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What Are Problem-Solving Skills? Definition and Examples

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Why do employers hire employees? To help them solve problems. Whether you’re a financial analyst deciding where to invest your firm’s money, or a marketer trying to figure out which channel to direct your efforts, companies hire people to help them find solutions. Problem-solving is an essential and marketable soft skill in the workplace. 

So, how can you improve your problem-solving and show employers you have this valuable skill? In this guide, we’ll cover:

Problem-Solving Skills Definition

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Problem-solving skills are the ability to identify problems, brainstorm and analyze answers, and implement the best solutions. An employee with good problem-solving skills is both a self-starter and a collaborative teammate; they are proactive in understanding the root of a problem and work with others to consider a wide range of solutions before deciding how to move forward. 

Examples of using problem-solving skills in the workplace include:

• Researching patterns to understand why revenue decreased last quarter
• Experimenting with a new marketing channel to increase website sign-ups
• Brainstorming content types to share with potential customers
• Testing calls to action to see which ones drive the most product sales
• Implementing a new workflow to automate a team process and increase productivity

Problem-solving skills are the most sought-after soft skill of 2022. In fact, 86% of employers look for problem-solving skills on student resumes, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers Job Outlook 2022 survey . 

It’s unsurprising why employers are looking for this skill: companies will always need people to help them find solutions to their problems. Someone proactive and successful at problem-solving is valuable to any team.

“Employers are looking for employees who can make decisions independently, especially with the prevalence of remote/hybrid work and the need to communicate asynchronously,” Eric Mochnacz, senior HR consultant at Red Clover, says. “Employers want to see individuals who can make well-informed decisions that mitigate risk, and they can do so without suffering from analysis paralysis.”

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Problem-solving includes three main parts: identifying the problem, analyzing possible solutions, and deciding on the best course of action.

>>MORE: Discover the right career for you based on your skills with a career aptitude test .

Research is the first step of problem-solving because it helps you understand the context of a problem. Researching a problem enables you to learn why the problem is happening. For example, is revenue down because of a new sales tactic? Or because of seasonality? Is there a problem with who the sales team is reaching out to? 

Research broadens your scope to all possible reasons why the problem could be happening. Then once you figure it out, it helps you narrow your scope to start solving it. 

Analysis is the next step of problem-solving. Now that you’ve identified the problem, analytical skills help you look at what potential solutions there might be.

“The goal of analysis isn’t to solve a problem, actually — it’s to better understand it because that’s where the real solution will be found,” Gretchen Skalka, owner of Career Insights Consulting, says. “Looking at a problem through the lens of impartiality is the only way to get a true understanding of it from all angles.”

Decision-Making

Once you’ve figured out where the problem is coming from and what solutions are, it’s time to decide on the best way to go forth. Decision-making skills help you determine what resources are available, what a feasible action plan entails, and what solution is likely to lead to success.

On a Resume

Employers looking for problem-solving skills might include the word “problem-solving” or other synonyms like “ critical thinking ” or “analytical skills” in the job description.

“I would add ‘buzzwords’ you can find from the job descriptions or LinkedIn endorsements section to filter into your resume to comply with the ATS,” Matthew Warzel, CPRW resume writer, advises. Warzel recommends including these skills on your resume but warns to “leave the soft skills as adjectives in the summary section. That is the only place soft skills should be mentioned.”

On the other hand, you can list hard skills separately in a skills section on your resume .

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In a Cover Letter or an Interview

Explaining your problem-solving skills in an interview can seem daunting. You’re required to expand on your process — how you identified a problem, analyzed potential solutions, and made a choice. As long as you can explain your approach, it’s okay if that solution didn’t come from a professional work experience.

“Young professionals shortchange themselves by thinking only paid-for solutions matter to employers,” Skalka says. “People at the genesis of their careers don’t have a wealth of professional experience to pull from, but they do have relevant experience to share.”

Aaron Case, career counselor and CPRW at Resume Genius, agrees and encourages early professionals to share this skill. “If you don’t have any relevant work experience yet, you can still highlight your problem-solving skills in your cover letter,” he says. “Just showcase examples of problems you solved while completing your degree, working at internships, or volunteering. You can even pull examples from completely unrelated part-time jobs, as long as you make it clear how your problem-solving ability transfers to your new line of work.”

Learn How to Identify Problems

Problem-solving doesn’t just require finding solutions to problems that are already there. It’s also about being proactive when something isn’t working as you hoped it would. Practice questioning and getting curious about processes and activities in your everyday life. What could you improve? What would you do if you had more resources for this process? If you had fewer? Challenge yourself to challenge the world around you.

Think Digitally

“Employers in the modern workplace value digital problem-solving skills, like being able to find a technology solution to a traditional issue,” Case says. “For example, when I first started working as a marketing writer, my department didn’t have the budget to hire a professional voice actor for marketing video voiceovers. But I found a perfect solution to the problem with an AI voiceover service that cost a fraction of the price of an actor.”

Being comfortable with new technology — even ones you haven’t used before — is a valuable skill in an increasingly hybrid and remote world. Don’t be afraid to research new and innovative technologies to help automate processes or find a more efficient technological solution.

Collaborate

Problem-solving isn’t done in a silo, and it shouldn’t be. Use your collaboration skills to gather multiple perspectives, help eliminate bias, and listen to alternative solutions. Ask others where they think the problem is coming from and what solutions would help them with your workflow. From there, try to compromise on a solution that can benefit everyone.

If we’ve learned anything from the past few years, it’s that the world of work is constantly changing — which means it’s crucial to know how to adapt . Be comfortable narrowing down a solution, then changing your direction when a colleague provides a new piece of information. Challenge yourself to get out of your comfort zone, whether with your personal routine or trying a new system at work.

Put Yourself in the Middle of Tough Moments

Just like adapting requires you to challenge your routine and tradition, good problem-solving requires you to put yourself in challenging situations — especially ones where you don’t have relevant experience or expertise to find a solution. Because you won’t know how to tackle the problem, you’ll learn new problem-solving skills and how to navigate new challenges. Ask your manager or a peer if you can help them work on a complicated problem, and be proactive about asking them questions along the way.

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Companies always need people to help them find solutions — especially proactive employees who have practical analytical skills and can collaborate to decide the best way to move forward. Whether or not you have experience solving problems in a professional workplace, illustrate your problem-solving skills by describing your research, analysis, and decision-making process — and make it clear that you’re the solution to the employer’s current problems. 

Looking to learn more workplace professional skills? Check out Two Sigma’s Professional Skills Development Virtual Experience Program .

Image Credit: Christina Morillo / Pexels 

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Problem-Solving Strategies and Obstacles

Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Sean is a fact-checker and researcher with experience in sociology, field research, and data analytics.

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From deciding what to eat for dinner to considering whether it's the right time to buy a house, problem-solving is a large part of our daily lives. Learn some of the problem-solving strategies that exist and how to use them in real life, along with ways to overcome obstacles that are making it harder to resolve the issues you face.

What Is Problem-Solving?

In cognitive psychology , the term 'problem-solving' refers to the mental process that people go through to discover, analyze, and solve problems.

A problem exists when there is a goal that we want to achieve but the process by which we will achieve it is not obvious to us. Put another way, there is something that we want to occur in our life, yet we are not immediately certain how to make it happen.

Maybe you want a better relationship with your spouse or another family member but you're not sure how to improve it. Or you want to start a business but are unsure what steps to take. Problem-solving helps you figure out how to achieve these desires.

The problem-solving process involves:

• Discovery of the problem
• Deciding to tackle the issue
• Seeking to understand the problem more fully
• Researching available options or solutions
• Taking action to resolve the issue

Before problem-solving can occur, it is important to first understand the exact nature of the problem itself. If your understanding of the issue is faulty, your attempts to resolve it will also be incorrect or flawed.

Problem-Solving Mental Processes

Several mental processes are at work during problem-solving. Among them are:

• Perceptually recognizing the problem
• Representing the problem in memory
• Considering relevant information that applies to the problem
• Identifying different aspects of the problem
• Labeling and describing the problem

Problem-Solving Strategies

There are many ways to go about solving a problem. Some of these strategies might be used on their own, or you may decide to employ multiple approaches when working to figure out and fix a problem.

An algorithm is a step-by-step procedure that, by following certain "rules" produces a solution. Algorithms are commonly used in mathematics to solve division or multiplication problems. But they can be used in other fields as well.

In psychology, algorithms can be used to help identify individuals with a greater risk of mental health issues. For instance, research suggests that certain algorithms might help us recognize children with an elevated risk of suicide or self-harm.

One benefit of algorithms is that they guarantee an accurate answer. However, they aren't always the best approach to problem-solving, in part because detecting patterns can be incredibly time-consuming.

There are also concerns when machine learning is involved—also known as artificial intelligence (AI)—such as whether they can accurately predict human behaviors.

Heuristics are shortcut strategies that people can use to solve a problem at hand. These "rule of thumb" approaches allow you to simplify complex problems, reducing the total number of possible solutions to a more manageable set.

If you find yourself sitting in a traffic jam, for example, you may quickly consider other routes, taking one to get moving once again. When shopping for a new car, you might think back to a prior experience when negotiating got you a lower price, then employ the same tactics.

While heuristics may be helpful when facing smaller issues, major decisions shouldn't necessarily be made using a shortcut approach. Heuristics also don't guarantee an effective solution, such as when trying to drive around a traffic jam only to find yourself on an equally crowded route.

Trial and Error

A trial-and-error approach to problem-solving involves trying a number of potential solutions to a particular issue, then ruling out those that do not work. If you're not sure whether to buy a shirt in blue or green, for instance, you may try on each before deciding which one to purchase.

This can be a good strategy to use if you have a limited number of solutions available. But if there are many different choices available, narrowing down the possible options using another problem-solving technique can be helpful before attempting trial and error.

In some cases, the solution to a problem can appear as a sudden insight. You are facing an issue in a relationship or your career when, out of nowhere, the solution appears in your mind and you know exactly what to do.

Insight can occur when the problem in front of you is similar to an issue that you've dealt with in the past. Although, you may not recognize what is occurring since the underlying mental processes that lead to insight often happen outside of conscious awareness .

Research indicates that insight is most likely to occur during times when you are alone—such as when going on a walk by yourself, when you're in the shower, or when lying in bed after waking up.

How to Apply Problem-Solving Strategies in Real Life

If you're facing a problem, you can implement one or more of these strategies to find a potential solution. Here's how to use them in real life:

• Create a flow chart . If you have time, you can take advantage of the algorithm approach to problem-solving by sitting down and making a flow chart of each potential solution, its consequences, and what happens next.
• Recall your past experiences . When a problem needs to be solved fairly quickly, heuristics may be a better approach. Think back to when you faced a similar issue, then use your knowledge and experience to choose the best option possible.
• Start trying potential solutions . If your options are limited, start trying them one by one to see which solution is best for achieving your desired goal. If a particular solution doesn't work, move on to the next.
• Take some time alone . Since insight is often achieved when you're alone, carve out time to be by yourself for a while. The answer to your problem may come to you, seemingly out of the blue, if you spend some time away from others.

Obstacles to Problem-Solving

Problem-solving is not a flawless process as there are a number of obstacles that can interfere with our ability to solve a problem quickly and efficiently. These obstacles include:

• Assumptions: When dealing with a problem, people can make assumptions about the constraints and obstacles that prevent certain solutions. Thus, they may not even try some potential options.
• Functional fixedness : This term refers to the tendency to view problems only in their customary manner. Functional fixedness prevents people from fully seeing all of the different options that might be available to find a solution.
• Irrelevant or misleading information: When trying to solve a problem, it's important to distinguish between information that is relevant to the issue and irrelevant data that can lead to faulty solutions. The more complex the problem, the easier it is to focus on misleading or irrelevant information.
• Mental set: A mental set is a tendency to only use solutions that have worked in the past rather than looking for alternative ideas. A mental set can work as a heuristic, making it a useful problem-solving tool. However, mental sets can also lead to inflexibility, making it more difficult to find effective solutions.

How to Improve Your Problem-Solving Skills

In the end, if your goal is to become a better problem-solver, it's helpful to remember that this is a process. Thus, if you want to improve your problem-solving skills, following these steps can help lead you to your solution:

• Recognize that a problem exists . If you are facing a problem, there are generally signs. For instance, if you have a mental illness , you may experience excessive fear or sadness, mood changes, and changes in sleeping or eating habits. Recognizing these signs can help you realize that an issue exists.
• Decide to solve the problem . Make a conscious decision to solve the issue at hand. Commit to yourself that you will go through the steps necessary to find a solution.
• Seek to fully understand the issue . Analyze the problem you face, looking at it from all sides. If your problem is relationship-related, for instance, ask yourself how the other person may be interpreting the issue. You might also consider how your actions might be contributing to the situation.
• Research potential options . Using the problem-solving strategies mentioned, research potential solutions. Make a list of options, then consider each one individually. What are some pros and cons of taking the available routes? What would you need to do to make them happen?
• Take action . Select the best solution possible and take action. Action is one of the steps required for change . So, go through the motions needed to resolve the issue.
• Try another option, if needed . If the solution you chose didn't work, don't give up. Either go through the problem-solving process again or simply try another option.

You can find a way to solve your problems as long as you keep working toward this goal—even if the best solution is simply to let go because no other good solution exists.

Sarathy V. Real world problem-solving .  Front Hum Neurosci . 2018;12:261. doi:10.3389/fnhum.2018.00261

Dunbar K. Problem solving . A Companion to Cognitive Science . 2017. doi:10.1002/9781405164535.ch20

Stewart SL, Celebre A, Hirdes JP, Poss JW. Risk of suicide and self-harm in kids: The development of an algorithm to identify high-risk individuals within the children's mental health system . Child Psychiat Human Develop . 2020;51:913-924. doi:10.1007/s10578-020-00968-9

Rosenbusch H, Soldner F, Evans AM, Zeelenberg M. Supervised machine learning methods in psychology: A practical introduction with annotated R code . Soc Personal Psychol Compass . 2021;15(2):e12579. doi:10.1111/spc3.12579

Mishra S. Decision-making under risk: Integrating perspectives from biology, economics, and psychology . Personal Soc Psychol Rev . 2014;18(3):280-307. doi:10.1177/1088868314530517

Csikszentmihalyi M, Sawyer K. Creative insight: The social dimension of a solitary moment . In: The Systems Model of Creativity . 2015:73-98. doi:10.1007/978-94-017-9085-7_7

Chrysikou EG, Motyka K, Nigro C, Yang SI, Thompson-Schill SL. Functional fixedness in creative thinking tasks depends on stimulus modality .  Psychol Aesthet Creat Arts . 2016;10(4):425‐435. doi:10.1037/aca0000050

Huang F, Tang S, Hu Z. Unconditional perseveration of the short-term mental set in chunk decomposition .  Front Psychol . 2018;9:2568. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02568

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Schooler JW, Ohlsson S, Brooks K. Thoughts beyond words: When language overshadows insight. J Experiment Psychol: General . 1993;122:166-183. doi:10.1037/0096-3445.2.166

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

What Are Problem-Solving Skills? (Examples Included)

Mike Simpson 0 Comments

By Mike Simpson

Problem-solving skills are important not just for work. In the words of Karl Popper , “All life is problem-solving.”

What on earth does that mean? Simply that being alive means facing challenges. With problem-solving skills, you can navigate issues with greater ease, making hard times, well, less hard.

But what are problem-solving skills? How do you know if you have them or not? Why do they matter to your job search? And what should you do if you don’t feel yours are up to snuff? Luckily, we’re about to get into all of that.

If you’re curious about the world of problem-solving skills, here’s what you need to know.

What Are Problem-Solving Skills?

Before we dig into any examples, let’s focus first on an important question: what are problem-solving skills.

To answer that question, let’s start with the barebones basics. According to Merriam-Webster , problem-solving is “the process or act of finding a solution to a problem.” Why does that matter? Well, because it gives you insight into what problem-solving skills are.

Any skill that helps you find solutions to problems can qualify. And that means problem-solving skills aren’t just one capability, but a toolbox filled with soft skills and hard skills that come together during your time of need.

The ability to solve problems is relevant to any part of your life. Whether your writing a grocery list or dealing with a car that won’t start, you’re actually problem-solving.

The same is true at work, too. Most tasks actually involve a degree of problem-solving. Really? Really.

Think about it this way; when you’re given an assignment, you’re being asked, “Can you do this thing?” Doing that thing is the problem.

Then, you have to find a path that lets you accomplish what you need to do. That is problem-solving.

Yes, sometimes what you need to handle isn’t “challenging” in the difficulty sense. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t count.

Besides, some of what you need to do will legitimately be hard. Maybe you’re given a new responsibility, or something goes wrong during a project. When that happens, you’ll have to navigate unfamiliar territory, gather new information, and think outside of the box. That’s problem-solving, too.

That’s why hiring managers favor candidates with problem-solving skills. They make you more effective in your role, increasing the odds that you can find solutions whenever the need arises.

How Are Problem-Solving Skills Relevant to a Job Search?

Alright, you probably have a good idea of what problem-solving skills are. Now, it’s time to talk about why they matter to your job search.

