The process to solve a problem in 5 steps

Straight to the point, 5 steps and you will solve it.

1. Identify

First of all, identify which is the problem you need to solve. Sometimes the REAL problem in just behind all that smoke you can see now. For some people, this could be a tricky part because they can only see what is on the outside and not what is going on deep inside.

2. Ideate

Second of all, ideate. What exactly I’m talking about? Well, think about brainstorming as an example. Once you have identified what the problem is, then you can start getting some ideas on how to solve or fix it. In this point is very important to not discard any idea ( because is a brainstorming, remember?)

3. Evaluate

After you got your cool ideas ( let’s imagine they are cool for sure and good ones too) then, the next step would be to prioritize and evaluate which one could be applied, finding out the reasons why to choose one rather than another. You have to sit here a bit to think about your next move.

4. Execute

Put your hand on the ground! The big moment now, you have identified the problem, got ideas, evaluated which one/s you are going to apply, and finally apply them. This is a crucial time because you are applying your plan for real (sometimes, if you have the time or the possibility you maybe try a draft or partial version first before moving to the real version)

5. Re-examine

Look back on what you have done, you have work a great deal to reach this step. Here 2 main things could happen: you were right about how to solve the problem ( well done!) in which case would be nice to evidence that for future situations. And the other thing could happen is: the plan was not as you thought, (pay attention I did not say that was a failure) then you have to examine which are the results, and as you can imagine: go back to step 1.

As you can see the list is short and the process straightforward, which is for me the best part of it. In order to be a problem solver is a nice start, right?