things I’ve learned as an entrepreneur: start with a clear vision of success . Before I launched my business, I envisioned what people’s lives would be like if my product succeeded. I try to follow the same approach when I’m tackling challenges.

Begin the problem-solving process with a clear understanding of what “success” would look like when the problem is solved. How will your company and team function if this problem isn’t an issue anymore?

Once you see how you want things to be, you can work backward to find practical ways to achieve that vision. For example, if you’re consistently frustrated by low morale among your employees, imagine what a motivated, positive team would look like in everyday operations. What do you want to achieve, and how would it change the course of your business?

By picturing your ideal situation, you can more easily pinpoint the steps you need to take to make it happen—in this case, perhaps implementing team-building events, more paid vacation, and incentives for reaching goals.

5. Try Silent Brainstorming

Enlisting other people’s perspectives can be a good way to find the answer you’re looking for. But if you’re attempting to tackle a problem with others, keep in mind the dynamic of the group.

Think back to your last Zoom or in-person meeting. Whose ideas do you end up hearing or applying most often? If I kept a running tab, I’d guess my most outgoing, assertive team members “win” these brainstorming sessions most often—simply because they’re not afraid to speak up.

If you’re hitting a wall in problem-solving, you’ll need to find a way to hear everyone’s voice. One way to do that is a silent brainstorming session. Invite team members to spend a designated amount of time coming up with solutions for the same problem. Then, have them share their approaches and ideas in front of the group, or individually with you.

When everybody has a chance to contribute equally—without the distraction of a lively discussion—you’ll be more likely to develop an effective problem-solving strategy and find the answer you’ve been looking for.

6. Imagine Someone Else’s Perspective

Can’t get a group together but feeling like you need someone else’s brain to solve the problem you’re struggling with? One of my favorite problem-solving strategies is to use someone else’s perspective to see all sides of a problem and potential solutions.

As you brainstorm, imagine you’re sitting at a table with different personality types and thinkers—for example, a critic, an optimist, an artist, and a data analyst. You can think of real people you know and imagine how they’d respond to the problem, or you can simply imagine people who think differently than you.

The idea is that by using your own creativity to adopt different perspectives on the same issue, you can more quickly reach an effective solution.

7. Decide What Won’t Work

Process of elimination can be a helpful tool when you’re trying to figure out how to overcome a challenge—mostly so you don’t waste time “reinventing the wheel.”

Next time you come up against a problem at work, ask yourself (or someone else) if you or anyone else in the organization have encountered similar issues in the past. If so, what are the solutions people tried, and more importantly, did they work? If not, cross it off the list and keep brainstorming.

If the past solutions proved to be effective, then ask yourself one more question: “Do I have the resources to apply this solution in my current situation?” If the answer is “yes,” then you have a resource at hand—and you just saved yourself some time. [4]

8. Take Breaks

It might sound counterproductive to step away from a problem you’re trying to solve, but doing so can actually save you time and help you develop an even better solution.

Sometimes called the “wanderer technique,” taking breaks has long been shown in research to boost creativity and attention span.

When you’re focused on (and stressed about) a problem, your brain can grow fatigued, which prevents you from finding innovative ways to deal with the issue. On the other hand, when you step away and think about or do something else, your brain can wander. Given some stress-free time with your unconscious mind, you can make connections you wouldn’t have if you were staring at a screen or notebook. [5]

Final Thoughts

As common as it is to encounter challenges at work and in life, it can be frustrating to spend time finding solutions, especially if you’re not sure if the solutions will be effective. By approaching your problem-solving with a bit of strategy and intention, you can both save time and find better solutions. It’s a win-win!

Just follow these 8 surefire problem-solving strategies and you’ll have higher chances of overcoming obstacles in your journey to success.

Featured photo credit: Annie Spratt via unsplash.com

[1]	^	NCBI:
[2]	^	PsychCentral:
[3]	^	Forbes:
[4]	^	Harvard Business Review:
[5]	^	American Psychological Association:

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Problem-Solving Strategies and Obstacles

Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Sean is a fact-checker and researcher with experience in sociology, field research, and data analytics.