We’ve already touched on one major point: hiring managers prefer candidates with strong problem-solving skills. That alone makes these capabilities a relevant part of the equation. If you don’t show the hiring manager you’ve got what it takes to excel, you may struggle to land a position.

But that isn’t the only reason these skills matter. Problem-solving skills can help you during the entire job search process. After all, what’s a job search but a problem – or a series of problems – that needs an answer.

You need a new job; that’s the core problem you’re solving. But every step is its own unique challenge. Finding an opening that matches your skills, creating a resume that resonates with the hiring manager, nailing the interview, and negotiating a salary … those are all smaller problems that are part of the bigger one.

So, problem-solving skills really are at the core of the job search experience. By having strong capabilities in this area, you may find a new position faster than you’d expect.

Okay, you may be thinking, “If hiring managers prefer candidates with problem-solving skills, which ones are they after? Are certain problem-solving capabilities more important today? Is there something I should be going out of my way to showcase?”

While any related skills are worth highlighting, some may get you further than others. Analysis, research, creativity, collaboration , organization, and decision-making are all biggies. With those skills, you can work through the entire problem-solving process, making them worthwhile additions to your resume.

But that doesn’t mean you have to focus there solely. Don’t shy away from showcasing everything you bring to the table. That way, if a particular hiring manager is looking for a certain capability, you’re more likely to tap on what they’re after.

How to Highlight Problem-Solving Skills for Job Search

At this point, it’s ridiculously clear that problem-solving skills are valuable in the eyes of hiring managers. So, how do you show them that you’ve got all of the capabilities they are after? By using the right approach.

When you’re writing your resume or cover letter , your best bet is to highlight achievements that let you put your problem-solving skills to work. That way, you can “show” the hiring manager you have what it takes.

Showing is always better than telling. Anyone can write down, “I have awesome problem-solving skills.” The thing is, that doesn’t really prove that you do. With a great example, you offer up some context, and that makes a difference.

How do you decide on which skills to highlight on your resume or cover letter? By having a great strategy. With the Tailoring Method , it’s all about relevancy. The technique helps you identify skills that matter to that particular hiring manager, allowing you to speak directly to their needs.

Plus, you can use the Tailoring Method when you answer job interview questions . With that approach, you’re making sure those responses are on-point, too.

But when do you talk about your problem-solving capabilities during an interview? Well, there’s a good chance you’ll get asked problem-solving interview questions during your meeting. Take a look at those to see the kinds of questions that are perfect for mentioning these skills.

However, you don’t have to stop there. If you’re asked about your greatest achievement or your strengths, those could be opportunities, too. Nearly any open-ended question could be the right time to discuss those skills, so keep that in mind as you practice for your interview.

How to Develop Problem-Solving Skills If You Don’t Have Them

Developing problem-solving skills may seem a bit tricky on the surface, especially if you think you don’t have them. The thing is, it doesn’t actually have to be hard. You simply need to use the right strategy.

First, understand that you probably do have problem-solving skills; you simply may not have realized it. After all, life is full of challenges that you have to tackle, so there’s a good chance you’ve developed some abilities along the way.

Now, let’s reframe the question and focus on how to improve your problem-solving skills. Here’s how to go about it.

Understand the Problem-Solving Process

In many cases, problem-solving is all about the process. You:

• Identify the problem
• Analyze the key elements
• Look for potential solutions
• Examine the options for viability and risk
• Decide on an approach
• Review the outcome for lessons

By understanding the core process, you can apply it more effectively. That way, when you encounter an issue, you’ll know how to approach it, increasing the odds you’ll handle the situation effectively.

Try Puzzles and Games

Any activity that lets you take the steps listed above could help you hone your problem-solving skills. For example, brainteasers, puzzles, and logic-based games can be great places to start.

Whether it’s something as straightforward – but nonetheless challenging – as Sudoku or a Rubik’s Cube, or something as complex as Settlers of Catan, it puts your problem-solving skills to work. Plus, if you enjoy the activity, it makes skill-building fun, making it a win-win.

Look for Daily Opportunities

If you’re looking for a practical approach, you’re in luck. You can also look at the various challenges you face during the day and think about how to overcome them.

For example, if you always experience a mid-day energy slump that hurts your productivity, take a deep dive into that problem. Define what’s happening, think about why it occurs, consider various solutions, pick one to try, and analyze the results.

By using the problem-solving approach more often in your life, you’ll develop those skills further and make using these capabilities a habit. Plus, you may find ways to improve your day-to-day living, which is a nice bonus.

Volunteer for “Stretch” Projects

If you’re currently employed, volunteering for projects that push you slightly outside of your comfort zone can help you develop problem-solving skills, too. You’ll encounter the unknown and have to think outside of the box, both of which can boost critical problem-solving-related skills.

Plus, you may gain other capabilities along the way, like experience with new technologies or tools. That makes the project an even bigger career booster, which is pretty awesome.

List of Problem-Solving Skills

Alright, we’ve taken a pretty deep dive into what problem-solving skills are. Now, it’s time for some problem-solving skills examples.

As we mentioned above, there are a ton of capabilities and traits that can support better problem-solving. By understanding what they are, you can showcase the right abilities during your job search.

So, without further ado, here is a quick list of problem-solving skill examples:

• Collaboration
• Organization
• Decision-Making
• Troubleshooting
• Self-Reliance
• Self-Motivation
• Communication
• Attention to Detail
• Brainstorming
• Forecasting
• Active Listening
• Accountability
• Open-Mindedness
• Critical Thinking
• Flexibility

Do you have to showcase all of those skills during your job search individually? No, not necessarily. Instead, you want to highlight a range of capabilities based on what the hiring manager is after. If you’re using the Tailoring Method, you’ll know which ones need to make their way into your resume, cover letter, and interview answers.

Now, are there other skills that support problem-solving? Yes, there certainly can be.

Essentially any skill that helps you go from the problem to the solution can, in its own right, be a problem-solving skill.

All of the skills above can be part of the equation. But, if you have another capability that helps you flourish when you encounter an obstacle, it can count, too.

Reflect on your past experience and consider how you’ve navigated challenges in the past. If a particular skill helped you do that, then it’s worth highlighting during a job search.

If you would like to find out more about skills to put on a resume , we’ve taken a close look at the topic before. Along with problem-solving skills, we dig into a variety of other areas, helping you choose what to highlight so that you can increase your odds of landing your perfect job.

Putting It All Together

Ultimately, problem-solving skills are essential for professionals in any kind of field. By honing your capabilities and showcasing them during your job search, you can become a stronger candidate and employee. In the end, that’s all good stuff, making it easier for you to keep your career on track today, tomorrow, and well into the future.

Co-Founder and CEO of TheInterviewGuys.com. Mike is a job interview and career expert and the head writer at TheInterviewGuys.com.

His advice and insights have been shared and featured by publications such as Forbes , Entrepreneur , CNBC and more as well as educational institutions such as the University of Michigan , Penn State , Northeastern and others.

Learn more about The Interview Guys on our About Us page .

About The Author

Mike simpson.

Co-Founder and CEO of TheInterviewGuys.com. Mike is a job interview and career expert and the head writer at TheInterviewGuys.com. His advice and insights have been shared and featured by publications such as Forbes , Entrepreneur , CNBC and more as well as educational institutions such as the University of Michigan , Penn State , Northeastern and others. Learn more about The Interview Guys on our About Us page .

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Why Problem-Solving Skills Are Essential for Leaders in Any Industry

• 17 Jan 2023

Any organization offering a product or service is in the business of solving problems.

Whether providing medical care to address health issues or quick convenience to those hungry for dinner, a business’s purpose is to satisfy customer needs .

In addition to solving customers’ problems, you’ll undoubtedly encounter challenges within your organization as it evolves to meet customer needs. You’re likely to experience growing pains in the form of missed targets, unattained goals, and team disagreements.

Yet, the ubiquity of problems doesn’t have to be discouraging; with the right frameworks and tools, you can build the skills to solve consumers' and your organization’s most challenging issues.

Here’s a primer on problem-solving in business, why it’s important, the skills you need, and how to build them.

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What Is Problem-Solving in Business?

Problem-solving is the process of systematically removing barriers that prevent you or others from reaching goals.

Your business removes obstacles in customers’ lives through its products or services, just as you can remove obstacles that keep your team from achieving business goals.

Design Thinking

Design thinking , as described by Harvard Business School Dean Srikant Datar in the online course Design Thinking and Innovation , is a human-centered , solutions-based approach to problem-solving and innovation. Originally created for product design, design thinking’s use case has evolved . It’s now used to solve internal business problems, too.

The design thinking process has four stages :

• Clarify: Clarify a problem through research and feedback from those impacted.
• Ideate: Armed with new insights, generate as many solutions as possible.
• Develop: Combine and cull your ideas into a short list of viable, feasible, and desirable options before building prototypes (if making physical products) and creating a plan of action (if solving an intangible problem).
• Implement: Execute the strongest idea, ensuring clear communication with all stakeholders about its potential value and deliberate reasoning.

Using this framework, you can generate innovative ideas that wouldn’t have surfaced otherwise.

Creative Problem-Solving

Another, less structured approach to challenges is creative problem-solving , which employs a series of exercises to explore open-ended solutions and develop new perspectives. This is especially useful when a problem’s root cause has yet to be defined.

You can use creative problem-solving tools in design thinking’s “ideate” stage, which include:

• Brainstorming: Instruct everyone to develop as many ideas as possible in an allotted time frame without passing judgment.
• Divergent thinking exercises: Rather than arriving at the same conclusion (convergent thinking), instruct everyone to come up with a unique idea for a given prompt (divergent thinking). This type of exercise helps avoid the tendency to agree with others’ ideas without considering alternatives.
• Alternate worlds: Ask your team to consider how various personas would manage the problem. For instance, how would a pilot approach it? What about a young child? What about a seasoned engineer?

It can be tempting to fall back on how problems have been solved before, especially if they worked well. However, if you’re striving for innovation, relying on existing systems can stunt your company’s growth.

Related: How to Be a More Creative Problem-Solver at Work: 8 Tips

Why Is Problem-Solving Important for Leaders?

While obstacles’ specifics vary between industries, strong problem-solving skills are crucial for leaders in any field.

Whether building a new product or dealing with internal issues, you’re bound to come up against challenges. Having frameworks and tools at your disposal when they arise can turn issues into opportunities.

As a leader, it’s rarely your responsibility to solve a problem single-handedly, so it’s crucial to know how to empower employees to work together to find the best solution.

Your job is to guide them through each step of the framework and set the parameters and prompts within which they can be creative. Then, you can develop a list of ideas together, test the best ones, and implement the chosen solution.

Related: 5 Design Thinking Skills for Business Professionals

4 Problem-Solving Skills All Leaders Need

1. problem framing.

One key skill for any leader is framing problems in a way that makes sense for their organization. Problem framing is defined in Design Thinking and Innovation as determining the scope, context, and perspective of the problem you’re trying to solve.

“Before you begin to generate solutions for your problem, you must always think hard about how you’re going to frame that problem,” Datar says in the course.

For instance, imagine you work for a company that sells children’s sneakers, and sales have plummeted. When framing the problem, consider:

• What is the children’s sneaker market like right now?
• Should we improve the quality of our sneakers?
• Should we assess all children’s footwear?
• Is this a marketing issue for children’s sneakers specifically?
• Is this a bigger issue that impacts how we should market or produce all footwear?

While there’s no one right way to frame a problem, how you do can impact the solutions you generate. It’s imperative to accurately frame problems to align with organizational priorities and ensure your team generates useful ideas for your firm.

To solve a problem, you need to empathize with those impacted by it. Empathy is the ability to understand others’ emotions and experiences. While many believe empathy is a fixed trait, it’s a skill you can strengthen through practice.

When confronted with a problem, consider whom it impacts. Returning to the children’s sneaker example, think of who’s affected:

• Your organization’s employees, because sales are down
• The customers who typically buy your sneakers
• The children who typically wear your sneakers

Empathy is required to get to the problem’s root and consider each group’s perspective. Assuming someone’s perspective often isn’t accurate, so the best way to get that information is by collecting user feedback.

For instance, if you asked customers who typically buy your children’s sneakers why they’ve stopped, they could say, “A new brand of children’s sneakers came onto the market that have soles with more traction. I want my child to be as safe as possible, so I bought those instead.”

When someone shares their feelings and experiences, you have an opportunity to empathize with them. This can yield solutions to their problem that directly address its root and shows you care. In this case, you may design a new line of children’s sneakers with extremely grippy soles for added safety, knowing that’s what your customers care most about.

Related: 3 Effective Methods for Assessing Customer Needs

3. Breaking Cognitive Fixedness

Cognitive fixedness is a state of mind in which you examine situations through the lens of past experiences. This locks you into one mindset rather than allowing you to consider alternative possibilities.

For instance, your cognitive fixedness may make you think rubber is the only material for sneaker treads. What else could you use? Is there a grippier alternative you haven’t considered?

Problem-solving is all about overcoming cognitive fixedness. You not only need to foster this skill in yourself but among your team.

4. Creating a Psychologically Safe Environment

As a leader, it’s your job to create an environment conducive to problem-solving. In a psychologically safe environment, all team members feel comfortable bringing ideas to the table, which are likely influenced by their personal opinions and experiences.

If employees are penalized for “bad” ideas or chastised for questioning long-held procedures and systems, innovation has no place to take root.

By employing the design thinking framework and creative problem-solving exercises, you can foster a setting in which your team feels comfortable sharing ideas and new, innovative solutions can grow.

How to Build Problem-Solving Skills

The most obvious answer to how to build your problem-solving skills is perhaps the most intimidating: You must practice.

Again and again, you’ll encounter challenges, use creative problem-solving tools and design thinking frameworks, and assess results to learn what to do differently next time.

While most of your practice will occur within your organization, you can learn in a lower-stakes setting by taking an online course, such as Design Thinking and Innovation . Datar guides you through each tool and framework, presenting real-world business examples to help you envision how you would approach the same types of problems in your organization.

Are you interested in uncovering innovative solutions for your organization’s business problems? Explore Design Thinking and Innovation —one of our online entrepreneurship and innovation courses —to learn how to leverage proven frameworks and tools to solve challenges. Not sure which course is right for you? Download our free flowchart .

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What Are Problem-Solving Skills? (Definition, Examples, And How To List On A Resume)

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Find a Job You Really Want In

Summary. Problem-solving skills include analysis, creativity, prioritization, organization, and troubleshooting. To solve a problem, you need to use a variety of skills based on the needs of the situation.

Most jobs essentially boil down to identifying and solving problems consistently and effectively. That’s why employers value problem-solving skills in job candidates for just about every role.

We’ll cover problem-solving methods, ways to improve your problem-solving skills, and examples of showcasing your problem-solving skills during your job search .

Key Takeaways:

If you can show off your problem-solving skills on your resume , in your cover letter , and during a job interview, you’ll be one step closer to landing a job.

Companies rely on employees who can handle unexpected challenges, identify persistent issues, and offer workable solutions in a positive way.

It is important to improve problem solving skill because this is a skill that can be cultivated and nurtured so you can become better at dealing with problems over time.

Types of Problem-Solving Skills

How to improve your problem-solving skills, example answers to problem-solving interview questions, how to show off problem-solving skills on a resume, example resume and cover letter with problem-solving skills, more about problem-solving skills, problem solving skills faqs.

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Problem-solving skills are skills that help you identify and solve problems effectively and efficiently . Your ability to solve problems is one of the main ways that hiring managers and recruiters assess candidates, as those with excellent problem-solving skills are more likely to autonomously carry out their responsibilities.

A true problem solver can look at a situation, find the cause of the problem (or causes, because there are often many issues at play), and then come up with a reasonable solution that effectively fixes the problem or at least remedies most of it.

The ability to solve problems is considered a soft skill , meaning that it’s more of a personality trait than a skill you’ve learned at school, on the job, or through technical training.

That being said, your proficiency with various hard skills will have a direct bearing on your ability to solve problems. For example, it doesn’t matter if you’re a great problem-solver; if you have no experience with astrophysics, you probably won’t be hired as a space station technician .

Problem-solving is considered a skill on its own, but it’s supported by many other skills that can help you be a better problem solver. These skills fall into a few different categories of problem-solving skills.

Problem recognition and analysis. The first step is to recognize that there is a problem and discover what it is or what the root cause of it is.

You can’t begin to solve a problem unless you’re aware of it. Sometimes you’ll see the problem yourself and other times you’ll be told about the problem. Both methods of discovery are very important, but they can require some different skills. The following can be an important part of the process:

Active listening

Data analysis

Historical analysis

Communication

Create possible solutions. You know what the problem is, and you might even know the why of it, but then what? Your next step is the come up with some solutions.

Most of the time, the first solution you come up with won’t be the right one. Don’t fall victim to knee-jerk reactions; try some of the following methods to give you solution options.

Brainstorming

Forecasting

Decision-making

Topic knowledge/understanding

Process flow

Evaluation of solution options. Now that you have a lot of solution options, it’s time to weed through them and start casting some aside. There might be some ridiculous ones, bad ones, and ones you know could never be implemented. Throw them away and focus on the potentially winning ideas.

