Keep sharpening problem-solving skills, always dig under the surface, and build a good reputation as an insightful problem-framer or a mindful problem-solver.
There is no single universally accepted taxonomy, but one common approach divides the types of thinking into problem-solving and reasoning.
Problem-solving involves two main types of thinking:
-Divergent thinking: Try to generate a diverse assortment of possible alternative solutions to a problem.
-Convergent thinking: Try to narrow down multiple possibilities to find a single, best answer to a problem.
Problem-solving processes: While there are several problem-solving heuristics, some of the frequently used ones are working forward, working backward, and generate-and-test.
-Working Forward: In the working-forward approach, the problem solver attempts to solve the problem from beginning to end. The advantage of the working-forward approach is that the problem solver attempts to solve the problem from beginning to end. For example, planning a trip from San Francisco to New York might be done by simply consulting a map and establishing the shortest route that originates in those cities.
-Working Backward: In the working-backward approach, the problem solver starts from the end and works toward the beginning. For example, suppose one is planning to bake a cake for a party. Using the working-backward heuristic, one might start by considering the time the cake needs to be ready, then calculate the baking time, the preparation time, and, finally, the time needed to gather all the ingredients.
-Generate-and-Test: Often the least systematic of the problem-solving heuristics, the generate-and-test method involves generating alternative courses of action, often randomly, and then determining whether each course will solve the problem. When using the generate-and-test method to plot a route from New York City to Boston, you might create a possible route and see whether it can get you quickly from New York to Boston; if it does, you stick with that route. If not, you create another route and evaluate it. Eventually, you choose the route that seems to work best, or at least a route that works.
The challenge for improving problem-solving effectiveness is in prioritizing what you know about and keeping an eye open for signs of things you don’t know about. Keep sharpening problem-solving skills, always dig under the surface, and build a good reputation as an insightful problem-framer or a mindful problem-solver.
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