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Application
Improvement

From deciding what to eat for dinner to considering whether it's the right time to buy a house, problem-solving is a large part of our daily lives. Learn some of the problem-solving strategies that exist and how to use them in real life, along with ways to overcome obstacles that are making it harder to resolve the issues you face.

What Is Problem-Solving?

In cognitive psychology , the term 'problem-solving' refers to the mental process that people go through to discover, analyze, and solve problems.

A problem exists when there is a goal that we want to achieve but the process by which we will achieve it is not obvious to us. Put another way, there is something that we want to occur in our life, yet we are not immediately certain how to make it happen.

Maybe you want a better relationship with your spouse or another family member but you're not sure how to improve it. Or you want to start a business but are unsure what steps to take. Problem-solving helps you figure out how to achieve these desires.

The problem-solving process involves:

Discovery of the problem
Deciding to tackle the issue
Seeking to understand the problem more fully
Researching available options or solutions
Taking action to resolve the issue

Before problem-solving can occur, it is important to first understand the exact nature of the problem itself. If your understanding of the issue is faulty, your attempts to resolve it will also be incorrect or flawed.

Problem-Solving Mental Processes

Several mental processes are at work during problem-solving. Among them are:

Perceptually recognizing the problem
Representing the problem in memory
Considering relevant information that applies to the problem
Identifying different aspects of the problem
Labeling and describing the problem

Problem-Solving Strategies

There are many ways to go about solving a problem. Some of these strategies might be used on their own, or you may decide to employ multiple approaches when working to figure out and fix a problem.

An algorithm is a step-by-step procedure that, by following certain "rules" produces a solution. Algorithms are commonly used in mathematics to solve division or multiplication problems. But they can be used in other fields as well.

In psychology, algorithms can be used to help identify individuals with a greater risk of mental health issues. For instance, research suggests that certain algorithms might help us recognize children with an elevated risk of suicide or self-harm.

One benefit of algorithms is that they guarantee an accurate answer. However, they aren't always the best approach to problem-solving, in part because detecting patterns can be incredibly time-consuming.

There are also concerns when machine learning is involved—also known as artificial intelligence (AI)—such as whether they can accurately predict human behaviors.

Heuristics are shortcut strategies that people can use to solve a problem at hand. These "rule of thumb" approaches allow you to simplify complex problems, reducing the total number of possible solutions to a more manageable set.

If you find yourself sitting in a traffic jam, for example, you may quickly consider other routes, taking one to get moving once again. When shopping for a new car, you might think back to a prior experience when negotiating got you a lower price, then employ the same tactics.

While heuristics may be helpful when facing smaller issues, major decisions shouldn't necessarily be made using a shortcut approach. Heuristics also don't guarantee an effective solution, such as when trying to drive around a traffic jam only to find yourself on an equally crowded route.

Trial and Error

A trial-and-error approach to problem-solving involves trying a number of potential solutions to a particular issue, then ruling out those that do not work. If you're not sure whether to buy a shirt in blue or green, for instance, you may try on each before deciding which one to purchase.

This can be a good strategy to use if you have a limited number of solutions available. But if there are many different choices available, narrowing down the possible options using another problem-solving technique can be helpful before attempting trial and error.

In some cases, the solution to a problem can appear as a sudden insight. You are facing an issue in a relationship or your career when, out of nowhere, the solution appears in your mind and you know exactly what to do.

Insight can occur when the problem in front of you is similar to an issue that you've dealt with in the past. Although, you may not recognize what is occurring since the underlying mental processes that lead to insight often happen outside of conscious awareness .

Research indicates that insight is most likely to occur during times when you are alone—such as when going on a walk by yourself, when you're in the shower, or when lying in bed after waking up.

How to Apply Problem-Solving Strategies in Real Life

If you're facing a problem, you can implement one or more of these strategies to find a potential solution. Here's how to use them in real life:

Create a flow chart . If you have time, you can take advantage of the algorithm approach to problem-solving by sitting down and making a flow chart of each potential solution, its consequences, and what happens next.
Recall your past experiences . When a problem needs to be solved fairly quickly, heuristics may be a better approach. Think back to when you faced a similar issue, then use your knowledge and experience to choose the best option possible.
Start trying potential solutions . If your options are limited, start trying them one by one to see which solution is best for achieving your desired goal. If a particular solution doesn't work, move on to the next.
Take some time alone . Since insight is often achieved when you're alone, carve out time to be by yourself for a while. The answer to your problem may come to you, seemingly out of the blue, if you spend some time away from others.