This step is probably the one where a true, natural problem solver will shine. They intuitively can put together mental scenarios and try out solutions to see their plusses and minuses. If you’re still working on your skill set — try listing the pros and cons on a sheet of paper.

Prioritizing

Evaluating and weighing

Solution implementation. This is your “take action” step. Once you’ve decided which way to go, it’s time to head down that path and see if you were right. This step takes a lot of people and management skills to make it work for you.

Dependability

Teambuilding

Troubleshooting

Follow-Through

Believability

Trustworthiness

Project management

Evaluation of the solution. Was it a good solution? Did your plan work or did it fail miserably? Sometimes the evaluation step takes a lot of work and review to accurately determine effectiveness. The following skills might be essential for a thorough evaluation.

Customer service

Feedback responses

Flexibility

You now have a ton of skills in front of you. Some of them you have naturally and some — not so much. If you want to solve a problem, and you want to be known for doing that well and consistently, then it’s time to sharpen those skills.

Develop industry knowledge. Whether it’s broad-based industry knowledge, on-the-job training , or very specific knowledge about a small sector — knowing all that you can and feeling very confident in your knowledge goes a long way to learning how to solve problems.

Be a part of a solution. Step up and become involved in the problem-solving process. Don’t lead — but follow. Watch an expert solve the problem and, if you pay attention, you’ll learn how to solve a problem, too. Pay attention to the steps and the skills that a person uses.

Practice solving problems. Do some role-playing with a mentor , a professor , co-workers, other students — just start throwing problems out there and coming up with solutions and then detail how those solutions may play out.

Go a step further, find some real-world problems and create your solutions, then find out what they did to solve the problem in actuality.

Identify your weaknesses. If you could easily point out a few of your weaknesses in the list of skills above, then those are the areas you need to focus on improving. How you do it is incredibly varied, so find a method that works for you.

Solve some problems — for real. If the opportunity arises, step in and use your problem-solving skills. You’ll never really know how good (or bad) you are at it until you fail.

That’s right, failing will teach you so much more than succeeding will. You’ll learn how to go back and readdress the problem, find out where you went wrong, learn more from listening even better. Failure will be your best teacher ; it might not make you feel good, but it’ll make you a better problem-solver in the long run.

Once you’ve impressed a hiring manager with top-notch problem-solving skills on your resume and cover letter , you’ll need to continue selling yourself as a problem-solver in the job interview.

There are three main ways that employers can assess your problem-solving skills during an interview:

By asking questions that relate to your past experiences solving problems

Posing hypothetical problems for you to solve

By administering problem-solving tests and exercises

The third method varies wildly depending on what job you’re applying for, so we won’t attempt to cover all the possible problem-solving tests and exercises that may be a part of your application process.

Luckily, interview questions focused on problem-solving are pretty well-known, and most can be answered using the STAR method . STAR stands for situation, task, action, result, and it’s a great way to organize your answers to behavioral interview questions .

Let’s take a look at how to answer some common interview questions built to assess your problem-solving capabilities:

At my current job as an operations analyst at XYZ Inc., my boss set a quarterly goal to cut contractor spending by 25% while maintaining the same level of production and moving more processes in-house. It turned out that achieving this goal required hiring an additional 6 full-time employees, which got stalled due to the pandemic. I suggested that we widen our net and hire remote employees after our initial applicant pool had no solid candidates. I ran the analysis on overhead costs and found that if even 4 of the 6 employees were remote, we’d save 16% annually compared to the contractors’ rates. In the end, all 6 employees we hired were fully remote, and we cut costs by 26% while production rose by a modest amount.

I try to step back and gather research as my first step. For instance, I had a client who needed a graphic designer to work with Crello, which I had never seen before, let alone used. After getting the project details straight, I began meticulously studying the program the YouTube tutorials, and the quick course Crello provides. I also reached out to coworkers who had worked on projects for this same client in the past. Once I felt comfortable with the software, I started work immediately. It was a slower process because I had to be more methodical in my approach, but by putting in some extra hours, I turned in the project ahead of schedule. The client was thrilled with my work and was shocked to hear me joke afterward that it was my first time using Crello.

As a digital marketer , website traffic and conversion rates are my ultimate metrics. However, I also track less visible metrics that can illuminate the story behind the results. For instance, using Google Analytics, I found that 78% of our referral traffic was coming from one affiliate, but that these referrals were only accounting for 5% of our conversions. Another affiliate, who only accounted for about 10% of our referral traffic, was responsible for upwards of 30% of our conversions. I investigated further and found that the second, more effective affiliate was essentially qualifying our leads for us before sending them our way, which made it easier for us to close. I figured out exactly how they were sending us better customers, and reached out to the first, more prolific but less effective affiliate with my understanding of the results. They were able to change their pages that were referring us traffic, and our conversions from that source tripled in just a month. It showed me the importance of digging below the “big picture” metrics to see the mechanics of how revenue was really being generated through digital marketing.

You can bring up your problem-solving skills in your resume summary statement , in your work experience , and under your education section , if you’re a recent graduate. The key is to include items on your resume that speak direclty to your ability to solve problems and generate results.

If you can, quantify your problem-solving accomplishments on your your resume . Hiring managers and recruiters are always more impressed with results that include numbers because they provide much-needed context.

This sample resume for a Customer Service Representative will give you an idea of how you can work problem solving into your resume.

Michelle Beattle 111 Millennial Parkway Chicago, IL 60007 (555) 987-6543 [email protected] Professional Summary Qualified Customer Services Representative with 3 years in a high-pressure customer service environment. Professional, personable, and a true problem solver. Work History ABC Store — Customer Service Representative 01/2015 — 12/2017 Managed in-person and phone relations with customers coming in to pick up purchases, return purchased products, helped find and order items not on store shelves, and explained details and care of merchandise. Became a key player in the customer service department and was promoted to team lead. XYZ Store — Customer Service Representative/Night Manager 01/2018 — 03/2020, released due to Covid-19 layoffs Worked as the night manager of the customer service department and filled in daytime hours when needed. Streamlined a process of moving customers to the right department through an app to ease the burden on the phone lines and reduce customer wait time by 50%. Was working on additional wait time problems when the Covid-19 pandemic caused our stores to close permanently. Education Chicago Tech 2014-2016 Earned an Associate’s Degree in Principles of Customer Care Skills Strong customer service skills Excellent customer complaint resolution Stock record management Order fulfillment New product information Cash register skills and proficiency Leader in problem solving initiatives

You can see how the resume gives you a chance to point out your problem-solving skills and to show where you used them a few times. Your cover letter is your chance to introduce yourself and list a few things that make you stand out from the crowd.

Michelle Beattle 111 Millennial Parkway Chicago, IL 60007 (555) 987-6543 [email protected] Dear Mary McDonald, I am writing in response to your ad on Zippia for a Customer Service Representative . Thank you for taking the time to consider me for this position. Many people believe that a job in customer service is simply listening to people complain all day. I see the job as much more than that. It’s an opportunity to help people solve problems, make their experience with your company more enjoyable, and turn them into life-long advocates of your brand. Through my years of experience and my educational background at Chicago Tech, where I earned an Associate’s Degree in the Principles of Customer Care, I have learned that the customers are the lifeline of the business and without good customer service representatives, a business will falter. I see it as my mission to make each and every customer I come in contact with a fan. I have more than five years of experience in the Customer Services industry and had advanced my role at my last job to Night Manager. I am eager to again prove myself as a hard worker, a dedicated people person, and a problem solver that can be relied upon. I have built a professional reputation as an employee that respects all other employees and customers, as a manager who gets the job done and finds solutions when necessary, and a worker who dives in to learn all she can about the business. Most of my customers have been very satisfied with my resolution ideas and have returned to do business with us again. I believe my expertise would make me a great match for LMNO Store. I have enclosed my resume for your review, and I would appreciate having the opportunity to meet with you to further discuss my qualifications. Thank you again for your time and consideration. Sincerely, Michelle Beattle

You’ve no doubt noticed that many of the skills listed in the problem-solving process are repeated. This is because having these abilities or talents is so important to the entire course of getting a problem solved.

In fact, they’re worthy of a little more attention. Many of them are similar, so we’ll pull them together and discuss how they’re important and how they work together.

Communication, active listening, and customer service skills. No matter where you are in the process of problem-solving, you need to be able to show that you’re listening and engaged and really hearing what the problem is or what a solution may be.

Obviously, the other part of this is being able to communicate effectively so people understand what you’re saying without confusion. Rolled into this are customer service skills , which really are all about listening and responding appropriately — it’s the ultimate in interpersonal communications.

Analysis (data and historical), research, and topic knowledge/understanding. This is how you intellectually grasp the issue and approach it. This can come from studying the topic and the process or it can come from knowledge you’ve gained after years in the business. But the best solutions come from people who thoroughly understand the problem.

Creativity, brainstorming, troubleshooting, and flexibility. All of you creative thinkers will like this area because it’s when your brain is at its best.

Coming up with ideas, collaborating with others, leaping over hurdles, and then being able to change courses immediately, if need be, are all essential. If you’re not creative by nature, then having a team of diverse thinkers can help you in this area.

Dependability, believability, trustworthiness, and follow-through. Think about it, these are all traits a person needs to have to make change happen and to make you comfortable taking that next step with them. Someone who is shifty and shady and never follows through, well, you’re simply not going to do what they ask, are you?

Leadership, teambuilding, decision-making, and project management. These are the skills that someone who is in charge is brimming with. These are the leaders you enjoy working for because you know they’re doing what they can to keep everything in working order. These skills can be learned but they’re often innate.

Prioritizing, prediction, forecasting, evaluating and weighing, and process flow. If you love flow charts, data analysis, prediction modeling, and all of that part of the equation, then you might have some great problem-solving abilities.

These are all great skills because they can help you weed out bad ideas, see flaws, and save massive amounts of time in trial and error.

What is a good example of problem-solving skills?

Good examples of porblem-solving skills include research, analysis, creativity, communciation, and decision-making. Each of these skills build off one another to contribute to the problem solving process. Research and analysis allow you to identify a problem.

Creativity and analysis help you consider different solutions. Meanwhile, communication and decision-making are key to working with others to solve a problem on a large scale.

What are 3 key attributes of a good problem solver?

3 key attributes of a good problem solver are persistence, intellegince, and empathy. Persistence is crucial to remain motivated to work through challenges. Inellegince is needed to make smart, informed choices. Empathy is crucial to maintain positive relationships with others as well as yourself.

What can I say instead of problem-solving skills?

Instead of saying problem-solving skills, you can say the following:

Critical thinker

Solutions-oriented

Engineering

Using different words is helpful, especially when writing your resume and cover letter.

What is problem-solving in the workplace?

Problem-solving in the workplace is the ability to work through any sort of challenge, conflict, or unexpected situation and still achieve business goals. Though it varies by profession, roblem-solving in the workplace is very important for almost any job, because probelms are inevitable. You need to have the appropriate level of problem-solving skills if you want to succeed in your career, whatever it may be.

Department of Labor – Problem Solving and Critical Thinking

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Kristin Kizer is an award-winning writer, television and documentary producer, and content specialist who has worked on a wide variety of written, broadcast, and electronic publications. A former writer/producer for The Discovery Channel, she is now a freelance writer and delighted to be sharing her talents and time with the wonderful Zippia audience.

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What Are Problem-Solving Skills?

Definition & Examples of Problem-Solving Skills

• Problem-solving skills help you determine why an issue is happening and how to resolve that issue.

Learn more about problem-solving skills and how they work.

Problem-solving skills help you solve issues quickly and effectively. It's one of the  key skills that employers  seek in job applicants, as employees with these skills tend to be self-reliant. Problem-solving skills require quickly identifying the underlying issue and implementing a solution.

Problem-solving is considered a  soft skill  (a personal strength) rather than a hard skill that's learned through education or training. You can improve your problem-solving skills by familiarizing yourself with common issues in your industry and learning from more experienced employees.

How Problem-Solving Skills Work

Problem-solving starts with identifying the issue. For example, a teacher might need to figure out how to improve student performance on a writing proficiency test. To do that, the teacher will review the writing tests looking for areas of improvement. They might see that students can construct simple sentences, but they're struggling with writing paragraphs and organizing those paragraphs into an essay.

To solve the problem, the teacher would work with students on how and when to write compound sentences, how to write paragraphs, and ways to organize an essay.

Theresa Chiechi / The Balance

There are five steps typically used in problem-solving.

1. Analyze Contributing Factors

To solve a problem, you must find out what caused it. This requires you to gather and evaluate data, isolate possible contributing circumstances, and pinpoint what needs to be addressed for a resolution.

To do this, you'll use skills like :

• Data gathering
• Data analysis
• Fact-finding
• Historical analysis

2. Generate Interventions

Once you’ve determined the cause, brainstorm possible solutions. Sometimes this involves teamwork since two (or more) minds are often better than one. A single strategy is rarely the obvious route to solving a complex problem; devising a set of alternatives helps you cover your bases and reduces your risk of exposure should the first strategy you implement fail.

This involves skills like :

• Brainstorming
• Creative thinking
• Forecasting
• Project design
• Project planning

3. Evaluate Solutions

Depending on the nature of the problem and your chain of command, evaluating best solutions may be performed by assigned teams, team leads, or forwarded to corporate decision-makers. Whoever makes the decision must evaluate potential costs, required resources, and possible barriers to successful solution implementation.

This requires several skills, including:

• Corroboration
• Test development
• Prioritizing

4. Implement a Plan

Once a course of action has been decided, it must be implemented along with benchmarks that can quickly and accurately determine whether it’s working. Plan implementation also involves letting personnel know about changes in standard operating procedures.

This requires skills like:

• Project management
• Project implementation
• Collaboration
• Time management
• Benchmark development

5. Assess the Solution's Effectiveness

Once a solution is implemented, the best problem-solvers have systems in place to evaluate if and how quickly it's working. This way, they know as soon as possible whether the issue has been resolved or whether they’ll have to change their response to the problem mid-stream.

This requires:

• Communication
• Customer feedback
• Follow-through
• Troubleshooting

Here's an example of showing your problem-solving skills in a cover letter.

When I was first hired as a paralegal, I inherited a backlog of 25 sets of medical records that needed to be summarized, each of which was hundreds of pages long. At the same time, I had to help prepare for three major cases, and there weren’t enough hours in the day. After I explained the problem to my supervisor, she agreed to pay me to come in on Saturday mornings to focus on the backlog. I was able to eliminate the backlog in a month.

Here's another example of how to show your problem-solving skills in a cover letter:

When I joined the team at Great Graphics as Artistic Director, the designers had become uninspired because of a former director who attempted to micro-manage every step in the design process. I used weekly round-table discussions to solicit creative input and ensured that each designer was given full autonomy to do their best work. I also introduced monthly team-based competitions that helped build morale, spark new ideas, and improve collaboration.

Highlighting Problem-Solving Skills

• Since this is a skill that's important to most employers, put them front and center on your resume, cover letter, and in interviews.

If you're not sure what to include, look to previous roles—whether in academic, work, or volunteer settings—for examples of challenges you met and problems you solved. Highlight relevant examples in your  cover letter and use bullet points in your resume to show how you solved a problem.

During interviews, be ready to describe situations you've encountered in previous roles, the processes you followed to address problems, the skills you applied, and the results of your actions. Potential employers are eager to hear a  coherent narrative of the ways you've used problem-solving skills .

Interviewers may pose hypothetical problems for you to solve. Base your answers on the five steps and refer to similar problems you've resolved, if possible. Here are tips for answering problem-solving interview questions , with examples of the best answers.

Key Takeaways

• It's one of the key skills that employers seek in job applicants.
• Problem-solving starts with identifying the issue, coming up with solutions, implementing those solutions, and evaluating their effectiveness. 

40 problem-solving techniques and processes

All teams and organizations encounter challenges. Approaching those challenges without a structured problem solving process can end up making things worse.

Proven problem solving techniques such as those outlined below can guide your group through a process of identifying problems and challenges , ideating on possible solutions , and then evaluating and implementing the most suitable .

In this post, you'll find problem-solving tools you can use to develop effective solutions. You'll also find some tips for facilitating the problem solving process and solving complex problems.

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What is problem solving?

Problem solving is a process of finding and implementing a solution to a challenge or obstacle. In most contexts, this means going through a problem solving process that begins with identifying the issue, exploring its root causes, ideating and refining possible solutions before implementing and measuring the impact of that solution.

For simple or small problems, it can be tempting to skip straight to implementing what you believe is the right solution. The danger with this approach is that without exploring the true causes of the issue, it might just occur again or your chosen solution may cause other issues.

Particularly in the world of work, good problem solving means using data to back up each step of the process, bringing in new perspectives and effectively measuring the impact of your solution.

Effective problem solving can help ensure that your team or organization is well positioned to overcome challenges, be resilient to change and create innovation. In my experience, problem solving is a combination of skillset, mindset and process, and it’s especially vital for leaders to cultivate this skill.

What is the seven step problem solving process?

A problem solving process is a step-by-step framework from going from discovering a problem all the way through to implementing a solution.

With practice, this framework can become intuitive, and innovative companies tend to have a consistent and ongoing ability to discover and tackle challenges when they come up.

