Guided Learning: Problem solving

Content & How to use

To solve problems in a team or project work, you should be able to both define the problem and know exactly what problem solving is. To learn these basic features of problem solving, the first website will give you insight into problem solving. The next website provides a complete overview of the steps that you should undertake to solve a problem that is given. Finally, this topic guide provides a site that goes deeper into how you should develop your analytical skills in order to successfully solve a problem.    

1. What is problem solving?

Solving a problem always starts with a definition of the problem. This website explains how to do so and provides useful links to define a complex problem. Next, it defines the process of solving a problem and takes you through the different steps of this process. Go to the website.

2. Guidelines to problem solving and decision making

This website may seem very similar to the previous one, but it focusses more on the different approaches you can use in solving a problem. It offers a step-by-step guide to solving problems and making decisions and provides links to many other related websites. In summary the steps are;

1) Define the problem
2) Look for potential causes for the problem
3) Identify alternatives for approaches to resolve the problem
4) Select an approach to resolve the problem
5) Plan the implementation of the best alternative
6) Monitor implementation of the plan
7) Verify if the problem has been resolved or not

This might sound rather abstract, but the article provides hands-on tips for each of these steps and explains why you should perform each step.

3. Problem solving and analytical skills

This article starts with a repetition of the stages of problem solving, but this is followed by an explanation of how you can demonstrate that you actually have the required problem solving skills. At the bottom of the page a well-known problem-solving test is given to see whether you can solve a problem by analyzing a logic puzzle. See the website here.