Obstacles to Problem-Solving

Problem-solving is not a flawless process as there are a number of obstacles that can interfere with our ability to solve a problem quickly and efficiently. These obstacles include:

Assumptions: When dealing with a problem, people can make assumptions about the constraints and obstacles that prevent certain solutions. Thus, they may not even try some potential options.
Functional fixedness : This term refers to the tendency to view problems only in their customary manner. Functional fixedness prevents people from fully seeing all of the different options that might be available to find a solution.
Irrelevant or misleading information: When trying to solve a problem, it's important to distinguish between information that is relevant to the issue and irrelevant data that can lead to faulty solutions. The more complex the problem, the easier it is to focus on misleading or irrelevant information.
Mental set: A mental set is a tendency to only use solutions that have worked in the past rather than looking for alternative ideas. A mental set can work as a heuristic, making it a useful problem-solving tool. However, mental sets can also lead to inflexibility, making it more difficult to find effective solutions.

How to Improve Your Problem-Solving Skills

In the end, if your goal is to become a better problem-solver, it's helpful to remember that this is a process. Thus, if you want to improve your problem-solving skills, following these steps can help lead you to your solution:

Recognize that a problem exists . If you are facing a problem, there are generally signs. For instance, if you have a mental illness , you may experience excessive fear or sadness, mood changes, and changes in sleeping or eating habits. Recognizing these signs can help you realize that an issue exists.
Decide to solve the problem . Make a conscious decision to solve the issue at hand. Commit to yourself that you will go through the steps necessary to find a solution.
Seek to fully understand the issue . Analyze the problem you face, looking at it from all sides. If your problem is relationship-related, for instance, ask yourself how the other person may be interpreting the issue. You might also consider how your actions might be contributing to the situation.
Research potential options . Using the problem-solving strategies mentioned, research potential solutions. Make a list of options, then consider each one individually. What are some pros and cons of taking the available routes? What would you need to do to make them happen?
Take action . Select the best solution possible and take action. Action is one of the steps required for change . So, go through the motions needed to resolve the issue.
Try another option, if needed . If the solution you chose didn't work, don't give up. Either go through the problem-solving process again or simply try another option.

You can find a way to solve your problems as long as you keep working toward this goal—even if the best solution is simply to let go because no other good solution exists.

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By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

FMEA (Failure Mode and Effects Analysis): A Comprehensive Guide for Beginners

Master FMEA basics with our comprehensive guide for beginners. Learn to identify & mitigate risks effectively in your processes.

In an increasingly complex and interconnected world, risk management remains a cornerstone of successful business operations. One of the most potent tools in identifying and remedying vulnerabilities within a system or process is Failure Mode and Effects Analysis, commonly known as FMEA .

Designed to determine potential failures before they occur, FMEA offers a structured approach to problem-solving, streamlining operations and ensuring quality control. This guide introduces FMEA to beginners, unfolding its definition, historical development, frameworks, types, and its dual role as both a preventative mechanism and a strategic enhancer in various industries, including but not limited to automotive, aerospace, and healthcare.

Introduction to FMEA

Definition of FMEA: Failure Mode and Effects Analysis is a step-by-step approach for identifying all possible failures in a design, a manufacturing or assembly process, or a product or service. It is particularly crucial for system safety, reliability, and quality, focusing on problem areas, their impact on system operations, and the likelihood of failures occurring.

Purpose of FMEA in risk management: The essence of FMEA in risk management lies in its preemptive nature. By analyzing failure modes and their effects on the overall system, stakeholders can prioritize and implement corrective actions that mitigate risk. This approach is in contrast to reactive methods that address faults only after they have manifested.