You might see everything from a four step problem solving process through to seven steps. While all these processes cover roughly the same ground, I’ve found a seven step problem solving process is helpful for making all key steps legible.

We’ll outline that process here and then follow with techniques you can use to explore and work on that step of the problem solving process with a group.

The seven-step problem solving process is:

1. Problem identification 

The first stage of any problem solving process is to identify the problem(s) you need to solve. This often looks like using group discussions and activities to help a group surface and effectively articulate the challenges they’re facing and wish to resolve.

Be sure to align with your team on the exact definition and nature of the problem you’re solving. An effective process is one where everyone is pulling in the same direction – ensure clarity and alignment now to help avoid misunderstandings later.

2. Problem analysis and refinement

The process of problem analysis means ensuring that the problem you are seeking to solve is  the   right problem . Choosing the right problem to solve means you are on the right path to creating the right solution.

At this stage, you may look deeper at the problem you identified to try and discover the root cause at the level of people or process. You may also spend some time sourcing data, consulting relevant parties and creating and refining a problem statement.

Problem refinement means adjusting scope or focus of the problem you will be aiming to solve based on what comes up during your analysis. As you analyze data sources, you might discover that the root cause means you need to adjust your problem statement. Alternatively, you might find that your original problem statement is too big to be meaningful approached within your current project.

Remember that the goal of any problem refinement is to help set the stage for effective solution development and deployment. Set the right focus and get buy-in from your team here and you’ll be well positioned to move forward with confidence.

3. Solution generation

Once your group has nailed down the particulars of the problem you wish to solve, you want to encourage a free flow of ideas connecting to solving that problem. This can take the form of problem solving games that encourage creative thinking or techniquess designed to produce working prototypes of possible solutions. 

The key to ensuring the success of this stage of the problem solving process is to encourage quick, creative thinking and create an open space where all ideas are considered. The best solutions can often come from unlikely places and by using problem solving techniques that celebrate invention, you might come up with solution gold. 

4. Solution development

No solution is perfect right out of the gate. It’s important to discuss and develop the solutions your group has come up with over the course of following the previous problem solving steps in order to arrive at the best possible solution. Problem solving games used in this stage involve lots of critical thinking, measuring potential effort and impact, and looking at possible solutions analytically. 

During this stage, you will often ask your team to iterate and improve upon your front-running solutions and develop them further. Remember that problem solving strategies always benefit from a multitude of voices and opinions, and not to let ego get involved when it comes to choosing which solutions to develop and take further.

Finding the best solution is the goal of all problem solving workshops and here is the place to ensure that your solution is well thought out, sufficiently robust and fit for purpose. 

5. Decision making and planning

Nearly there! Once you’ve got a set of possible, you’ll need to make a decision on which to implement. This can be a consensus-based group decision or it might be for a leader or major stakeholder to decide. You’ll find a set of effective decision making methods below.

Once your group has reached consensus and selected a solution, there are some additional actions that also need to be decided upon. You’ll want to work on allocating ownership of the project, figure out who will do what, how the success of the solution will be measured and decide the next course of action.

Set clear accountabilities, actions, timeframes, and follow-ups for your chosen solution. Make these decisions and set clear next-steps in the problem solving workshop so that everyone is aligned and you can move forward effectively as a group. 

Ensuring that you plan for the roll-out of a solution is one of the most important problem solving steps. Without adequate planning or oversight, it can prove impossible to measure success or iterate further if the problem was not solved. 

6. Solution implementation 

This is what we were waiting for! All problem solving processes have the end goal of implementing an effective and impactful solution that your group has confidence in.

Project management and communication skills are key here – your solution may need to adjust when out in the wild or you might discover new challenges along the way. For some solutions, you might also implement a test with a small group and monitor results before rolling it out to an entire company.

You should have a clear owner for your solution who will oversee the plans you made together and help ensure they’re put into place. This person will often coordinate the implementation team and set-up processes to measure the efficacy of your solution too.

7. Solution evaluation 

So you and your team developed a great solution to a problem and have a gut feeling it’s been solved. Work done, right? Wrong. All problem solving strategies benefit from evaluation, consideration, and feedback.

You might find that the solution does not work for everyone, might create new problems, or is potentially so successful that you will want to roll it out to larger teams or as part of other initiatives. 

None of that is possible without taking the time to evaluate the success of the solution you developed in your problem solving model and adjust if necessary.

Remember that the problem solving process is often iterative and it can be common to not solve complex issues on the first try. Even when this is the case, you and your team will have generated learning that will be important for future problem solving workshops or in other parts of the organization. 

It’s also worth underlining how important record keeping is throughout the problem solving process. If a solution didn’t work, you need to have the data and records to see why that was the case. If you go back to the drawing board, notes from the previous workshop can help save time.

What does an effective problem solving process look like?

Every effective problem solving process begins with an agenda . In our experience, a well-structured problem solving workshop is one of the best methods for successfully guiding a group from exploring a problem to implementing a solution.

The format of a workshop ensures that you can get buy-in from your group, encourage free-thinking and solution exploration before making a decision on what to implement following the session.

This Design Sprint 2.0 template is an effective problem solving process from top agency AJ&Smart. It’s a great format for the entire problem solving process, with four-days of workshops designed to surface issues, explore solutions and even test a solution.

Check it for an example of how you might structure and run a problem solving process and feel free to copy and adjust it your needs!

For a shorter process you can run in a single afternoon, this remote problem solving agenda will guide you effectively in just a couple of hours.

Whatever the length of your workshop, by using SessionLab, it’s easy to go from an idea to a complete agenda . Start by dragging and dropping your core problem solving activities into place . Add timings, breaks and necessary materials before sharing your agenda with your colleagues.

The resulting agenda will be your guide to an effective and productive problem solving session that will also help you stay organized on the day!

Complete problem-solving methods

In this section, we’ll look at in-depth problem-solving methods that provide a complete end-to-end process for developing effective solutions. These will help guide your team from the discovery and definition of a problem through to delivering the right solution.

If you’re looking for an all-encompassing method or problem-solving model, these processes are a great place to start. They’ll ask your team to challenge preconceived ideas and adopt a mindset for solving problems more effectively.

Six Thinking Hats

Individual approaches to solving a problem can be very different based on what team or role an individual holds. It can be easy for existing biases or perspectives to find their way into the mix, or for internal politics to direct a conversation.

Six Thinking Hats is a classic method for identifying the problems that need to be solved and enables your team to consider them from different angles, whether that is by focusing on facts and data, creative solutions, or by considering why a particular solution might not work.

Like all problem-solving frameworks, Six Thinking Hats is effective at helping teams remove roadblocks from a conversation or discussion and come to terms with all the aspects necessary to solve complex problems.

The Six Thinking Hats   #creative thinking   #meeting facilitation   #problem solving   #issue resolution   #idea generation   #conflict resolution   The Six Thinking Hats are used by individuals and groups to separate out conflicting styles of thinking. They enable and encourage a group of people to think constructively together in exploring and implementing change, rather than using argument to fight over who is right and who is wrong.

Lightning Decision Jam

Featured courtesy of Jonathan Courtney of AJ&Smart Berlin, Lightning Decision Jam is one of those strategies that should be in every facilitation toolbox. Exploring problems and finding solutions is often creative in nature, though as with any creative process, there is the potential to lose focus and get lost.

Unstructured discussions might get you there in the end, but it’s much more effective to use a method that creates a clear process and team focus.

In Lightning Decision Jam, participants are invited to begin by writing challenges, concerns, or mistakes on post-its without discussing them before then being invited by the moderator to present them to the group.

From there, the team vote on which problems to solve and are guided through steps that will allow them to reframe those problems, create solutions and then decide what to execute on. 

By deciding the problems that need to be solved as a team before moving on, this group process is great for ensuring the whole team is aligned and can take ownership over the next stages. 

Lightning Decision Jam (LDJ)   #action   #decision making   #problem solving   #issue analysis   #innovation   #design   #remote-friendly   It doesn’t matter where you work and what your job role is, if you work with other people together as a team, you will always encounter the same challenges: Unclear goals and miscommunication that cause busy work and overtime Unstructured meetings that leave attendants tired, confused and without clear outcomes. Frustration builds up because internal challenges to productivity are not addressed Sudden changes in priorities lead to a loss of focus and momentum Muddled compromise takes the place of clear decision- making, leaving everybody to come up with their own interpretation. In short, a lack of structure leads to a waste of time and effort, projects that drag on for too long and frustrated, burnt out teams. AJ&Smart has worked with some of the most innovative, productive companies in the world. What sets their teams apart from others is not better tools, bigger talent or more beautiful offices. The secret sauce to becoming a more productive, more creative and happier team is simple: Replace all open discussion or brainstorming with a structured process that leads to more ideas, clearer decisions and better outcomes. When a good process provides guardrails and a clear path to follow, it becomes easier to come up with ideas, make decisions and solve problems. This is why AJ&Smart created Lightning Decision Jam (LDJ). It’s a simple and short, but powerful group exercise that can be run either in-person, in the same room, or remotely with distributed teams.

Problem Definition Process

While problems can be complex, the problem-solving methods you use to identify and solve those problems can often be simple in design. 

By taking the time to truly identify and define a problem before asking the group to reframe the challenge as an opportunity, this method is a great way to enable change.

Begin by identifying a focus question and exploring the ways in which it manifests before splitting into five teams who will each consider the problem using a different method: escape, reversal, exaggeration, distortion or wishful. Teams develop a problem objective and create ideas in line with their method before then feeding them back to the group.

This method is great for enabling in-depth discussions while also creating space for finding creative solutions too!

Problem Definition   #problem solving   #idea generation   #creativity   #online   #remote-friendly   A problem solving technique to define a problem, challenge or opportunity and to generate ideas.

The 5 Whys 

Sometimes, a group needs to go further with their strategies and analyze the root cause at the heart of organizational issues. An RCA or root cause analysis is the process of identifying what is at the heart of business problems or recurring challenges. 

The 5 Whys is a simple and effective method of helping a group go find the root cause of any problem or challenge and conduct analysis that will deliver results. 

By beginning with the creation of a problem statement and going through five stages to refine it, The 5 Whys provides everything you need to truly discover the cause of an issue.

The 5 Whys   #hyperisland   #innovation   This simple and powerful method is useful for getting to the core of a problem or challenge. As the title suggests, the group defines a problems, then asks the question “why” five times, often using the resulting explanation as a starting point for creative problem solving.

World Cafe is a simple but powerful facilitation technique to help bigger groups to focus their energy and attention on solving complex problems.

World Cafe enables this approach by creating a relaxed atmosphere where participants are able to self-organize and explore topics relevant and important to them which are themed around a central problem-solving purpose. Create the right atmosphere by modeling your space after a cafe and after guiding the group through the method, let them take the lead!

Making problem-solving a part of your organization’s culture in the long term can be a difficult undertaking. More approachable formats like World Cafe can be especially effective in bringing people unfamiliar with workshops into the fold. 

World Cafe   #hyperisland   #innovation   #issue analysis   World Café is a simple yet powerful method, originated by Juanita Brown, for enabling meaningful conversations driven completely by participants and the topics that are relevant and important to them. Facilitators create a cafe-style space and provide simple guidelines. Participants then self-organize and explore a set of relevant topics or questions for conversation.

Discovery & Action Dialogue (DAD)

One of the best approaches is to create a safe space for a group to share and discover practices and behaviors that can help them find their own solutions.

With DAD, you can help a group choose which problems they wish to solve and which approaches they will take to do so. It’s great at helping remove resistance to change and can help get buy-in at every level too!

This process of enabling frontline ownership is great in ensuring follow-through and is one of the methods you will want in your toolbox as a facilitator.

Discovery & Action Dialogue (DAD)   #idea generation   #liberating structures   #action   #issue analysis   #remote-friendly   DADs make it easy for a group or community to discover practices and behaviors that enable some individuals (without access to special resources and facing the same constraints) to find better solutions than their peers to common problems. These are called positive deviant (PD) behaviors and practices. DADs make it possible for people in the group, unit, or community to discover by themselves these PD practices. DADs also create favorable conditions for stimulating participants’ creativity in spaces where they can feel safe to invent new and more effective practices. Resistance to change evaporates as participants are unleashed to choose freely which practices they will adopt or try and which problems they will tackle. DADs make it possible to achieve frontline ownership of solutions.

Design Sprint 2.0

Want to see how a team can solve big problems and move forward with prototyping and testing solutions in a few days? The Design Sprint 2.0 template from Jake Knapp, author of Sprint, is a complete agenda for a with proven results.

Developing the right agenda can involve difficult but necessary planning. Ensuring all the correct steps are followed can also be stressful or time-consuming depending on your level of experience.

Use this complete 4-day workshop template if you are finding there is no obvious solution to your challenge and want to focus your team around a specific problem that might require a shortcut to launching a minimum viable product or waiting for the organization-wide implementation of a solution.

Open space technology

Open space technology- developed by Harrison Owen – creates a space where large groups are invited to take ownership of their problem solving and lead individual sessions. Open space technology is a great format when you have a great deal of expertise and insight in the room and want to allow for different takes and approaches on a particular theme or problem you need to be solved.

Start by bringing your participants together to align around a central theme and focus their efforts. Explain the ground rules to help guide the problem-solving process and then invite members to identify any issue connecting to the central theme that they are interested in and are prepared to take responsibility for.

Once participants have decided on their approach to the core theme, they write their issue on a piece of paper, announce it to the group, pick a session time and place, and post the paper on the wall. As the wall fills up with sessions, the group is then invited to join the sessions that interest them the most and which they can contribute to, then you’re ready to begin!

Everyone joins the problem-solving group they’ve signed up to, record the discussion and if appropriate, findings can then be shared with the rest of the group afterward.

Open Space Technology   #action plan   #idea generation   #problem solving   #issue analysis   #large group   #online   #remote-friendly   Open Space is a methodology for large groups to create their agenda discerning important topics for discussion, suitable for conferences, community gatherings and whole system facilitation

Techniques to identify and analyze problems

Using a problem-solving method to help a team identify and analyze a problem can be a quick and effective addition to any workshop or meeting.

While further actions are always necessary, you can generate momentum and alignment easily, and these activities are a great place to get started.

We’ve put together this list of techniques to help you and your team with problem identification, analysis, and discussion that sets the foundation for developing effective solutions.

Let’s take a look!

Fishbone Analysis

Organizational or team challenges are rarely simple, and it’s important to remember that one problem can be an indication of something that goes deeper and may require further consideration to be solved.

Fishbone Analysis helps groups to dig deeper and understand the origins of a problem. It’s a great example of a root cause analysis method that is simple for everyone on a team to get their head around. 

Participants in this activity are asked to annotate a diagram of a fish, first adding the problem or issue to be worked on at the head of a fish before then brainstorming the root causes of the problem and adding them as bones on the fish. 

Using abstractions such as a diagram of a fish can really help a team break out of their regular thinking and develop a creative approach.

Fishbone Analysis   #problem solving   ##root cause analysis   #decision making   #online facilitation   A process to help identify and understand the origins of problems, issues or observations.

Problem Tree 

Encouraging visual thinking can be an essential part of many strategies. By simply reframing and clarifying problems, a group can move towards developing a problem solving model that works for them. 

In Problem Tree, groups are asked to first brainstorm a list of problems – these can be design problems, team problems or larger business problems – and then organize them into a hierarchy. The hierarchy could be from most important to least important or abstract to practical, though the key thing with problem solving games that involve this aspect is that your group has some way of managing and sorting all the issues that are raised.

Once you have a list of problems that need to be solved and have organized them accordingly, you’re then well-positioned for the next problem solving steps.

Problem tree   #define intentions   #create   #design   #issue analysis   A problem tree is a tool to clarify the hierarchy of problems addressed by the team within a design project; it represents high level problems or related sublevel problems.

SWOT Analysis

Chances are you’ve heard of the SWOT Analysis before. This problem-solving method focuses on identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats is a tried and tested method for both individuals and teams.

Start by creating a desired end state or outcome and bare this in mind – any process solving model is made more effective by knowing what you are moving towards. Create a quadrant made up of the four categories of a SWOT analysis and ask participants to generate ideas based on each of those quadrants.

Once you have those ideas assembled in their quadrants, cluster them together based on their affinity with other ideas. These clusters are then used to facilitate group conversations and move things forward. 

SWOT analysis   #gamestorming   #problem solving   #action   #meeting facilitation   The SWOT Analysis is a long-standing technique of looking at what we have, with respect to the desired end state, as well as what we could improve on. It gives us an opportunity to gauge approaching opportunities and dangers, and assess the seriousness of the conditions that affect our future. When we understand those conditions, we can influence what comes next.

Agreement-Certainty Matrix

Not every problem-solving approach is right for every challenge, and deciding on the right method for the challenge at hand is a key part of being an effective team.

The Agreement Certainty matrix helps teams align on the nature of the challenges facing them. By sorting problems from simple to chaotic, your team can understand what methods are suitable for each problem and what they can do to ensure effective results. 

If you are already using Liberating Structures techniques as part of your problem-solving strategy, the Agreement-Certainty Matrix can be an invaluable addition to your process. We’ve found it particularly if you are having issues with recurring problems in your organization and want to go deeper in understanding the root cause. 

