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Ten Tips for Beefing Up Your Problem-Solving Tool Box

Source: home.att.net
Topic: Problem Solving

Sort Desciption: figure or adapt our problem solving processes to fit the problem at ... for beefing up the tools in your problem solving toolbox. ...

Content Inside: Ten Tips for Beefing Up Your Problem-Solving Tool Box Fred Nickols This article was first published under the pen name of Peter W. Taylor and appeared in the July 1994 issue of Performance and Instruction. Introduction Problems come in all sizes shapes and colors. There is no single or simple step-by-step process guaranteeing us we will solve every prob- lem we encounter. We are faced instead with the requirement to con- figure or adapt our problem solving processes to fit the problem at hand. As problem solvers we have more in common with the cabinet- maker than with the assembly-line worker. What we need then are plans and blueprints high-quality materials a decent place to work a well-stocked toolbox and the skill and knowledge necessary to properly select and use the tools in it. Toward that end here are ten tipsideas for beefing up the tools in your problem solving toolbox. 1. Focus on the solved state. 2. Be clear about all your goals and objectives. 3. Expand your definition of Define the Problem. 4. Think of problem solving as a cover-the-bases activity. 5. Draw diagrams and otherwise picture the structure of the prob- lem. Fred Nickols 2004 Ten Tips for Beefing Up Your Problem Solving Tool Box Fred Nickols 2004 2 6. Take the concept of cause with a grain of salt. 7. Watch out for disconnects. 8. Be aware of your own blinders. 9. Develop your own system for solving problems. 10. Research the subject matter. Each of these tips is elaborated upon in the following sections. 1. Focus on the solved state Pay at least as much attention to the solved state as is paid to the prob- lem state. As Robert F. Magers (1962) fable of the sea horse reminds us if youre not sure where youre going youre liable to end up some- place elseand not even know it (p.vii). When solving a problem we typically wish to do more than simply rid ourselves of some unacceptable situation. More often than not we are trying also to achieve some other more ...

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