Importance in contemporary industries: Contemporary industries are adopting FMEA as part of a robust quality assurance strategy. It has become integral in sectors requiring high reliability, like automotive manufacturing, where identifying potential failures can save time, resources, and lives. Similarly, FMEA is used in software development, healthcare, and military applications, demonstrating its versatility and critical role in modern risk management practices.

History of FMEA

Origin and development: FMEA originated in the 1940s, developed by the U.S. military, which sought a systematic tool for reliability engineering. The concept was expanded in the 1960s by NASA and later adopted by the automotive industry, particularly by Ford Motor Company, in response to safety concerns.

Evolution in different fields, e.g., automotive, aerospace, healthcare: From the confines of military applications, FMEA has evolved into a cross-disciplinary methodology. In automotive industries, it became especially important for quality control. Its application further spread to the aerospace sector, where failure can have catastrophic outcomes. In healthcare, FMEA is applied to patient safety, assessing potential errors in medical procedures.

The Conceptual Framework of FMEA

The three key components: Failure Mode, Effects, and Cause: FMEA identifies three key components: the failure mode (the way in which a failure is observed), the effects (the impact of the failure), and the causes (the underlying reason for the failure). Understanding these components helps teams prevent potential failures within their processes and products.

Severity, Occurrence, and Detection – the FMEA risk priority number (RPN): Each failure mode is evaluated based on three metrics: severity, occurrence, and detection. These are used to calculate the risk priority number (RPN), a numerical value that quantifies the risk associated with each failure mode, aiding in the prioritization of mitigation efforts.

Explanation of Severity

Severity evaluates the seriousness of the consequences of failure, detailing the potential impact on the end user or system. A failure mode that poses a risk to human life would score higher in severity compared to one that results in a minor operational issue.

Explanation of Occurrence

Occurrence assesses the frequency at which a failure mode might happen during the lifetime of the process or product. A high occurrence rating implies that a failure mode is more likely to occur, which could indicate a need for process or design improvement.

Explanation of Detection

Detection measures the likelihood of identifying a failure before it transpires or before it becomes critical. This metric accounts for the capability of current controls to detect or prevent the failure mode, thereby influencing the investment in enhancing detection measures.

FMEA procedure: identification, assessment, mitigation and monitoring

The FMEA procedure involves several stages, beginning with the identification of potential failures, followed by the assessment of their impact and likelihood. Next comes the mitigation phase, where strategies to eliminate or reduce the likelihood of the failure are devised and implemented.

Finally, the process includes ongoing monitoring to ensure that the mitigation strategies remain effective.

Types of FMEA

Design FMEA (DFMEA): Design Failure Mode and Effects Analysis focuses on failures related to product design. It aims to anticipate issues that could arise from design flaws before the product is manufactured.

Definition and application of DFMEA: DFMEA systematically examines design reliability and safety by considering potential failure modes based on the design's function. It applies to a variety of design stages, from initial concept to finalized schematics.

Real world example of DFMEA: Real-world examples of DFMEA include assessing the design of an automobile braking system or evaluating a new pharmaceutical compound's design to anticipate adverse reactions before clinical trials.

Process FMEA (PFMEA): Process FMEA, in contrast, targets failure modes associated with manufacturing and assembly processes.

Definition and application of PFMEA: PFMEA systematically evaluates the production process to prevent quality issues and improve efficiency. It helps in identifying processes that have an elevated risk of failure that could affect the final product.

Real world example of PFMEA: An example of PFMEA might involve examining the assembly process of electronic devices to identify steps where components might be improperly installed or damaged, thereby preventing these issues from affecting the final product quality.

Benefits and Limitations of FMEA

Advantages of using FMEA

Adopting FMEA presents several advantages: it enhances a product’s reliability, improves safety, reduces costs associated with failures, and helps meet regulatory compliance. The proactive identification and remediation of potential failure modes can yield significant long-term benefits.

Risk prevention and reduction

The most prominent benefit of FMEA is the prevention and reduction of risks. By forecasting problems and implementing mitigation strategies, the likelihood of failure occurrence and its potential impact are significantly decreased.

Improvement in productivity and efficiency

With FMEA, organizations can streamline their production and design processes by focusing resources on critical failure modes. This focus on proactive risk management can improve overall productivity and efficiency.