Agreement-Certainty Matrix   #issue analysis   #liberating structures   #problem solving   You can help individuals or groups avoid the frequent mistake of trying to solve a problem with methods that are not adapted to the nature of their challenge. The combination of two questions makes it possible to easily sort challenges into four categories: simple, complicated, complex , and chaotic .  A problem is simple when it can be solved reliably with practices that are easy to duplicate.  It is complicated when experts are required to devise a sophisticated solution that will yield the desired results predictably.  A problem is complex when there are several valid ways to proceed but outcomes are not predictable in detail.  Chaotic is when the context is too turbulent to identify a path forward.  A loose analogy may be used to describe these differences: simple is like following a recipe, complicated like sending a rocket to the moon, complex like raising a child, and chaotic is like the game “Pin the Tail on the Donkey.”  The Liberating Structures Matching Matrix in Chapter 5 can be used as the first step to clarify the nature of a challenge and avoid the mismatches between problems and solutions that are frequently at the root of chronic, recurring problems.

Organizing and charting a team’s progress can be important in ensuring its success. SQUID (Sequential Question and Insight Diagram) is a great model that allows a team to effectively switch between giving questions and answers and develop the skills they need to stay on track throughout the process. 

Begin with two different colored sticky notes – one for questions and one for answers – and with your central topic (the head of the squid) on the board. Ask the group to first come up with a series of questions connected to their best guess of how to approach the topic. Ask the group to come up with answers to those questions, fix them to the board and connect them with a line. After some discussion, go back to question mode by responding to the generated answers or other points on the board.

It’s rewarding to see a diagram grow throughout the exercise, and a completed SQUID can provide a visual resource for future effort and as an example for other teams.

SQUID   #gamestorming   #project planning   #issue analysis   #problem solving   When exploring an information space, it’s important for a group to know where they are at any given time. By using SQUID, a group charts out the territory as they go and can navigate accordingly. SQUID stands for Sequential Question and Insight Diagram.

To continue with our nautical theme, Speed Boat is a short and sweet activity that can help a team quickly identify what employees, clients or service users might have a problem with and analyze what might be standing in the way of achieving a solution.

Methods that allow for a group to make observations, have insights and obtain those eureka moments quickly are invaluable when trying to solve complex problems.

In Speed Boat, the approach is to first consider what anchors and challenges might be holding an organization (or boat) back. Bonus points if you are able to identify any sharks in the water and develop ideas that can also deal with competitors!   

Speed Boat   #gamestorming   #problem solving   #action   Speedboat is a short and sweet way to identify what your employees or clients don’t like about your product/service or what’s standing in the way of a desired goal.

The Journalistic Six

Some of the most effective ways of solving problems is by encouraging teams to be more inclusive and diverse in their thinking.

Based on the six key questions journalism students are taught to answer in articles and news stories, The Journalistic Six helps create teams to see the whole picture. By using who, what, when, where, why, and how to facilitate the conversation and encourage creative thinking, your team can make sure that the problem identification and problem analysis stages of the are covered exhaustively and thoughtfully. Reporter’s notebook and dictaphone optional.

The Journalistic Six – Who What When Where Why How   #idea generation   #issue analysis   #problem solving   #online   #creative thinking   #remote-friendly   A questioning method for generating, explaining, investigating ideas.

Individual and group perspectives are incredibly important, but what happens if people are set in their minds and need a change of perspective in order to approach a problem more effectively?

Flip It is a method we love because it is both simple to understand and run, and allows groups to understand how their perspectives and biases are formed. 

Participants in Flip It are first invited to consider concerns, issues, or problems from a perspective of fear and write them on a flip chart. Then, the group is asked to consider those same issues from a perspective of hope and flip their understanding.  

No problem and solution is free from existing bias and by changing perspectives with Flip It, you can then develop a problem solving model quickly and effectively.

Flip It!   #gamestorming   #problem solving   #action   Often, a change in a problem or situation comes simply from a change in our perspectives. Flip It! is a quick game designed to show players that perspectives are made, not born.

LEGO Challenge

Now for an activity that is a little out of the (toy) box. LEGO Serious Play is a facilitation methodology that can be used to improve creative thinking and problem-solving skills. 

The LEGO Challenge includes giving each member of the team an assignment that is hidden from the rest of the group while they create a structure without speaking.

What the LEGO challenge brings to the table is a fun working example of working with stakeholders who might not be on the same page to solve problems. Also, it’s LEGO! Who doesn’t love LEGO! 

LEGO Challenge   #hyperisland   #team   A team-building activity in which groups must work together to build a structure out of LEGO, but each individual has a secret “assignment” which makes the collaborative process more challenging. It emphasizes group communication, leadership dynamics, conflict, cooperation, patience and problem solving strategy.

What, So What, Now What?

If not carefully managed, the problem identification and problem analysis stages of the problem-solving process can actually create more problems and misunderstandings.

The What, So What, Now What? problem-solving activity is designed to help collect insights and move forward while also eliminating the possibility of disagreement when it comes to identifying, clarifying, and analyzing organizational or work problems. 

Facilitation is all about bringing groups together so that might work on a shared goal and the best problem-solving strategies ensure that teams are aligned in purpose, if not initially in opinion or insight.

Throughout the three steps of this game, you give everyone on a team to reflect on a problem by asking what happened, why it is important, and what actions should then be taken. 

This can be a great activity for bringing our individual perceptions about a problem or challenge and contextualizing it in a larger group setting. This is one of the most important problem-solving skills you can bring to your organization.

W³ – What, So What, Now What?   #issue analysis   #innovation   #liberating structures   You can help groups reflect on a shared experience in a way that builds understanding and spurs coordinated action while avoiding unproductive conflict. It is possible for every voice to be heard while simultaneously sifting for insights and shaping new direction. Progressing in stages makes this practical—from collecting facts about What Happened to making sense of these facts with So What and finally to what actions logically follow with Now What . The shared progression eliminates most of the misunderstandings that otherwise fuel disagreements about what to do. Voila!

Journalists  

Problem analysis can be one of the most important and decisive stages of all problem-solving tools. Sometimes, a team can become bogged down in the details and are unable to move forward.

Journalists is an activity that can avoid a group from getting stuck in the problem identification or problem analysis stages of the process.

In Journalists, the group is invited to draft the front page of a fictional newspaper and figure out what stories deserve to be on the cover and what headlines those stories will have. By reframing how your problems and challenges are approached, you can help a team move productively through the process and be better prepared for the steps to follow.

Journalists   #vision   #big picture   #issue analysis   #remote-friendly   This is an exercise to use when the group gets stuck in details and struggles to see the big picture. Also good for defining a vision.

Problem-solving techniques for brainstorming solutions

Now you have the context and background of the problem you are trying to solving, now comes the time to start ideating and thinking about how you’ll solve the issue.

Here, you’ll want to encourage creative, free thinking and speed. Get as many ideas out as possible and explore different perspectives so you have the raw material for the next step.

Looking at a problem from a new angle can be one of the most effective ways of creating an effective solution. TRIZ is a problem-solving tool that asks the group to consider what they must not do in order to solve a challenge.

By reversing the discussion, new topics and taboo subjects often emerge, allowing the group to think more deeply and create ideas that confront the status quo in a safe and meaningful way. If you’re working on a problem that you’ve tried to solve before, TRIZ is a great problem-solving method to help your team get unblocked.

Making Space with TRIZ   #issue analysis   #liberating structures   #issue resolution   You can clear space for innovation by helping a group let go of what it knows (but rarely admits) limits its success and by inviting creative destruction. TRIZ makes it possible to challenge sacred cows safely and encourages heretical thinking. The question “What must we stop doing to make progress on our deepest purpose?” induces seriously fun yet very courageous conversations. Since laughter often erupts, issues that are otherwise taboo get a chance to be aired and confronted. With creative destruction come opportunities for renewal as local action and innovation rush in to fill the vacuum. Whoosh!

Mindspin  

Brainstorming is part of the bread and butter of the problem-solving process and all problem-solving strategies benefit from getting ideas out and challenging a team to generate solutions quickly. 

With Mindspin, participants are encouraged not only to generate ideas but to do so under time constraints and by slamming down cards and passing them on. By doing multiple rounds, your team can begin with a free generation of possible solutions before moving on to developing those solutions and encouraging further ideation. 

This is one of our favorite problem-solving activities and can be great for keeping the energy up throughout the workshop. Remember the importance of helping people become engaged in the process – energizing problem-solving techniques like Mindspin can help ensure your team stays engaged and happy, even when the problems they’re coming together to solve are complex. 

MindSpin   #teampedia   #idea generation   #problem solving   #action   A fast and loud method to enhance brainstorming within a team. Since this activity has more than round ideas that are repetitive can be ruled out leaving more creative and innovative answers to the challenge.

The Creativity Dice

One of the most useful problem solving skills you can teach your team is of approaching challenges with creativity, flexibility, and openness. Games like The Creativity Dice allow teams to overcome the potential hurdle of too much linear thinking and approach the process with a sense of fun and speed. 

In The Creativity Dice, participants are organized around a topic and roll a dice to determine what they will work on for a period of 3 minutes at a time. They might roll a 3 and work on investigating factual information on the chosen topic. They might roll a 1 and work on identifying the specific goals, standards, or criteria for the session.

Encouraging rapid work and iteration while asking participants to be flexible are great skills to cultivate. Having a stage for idea incubation in this game is also important. Moments of pause can help ensure the ideas that are put forward are the most suitable. 

The Creativity Dice   #creativity   #problem solving   #thiagi   #issue analysis   Too much linear thinking is hazardous to creative problem solving. To be creative, you should approach the problem (or the opportunity) from different points of view. You should leave a thought hanging in mid-air and move to another. This skipping around prevents premature closure and lets your brain incubate one line of thought while you consciously pursue another.

Idea and Concept Development

Brainstorming without structure can quickly become chaotic or frustrating. In a problem-solving context, having an ideation framework to follow can help ensure your team is both creative and disciplined.

In this method, you’ll find an idea generation process that encourages your group to brainstorm effectively before developing their ideas and begin clustering them together. By using concepts such as Yes and…, more is more and postponing judgement, you can create the ideal conditions for brainstorming with ease.

Idea & Concept Development   #hyperisland   #innovation   #idea generation   Ideation and Concept Development is a process for groups to work creatively and collaboratively to generate creative ideas. It’s a general approach that can be adapted and customized to suit many different scenarios. It includes basic principles for idea generation and several steps for groups to work with. It also includes steps for idea selection and development.

Problem-solving techniques for developing and refining solutions 

The success of any problem-solving process can be measured by the solutions it produces. After you’ve defined the issue, explored existing ideas, and ideated, it’s time to develop and refine your ideas in order to bring them closer to a solution that actually solves the problem.

Use these problem-solving techniques when you want to help your team think through their ideas and refine them as part of your problem solving process.

Improved Solutions

After a team has successfully identified a problem and come up with a few solutions, it can be tempting to call the work of the problem-solving process complete. That said, the first solution is not necessarily the best, and by including a further review and reflection activity into your problem-solving model, you can ensure your group reaches the best possible result. 

One of a number of problem-solving games from Thiagi Group, Improved Solutions helps you go the extra mile and develop suggested solutions with close consideration and peer review. By supporting the discussion of several problems at once and by shifting team roles throughout, this problem-solving technique is a dynamic way of finding the best solution. 

Improved Solutions   #creativity   #thiagi   #problem solving   #action   #team   You can improve any solution by objectively reviewing its strengths and weaknesses and making suitable adjustments. In this creativity framegame, you improve the solutions to several problems. To maintain objective detachment, you deal with a different problem during each of six rounds and assume different roles (problem owner, consultant, basher, booster, enhancer, and evaluator) during each round. At the conclusion of the activity, each player ends up with two solutions to her problem.

Four Step Sketch

Creative thinking and visual ideation does not need to be confined to the opening stages of your problem-solving strategies. Exercises that include sketching and prototyping on paper can be effective at the solution finding and development stage of the process, and can be great for keeping a team engaged. 

By going from simple notes to a crazy 8s round that involves rapidly sketching 8 variations on their ideas before then producing a final solution sketch, the group is able to iterate quickly and visually. Problem-solving techniques like Four-Step Sketch are great if you have a group of different thinkers and want to change things up from a more textual or discussion-based approach.

Four-Step Sketch   #design sprint   #innovation   #idea generation   #remote-friendly   The four-step sketch is an exercise that helps people to create well-formed concepts through a structured process that includes: Review key information Start design work on paper,  Consider multiple variations , Create a detailed solution . This exercise is preceded by a set of other activities allowing the group to clarify the challenge they want to solve. See how the Four Step Sketch exercise fits into a Design Sprint

Ensuring that everyone in a group is able to contribute to a discussion is vital during any problem solving process. Not only does this ensure all bases are covered, but its then easier to get buy-in and accountability when people have been able to contribute to the process.

1-2-4-All is a tried and tested facilitation technique where participants are asked to first brainstorm on a topic on their own. Next, they discuss and share ideas in a pair before moving into a small group. Those groups are then asked to present the best idea from their discussion to the rest of the team.

This method can be used in many different contexts effectively, though I find it particularly shines in the idea development stage of the process. Giving each participant time to concretize their ideas and develop them in progressively larger groups can create a great space for both innovation and psychological safety.

1-2-4-All   #idea generation   #liberating structures   #issue analysis   With this facilitation technique you can immediately include everyone regardless of how large the group is. You can generate better ideas and more of them faster than ever before. You can tap the know-how and imagination that is distributed widely in places not known in advance. Open, generative conversation unfolds. Ideas and solutions are sifted in rapid fashion. Most importantly, participants own the ideas, so follow-up and implementation is simplified. No buy-in strategies needed! Simple and elegant!

15% Solutions

Some problems are simpler than others and with the right problem-solving activities, you can empower people to take immediate actions that can help create organizational change. 

Part of the liberating structures toolkit, 15% solutions is a problem-solving technique that focuses on finding and implementing solutions quickly. A process of iterating and making small changes quickly can help generate momentum and an appetite for solving complex problems.

Problem-solving strategies can live and die on whether people are onboard. Getting some quick wins is a great way of getting people behind the process.   

It can be extremely empowering for a team to realize that problem-solving techniques can be deployed quickly and easily and delineate between things they can positively impact and those things they cannot change. 

15% Solutions   #action   #liberating structures   #remote-friendly   You can reveal the actions, however small, that everyone can do immediately. At a minimum, these will create momentum, and that may make a BIG difference.  15% Solutions show that there is no reason to wait around, feel powerless, or fearful. They help people pick it up a level. They get individuals and the group to focus on what is within their discretion instead of what they cannot change.  With a very simple question, you can flip the conversation to what can be done and find solutions to big problems that are often distributed widely in places not known in advance. Shifting a few grains of sand may trigger a landslide and change the whole landscape.

Problem-solving techniques for making decisions and planning

After your group is happy with the possible solutions you’ve developed, now comes the time to choose which to implement. There’s more than one way to make a decision and the best option is often dependant on the needs and set-up of your group.

Sometimes, it’s the case that you’ll want to vote as a group on what is likely to be the most impactful solution. Other times, it might be down to a decision maker or major stakeholder to make the final decision. Whatever your process, here’s some techniques you can use to help you make a decision during your problem solving process.

How-Now-Wow Matrix

The problem-solving process is often creative, as complex problems usually require a change of thinking and creative response in order to find the best solutions. While it’s common for the first stages to encourage creative thinking, groups can often gravitate to familiar solutions when it comes to the end of the process. 

When selecting solutions, you don’t want to lose your creative energy! The How-Now-Wow Matrix from Gamestorming is a great problem-solving activity that enables a group to stay creative and think out of the box when it comes to selecting the right solution for a given problem.

Problem-solving techniques that encourage creative thinking and the ideation and selection of new solutions can be the most effective in organisational change. Give the How-Now-Wow Matrix a go, and not just for how pleasant it is to say out loud. 

How-Now-Wow Matrix   #gamestorming   #idea generation   #remote-friendly   When people want to develop new ideas, they most often think out of the box in the brainstorming or divergent phase. However, when it comes to convergence, people often end up picking ideas that are most familiar to them. This is called a ‘creative paradox’ or a ‘creadox’. The How-Now-Wow matrix is an idea selection tool that breaks the creadox by forcing people to weigh each idea on 2 parameters.

Impact and Effort Matrix

All problem-solving techniques hope to not only find solutions to a given problem or challenge but to find the best solution. When it comes to finding a solution, groups are invited to put on their decision-making hats and really think about how a proposed idea would work in practice. 

The Impact and Effort Matrix is one of the problem-solving techniques that fall into this camp, empowering participants to first generate ideas and then categorize them into a 2×2 matrix based on impact and effort.

Activities that invite critical thinking while remaining simple are invaluable. Use the Impact and Effort Matrix to move from ideation and towards evaluating potential solutions before then committing to them. 

Impact and Effort Matrix   #gamestorming   #decision making   #action   #remote-friendly   In this decision-making exercise, possible actions are mapped based on two factors: effort required to implement and potential impact. Categorizing ideas along these lines is a useful technique in decision making, as it obliges contributors to balance and evaluate suggested actions before committing to them.

