Creative Problem Solving (CPS) Basics
By Jeffrey Baumgartner
Creative ideas do not suddenly appear in people's minds for no apparent
reason. Rather, they are the result of trying to solve a specific problem
or to achieve a particular goal. Albert Einstein's theories of relativity
were not sudden inspirations. Rather they were the result of a huge amount
of mental problem solving trying to close a discrepancy between the laws
of physics and the laws of electromagnetism as they were understood at
the time.
Albert Einstein, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Edison and other creative
geniuses have always worked in the same way. They do not wait for creative
ideas to strike them. Rather they focus on trying to solve a clearly stated,
at least in their minds, problem.
This approach has been formalised as Creative Problem Solving (CPS).
CPS is a simple process that involves breaking down a problem to understand
it, generating ideas to solve the problem and evaluating those ideas to
find the most effective solutions. Highly creative people tend to follow
this process in their heads, without thinking about it. Less naturally
creative people simply have to learn to use this very simple process.
Although creative problem solving has been around as long as humans have
been thinking creatively and solving problems, it was first formalised
as a process by Alex Osborn, who invented traditional brainstorming, and
Sidney Parnes. Their Creative Problem Solving Process (CPSP) has been
taught at the International Center for Studies in Creativity at Buffalo
College in Buffalo, New York since the 1950s.
However, there are numerous different approaches to CPS. Mine is more
focused on innovation (that is the implementation of the most promising
ideas). It involves seven straightforward steps.
CPS Steps
- Clarify and identify the problem
- Research the problem
- Formulate creative challenges
- Identify insights
- Generate ideas
- Combine and evaluate the ideas
- Draw up an action plan
- Do it! (ie. implement the ideas)
Let us look at each step more carefully.
1. Clarify and identify the problem
Arguably the single most important step of CPS is identifying your real
problem or goal. This may seem easy, but very often, what we believe to
be the problem is not the real problem or goal. For instance, you
may feel you need a new job. However, if you break down your problem and
analyse what you are really looking for, it may transpire that the actual
issue is that your income does not cover your costs of living. In this
case, the solution may be a new job, but it might also be to re-arrange
your expenses or to seek a pay rise from your existing employer.
Five Whys
The best way to clarify the problem and understand the underlying issues
is to ask yourself -- or better still, ask a friend or family member to
ask you -- a series of questions about your problem in order to clarify
the true issues behind the problem. The first question to ask is simply:
"why is this a problem?" or "why do I wish to achieve this
goal?". Once you have answered that, ask yourself "why else?"
four more times.
For instance, you might feel you want to overcome your shyness. So, you
ask yourself why and you answer: "because I am lonely". Then
ask yourself "why else?" four times. You answer: "because
I do not know many people in this new city where I live", "because
I find it hard to meet people", "because I am doing many activities
alone" and "because I would like to do activities with other
people who share my interests". This last "why else" is
clearly more of the issue than reducing shyness. Indeed, if you had focused
your creative energy on solving your shyness issue, you would not have
actually solved the real problem. On the other hand, if you focused your
creative energy on finding people with whom to share activities, you would
be happier without ever having to address the shyness issue.
And More Questions
In addition, you can further clarify your problem by asking questions
like: "what do I really wish to accomplish?", "what is
preventing me from solving this problem/achieving the goal?", "how
do I envision myself in six months/one year/five years [choose most relevant
time span] as a result of solving this problem?" and "are my
friends dealing with similar problems? If so, how are they coping?"
By the time you have answered all these questions, you should have a
very clear idea of what your problem or real goal is.
Criteria
The final step is to decide what criteria you will eventually use to
evaluate or judge the ideas. Are there budget limitations, timeframe or
other restrictions that will affect whether or not you can go ahead with
an idea? What will you want to have accomplished with the ideas? What
do you wish to avoid when you implement these ideas? Think about it and
make a list of three to five evaluation criteria. Then put the list aside.
You will not need it for a while.
Research the Problem
The next step in CPS is to research the problem in order to get a better
understanding of it. Depending on the nature of the problem, you may need
to do a great deal of research or very little. The best place to start
these days is with your favourite search engine. But do not neglect good
old fashioned sources of information and opinion. Libraries are fantastic
for in-depth information that is easier to read than computer screens.
Friends, colleagues and family can also provide thoughts on many issues.
Fora on sites like LinkedIn and elsewhere are ideal for asking questions.
There's nothing an expert enjoys more than imparting her knowledge. Take
advantage of that. But always try to get feedback from several people
to ensure you get rounded information.
Formulate One or More Creative Challenges
By now, you should be clear on the real issues behind your problems or
goals. The next step is to turn these issues into creative challenges.
A creative challenge is basically a simple question framed to encourage
suggestions or ideas. In English, a challenge typically starts with "In
what ways might I [or we]...?" or "How might I...?" or
"How could I...?"
Creative challenges should be simple, concise and focus on a single issue.
For example: "How might I improve my Chinese language skills and
find a job in Shanghai?" is two completely separate challenges. Trying
to generate ideas that solve both challenges will be difficult and, as
a result, will stifle idea generation. So separate these into two challenges:
"How might I improve my Chinese language skills" and "How
might I find a job in Shanghai". Then attack each challenge individually.
Once you have ideas for both, you may find a logical approach to solving
both problems in a coordinated way. Or you might find that there is not
co-ordinate way and each problem must be tackled separately.