Enhancement of customer satisfaction

By ensuring high-quality products and processes, FMEA contributes to improved customer satisfaction. The method helps in building a reputation for reliability and safety, which are key factors in maintaining customer trust.

Drawbacks and challenges of FMEA

Despite its many benefits, FMEA is not without its drawbacks. The complexity of the analysis can make it time-consuming, and the accuracy of the results may be influenced by the knowledge and biases of those conducting the analysis.

Time-consuming process

The thorough nature of FMEA means it can be time-consuming, particularly for complex systems with numerous potential failure modes. This potential drawback requires careful planning and resource allocation.

Potential for subjectivity and bias

FMEA can be subject to subjectivity, as it relies on the judgment of those conducting the analysis to evaluate the severity, occurrence, and detection. This subjectivity can lead to variance in the outcomes and raises the importance of a diverse and knowledgeable team.

Requirement for experienced and trained personnel

To effectively carry out an FMEA and mitigate the potential for bias, it is critical to have experienced personnel with problem-solving training. They provide essential insights that contribute to the robustness of the analysis.

Implementing FMEA in Your Organization

Steps to successful FMEA implementation

Implementing FMEA within an organization requires a systematic and methodical approach. It starts with defining the scope of the analysis and ends with revisiting the FMEA periodically to update it based on new data or changes in processes.

Team composition and roles

For successful FMEA implementation, bringing together a multidisciplinary team that covers different areas of expertise is key. Each member brings unique insights, which is essential for a comprehensive analysis.

Case study on effective FMEA implementation

An organization successfully implementing FMEA might document a case study to share their approach, the challenges they faced, and the benefits realized. Such case studies often serve as benchmarks or guidelines for similar organizations.

The Future of FMEA

Integration with other risk management tools

The integration of FMEA with other risk management tools can increase its effectiveness and provide a more holistic risk assessment. For instance, combining FMEA with root cause analysis (RCA) or Six Sigma can lead to more in-depth insights and broader applications.

Technological advancement and FMEA, such as computational and AI tools

The future of FMEA is influenced by advancements in technology, such as AI and computational tools, which can streamline the assessment process, provide predictive analyses, and more accurately identify potential risks.

Conclusion: The continued relevance of FMEA in risk management

In conclusion, FMEA stands as a critical tool in modern risk management. While there may be challenges in its application, its benefits are substantial, and its adaptive nature suggests it will continue to be relevant across industries as they evolve over time.

What are the core principles and steps involved in performing a Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA)

Understanding fmea: core principles.

Failure Mode and Effects Analysis, FMEA, hinges on anticipation. It systematically evaluates potential failure modes. It considers effects on product or process performance. Prioritizing failures by severity forms its crux. FMEA aims for early detection and prevention. It drives reliability improvements. It also fosters clear communication among team members.

Breaking Down the FMEA Steps

Identify the Scope

Define the system, subsystem, or process to analyze. Keep the focus narrow to ensure thoroughness.

Assemble the Team

Collaboration stands central to FMEA. Bring diverse expertise to the team. Engineers, operators, and other stakeholders come together here.

List Potential Failure Modes

Think of ways each component might fail. Use simple, clear language for each mode. Record every possibility without bias.

Determine Effect(s) of Each Failure

Ask what happens after each failure mode. Record the outcomes for each mode. Think about the user and the process.

Assign Severity Ratings

Rate the severity of potential effects. Use a numeric scale, usually 1 to 10. Ten implies severe consequences, one not severe.

Identify Causes of Failures

Find the root causes of each failure mode. This needs careful thought and expertise. Here, the team's expertise proves vital.

Determine Occurrence Ratings

Estimate the probability of each cause. Apply the numeric scale again here. This rating predicts the failing likelihood.

Assess Current Controls

Look at existing prevention and detection measures. Rate their efficacy in controlling failure modes. Strong controls might reduce occurrence ratings.

Assign Detection Ratings

Judge how likely current controls will catch failures. Use the familiar numeric scale. A higher rating means detection is unlikely.