If you’ve followed each of the problem-solving steps with your group successfully, you should move towards the end of your process with heaps of possible solutions developed with a specific problem in mind. But how do you help a group go from ideation to putting a solution into action? 

Dotmocracy – or Dot Voting -is a tried and tested method of helping a team in the problem-solving process make decisions and put actions in place with a degree of oversight and consensus. 

One of the problem-solving techniques that should be in every facilitator’s toolbox, Dot Voting is fast and effective and can help identify the most popular and best solutions and help bring a group to a decision effectively. 

Dotmocracy   #action   #decision making   #group prioritization   #hyperisland   #remote-friendly   Dotmocracy is a simple method for group prioritization or decision-making. It is not an activity on its own, but a method to use in processes where prioritization or decision-making is the aim. The method supports a group to quickly see which options are most popular or relevant. The options or ideas are written on post-its and stuck up on a wall for the whole group to see. Each person votes for the options they think are the strongest, and that information is used to inform a decision.

Straddling the gap between decision making and planning, MoSCoW is a simple and effective method that allows a group team to easily prioritize a set of possible options.

Use this method in a problem solving process by collecting and summarizing all your possible solutions and then categorize them into 4 sections: “Must have”, “Should have”, “Could have”, or “Would like but won‘t get”.

This method is particularly useful when its less about choosing one possible solution and more about prioritorizing which to do first and which may not fit in the scope of your project. In my experience, complex challenges often require multiple small fixes, and this method can be a great way to move from a pile of things you’d all like to do to a structured plan.

MoSCoW   #define intentions   #create   #design   #action   #remote-friendly   MoSCoW is a method that allows the team to prioritize the different features that they will work on. Features are then categorized into “Must have”, “Should have”, “Could have”, or “Would like but won‘t get”. To be used at the beginning of a timeslot (for example during Sprint planning) and when planning is needed.

When it comes to managing the rollout of a solution, clarity and accountability are key factors in ensuring the success of the project. The RAACI chart is a simple but effective model for setting roles and responsibilities as part of a planning session.

Start by listing each person involved in the project and put them into the following groups in order to make it clear who is responsible for what during the rollout of your solution.

• Responsibility  (Which person and/or team will be taking action?)
• Authority  (At what “point” must the responsible person check in before going further?)
• Accountability  (Who must the responsible person check in with?)
• Consultation  (Who must be consulted by the responsible person before decisions are made?)
• Information  (Who must be informed of decisions, once made?)

Ensure this information is easily accessible and use it to inform who does what and who is looped into discussions and kept up to date.

RAACI   #roles and responsibility   #teamwork   #project management   Clarifying roles and responsibilities, levels of autonomy/latitude in decision making, and levels of engagement among diverse stakeholders.

Problem-solving warm-up activities

All facilitators know that warm-ups and icebreakers are useful for any workshop or group process. Problem-solving workshops are no different.

Use these problem-solving techniques to warm up a group and prepare them for the rest of the process. Activating your group by tapping into some of the top problem-solving skills can be one of the best ways to see great outcomes from your session.

Check-in / Check-out

Solid processes are planned from beginning to end, and the best facilitators know that setting the tone and establishing a safe, open environment can be integral to a successful problem-solving process. Check-in / Check-out is a great way to begin and/or bookend a problem-solving workshop. Checking in to a session emphasizes that everyone will be seen, heard, and expected to contribute. 

If you are running a series of meetings, setting a consistent pattern of checking in and checking out can really help your team get into a groove. We recommend this opening-closing activity for small to medium-sized groups though it can work with large groups if they’re disciplined!

Check-in / Check-out   #team   #opening   #closing   #hyperisland   #remote-friendly   Either checking-in or checking-out is a simple way for a team to open or close a process, symbolically and in a collaborative way. Checking-in/out invites each member in a group to be present, seen and heard, and to express a reflection or a feeling. Checking-in emphasizes presence, focus and group commitment; checking-out emphasizes reflection and symbolic closure.

Doodling Together  

Thinking creatively and not being afraid to make suggestions are important problem-solving skills for any group or team, and warming up by encouraging these behaviors is a great way to start. 

Doodling Together is one of our favorite creative ice breaker games – it’s quick, effective, and fun and can make all following problem-solving steps easier by encouraging a group to collaborate visually. By passing cards and adding additional items as they go, the workshop group gets into a groove of co-creation and idea development that is crucial to finding solutions to problems. 

Doodling Together   #collaboration   #creativity   #teamwork   #fun   #team   #visual methods   #energiser   #icebreaker   #remote-friendly   Create wild, weird and often funny postcards together & establish a group’s creative confidence.

Show and Tell

You might remember some version of Show and Tell from being a kid in school and it’s a great problem-solving activity to kick off a session.

Asking participants to prepare a little something before a workshop by bringing an object for show and tell can help them warm up before the session has even begun! Games that include a physical object can also help encourage early engagement before moving onto more big-picture thinking.

By asking your participants to tell stories about why they chose to bring a particular item to the group, you can help teams see things from new perspectives and see both differences and similarities in the way they approach a topic. Great groundwork for approaching a problem-solving process as a team! 

Show and Tell   #gamestorming   #action   #opening   #meeting facilitation   Show and Tell taps into the power of metaphors to reveal players’ underlying assumptions and associations around a topic The aim of the game is to get a deeper understanding of stakeholders’ perspectives on anything—a new project, an organizational restructuring, a shift in the company’s vision or team dynamic.

Constellations

Who doesn’t love stars? Constellations is a great warm-up activity for any workshop as it gets people up off their feet, energized, and ready to engage in new ways with established topics. It’s also great for showing existing beliefs, biases, and patterns that can come into play as part of your session.

Using warm-up games that help build trust and connection while also allowing for non-verbal responses can be great for easing people into the problem-solving process and encouraging engagement from everyone in the group. Constellations is great in large spaces that allow for movement and is definitely a practical exercise to allow the group to see patterns that are otherwise invisible. 

Constellations   #trust   #connection   #opening   #coaching   #patterns   #system   Individuals express their response to a statement or idea by standing closer or further from a central object. Used with teams to reveal system, hidden patterns, perspectives.

Draw a Tree

Problem-solving games that help raise group awareness through a central, unifying metaphor can be effective ways to warm-up a group in any problem-solving model.

Draw a Tree is a simple warm-up activity you can use in any group and which can provide a quick jolt of energy. Start by asking your participants to draw a tree in just 45 seconds – they can choose whether it will be abstract or realistic. 

Once the timer is up, ask the group how many people included the roots of the tree and use this as a means to discuss how we can ignore important parts of any system simply because they are not visible.

All problem-solving strategies are made more effective by thinking of problems critically and by exposing things that may not normally come to light. Warm-up games like Draw a Tree are great in that they quickly demonstrate some key problem-solving skills in an accessible and effective way.

Draw a Tree   #thiagi   #opening   #perspectives   #remote-friendly   With this game you can raise awarness about being more mindful, and aware of the environment we live in.

Closing activities for a problem-solving process

Each step of the problem-solving workshop benefits from an intelligent deployment of activities, games, and techniques. Bringing your session to an effective close helps ensure that solutions are followed through on and that you also celebrate what has been achieved.

Here are some problem-solving activities you can use to effectively close a workshop or meeting and ensure the great work you’ve done can continue afterward.

One Breath Feedback

Maintaining attention and focus during the closing stages of a problem-solving workshop can be tricky and so being concise when giving feedback can be important. It’s easy to incur “death by feedback” should some team members go on for too long sharing their perspectives in a quick feedback round. 

One Breath Feedback is a great closing activity for workshops. You give everyone an opportunity to provide feedback on what they’ve done but only in the space of a single breath. This keeps feedback short and to the point and means that everyone is encouraged to provide the most important piece of feedback to them. 

One breath feedback   #closing   #feedback   #action   This is a feedback round in just one breath that excels in maintaining attention: each participants is able to speak during just one breath … for most people that’s around 20 to 25 seconds … unless of course you’ve been a deep sea diver in which case you’ll be able to do it for longer.

Who What When Matrix 

Matrices feature as part of many effective problem-solving strategies and with good reason. They are easily recognizable, simple to use, and generate results.

The Who What When Matrix is a great tool to use when closing your problem-solving session by attributing a who, what and when to the actions and solutions you have decided upon. The resulting matrix is a simple, easy-to-follow way of ensuring your team can move forward. 

Great solutions can’t be enacted without action and ownership. Your problem-solving process should include a stage for allocating tasks to individuals or teams and creating a realistic timeframe for those solutions to be implemented or checked out. Use this method to keep the solution implementation process clear and simple for all involved. 

Who/What/When Matrix   #gamestorming   #action   #project planning   With Who/What/When matrix, you can connect people with clear actions they have defined and have committed to.

Response cards

Group discussion can comprise the bulk of most problem-solving activities and by the end of the process, you might find that your team is talked out! 

Providing a means for your team to give feedback with short written notes can ensure everyone is head and can contribute without the need to stand up and talk. Depending on the needs of the group, giving an alternative can help ensure everyone can contribute to your problem-solving model in the way that makes the most sense for them.

Response Cards is a great way to close a workshop if you are looking for a gentle warm-down and want to get some swift discussion around some of the feedback that is raised. 

Response Cards   #debriefing   #closing   #structured sharing   #questions and answers   #thiagi   #action   It can be hard to involve everyone during a closing of a session. Some might stay in the background or get unheard because of louder participants. However, with the use of Response Cards, everyone will be involved in providing feedback or clarify questions at the end of a session.

Tips for effective problem solving

Problem-solving activities are only one part of the puzzle. While a great method can help unlock your team’s ability to solve problems, without a thoughtful approach and strong facilitation the solutions may not be fit for purpose.

Let’s take a look at some problem-solving tips you can apply to any process to help it be a success!

Clearly define the problem

Jumping straight to solutions can be tempting, though without first clearly articulating a problem, the solution might not be the right one. Many of the problem-solving activities below include sections where the problem is explored and clearly defined before moving on.

This is a vital part of the problem-solving process and taking the time to fully define an issue can save time and effort later. A clear definition helps identify irrelevant information and it also ensures that your team sets off on the right track.

Don’t jump to conclusions

It’s easy for groups to exhibit cognitive bias or have preconceived ideas about both problems and potential solutions. Be sure to back up any problem statements or potential solutions with facts, research, and adequate forethought.

The best techniques ask participants to be methodical and challenge preconceived notions. Make sure you give the group enough time and space to collect relevant information and consider the problem in a new way. By approaching the process with a clear, rational mindset, you’ll often find that better solutions are more forthcoming.  

Try different approaches  

Problems come in all shapes and sizes and so too should the methods you use to solve them. If you find that one approach isn’t yielding results and your team isn’t finding different solutions, try mixing it up. You’ll be surprised at how using a new creative activity can unblock your team and generate great solutions.

Don’t take it personally 

Depending on the nature of your team or organizational problems, it’s easy for conversations to get heated. While it’s good for participants to be engaged in the discussions, ensure that emotions don’t run too high and that blame isn’t thrown around while finding solutions.

You’re all in it together, and even if your team or area is seeing problems, that isn’t necessarily a disparagement of you personally. Using facilitation skills to manage group dynamics is one effective method of helping conversations be more constructive.

Get the right people in the room

Your problem-solving method is often only as effective as the group using it. Getting the right people on the job and managing the number of people present is important too!

If the group is too small, you may not get enough different perspectives to effectively solve a problem. If the group is too large, you can go round and round during the ideation stages.

Creating the right group makeup is also important in ensuring you have the necessary expertise and skillset to both identify and follow up on potential solutions. Carefully consider who to include at each stage to help ensure your problem-solving method is followed and positioned for success.

Create psychologically safe spaces for discussion

Identifying a problem accurately also requires that all members of a group are able to contribute their views in an open and safe manner.

It can be tough for people to stand up and contribute if the problems or challenges are emotive or personal in nature. Try and create a psychologically safe space for these kinds of discussions and where possible, create regular opportunities for challenges to be brought up organically.

Document everything

The best solutions can take refinement, iteration, and reflection to come out. Get into a habit of documenting your process in order to keep all the learnings from the session and to allow ideas to mature and develop. Many of the methods below involve the creation of documents or shared resources. Be sure to keep and share these so everyone can benefit from the work done!

Bring a facilitator 

Facilitation is all about making group processes easier. With a subject as potentially emotive and important as problem-solving, having an impartial third party in the form of a facilitator can make all the difference in finding great solutions and keeping the process moving. Consider bringing a facilitator to your problem-solving session to get better results and generate meaningful solutions!

Develop your problem-solving skills

It takes time and practice to be an effective problem solver. While some roles or participants might more naturally gravitate towards problem-solving, it can take development and planning to help everyone create better solutions.

You might develop a training program, run a problem-solving workshop or simply ask your team to practice using the techniques below. Check out our post on problem-solving skills to see how you and your group can develop the right mental process and be more resilient to issues too!

Design a great agenda

Workshops are a great format for solving problems. With the right approach, you can focus a group and help them find the solutions to their own problems. But designing a process can be time-consuming and finding the right activities can be difficult.

Check out our workshop planning guide to level-up your agenda design and start running more effective workshops. Need inspiration? Check out templates designed by expert facilitators to help you kickstart your process!

Save time and effort creating an effective problem solving process

A structured problem solving process is a surefire way of solving tough problems, discovering creative solutions and driving organizational change. But how can you design for successful outcomes?

With SessionLab, it’s easy to design engaging workshops that deliver results. Drag, drop and reorder blocks  to build your agenda. When you make changes or update your agenda, your session  timing   adjusts automatically , saving you time on manual adjustments.

Collaborating with stakeholders or clients? Share your agenda with a single click and collaborate in real-time. No more sending documents back and forth over email.

Explore  how to use SessionLab  to design effective problem solving workshops or  watch this five minute video  to see the planner in action!

Over to you

The problem-solving process can often be as complicated and multifaceted as the problems they are set-up to solve. With the right problem-solving techniques and a mix of exercises designed to guide discussion and generate purposeful ideas, we hope we’ve given you the tools to find the best solutions as simply and easily as possible.

Is there a problem-solving technique that you are missing here? Do you have a favorite activity or method you use when facilitating? Let us know in the comments below, we’d love to hear from you! 

thank you very much for these excellent techniques

Certainly wonderful article, very detailed. Shared!

Your list of techniques for problem solving can be helpfully extended by adding TRIZ to the list of techniques. TRIZ has 40 problem solving techniques derived from methods inventros and patent holders used to get new patents. About 10-12 are general approaches. many organization sponsor classes in TRIZ that are used to solve business problems or general organiztational problems. You can take a look at TRIZ and dwonload a free internet booklet to see if you feel it shound be included per your selection process.

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26 Expert-Backed Problem Solving Examples – Interview Answers

Published: February 13, 2023

Interview Questions and Answers

Actionable advice from real experts:

Biron Clark

Former Recruiter

Contributor

Dr. Kyle Elliott

Career Coach

Hayley Jukes

Editor-in-Chief

Biron Clark , Former Recruiter

Kyle Elliott , Career Coach

Hayley Jukes , Editor

As a recruiter , I know employers like to hire people who can solve problems and work well under pressure.

 A job rarely goes 100% according to plan, so hiring managers are more likely to hire you if you seem like you can handle unexpected challenges while staying calm and logical.

But how do they measure this?

Hiring managers will ask you interview questions about your problem-solving skills, and they might also look for examples of problem-solving on your resume and cover letter. 

In this article, I’m going to share a list of problem-solving examples and sample interview answers to questions like, “Give an example of a time you used logic to solve a problem?” and “Describe a time when you had to solve a problem without managerial input. How did you handle it, and what was the result?”

• Problem-solving involves identifying, prioritizing, analyzing, and solving problems using a variety of skills like critical thinking, creativity, decision making, and communication.
• Describe the Situation, Task, Action, and Result ( STAR method ) when discussing your problem-solving experiences.
• Tailor your interview answer with the specific skills and qualifications outlined in the job description.
• Provide numerical data or metrics to demonstrate the tangible impact of your problem-solving efforts.

What are Problem Solving Skills? 

Problem-solving is the ability to identify a problem, prioritize based on gravity and urgency, analyze the root cause, gather relevant information, develop and evaluate viable solutions, decide on the most effective and logical solution, and plan and execute implementation. 

Problem-solving encompasses other skills that can be showcased in an interview response and your resume. Problem-solving skills examples include:

• Critical thinking
• Analytical skills
• Decision making
• Research skills
• Technical skills
• Communication skills
• Adaptability and flexibility

Why is Problem Solving Important in the Workplace?

Problem-solving is essential in the workplace because it directly impacts productivity and efficiency. Whenever you encounter a problem, tackling it head-on prevents minor issues from escalating into bigger ones that could disrupt the entire workflow. 

Beyond maintaining smooth operations, your ability to solve problems fosters innovation. It encourages you to think creatively, finding better ways to achieve goals, which keeps the business competitive and pushes the boundaries of what you can achieve. 

Effective problem-solving also contributes to a healthier work environment; it reduces stress by providing clear strategies for overcoming obstacles and builds confidence within teams. 

