Creative Problem Solving

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.
The Creative Problem Solving 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. Skills such as brainstorming, information gathering, analyzing data, and identifying resources will be covered throughout the workshop.

OBJECTIVES

• Understand problems and the creative problem solving 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
  
• 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 redefine it
  
• Understand how to identify the tasks and resources necessary to implement solutions
  
• Evaluate and adapt solutions to reality
  

COURSE OUTLINE

• Module One: Getting Started
  
• Module Two: The Problem Solving Method
  
• Module Three: Information Gathering
  
• Module Four: Problem Definition
  
• Module Five: Preparing for Brainstorming
  
• Module Six: Generating Solutions (I)
  
• Module Seven: Generating Solutions (II) 
  
• Module Eight: Analyzing Solutions
  
• Module Nine: Selecting a Solution
  
• Module Ten: Planning Your Next Steps
  
• Module Eleven: Recording Lessons Learned
  
• Module Twelve: Wrapping Up