Calculate Risk Priority Numbers (RPN)

Multiply severity, occurrence, and detection ratings. This yields the Risk Priority Number (RPN). A high RPN identifies high-risk areas.

Prioritize Actions

Address high-RPN failure modes as priorities. Lower RPNs can often wait. Resource allocation becomes informed and strategic.

Develop Action Plan

Create strategies to lower high RPNs. This might involve design changes. It could include improved detection controls.

Implement Actions

Carry out the action plans. Apply changes and monitor progress. This stage turns planning into tangible improvement.

Review the Outcomes

After implementing changes, reassess the RPNs. Confirm that the actions have reduced the risk. Document any new risks that emerge.

Core Principles of FMEA

Proactivity

FMEA anticipates failure before it occurs. It does not wait for failure to initiate analysis.

Documentation

FMEA requires detailed record-keeping. It builds a knowledge base for future use.

Diverse teams bring varying perspectives. This collaborative effort enriches the analysis.

Prioritization

Not all failures warrant equal attention. FMEA highlights the most significant risks.

Continuous Improvement

FMEA is not a one-off task. It calls for regular updates and reassessment.

FMEA blends these principles into coherent steps. It serves as a preventive measure for risk management. Embracing FMEA can transform how organizations handle potential failures, making them more resilient and less susceptible to unexpected disruptions.

How does FMEA contribute to risk management and improve the reliability of a system or process

Understanding fmea.

Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) is a systematic method. It assesses potential failures in systems, processes, or products. FMEA helps identify possible points of malfunction. It evaluates their potential effects.

FMEA's Role in Risk Management

In risk management, FMEA is a proactive tool. It identifies where and how a system might fail. It also outlines the consequences of such failures. The risk is typically quantified by two factors. Severity of the impact and likelihood of occurrence.

- Severity describes the potential consequence.

- Likelihood refers to the chance of the failure happening.

FMEA pinpoints failure modes with high severity and likelihood. Risk prioritization follows.

Improving System Reliability

FMEA enhances reliability significantly. It identifies failure mode patterns. It helps engineers and managers anticipate problems. They can then undertake preventive measures. These measures correct or diminish the risk.

- Preventive actions reduce the likelihood of failure.

- Corrective actions mitigate adverse effects post-failure.

Steps Involved in FMEA

Define the system. Understand its components and their interconnections.

Identify possible failures. Focus on each part of the system.

Assess risk in terms of severity and likelihood.

Develop action plans. Implement changes to reduce risks.

Review and revise the analysis periodically.

Benefits of FMEA

The benefits of FMEA align with enhanced risk management.

- It increases the understanding of the system.

- It reduces the risk of failures by prioritizing them.

- Improves safety for both users and operators.

- Cuts down maintenance costs by preventing unexpected breakdowns.

- Heightens customer satisfaction through improved reliability.

Conducting FMEA leads to insights. These, in turn, prompt design improvements. It can lead to redundancies in critical areas. This mitigates the effects of potential failures.

In Conclusion

FMEA is integral to risk management. It leads to more robust and reliable systems or processes. It focuses on anticipating what could go wrong. Then it establishes solutions to those problems. FMEA's structured approach is its strength. It results in actionable steps that lead to system improvement. Thus, companies can operate more safely and efficiently.

Can you provide practical examples of industries or projects where FMEA is commonly applied and how it enhances their operations?

Understanding fmea in key industries.

Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) stands as a proactive tool. Industries use it to foresee potential problems in design, manufacturing, or processes. Analysts map out what might go wrong. They assess the severity. They understand the impact. They devise mitigation strategies.

FMEA in Automotive Manufacturing

Safety is crucial in automotive design. Recalls are expensive. FMEA aids in error detection early. Engineers evaluate parts. They consider failure modes. They test systems under stress. Reliability improves. Costs cut down. Customer trust grows.

Aerospace Applications

Aircraft must perform flawlessly. Stakeholders cannot accept any risk. FMEA helps to ensure safety and compliance with strict regulations. Engineers study component failure. They consider system-wide effects. Redundancies get built in. Reliability forms the core of operations.

