CAREFULLY OBSERVING UNUSUAL OCCURRENCES OFTEN GETS ONE OVER TO THE SIDE OF CREATIVE IDEAS.

For one to get a firm grasp on a problem or mess, he or she must do some fact-finding and gather as much information as possible about the mess.

A strong information base is crucial to identifying different problem perspectives during the problem – finding phase and getting one on for potential solutions.

Carefully observing unusual occurrences often gets one over to the side of creative ideas.

Fact-finding stimulates one to avoid premature evaluation of specific problems implicated in a mess or unwanted condition and steers one to focus on the mess instead of the solution.

You will have some new perspectives, to speak of, as you uncover and analyze new information about the problem.

Certain questions, help one to define the various perspectives of a problem. Such questions include: what information about the situation is available to you? What would be better; and what would be worse if the problem is effectively dealt with and resolved? What is the major obstacle in your way of resolving the problem? What elements of the problem are related? When will the situation take to get better or worse? What is the deviation from the ideal or desired situation? When did the gap between the desired and problematic situation occur? What were the background factors when a normal and a problematic situation prevailed? Where did the departure from the normal occur and which systems are still functioning normally? What is the extent of the departure from the normal, and what systems and personnel are associated with the divergence?

Satisfactory answers to a checklist of questions will get one through to structure and define a problem adequately.