Examples of Problem-Solving in the Workplace

• Correcting a mistake at work, whether it was made by you or someone else
• Overcoming a delay at work through problem solving and communication
• Resolving an issue with a difficult or upset customer
• Overcoming issues related to a limited budget, and still delivering good work through the use of creative problem solving
• Overcoming a scheduling/staffing shortage in the department to still deliver excellent work
• Troubleshooting and resolving technical issues
• Handling and resolving a conflict with a coworker
• Solving any problems related to money, customer billing, accounting and bookkeeping, etc.
• Taking initiative when another team member overlooked or missed something important
• Taking initiative to meet with your superior to discuss a problem before it became potentially worse
• Solving a safety issue at work or reporting the issue to those who could solve it
• Using problem solving abilities to reduce/eliminate a company expense
• Finding a way to make the company more profitable through new service or product offerings, new pricing ideas, promotion and sale ideas, etc.
• Changing how a process, team, or task is organized to make it more efficient
• Using creative thinking to come up with a solution that the company hasn’t used before
• Performing research to collect data and information to find a new solution to a problem
• Boosting a company or team’s performance by improving some aspect of communication among employees
• Finding a new piece of data that can guide a company’s decisions or strategy better in a certain area

Problem-Solving Examples for Recent Grads/Entry-Level Job Seekers

• Coordinating work between team members in a class project
• Reassigning a missing team member’s work to other group members in a class project
• Adjusting your workflow on a project to accommodate a tight deadline
• Speaking to your professor to get help when you were struggling or unsure about a project
• Asking classmates, peers, or professors for help in an area of struggle
• Talking to your academic advisor to brainstorm solutions to a problem you were facing
• Researching solutions to an academic problem online, via Google or other methods
• Using problem solving and creative thinking to obtain an internship or other work opportunity during school after struggling at first

How To Answer “Tell Us About a Problem You Solved”

When you answer interview questions about problem-solving scenarios, or if you decide to demonstrate your problem-solving skills in a cover letter (which is a good idea any time the job description mentions problem-solving as a necessary skill), I recommend using the STAR method.

STAR stands for:

It’s a simple way of walking the listener or reader through the story in a way that will make sense to them. 

Start by briefly describing the general situation and the task at hand. After this, describe the course of action you chose and why. Ideally, show that you evaluated all the information you could given the time you had, and made a decision based on logic and fact. Finally, describe the positive result you achieved.

Note: Our sample answers below are structured following the STAR formula. Be sure to check them out!

EXPERT ADVICE

Dr. Kyle Elliott , MPA, CHES Tech & Interview Career Coach caffeinatedkyle.com

How can I communicate complex problem-solving experiences clearly and succinctly?

Before answering any interview question, it’s important to understand why the interviewer is asking the question in the first place.

When it comes to questions about your complex problem-solving experiences, for example, the interviewer likely wants to know about your leadership acumen, collaboration abilities, and communication skills, not the problem itself.

Therefore, your answer should be focused on highlighting how you excelled in each of these areas, not diving into the weeds of the problem itself, which is a common mistake less-experienced interviewees often make.

Tailoring Your Answer Based on the Skills Mentioned in the Job Description

As a recruiter, one of the top tips I can give you when responding to the prompt “Tell us about a problem you solved,” is to tailor your answer to the specific skills and qualifications outlined in the job description. 

Once you’ve pinpointed the skills and key competencies the employer is seeking, craft your response to highlight experiences where you successfully utilized or developed those particular abilities. 

For instance, if the job requires strong leadership skills, focus on a problem-solving scenario where you took charge and effectively guided a team toward resolution. 

By aligning your answer with the desired skills outlined in the job description, you demonstrate your suitability for the role and show the employer that you understand their needs.

Amanda Augustine expands on this by saying:

“Showcase the specific skills you used to solve the problem. Did it require critical thinking, analytical abilities, or strong collaboration? Highlight the relevant skills the employer is seeking.”  

Interview Answers to “Tell Me About a Time You Solved a Problem”

Now, let’s look at some sample interview answers to, “Give me an example of a time you used logic to solve a problem,” or “Tell me about a time you solved a problem,” since you’re likely to hear different versions of this interview question in all sorts of industries.

The example interview responses are structured using the STAR method and are categorized into the top 5 key problem-solving skills recruiters look for in a candidate.

1. Analytical Thinking

Situation: In my previous role as a data analyst , our team encountered a significant drop in website traffic.

Task: I was tasked with identifying the root cause of the decrease.

Action: I conducted a thorough analysis of website metrics, including traffic sources, user demographics, and page performance. Through my analysis, I discovered a technical issue with our website’s loading speed, causing users to bounce. 

Result: By optimizing server response time, compressing images, and minimizing redirects, we saw a 20% increase in traffic within two weeks.

2. Critical Thinking

Situation: During a project deadline crunch, our team encountered a major technical issue that threatened to derail our progress.

Task: My task was to assess the situation and devise a solution quickly.

Action: I immediately convened a meeting with the team to brainstorm potential solutions. Instead of panicking, I encouraged everyone to think outside the box and consider unconventional approaches. We analyzed the problem from different angles and weighed the pros and cons of each solution.

Result: By devising a workaround solution, we were able to meet the project deadline, avoiding potential delays that could have cost the company $100,000 in penalties for missing contractual obligations.

3. Decision Making

Situation: As a project manager , I was faced with a dilemma when two key team members had conflicting opinions on the project direction.

Task: My task was to make a decisive choice that would align with the project goals and maintain team cohesion.

Action: I scheduled a meeting with both team members to understand their perspectives in detail. I listened actively, asked probing questions, and encouraged open dialogue. After carefully weighing the pros and cons of each approach, I made a decision that incorporated elements from both viewpoints.

Result: The decision I made not only resolved the immediate conflict but also led to a stronger sense of collaboration within the team. By valuing input from all team members and making a well-informed decision, we were able to achieve our project objectives efficiently.

4. Communication (Teamwork)

Situation: During a cross-functional project, miscommunication between departments was causing delays and misunderstandings.

Task: My task was to improve communication channels and foster better teamwork among team members.

Action: I initiated regular cross-departmental meetings to ensure that everyone was on the same page regarding project goals and timelines. I also implemented a centralized communication platform where team members could share updates, ask questions, and collaborate more effectively.

Result: Streamlining workflows and improving communication channels led to a 30% reduction in project completion time, saving the company $25,000 in operational costs.

5. Persistence 

Situation: During a challenging sales quarter, I encountered numerous rejections and setbacks while trying to close a major client deal.

Task: My task was to persistently pursue the client and overcome obstacles to secure the deal.

Action: I maintained regular communication with the client, addressing their concerns and demonstrating the value proposition of our product. Despite facing multiple rejections, I remained persistent and resilient, adjusting my approach based on feedback and market dynamics.

Result: After months of perseverance, I successfully closed the deal with the client. By closing the major client deal, I exceeded quarterly sales targets by 25%, resulting in a revenue increase of $250,000 for the company.

Tips to Improve Your Problem-Solving Skills

Throughout your career, being able to showcase and effectively communicate your problem-solving skills gives you more leverage in achieving better jobs and earning more money .

So to improve your problem-solving skills, I recommend always analyzing a problem and situation before acting.

 When discussing problem-solving with employers, you never want to sound like you rush or make impulsive decisions. They want to see fact-based or data-based decisions when you solve problems.

Don’t just say you’re good at solving problems. Show it with specifics. How much did you boost efficiency? Did you save the company money? Adding numbers can really make your achievements stand out.

To get better at solving problems, analyze the outcomes of past solutions you came up with. You can recognize what works and what doesn’t.

Think about how you can improve researching and analyzing a situation, how you can get better at communicating, and deciding on the right people in the organization to talk to and “pull in” to help you if needed, etc.

Finally, practice staying calm even in stressful situations. Take a few minutes to walk outside if needed. Step away from your phone and computer to clear your head. A work problem is rarely so urgent that you cannot take five minutes to think (with the possible exception of safety problems), and you’ll get better outcomes if you solve problems by acting logically instead of rushing to react in a panic.

You can use all of the ideas above to describe your problem-solving skills when asked interview questions about the topic. If you say that you do the things above, employers will be impressed when they assess your problem-solving ability.

More Interview Resources

• 3 Answers to “How Do You Handle Stress?”
• How to Answer “How Do You Handle Conflict?” (Interview Question)
• Sample Answers to “Tell Me About a Time You Failed”

About the Author

Biron Clark is a former executive recruiter who has worked individually with hundreds of job seekers, reviewed thousands of resumes and LinkedIn profiles, and recruited for top venture-backed startups and Fortune 500 companies. He has been advising job seekers since 2012 to think differently in their job search and land high-paying, competitive positions. Follow on Twitter and LinkedIn .

Read more articles by Biron Clark

About the Contributor

Kyle Elliott , career coach and mental health advocate, transforms his side hustle into a notable practice, aiding Silicon Valley professionals in maximizing potential. Follow Kyle on LinkedIn .

About the Editor

Hayley Jukes is the Editor-in-Chief at CareerSidekick with five years of experience creating engaging articles, books, and transcripts for diverse platforms and audiences.

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Problem Solving Skills: 25 Performance Review Phrases Examples

By Status.net Editorial Team on July 21, 2023 — 4 minutes to read

Problem solving is an important skill in any work environment: it includes the ability to identify, understand, and develop solutions to complex issues while maintaining a focus on the end goal. Evaluating this skill in employees during performance reviews can be highly beneficial for both the employee and the organization.

Questions that can help you determine an employee’s rating for problem solving skills:

• How well does the employee define the problem and identify its root cause?
• How creative is the employee in generating potential solutions?
• How effective is the employee in implementing the chosen solution?
• How well does the employee evaluate the effectiveness of the solution and adjust it if necessary?

Related: Best Performance Review Examples for 48 Key Skills

2000+ Performance Review Phrases: The Complete List (Performance Feedback Examples)

Performance Review Phrases and Paragraphs Examples For Problem Solving

5 – outstanding.

Phrases examples:

• Consistently demonstrates exceptional problem-solving abilities
• Proactively identifies issues and offers innovative solutions
• Quickly adapts to unforeseen challenges and finds effective resolutions
• Exceptional problem-solving ability, consistently providing innovative solutions
• Regularly goes above and beyond to find creative solutions to complicated issues
• Demonstrates a keen understanding of complex problems and quickly identifies effective solutions

Paragraph Example 1

“Jane consistently demonstrates outstanding problem-solving skills. She proactively identifies issues in our department and offers innovative solutions that have improved processes and productivity. Her ability to quickly adapt to unforeseen challenges and find effective resolutions is commendable and has proven invaluable to the team.”

Paragraph Example 2

“Sarah has demonstrated an outstanding ability in problem solving throughout the year. Her innovative solutions have significantly improved our department’s efficiency, and she consistently goes above and beyond expectations to find creative approaches to complicated issues.”

4 – Exceeds Expectations

• Demonstrates a strong aptitude for solving complex problems
• Often takes initiative in identifying and resolving issues
• Effectively considers multiple perspectives and approaches before making decisions
• Displayed a consistently strong ability to tackle challenging problems efficiently
• Often takes the initiative to solve problems before they escalate
• Demonstrates a high level of critical thinking when resolving issues

“John exceeds expectations in problem-solving. He has a strong aptitude for solving complex problems and often takes initiative in identifying and resolving issues. His ability to consider multiple perspectives and approaches before making decisions has led to valuable improvements within the team.”

“Sam consistently exceeded expectations in problem solving this year. His efficient handling of challenging issues has made a positive impact on our team, and he often takes the initiative to resolve problems before they escalate. Sam’s critical thinking ability has been a valuable asset to our organization, and we appreciate his efforts.”

3 – Meets Expectations

• Displays adequate problem-solving skills when faced with challenges
• Generally able to identify issues and propose viable solutions
• Seeks assistance when necessary to resolve difficult situations
• Demonstrates a solid understanding of problem-solving techniques
• Capable of resolving everyday issues independently
• Shows perseverance when facing difficult challenges

“Mary meets expectations in her problem-solving abilities. She displays adequate skills when faced with challenges and is generally able to identify issues and propose viable solutions. Mary also seeks assistance when necessary to resolve difficult situations, demonstrating her willingness to collaborate and learn.”

“Sarah meets expectations in her problem-solving abilities. She demonstrates a solid understanding of problem-solving techniques and can resolve everyday issues independently. We value her perseverance when facing difficult challenges and encourage her to continue developing these skills.”

2 – Needs Improvement

• Struggles to find effective solutions to problems
• Tends to overlook critical details when evaluating situations
• Reluctant to seek help or collaborate with others to resolve issues
• Struggles to find effective solutions when faced with complex issues
• Often relies on assistance from others to resolve problems
• May lack confidence in decision-making when solving problems

“Tom’s problem-solving skills need improvement. He struggles to find effective solutions to problems and tends to overlook critical details when evaluating situations. Tom should work on being more willing to seek help and collaborate with others to resolve issues, which will ultimately strengthen his problem-solving abilities.”

“Mark’s problem-solving skills need improvement. He often struggles to find effective solutions for complex issues and seeks assistance from others to resolve problems. We encourage Mark to build his confidence in decision-making and focus on developing his problem-solving abilities.”

1 – Unacceptable

• Fails to identify and resolve problems in a timely manner
• Lacks critical thinking skills necessary for effective problem-solving
• Often creates additional issues when attempting to resolve problems
• Demonstrates a consistent inability to resolve even basic issues
• Often avoids responsibility for problem-solving tasks
• Fails to analyze problems effectively, leading to poor decision-making

“Sally’s problem-solving skills are unacceptable. She consistently fails to identify and resolve problems in a timely manner, and her lack of critical thinking skills hinders her ability to effectively solve challenges. Additionally, her attempts to resolve problems often create additional issues, resulting in a negative impact on the team’s overall performance.”

“Susan’s problem-solving performance has been unacceptable this year. She consistently demonstrates an inability to resolve basic issues and avoids taking responsibility for problem-solving tasks. Her ineffectiveness in analyzing problems has led to poor decision-making. It is crucial that Susan improve her problem-solving skills to succeed in her role.”

• Job Knowledge Performance Review Phrases (Examples)
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• 10 Examples: What Are Analytical Skills?
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Problem Solving

Ai generator.

Problem solving is a crucial skill in both personal and professional settings. Whether it’s addressing a personal challenge or drafting a business problem solving proposal , the ability to identify a problem and develop a solution is essential. Writing a problem solving essay helps articulate the issue clearly and systematically outline potential solutions. Effective problem and solution involves critical thinking, creativity, and a structured approach to overcome obstacles and achieve goals.

What is Problem Solving?

Problem solving is the process of identifying a challenge, analyzing its components, and finding an effective solution. It involves critical thinking, creativity, and the application of various techniques and tools.

Examples of Problem Solving

• Analytical Thinking : Breaking down complex problems into manageable parts.
• Creativity : Developing innovative solutions to problems.
• Critical Thinking : Evaluating information and arguments to make a reasoned decision.
• Decision-Making : Choosing the best course of action from various alternatives.
• Research : Gathering relevant information to understand and solve a problem.
• Communication : Clearly conveying ideas and solutions to others.
• Collaboration : Working effectively with others to solve problems.
• Time Management : Prioritizing tasks to efficiently address problems.
• Adaptability : Adjusting strategies as new information or challenges arise.
• Attention to Detail : Ensuring all aspects of a problem are considered.
• Logical Reasoning : Using logic to identify solutions and predict outcomes.
• Empathy : Understanding others’ perspectives to create more effective solutions.
• Negotiation : Finding mutually acceptable solutions through discussion.
• Conflict Resolution : Addressing and resolving disagreements.
• Patience : Remaining calm and persistent when solving complex problems.
• Organization : Structuring tasks and information systematically.
• Leadership : Guiding and motivating a team to solve problems.
• Decision Analysis : Evaluating the potential impact of different solutions.
• Project Management : Planning and executing solutions effectively.
• Technical Skills : Using specialized knowledge to solve technical problems.
• Customer Service : Resolving customer issues effectively and efficiently.
• Risk Management : Identifying and mitigating potential problems.
• Innovation : Implementing new ideas to solve existing problems.
• Strategic Planning : Developing long-term solutions and plans.
• Resourcefulness : Finding quick and clever ways to overcome difficulties.
• Stress Management : Handling pressure while solving problems.
• Observation : Noticing subtle details that could be key to solving a problem.
• Data Analysis : Interpreting data to inform problem-solving decisions.
• Flexibility : Being open to new approaches and changing plans when necessary.
• Self-Assessment : Reflecting on your own problem-solving process to improve future performance.

Problem-Solving Examples for Students

1. math word problems.

Problem: Jane has 3 apples, and she buys 4 more apples from the store. How many apples does she have now?

• Understand the problem: Jane starts with 3 apples and buys 4 more.
• Break it down: 3 apples (initial) + 4 apples (additional).
• Solve: 3 + 4 = 7.
• Answer: Jane has 7 apples.

2. Group Project Coordination

Problem: A group of students needs to complete a science project, but they are having trouble coordinating their schedules.