Medical Devices and Healthcare

Patient safety is paramount. FMEA assists here. Manufacturers of medical devices apply it rigorously. They analyze the possible device malfunctions. They consider impact on patient health. Corrective measures get implemented early. The process contributes to higher patient safety standards.

Chemical Processing

Chemical plants present multiple hazards. There exists the potential for harmful incidents. FMEA serves as a safety net. Plant operators examine equipment. They consider the possible failures. They develop robust safety protocols. They ensure operational continuity. They protect the workforce and environment.

FMEA in Software Development

Software systems must be reliable. FMEA evaluates software failure modes. Developers analyze potential bugs. They assess the impact on users. They work on fixes before deployment. User experience remains uninterrupted. Companies maintain their reputation.

FMEA proves beneficial across many sectors. It prioritizes prevention. It prepares industries for the unexpected. It enhances operational safety. It protects against financial loss. It ensures customer satisfaction. It fosters a culture of continuous improvement. The practice of FMEA makes operations resilient. It empowers industries to face the future with confidence.

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IMAGES

The Problem Prioritization Matrix
Problem-Solving Strategies: Definition and 5 Techniques to Try
Setting Priorities and Solving Problems
Prioritization Matrix Different Types And How To Use
Essential Tools: Organization Prioritization, Time Management, Decision
Essential Tools: Organization Prioritization, Time Management, Decision

