The Principles of Problem Solving

1.The first step is to state the problem and all the symptoms of the problem.Describe the problem as clearly and completely as possible.The goal should be to state the problem objectively,withoutemotion or guilt. The problem should also be limited to one situation. Do not try to address all the problems in an organization at once. Too general a statement will not lead to a clear solution.

2.Next,make a goal statement.What is the desired outcome? what results do you want? What do you want the situation to be when the problem is solved? Thsi statement is extremely important because, like a mission statement,it provides a check to the question "have the goals been achieved or not?" These goals should be written as a list of criteria for succes.This list will be needed later in the problem-solving process. If the goal statement includes possible causes or solutions,then it needs to be revised(rewritten,changed).The statement should be very short---fewer than twenty words.The shorter the statement,the more focused it is likely to be. A clear focus on goals will help in finding an answer to the question,a solution to the problem.