Creative Problem Solving Jacque Melin GVSU Mess Finding

Creative Problem Solving Jacque Melin - GVSU

Mess Finding

MESS-FINDING q Definition: At the outset, we may not have any idea of what we would like to apply our creative thinking skills to. Or we may be faced with a "situation, " a "hassle, " something that bugs us. We don't quite know what to make of it, or are uncertain just what the situation is. It is an undefined situation, but one that carries a sense of need. Mess. Finding is the term given to this sort of situation. It is the beginning of awareness that something needs fixing, and it is an orientation towards the situation.

MESS-FINDING q OUTCOME: A rough, sketched out statement of the situation we are faced with. The statement is expressed, and preferably written, in wish fulfillment language. It contains our thoughts, fantasies, wishes, desires, dreams, etc. about what we would like to see happen. q Tip! Hold at bay the temptation to define the problem prematurely.

DIVERGENT MESS-FINDING Write a number of statements that begin with: "I wish. . . " or "What I'd really like to see is. . . " or "Wouldn't it be cool if. . “ q q q ____________________________________________________ __________________________

CONVERGENT MESS-FINDING 1. On your DIVERGENT list, star the items which: q bother you most q are most important to you and important others q you most want to attain q capture your imagination, curiosity q and/or other criteria____________

CONVERGENT MESS-FINDING 2. From among those you starred, select one you would really like to work with immediately. Then, take a measure of the following: q MY DEGREE OF OWNERSHIP: 1__2__3__4__5__6__7__7__8__8__9__10 q MY DEGREE OF WILLINGNESS TO WORK ON THE SITUATION: 1__2__3__4__5__6__7__7__8__8__9__10 q MY DEGREE OF INTEREST IN THIS SITUATION: 1__2__3__4__5__6__7__7__8__8__9__10 q Is this situation something over which I have some influence? YES ___ NO ___ q If the answer is "No, " you need to ally with those who have influence, find ways to obtain the influence, or make a wise decision to back off and choose some other situation.

Data Finding

DATA-FINDING q OUTCOME: A current description of the situation. A gathering of relevant facts that may act as jumping-off points for the thinking and ideagenerating process. In the Four Stage map of the creative problem solving process, "Preparation --Incubation -- Illumination -Verification, " Data-Finding falls in the "Preparation" stage. q Tip! The temptation will be strong to jump to solutions before the problem has been welldefined. Resisting this temptation will allow for maximum novelty and appropriateness of your final solutions.

DATA-FINDING – STEP 1 Step 1: Write your MESS STATEMENT here: Wouldn't it be nice if. . . q _________________________________________ _____________________

DATA-FINDING – STEP 2 Step 2: Ask yourself a number of questions about the situation. Questions open up the perceptual and thinking processes. Examples: q Why is this important? q Why can't this be ignored? q What keeps me from getting past this? q What will I lose if I don't do anything? q Where, when how does thing occur? q Who could help me with this? q Who stands to gain/lose when this is solved? q When does this not seem to be a problem? q What resources do I have? q What information would I like to have? q What sources of information are available? q How did this come about? q How does this situation affect me?

DATA-FINDING – STEP 3 Step 3: Assign letters to the information indicating the degree of relevance of the information: q H = Highly relevant q M = Medium relevance q L = Low relevance

PROBLEMFINDING

PROBLEM-FINDING q OUTCOME: A focused, useful, problem-solving statement. q NOTE: The problem definition/redefinition stage is one of the most important steps of the whole process. Do not skip past this stage or shortchange it. Once you work with this step a few times, you will see the immense value in taking a little extra time here. q Below are three techniques for defining and redefining your problem statement. These are not the only possible techniques, but are tools that have been found to be highly effective in getting the process started. Give them a try, and make any modifications or adaptations that seem useful to you. q IWWMI. . . ? q KEY WORDS q FIVE WHYS

"IWWMI. . . ? " q Brainstorm a list of possible problem statements that begin with the sentence stem, "In what ways might I. . . ? " This will prompt you to reorient your thinking from negative problem statements to positive ones. For example, a negative problem statement might be, "My problem is I don't have enough money. " This statement leads the brain into a cul de sac by orienting its imagery and associations towards scarcity thinking. But stating the situation in a slightly different way leads to richer possibility thinking: "In what ways might I get more money? " The shift in thinking is subtle, yet profound. q In what ways might I _______________________________________________ q In what ways might I ________________________

KEY WORDS o Another way to approach the problem-definition activity is to write out an initial "In what ways might I" question and play with the key words in your sentence by substituting other words. Doing so will precipitate new thought combinations and patterns. For example, using the previous example, "In what ways might I get some money? " we could substitute other words for "I, " "get, " and "money, " and see what happens. Let's assume someone wants money to buy stereo equipment:

Key Words - Continued q In what ways might I beg for money? (Panhandlers sometimes make a lot of money) q In what ways might I borrow money? (Maybe my bank or Aunt Martha will help) q In what ways might I find money? (Hmmm, I could look under the couch, check coin returns in vending machines and pay phones, or pick up soda bottles, or HEY! I just had an idea! Maybe I could put together found objects artistically and enter the art contest I just read about) q In what ways might I win money? (Lottery, bingo at church, hold a raffle for my house) q In what ways might I give away money? (Hmmm, this makes me think of becoming a fund raiser for worthwhile charities, and charging an ethical amount for my services) q In what ways might I cough up money? (Ah-Ha! That triggered a memory of Uncle Fred. He sure coughs a lot. Haven't thought about him in a while. He always said if I ever needed help, come see him. ) q In what ways might I avoid the need for money? (Get a job at the stereo store so I can get the equipment I want at a discount. Hey! Maybe I can barter for it. Or maybe I can send an early Christmas list to my family and friends. )