Creative challenges should not include evaluation criteria. For example:
"How might I find a more challenging job that is better paying and
situated close to my home?" If you put criteria in the challenge,
you will limit your creative thinking. So simply ask: "How might
a I find a more challenging job?" and after generating ideas, you
can use the criteria to identify the ideas with the greatest potential.
(Here's
a more detailed article on formulating creative challenges)
Identify Insights and Inspiration
You are almost ready to start generating ideas, but before you work on
ideas in response to your challenge, think about what might provide insight
and inspiration that will help you generate ideas. Some forms of inspiration
are unrelated to the challenge. For instance, I like to go for long walks
for inspiration. I also find the music of Bach provides me with deeper
vision into problems. Other people like to lay down or take a bath. Whatever
works for you is great.
You may seek inspiration before you generate ideas, for instance by reading
up on research related to the problem. Or you might seek inspiration during
the idea generation session by brainstorming in a beautiful location.
If the challenge is a B2B (business to business) issue, why not brainstorm
in one of your customers' premises?
Generate Ideas
Finally, we come to the part most people associate with brainstorming
and creative problem solving: idea generation. And you probably know how
this works. Take only one creative challenge. Give yourself some quiet
time and try to generate at least 50 ideas that may or may not solve the
challenge. You can do this alone or you can invite some friends or family
members to help you.
Irrespective of your idea generation approach, write your ideas on a
document. You can simply write them down in linear fashion, write them
down on a mind-map, enter them onto a computer document (such as MS Word
or OpenOffice) or use a specialised software for idea generation. The
method you use is not so important. What is important is that you follow
these rules:
-
Write down every idea that comes to mind. Even if the idea is ludicrous,
stupid or fails to solve the challenge, write it down. Most people
are their own worst critics and by squelching their own ideas, make
themselves less creative. So write everything down. NO EXCEPTIONS!
-
If other people are also involved, insure that no one criticises
anyone else's ideas in any way. This is called squelching, because
even the tiniest amount of criticism can discourage everyone in the
group for sharing their more creative ideas. Even a sigh or the rolling
of eyes can be critical. Squelching must be avoided!
-
If you are working alone, don't stop until you've reached your target
of 50 (or more) ideas. If you are working with other people, set a
time limit like 15 or 20 minutes. Once you have reached this time
limit, compare ideas and make a grand list that includes them all.
Then ask everyone if the have some new ideas. Most likely people will
be inspired by others' ideas and add more to the list.
If you find you are not generating sufficient ideas, give yourself some
inspiration. A classic trick is to open a book or dictionary and pick
out a random word. Then generate ideas that somehow incorporate this word.
You might also ask yourself what other people whom you know; such as your
grandmother, your partner, a friend or a character on you favourite TV
show, might suggest.
Brainstorming does not need to occur at your desk. Take a trip somewhere
for new inspiration. Find a nice place in a beautiful park. Sit down in
a coffee shop on a crowded street corner. You can even walk and generate
ideas.
In addition, if you browse the web for brainstorming and idea generation,
you will find lots of creative ideas on how to generate creative ideas!
One last note. If you are not in a hurry, wait until the next day and
then try to generate another 25 ideas, ideally do this in the morning.
Research has shown that our minds work on creative challenges while we
sleep. Your initial idea generation session has been good exercise and
has certainly generated some great ideas. But it will probably also inspire
your unconscious mind to generate some ideas while you sleep. Don't lose
them!
Combine and Evaluate Ideas
After you have written down all of your ideas, take a break. It might
just be an hour. It might be a day or more. Then go through the ideas.
Related ideas can be combined together to form big ideas (or idea clusters).
Then, using the criteria you devised earlier, choose all of the ideas
that broadly meet those criteria. This is important. If you focus only
on the "best" ideas or your favourite ideas, the chances are
you will choose the less creative ones! Nevertheless, feel free to include
your favourite ideas in the initial list of ideas.
Now get out that list of criteria you mad earlier and go through each
idea more carefully. Consider how well it meets each criterion and give
it a rating of 0-5 points with five indicating a perfect match. If an
idea falls short of a criterion, think about why this is so. Is there
a way that it can be improved in order to increase its score? If so, make
a note. Once you are finished, all of the ideas will have an evaluation
score. Those ideas with the highest score best meet your criteria. They
may not be your best ideas or your favourite ideas, but they are most
likely to best solve your problem or enable you t achieve your goal.
Depending on the nature of the challenge and the winning ideas, you may
be ready to jump right in and implement your ideas. In other cases, ideas
may need to be developed further. With complex ideas, a simple evaluation
may not be enough. You may need to do a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities
and threats) or discuss the idea with others who will be affected by it.
If the idea is business related, you may need to do a business case, market
research, build a prototype or a combination of all of these.
Also, bear in mind that you do not need to limit yourself to one winning
idea. Often you can implement several ideas in order to solve your challenge.
Draw Up an Action Plan
At this point, you have got some great ideas. However, a lot of people
have trouble motivating themselves to take the next step. Creative ideas
may mean big changes or taking risks. Some of us love change and risk.
Others are scared by it. Draw up an action plan with the simple steps
you need to take in order to implement your ideas. Ideas which involve
a lot work to implement can be particularly intimidating. Breaking their
implementation down into a series of readily accomplished tasks makes
these ideas easier to cope with and implement.
Do It!
This is the simplest step of all. Take your action plan and implement
your idea. And if the situation veers away from your action plan steps,
don't worry. Rewrite your action plan!
* There are a number of variations on the approach to CPS. All follow
roughly the same steps. This is my own tried and tested approach.
© 2010 jpb.com
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