Creative Problem Solving By: Sandhills Consulting Nigeria Ltd

In the past few decades, psychologists and business people alike have discovered that successful problem solvers tend to use the same type of process to identify and implement the solutions to their problems. This process works for any kind of problem, large or small.

This workshop will give participants an overview of the entire creative problem solving process, as well as key problem solving tools that they can use every day.

Workshop Outcome

At the end of this workshop, participants will be able to

• Understand problems and the creative problem solving process
• Describe different types of Decisions
• Describe and Apply the Decision Making Process
• Identify types of information to gather and key questions to ask in problem solving
• Identify the importance of defining a problem correctly
• Identify and use four different problem definition tools
• Write concrete problem statements
• Use basic brainstorming tools to generate ideas for solutions
• Use idea generating tools, such as affinity diagrams, word chaining, the box method, the six thinking hats, and the blink method
• Evaluate potential solutions against criteria, including cost/benefit analysis and group voting
• Perform a final analysis to select a solution
• Understand the roles that fact and intuition play in selecting a solution
• Understand the need to refine the shortlist and re-refine it
• Understand how to identify the tasks and resources necessary to implement solutions
• Evaluate and adapt solutions to reality
• Follow up with solution implementation to celebrate successes and identify improvements

Course Content

Day One

• The Problem Solving Method
• What is a Problem?
• What is Creative Problem Solving?
• What are the Steps in the Creative Solving Process?
• Information Gathering
• Understanding Types of Information
• Identifying Key Questions
• Methods of Gathering Information
• Problem Definition
• Defining the Problem
• Determining Where the Problem Originated
• Defining the Present State and the Desired State
• Stating and Restating the Problem
• Analyzing the Problem
• Writing the Problem Statement

Day Two

• Preparing for Brainstorming
• Identifying Mental Blocks
• Removing Mental Blocks
• Stimulating Creativity
• Generating Solutions (I)
• Brainstorming Basics
• Brain writing and Mind Mapping
• Dunker Diagrams
• Generating Solutions (II)
• The Morphological Matrix
• The Six Thinking Hats
• The Blink Method

Day Three

• Analyzing Solutions
• Developing Criteria
• Analyzing Wants and Needs
• Using Cost/Benefit Analysis
• Selecting a Solution
• Doing a Final Analysis
• Paired Comparison Analysis
• Analyzing Potential Problems
• Planning Your Next Steps
• Identifying Tasks
• Identifying Resources
• Implementing, Evaluating, and Adapting
• Recording Lessons Learned