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A Better Way to Set Strategic Priorities
A Better Way to Set Strategic Priorities. Smart leaders understand that their job requires them to identify trade-offs, choosing what not to do as much as what to do. Grading the importance of ...
11 Prioritization Strategies To Help You Arrange Your Tasks
11 prioritization strategies. Below is a list of 11 prioritization strategies you may consider using when you want to prioritize your work tasks: 1. Use a priority matrix. A priority matrix is a project management tool created by Steven Covey that can help you determine the most important tasks to complete.
35 problem-solving techniques and methods for solving complex problems
Problem-solving strategies can live and die on whether people are onboard. Getting some quick wins is a great way of getting people behind the process. ... Dotmocracy is a simple method for group prioritization or decision-making. It is not an activity on its own, but a method to use in processes where prioritization or decision-making is the ...
Essential Tools: Organization Prioritization, Time Management, Decision
Clearly, problem solving isn't a one-step process. Your success will depend on whether you approach and implement each of the stages effectively. The best way to do this is to use a well-established, systematic problem-solving model. The six steps of problem solving. Problems vary widely, and so do their solutions.
Structured problem solving strategies can help break down problems to
When we do problem definition well in classic problem solving, we are demonstrating the kind of empathy, at the very beginning of our problem, that design thinking asks us to approach. When we ideate—and that's very similar to the disaggregation, prioritization, and work-planning steps—we do precisely the same thing, and often we use ...
Prioritization
By prioritizing the most common type of problem, you can focus your efforts on resolving it. This clears time to focus on the next set of problems, and so on. The Modified Borda Count. The Modified Borda Count is a useful technique for prioritizing issues and projects within a group, giving everyone fair input into the prioritization process ...
How to improve your problem solving skills and strategies
6. Solution implementation. This is what we were waiting for! All problem solving strategies have the end goal of implementing a solution and solving a problem in mind. Remember that in order for any solution to be successful, you need to help your group through all of the previous problem solving steps thoughtfully.
Priority Management 101: Work Smarter, Not Harder
They both require skills such as problem-solving and strategic thinking. Time management includes other subskills, such as distraction reduction and task categorization. ... Read about the most popular prioritization strategies below: Master list. The master list is not so much an independent prioritization technique but rather the basis for ...
What is Problem Prioritization? Overview, Benefits, Techniques
Efficient problem prioritization offers numerous benefits. Firstly, it allows you to manage your time effectively by allocating resources to tasks that truly matter. Instead of spreading yourself thin across various problems, you can focus your energy on the most critical ones, maximizing your productivity and impact.
How McKinsey Uses Prioritization for Strategy
The essence of problem solving is simply prioritizing the largest problems and opportunities, and prioritizing the most effective and efficient solutions to those problems and opportunities. ... Strong strategies and prioritization necessitate creating better options. Often, the best thing to do is not even in the current options. ...
Overcoming prioritization challenges at work: 8 Strategies for ...
8 Strategies for overcoming prioritization challenges at work. Employees can adopt various practical strategies and techniques to overcome prioritization challenges in the workplace. Here are some strategies to help: Use time management techniques: Adopt time management techniques, such as the Pomodoro Technique, where you work in focused ...
Why Is It Important to Prioritize Steps to Solve a Problem?
In conclusion, prioritizing steps in problem-solving is an essential practice that enables us to optimize our efforts, reduce stress, and foster collaboration. By understanding the process, overcoming challenges, and employing effective strategies, we can enhance our ability to resolve problems successfully.
10 Problem-solving strategies to turn challenges on their head
2. Break the problem down. Identifying the problem allows you to see which steps need to be taken to solve it. First, break the problem down into achievable blocks. Then, use strategic planning to set a time frame in which to solve the problem and establish a timeline for the completion of each stage. 3.
How to Prioritize Tasks: 4 Prioritization Techniques
How to Prioritize Tasks: 4 Prioritization Techniques. Written by MasterClass. Last updated: Jan 7, 2022 • 4 min read. Learn how to prioritize tasks to meet time-sensitive due dates and optimize your daily productivity.
9 strategies to help you prioritize personal and team projects
1. Create a prioritization matrix. Drawing diagrams instead of clearing to-do lists sounds counterproductive. However, a priority matrix is, in fact, a powerful way to separate relevant projects from those your team can easily postpone. Let's take a closer look at how to make a priority matrix for your team. Step #1.
3.5 Prioritization: Self-Management of What You Do and When ...
The enemy of good prioritization is panic, or at least making decisions based on strictly emotional reactions. It can be all too easy to immediately respond to a problem as soon as it pops up without thinking of the consequences of your reaction and how it might impact other priorities.
How to Prioritize Problems with Critical Thinking
3 Plan your actions. The third step is to plan your actions for solving the problems you have prioritized. You can use various techniques to generate, analyze and select solutions, such as SWOT ...
PDF Strategies for Problem/issue prioritization
problem prioritization process (Reminder - this is an optional process, not a requirement) • Identify and outline 3 strategies for prioritizing problems, from least to more complex strategies • Discuss pros/cons of each strategy • Review 2 case studies of prioritization processes.
5 Leadership Tools for Decision-Making and Problem-Solving
His five-step decision-making process goes like this. I like that he made taking action a step in the process. Define the problem. Analyze the problem. Develop alternate solutions. Decide upon the ...
The Problem-Solving Process
Problem-solving is a mental process that involves discovering, analyzing, and solving problems. The ultimate goal of problem-solving is to overcome obstacles and find a solution that best resolves the issue. The best strategy for solving a problem depends largely on the unique situation. In some cases, people are better off learning everything ...
What is Problem Solving? Steps, Process & Techniques
Finding a suitable solution for issues can be accomplished by following the basic four-step problem-solving process and methodology outlined below. Step. Characteristics. 1. Define the problem. Differentiate fact from opinion. Specify underlying causes. Consult each faction involved for information. State the problem specifically.
8 Surefire Problem-Solving Strategies That Always Work
Here are 8 surefire problem-solving strategies that work, no matter what you're struggling with. 1. Break It Down Into Smaller Pieces. Staring down a big problem can feel overwhelming, especially when the stakes are high. That sense of overwhelm doesn't just cause you to feel on edge, but it also compromises your ability to work effectively.
Problem-Solving Strategies and Obstacles
Problem-solving is a vital skill for coping with various challenges in life. This webpage explains the different strategies and obstacles that can affect how you solve problems, and offers tips on how to improve your problem-solving skills. Learn how to identify, analyze, and overcome problems with Verywell Mind.
FMEA (Failure Mode and Effects Analysis): A Comprehensive Guide for
Designed to determine potential failures before they occur, FMEA offers a structured approach to problem-solving, streamlining operations and ensuring quality control. This guide introduces FMEA to beginners, unfolding its definition, historical development, frameworks, types, and its dual role as both a preventative mechanism and a strategic ...

A Better Way to Set Strategic Priorities

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