The 7 Steps to Problem Solving
The issue with problem solving is that no two problems are ever the same. They might be similar, but there could be some small factor that makes them different, and this small factor could change how you go about solving it entirely. Despite this, the one thing that remains the same is how you can approach solving a problem. Diving head first into an issue without thinking about it isn’t likely to help, but rather hinder your efforts for fixing it. So, you will need a plan. And the way you can come up with a plan is by following the seven steps to problem solving.
STEP 1 – IDENTIFY – The first step in problem solving is identifying what the issue is. To see what the issue is, ask yourself how it would work, should there be no issues. From this point you can determine what the issue is, and whether or not it is that important that it needs to be fixed. The variation in compliance is different in all of our problems too. A parent might find that small liberties are fine, provided that it is nothing too bad, and they can fix it later. However, someone who works with technology might need a device to work as it should 100% of the time, meaning that the problem needs to be fixed right away.
STEP 2 – ANALYSE – Having identified what the problem is, you now need to analyse it. Try to determine how bad this problem is, maybe what it could lead to and how long it will take to get there. If we follow our parents, they might notice their child is misbehaving. One time might be okay, but multiple times could suggest that there is an issue, and this issue is creating a problem that will need to be solved before something serious happens, like the child getting in trouble. Analysing your problems can help determine how soon to react to them, and this is also helped by the different stages of a problem.
There is the Emergent Stage, this is where the problem is not big of an issue and can be put on the backburner until a suitable way to solve it has been found, without causing you too much stress or disturbance.
The Mature Stage, is where a problem has arisen, and is causing notable difficulties. This is where you will need to step in before it gets worse.
Finally, the Crisis Stage, is where the problem has caused significant changes, and has become something that needs to be dealt with before anything else. At this point, the problem, whatever it might be, could have caused irreversible damage and issues so fixing it before this stage is very important.
STEP 3 – DESCRIBE – Describing a problem can go a long way to help you understand what the true issue is. Often times we can overthink situations and scenarios in our head, resulting in making them worse than they might appear to be. By simply writing the core problem down can help is focus on what really is the issue rather than getting distracted by things that, at this point in time, don’t matter as much.
STEP 4 – ROOT CAUSES – This is where you will need to ask yourself a lot of questions. Why did this happen? What caused this? Have I done enough to fix it? It’s at this point where you can begin to doubt yourself, blame could be placed on someone, but the important thing to remember is that solving the problem is what you need to do. Not point fingers. When you’ve answered those questions, and questions like that, you’ll need to make sure that you come up with a solution that helps you answer the question – Have I done enough, so this doesn’t happen again? If you can answer that question, then your problem might not be as bad as you first thought.
STEP 5 – SOLUTIONS – Solutions aren’t one time ideas. For a single problem, many solutions can be thought of, and many can be used. As problems are a pain for us in every walk of life, it is easy to understand why we might want to jump to the first solution we think of. However, gaining more alternative solutions is helpful, and could stop you from acting on the first solution you think of, and only making it worse. With our parents, if they learn that their child is misbehaving, the first thing that will likely come to mind is to punish that child. However, following these steps, they might realise that the child is doing it because of another reason. Peer pressure, stress, bullying are just a few causes, and so punishing a child for feeling these might make the situation worse, and only exacerbate things. It might end up taking a little longer to solve, but having more than one solution can prevent you from doing something that you might regret in the future.
STEP 6 – IMPLEMENT – Now’s the time to put your best solution to the test. If you follow these steps, then there is a good chance that your solution will be beneficial. There is no saying that it will definitely be fixed, but thinking before you act might stop you from making the situation worse.
STEP 7 – MEASURE – Finally, measure your success. As mentioned, there is no guarantee that following these steps will 100% solve your issue, but it is much better to be thoughtful rather than indulgent. Heeding caution is better than rushing in. If you find out that it worked, great, but if not, it’s not an issue. All you need to do is go back to the drawing board, and start over the process. Identify what the issue is, and analyse what stage it’s at. Describe it to yourself and give yourself the most basic understanding of the problem. Try to discover the root causes, and then come up with a variety of potential solutions. Implement them, and measure their success then rinse and repeat until your problem has been solved.