What are some innovative ways to approach team problem-solving?

Design thinking is a really nice framework to be innovative. Using this you pass through Problem and Solution contexts using the double diamond tool, following these stages: 1 - Discover 2 - Define 3 - Develop 4 - Deliver

Design thinking requires trust. Trust of your teammates, trusting your stakeholders, and truly believing that there are no bad ideas eliminated off the bat.

Team effort requires focus on a common goal that defines a worthwhile purpose that serves a greater good. Empowering stakeholders to freely contribute the strategies that drive progress towards this goal allows the generation of focused thought and collaborative energy.

In my experience silent brainstorming has been one of the most effective methods to problem solving. Everyone contributes and solve the problem collectively.

Though this works well when you have ideas, sometimes frameworks feel stale when there is a creative block. In these cases, reverse these steps a bit and start at the customers and stakeholders. If you have a support center, spend a day listening in on calls. If you have customers you can talk to, do it. Read reviews online of your product, talk to VPs, accountants, and any other stakeholder - the more the better. The more information you have, the better you can start to categorize and find patterns of gaps or weaknesses to build upon.

Need to identify the constraints that are affecting for implementation. Discuss such issues engaging both public and private sectors. List out potential challenges and solutions to resolve the issues based on evidence/research and coordinate with related stakeholders - individuals, private business persons and government stakeholders. It will help to find solutions and resolve the problems with ease.

Reverse brainstorming can help uncover new perspectives and potential solutions. Here's a real example of reverse brainstorming: Problem: Frequent software crashes and bugs in a software company. Reverse Brainstorming: 1. Fire the quality assurance team. 2. Release untested software. 3. Ignore customer bug reports. 4. Use outdated development tools. 5. Rush software development. Positive Solutions: 1. Expand the quality assurance team. 2. Implement thorough testing. 3. Prioritize customer feedback. 4. Upgrade development tools. 5. Follow a structured development process. Identify areas for improvement and take positive actions to address the root causes of crashes and bugs, ultimately improving their software's quality and reliability.

I would like to add that we can solve any problem by breaking it into small steps then finding the gaps on each statement wrt to goal. After finding goal , we need to find out what has been changed / altered which leads into particular situation. Here , importance of team engagement and experience count to map changes. Once changes identified, we need to perform some experiments to establish the real cause of problem and probable solutions.

This is a fun one. Reverse brainstorming flips the script on problem-solving. By asking how to worsen a situation, it reveals hidden assumptions and sparks creativity. It's like looking in a mirror to see what's behind you. You start by reframing the problem negatively, brainstorm ways to exacerbate it, and then flip those ideas into positive solutions. It's a great way to uncover blind spots and think outside the box. I've found it particularly useful in digital strategy, where challenging conventional thinking often leads to innovative solutions.

The SCAMPER technique challenges the status quo by encouraging dynamic thinking. It breaks the inertia of conventional approaches, promoting innovative solutions. By substituting, combining, or adapting elements, it opens new perspectives. Modifying or putting things to new uses fosters flexibility. Eliminating and rearranging aspects fosters efficiency and fresh configurations. This method cultivates a culture of continuous improvement and creative problem-solving, vital in rapidly evolving environments.

'Deliberate Immersion' is a powerful approach to team problem solving. Immersion could be achieved via field visits, mock ups, AR/VR/3D simulations or stimulating story telling. Immersion helps everyone in the team achieve near similar involvement in the problem domain - which is crucial for creative thinking, idea, and pattern generation (even when participants are not active in a 'formal' problem solving session). In fact, immersion - followed by Q&A if necessary - can complement all the formal techniques like design thinking, 6 thinking hats etc. as a Step no. 1 to generate better ideas - both quantitatively and qualitatively.

Brainwriting offers a silent platform for diverse ideas to flow without the constraints of vocal expression. It fosters inclusivity, allowing introverted team members or those hesitant to voice opinions to contribute comfortably. The method cultivates a rich pool of thoughts, encouraging everyone's participation and minimizing the dominance of outspoken individuals, thus promoting equitable idea-sharing.

Again in this instance the roadmap would be to draw Mind Mapping and linking them back accordingly to the relative question with possible solutions that one has experienced or applied.

I've only tried this once, but we drafted some really cool functionality for our chat platform because of it. Brain-writing was a game-changer in that session. It leveled the playing field, allowing quieter team members to contribute as much as the more vocal ones. This method bypassed the usual group dynamics that can sometimes stifle creativity. By writing down ideas, we avoided the pressure of immediate judgment, which often leads to more innovative and diverse thoughts. It's a technique I'd recommend for any team looking to break out of conventional brainstorming ruts and encourage a wider range of contributions. Plus, it's a great way to build on each other's ideas in a tangible, collaborative way.

“All Ideas are valuable” Fostering a supportive positive environment and creating a culture where team members feel comfortable expressing their ideas without being afraid to be judged.

Getting everyone together in one room and continuing to work on the problem until a solution is achieved is an efficient way if the problem is complex and serious. This ensures everyone’s undivided attention. For less serious problems, group chat in say Teams can possibly work.

Role-storming is a game-changer in team problem-solving. It's like stepping into someone else's shoes to see a problem from a whole new angle. Imagine your team members taking on different personas – maybe a customer, a competitor, or even someone from a completely different industry. It's not just about thinking outside the box; it's about thinking like you're in a different box altogether. This method sparks some really unique ideas because it breaks down usual thinking patterns and encourages a fresh perspective. Plus, it's a fun way to shake up the usual routine and get everyone engaged and thinking creatively.

When it comes to tackling problems, think of these methodologies as your creativity superheroes, each with its own special power! Design thinking swoops in, armed with prototypes to rescue you from the clutches of complex issues. The six thinking hats assemble in a mighty team, each hat a different color, lending its unique perspective to vanquish the beast of groupthink. Reverse brainstorming dons the disguise of a problem magician, turning challenges on their heads and revealing hidden solutions. SCAMPER, a shape-shifting hero, transforms your ideas with seven mighty ways, ensuring creativity flows. And in the realm of silent knights, brainwriting emerges, letting pens wield power over swords in the battle against evaluation apprehension.

In my experience, teams, clients and stakeholders bring the symptoms of an underlying issue as problems. Unless one addresses the root cause of the issue, the symptoms keep manifesting in some other way. The best way I found useful is to visualise the problem and collect as many symptoms as possible by brainstorming and showing them on a mind map or through diagrams, flow charts and timelines or on a fish-bone diagram, then systematically analyse the symptoms to identify the root cause using 5 whys or techniques given in this article and eventually fix them depending on urgency or importance using Pareto principle.