The "FIVE WHYS" technique q It's a good idea to dig a little deeper once you have settled on a problem definition. If you have defined your task specifically and concretely, it can be extremely useful to retool your statement at a higher order of abstraction. The reverse is also true. If you have defined the problem abstractly, try to rethink it on a more concrete level. Doing so can often yield sudden insights, and reveal unsuspected solutions. One way to do this is a technique called Five Whys. You take your problem definition and ask, "Why do I want that? " And whatever answer you come up with, you again ask, "Why do I want that? " Do so five times. The outcome will be the distilled essence of your quest at a more abstract level of meaning, a higher point of view from which many more potential solutions can flow than you could have generated from the original problem definition.

The "FIVE WHYS" technique

The "FIVE WHYS" technique q Once you have peeled back the layers of motivation to a deeper level, you will begin to see that there may be many, many ways of satisfying the underlying need ("personal growth and sense of accomplishment") besides the one you started with ("I want some money. ")

IDEA-FINDING

IDEA-FINDING q OUTCOME: A list of potential solutions which seem promising. q Tip! Avoid the tendency to judge your solution ideas too soon. (The opportunity to do so will come in the next step, wherein you apply criteria filters. ) q There are many, many different tools available for jarring the brain out of its usual thought patterns, and provoking new ideas.

Mind-Mapping q Mind Mapping is a brainstorming technique in which you draw an oval in the center of the page and write a one or two-word phrase in the circle that expresses the central theme of your brainstorm. Then you free associate to that theme by writing ideas that pop into your mind on the page surrounding the central oval. As you scatter your thoughts around the page, draw ovals around each separate idea, thought, association, and connect them to the central oval. This technique helps you slip out of the limiting, structured process associated with outlining or even making lists. Let your mind flow fluidly as you work/play with random associations. Once you've covered your page with thoughts, you can go back and reorganize them in a linear fashion, if you wish.

Brainstorming q See Handout

SOLUTIONFINDING

SOLUTION-FINDING q OUTCOME: A rank-ordered list of possible solutions. q At the Solution-Finding stage, we finally get to select what we consider the best ideas. Whew! An important attribute for creative thinking is a high degree of tolerance for ambiguity; i. e. , the capacity to hang out in a state of unresolved tension long enough to consider lots of options. Well, we're finally here. Now we will filter our potential solutions through criteria we consider important. So we must first generate a list of criteria, select the ones we want to use, and apply them.

Solution Finding q Step 1. Brainstorm a list of possible criteria or standards against which you will measure your possible solutions. OR – Use the list of criteria ideas I gave you last time q Step 2. Insert your criteria in the appropriate slots on the Decision Grid (just shown). Insert your ideas in the Idea column. Rate each idea on a scale of 1 to 4 for each criteria. Total all points for each idea. This will give some sort of numerical ranking, which should be helpful in considering whether to implement an idea now, hold off until later, modify and implement, or reject any given idea.

Possible Criteria q q q q How practical will this be? How safe will this be? How effective will this be? How easily can this be carried out? How inexpensive will this be? How supportive will others be? How challenging will this be? (use only if “challenge” means positive) How widespread will the support be? How far-reaching will the benefits be? How much attention will this get? How beneficial will this be? How satisfied will I be? How easy will it be to obtain the necessary equipment?

Solution Finding

ACCEPTANCEFINDING

ACCEPTANCE-FINDING q Acceptance Finding begins a new phase of the CPS Process. We shift gears to the stage of implementation. The problem solver must turn ideas into realities, make what has been private public, transform the immaterial into the material, and shift from thought to action. The implementation stage involves (at least) four separate but interrelated factors: planning, activity, making adjustments in response to feedback from the environment, and selling others on the ideas.

ACCEPTANCE-FINDING Follow these steps: q Envision the completed project. q Brainstorm a list of EVENTS needed to complete the project. q Plan the EVENTS. q Enhance probability of success.

ACCEPTANCE-FINDING q Step 1. Envision the completed project. This is simply a matter of looking forward to a time when we can look back and see the path that led to where we will be. Rather than start from the beginning, we start from where we want to be. This perceptual shift yields a different vantage point and a different set of mental patterns. It is useful to spend some time in painting a mental picture of the outcome state the way we would like it to be. Doing so will prompt new images, ideas, thoughts, and insights.

ACCEPTANCE-FINDING q Step 2. Brainstorm a list of EVENTS needed to complete the project in any order. EVENTS are those actions that need to occur in order to accomplish the project. It is much easier to brainstorm a list of EVENTS while suspending judgment than to generate the list in a logical, sequential order.

ACCEPTANCE-FINDING q Step 3. q Plan the EVENTS Once you have listed the EVENTS, transfer each one to a "Post-It" note. You should rephrase each item to read in the past tense. For example, Brochure Text Written, Brochures Printed, Budget Approved, etc. then take the Post-It notes and arrange them on a large sheet of paper, such as a flip chart page or a sheet of butcher paper. Cluster the notes in natural groupings, and avoid the tendency to try to put them into linear sequences. You will see that there actions which can take place more or less simultaneously. Finally, using any system of numbering, give each EVENT a number. The numbers are for identification and reference purposes only and they can be changed. So it would be a good idea to use pencil when you do your numbering.

ACCEPTANCE-FINDING q Enhance probability of success. VIDEO