• Understand the problem: The main issue is scheduling conflicts.
• Break it down: Identify each member’s available times.
• Research: Use tools like Doodle or Google Calendar to find common free times.
• Brainstorm solutions: Propose meeting during lunch breaks or weekends.
• Evaluate: Choose the most convenient and feasible option for everyone.
• Develop an action plan: Set a recurring meeting time and delegate tasks.
• Implement: Start meeting and working on the project according to the plan.
• Monitor and review: Adjust schedules if conflicts arise and keep track of progress.

3. Essay Writing

Problem: A student struggles to start writing an essay on a given topic.

• Understand the problem: The difficulty is starting the essay.
• Break it down: Identify the essay topic, main points, and required structure.
• Research: Gather information and resources related to the topic.
• Brainstorm solutions: Create an outline, jot down ideas, and decide on the thesis statement.
• Evaluate: Choose the most compelling points and organize them logically.
• Develop an action plan: Write a draft based on the outline, then revise and edit.
• Implement: Begin writing the introduction, followed by the body paragraphs and conclusion.
• Monitor and review: Proofread the essay and make necessary corrections.

4. Time Management

Problem: A student has trouble managing time between homework, extracurricular activities, and leisure.

• Understand the problem: The issue is balancing multiple responsibilities.
• Break it down: Identify all tasks and time commitments.
• Research: Look for time management techniques and tools.
• Brainstorm solutions: Use planners, to-do lists, or apps like Trello or Todoist.
• Evaluate: Choose the most effective tool and technique.
• Develop an action plan: Create a weekly schedule, prioritizing tasks by importance and deadlines.
• Implement: Follow the schedule and adjust as necessary.
• Monitor and review: Reflect on the effectiveness of the schedule and make improvements.

5. Conflict Resolution

Problem: Two students have a disagreement over a shared locker space.

• Understand the problem: The conflict is about sharing limited space.
• Break it down: Identify each student’s concerns and needs.
• Research: Look into conflict resolution strategies.
• Brainstorm solutions: Propose solutions like dividing the locker into specific sections or creating a rotation schedule.
• Evaluate: Choose the fairest and most practical solution.
• Develop an action plan: Agree on the solution and set guidelines.
• Implement: Follow the agreed plan and make adjustments if needed.
• Monitor and review: Ensure both students are satisfied with the arrangement and resolve any further issues.

Problem-Solving Examples in Real-life

Example 1: workplace conflict.

Situation : Two team members have a disagreement that affects their productivity.

• Identify the Problem : Understand the root cause of the conflict.
• Analyze : Talk to both parties separately to get their perspectives.
• Generate Solutions : Consider solutions like mediation, reassignment of tasks, or team-building exercises.
• Evaluate : Assess which solution is likely to resolve the conflict without affecting team morale.
• Implement : Arrange a mediation session.
• Review : Follow up to ensure the conflict is resolved and monitor team dynamics.

Example 2: Personal Finance Management

Situation : Struggling to manage monthly expenses and savings.

• Identify the Problem : Determine specific areas where overspending occurs.
• Analyze : Review bank statements and categorize expenses.
• Generate Solutions : Create a budget, reduce unnecessary expenses, and set savings goals.
• Evaluate : Choose a budgeting method that fits your lifestyle.
• Implement : Start tracking expenses and adjust spending habits.
• Review : Regularly review your budget and savings to ensure you are on track.

How to Improve Your Problem-Solving Skills?

Understand the Problem: Before attempting to solve any problem, it’s crucial to fully understand it. Read through the problem statement carefully and make sure you grasp every detail.

Break It Down : Divide the problem into smaller, more manageable parts. This approach, known as decomposition, makes it easier to tackle complex issues by focusing on individual components one at a time.

Research and Gather Information : Collect all relevant information and data that might help in solving the problem. Look for similar problems and their solutions.

Brainstorm Possible Solutions : Generate as many potential solutions as possible. Don’t worry about evaluating them at this stage; the goal is to think creatively and come up with a wide range of ideas.

Evaluate and Select the Best Solution : Assess the feasibility, pros, and cons of each potential solution. Consider factors such as resources, time, and potential risks. Choose the solution that best addresses the problem and is most practical.

Develop an Action Plan : Create a detailed plan for implementing your chosen solution. Outline the steps you need to take, assign tasks if working in a team, and set deadlines to ensure timely progress.

Implement the Solution : Put your plan into action. Stay focused and be prepared to adapt if necessary. Keep track of your progress and make adjustments as needed.

Monitor and Review : After implementing the solution, monitor the results to ensure the problem is resolved. Evaluate the outcome and review the process to learn from any mistakes or successes.

Problem-solving in workplace

• Enhancing Efficiency : Quick and effective problem resolution can streamline processes and reduce downtime.
• Boosting Productivity : Employees who can solve problems independently help maintain workflow and productivity.
• Improving Customer Satisfaction : Solving customer issues promptly can lead to higher satisfaction and loyalty.
• Fostering Innovation : Problem-solving often leads to new ideas and improvements that drive innovation.
• Promoting Employee Development : Encouraging problem-solving helps employees grow and develop their skills.

How To Highlight Problem-Solving Skills?

1. on your resume.

When listing problem-solving skills on your resume, provide concrete examples. Use action verbs and quantify your achievements where possible.

• Resolved a customer service issue that increased customer satisfaction by 20%.
• Developed a new process that reduced production errors by 15%.

2. In a Cover Letter

Your cover letter is a great place to elaborate on your problem-solving abilities. Describe a specific situation where you successfully addressed a challenge.

“In my previous role at XYZ Company, I identified a bottleneck in our production line. I conducted a thorough analysis and implemented a new workflow, which reduced production time by 25% and saved the company $50,000 annually.”

3. During an Interview

Be prepared to discuss your problem-solving skills in depth during an interview. Use the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) method to structure your responses.

Example: “Can you give an example of a time when you solved a difficult problem at work?”

• Situation: Our sales team was struggling with declining numbers.
• Task: I was tasked with identifying the root cause and finding a solution.
• Action: I analyzed sales data, conducted team meetings, and identified a lack of training as the main issue.
• Result: I organized comprehensive training sessions, which led to a 30% increase in sales over the next quarter.

4. On Social Media and Professional Profiles

Highlight problem-solving skills on LinkedIn and other professional profiles. Share posts or articles about your problem-solving experiences and successes.

“I’m thrilled to share that I recently led a project to overhaul our customer service protocol, resulting in a 40% reduction in response time and a significant boost in customer satisfaction!”

5. In Performance Reviews

During performance reviews, make sure to emphasize your problem-solving contributions. Provide specific examples and outcomes.

“In the past year, I resolved three major project roadblocks, enabling our team to meet all deadlines and exceed our performance goals.”

6. Through Projects and Case Studies

If applicable, create case studies or detailed project descriptions that showcase your problem-solving process and results. This can be particularly useful for portfolios or presentations.

Case Study: Improving IT System Efficiency

• Problem: Frequent system downtimes affecting productivity.
• Solution: Implemented a new monitoring system and revised maintenance schedules.
• Outcome: System downtimes were reduced by 50%, significantly improving productivity.

7. By Demonstrating Soft Skills

Problem-solving often involves other soft skills such as communication, creativity, and teamwork. Highlighting these related skills can further emphasize your ability to solve problems effectively.

“By fostering open communication within my team and encouraging creative brainstorming sessions, we were able to devise innovative solutions to our most pressing challenges.”

How to Answer Problem-Solving Interview Questions

• Understand the Question : Make sure you fully understand the problem before you try to solve it. Ask clarifying questions if needed to ensure you have all the relevant information.
• Think Aloud : Demonstrate your thinking process by explaining your thoughts as you work through the problem. This shows your interviewer how you approach problems and organize your thoughts.
• Break It Down : Divide the problem into smaller, manageable parts. This can make a complex issue seem more approachable and allows you to tackle each component systematically.
• Use a Structured Approach : Employ frameworks or methodologies that are relevant to the question. For example, you might use the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) for behavioral questions, or a simple problem-solving framework like Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control (DMAIC) for process improvements.
• Be Creative : Employers often look for creativity in your answers. Think outside the box and propose innovative solutions when appropriate.
• Prioritize Solutions : If there are multiple potential solutions, discuss the pros and cons of each and explain why you would choose one over the others.
• Stay Calm and Positive : Problem-solving under pressure is part of the test. Maintain a calm and positive demeanor, showing that you can handle stress effectively.
• Summarize Your Steps : After you have worked through the problem, summarize the steps you took and the conclusion you reached. This helps ensure the interviewer followed your process and underscores your methodical approach.
• Ask for Feedback : After presenting your solution, it can be beneficial to ask if there are any additional factors you might consider. This shows openness to learning and adapting.
• Practice Regularly : Like any skill, problem-solving improves with practice. Regularly engage in brain teasers, logic puzzles, or case studies to sharpen your skills.

Why Are Problem-Solving is Important?

• Effective Decision-Making : Problem-solving is essential for making decisions that are logical, informed, and well-considered. This skill helps individuals and organizations make choices that lead to better outcomes.
• Innovation and Improvement : Solving problems effectively often requires innovative thinking. This can lead to new ideas and improvements in processes, products, and services, which are essential for business growth and adaptation.
• Handling Complex Situations : Many roles involve complex situations that are not straightforward to manage. Problem-solving skills enable individuals to dissect these situations and devise effective strategies to deal with them.
• Enhances Productivity : Efficient problem-solving contributes to higher productivity, as it allows for the identification and removal of obstacles that impede workflow and performance.
• Career Advancement : Individuals who are effective problem solvers are often seen as leaders and can advance more quickly in their careers. This skill is valuable because it demonstrates the ability to handle difficult situations and complex challenges.
• Adaptability and Resilience : Problem-solving is key to adapting to new situations and overcoming challenges. Those who can creatively navigate through difficulties are generally more resilient.
• Quality of Life : On a personal level, strong problem-solving skills can improve one’s quality of life by enabling better management of the challenges that come with daily living.
• Team Collaboration : Problem-solving often requires collaboration. Being good at solving problems can improve your ability to work with others, as it involves communication, persuasion, and negotiation skills.

How to Include Problem-Solving in a Job Application

• Resume : Detail specific problem-solving instances in your job descriptions using action verbs like “analyzed” and “implemented”. Mention the positive outcomes achieved.
• Cover Letter : Narrate a specific instance where your problem-solving skills led to a successful outcome, demonstrating initiative and effectiveness.
• Skills Section : Include “problem-solving” in a skills section if the job ad specifically mentions it.
• Quantify Achievements : Use numbers to describe the impact of your solutions, such as cost savings or efficiency improvements.
• Job Interviews : Prepare to discuss specific examples of your problem-solving skills, focusing on the challenge, your action, and the result.
• References : Brief your references about your problem-solving achievements so they can provide specific examples when contacted by employers.

Tips for Enhancing Problem-Solving

• Practice Regularly: Like any skill, problem-solving improves with regular practice. Engage in activities that challenge your thinking, such as puzzles, games, or real-world problem-solving scenarios.
• Learn from Others: Study how others approach and solve problems. This can provide new strategies and perspectives that you can incorporate into your own problem-solving toolkit.
• Stay Calm and Positive: Maintaining a calm and positive mindset can significantly improve your ability to solve problems. Stress and negativity can cloud your judgment and hinder creative thinking.
• Develop Critical Thinking: Sharpen your critical thinking skills by questioning assumptions, analyzing information, and evaluating evidence. This will help you make more informed and logical decisions.
• Collaborate with Others: Working with others can bring new insights and ideas. Collaboration can also help you see the problem from different angles and develop more effective solutions.
• Keep Learning: Continuously expand your knowledge and skills. The more you know, the better equipped you are to tackle a variety of problems.

How can I improve my problem-solving skills?

Practice regularly, learn various problem-solving techniques, and engage in activities that challenge your thinking.

What are common problem-solving techniques?

Common techniques include brainstorming, root cause analysis, the 5 Whys, and SWOT analysis.

What are the steps in the problem-solving process?

Identify the problem, analyze the problem, generate solutions, select a solution, implement, and evaluate.

How do I demonstrate problem-solving skills in an interview?

Discuss specific situations where you effectively solved problems, highlighting your thought process and outcomes.

What’s the difference between critical thinking and problem-solving?

Critical thinking involves analyzing and evaluating information, while problem-solving focuses on finding solutions to problems.

How do problem-solving skills help in leadership?

They enable leaders to manage challenges effectively, inspire innovation, and guide teams through obstacles.

How to measure problem-solving skills?

Assess through scenarios or challenges that require identifying, analyzing, and resolving problems.

What role does creativity play in problem-solving?

Creativity enables out-of-the-box thinking, which can lead to innovative and effective solutions.

How do you use problem-solving in project management?

Apply it to anticipate potential issues, plan solutions, and ensure smooth project execution.

What’s an example of a problem-solving situation?

Resolving customer complaints by identifying the issue, brainstorming solutions, and implementing changes to prevent future complaints.

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How to Solve Your Company’s Toughest Problems

A conversation with Harvard Business School professor Frances Frei on how to solve any problem in five clear steps.

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You’ve likely heard the phrase, “Move fast and break things.” But Harvard Business School professor Frances Frei says speed and experimentation are not enough on their own. Instead, she argues that you should move fast and fix things. (That’s also the topic and title of the book she coauthored with Anne Morriss .)

In this episode, Frei explains how you can solve any problem in five clear steps. First, she says, start by identifying the real problem holding you back. Then move on to building trust and relationships, followed by a narrative for your solution — before you begin implementing it.

Key episode topics include: leadership, strategy execution, managing people, collaboration and teams, trustworthiness, organizational culture.

HBR On Leadership curates the best case studies and conversations with the world’s top business and management experts, to help you unlock the best in those around you. New episodes every week.

• Learn more about HBR’s “ Future of Business” virtual conference (November 2023)
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HANNAH BATES: Welcome to HBR on Leadership , case studies and conversations with the world’s top business and management experts, hand-selected to help you unlock the best in those around you.

Maybe you’ve heard the phrase, “move fast and break things.” It refers to a certain approach for rapid innovation that was popularized in Silicon Valley and invoked by many tech firms. But Harvard Business School professor Frances Frei says that speed and experimentation are not enough on their own. Instead, Frei argues that you should “move fast and fix things.” That’s the topic and title of the book she co-authored with Anne Morriss.

In this episode, Harvard Business Review’s editorial audience director Nicole Smith sits down with Frei to discuss how you can solve any problem in five quick steps. You’ll learn how to start by uncovering your true problem. Then, move on to build trust, relationships, and a narrative for your solution before you dive in on the actual work of implementing your fix.

This conversation was originally part of HBR’s “Future of Business” virtual conference in November 2023. Here it is.

FRANCES FREI: So, I would love to talk to you about how to move fast and fix things. And I’ll tell you the reason that Anne and I wrote this book – and it’s really a quest we’ve been on – is that Mark Zuckerberg, in his IPO for Facebook, famously said, “we’re going to move fast and break things.” And the problem with that is that it gave the world a false trade-off. It convinced so many of us that you could either move fast and break things or you could take care of people, one or the other. And we have found that there is a third, much better way. And that is, we can move even faster if we fix things along the way. And so, that’s what I’d love to talk to you about right now. And the way that we think about this is that if you want to move fast and fix things, we have to do it on a foundation of trust. And so, the first thing to do is to experience high trust. And we’re going to talk about how to build trust. But the way we see the world can be described in this grid. And in the presence of trust, we can move really fast. That’s how we move fast and fix things. We call it accelerating excellence. It’s only when we’re in the presence of low trust that we move fast and break things, or what we call being reckless disruption. And as I said, so many organizations are afraid of reckless disruption that they actually end up in this state of responsible stewardship, which is really just going slowly. And so, we wrote the book to get those that are in responsible stewardship to realize that we could go across the way to accelerating excellence. And we didn’t have to go down to reckless disruption. So, the way that we think about this, and it’s the way we wrote the book, is that there’s a five-step plan to do it. We organized the book for days of the week. We think that the metabolic rate of organizations can be improved significantly and that many, many hard problems can be solved in just one week. So, we wrote the book in the structure of a week. Step one is we have to find our real problem, that if we’re… for far too many of us, we’re addressing the symptom and not the cause. At any problem, there’s going to be trust broken at the bottom of it. And we’re going to solve for trust. We’re then going to learn how to get more perspectives to make our plans even better. Learn how to tell a narrative that works. And then, and only then, on Friday, do we get to go as fast as we can. And what typically happens in the move fast and break things is that we move Friday too forward in the week. So, our goal is to put ourselves in a position to move fast. And you have to wait till Friday to do that. So, what do I mean by finding the real problem? Most of us, a problem gets presented as a symptom. So, I’ll give you a recent example that got presented to me and Anne. We got called by a company. And they said, we’re having a gender problem. Will you come in and help us? And we’ve been able to help many organizations solve gender problems. So, we go in there. And we just wanted to make sure that they really did have a gender problem. The symptoms were super clear. There were no women at the top of the organization. Not very many women were coming into the organization. And great women were leaving the organization. So, they had… it looked like a gender problem. But it took, I don’t know, an hour. It took 60 minutes, certainly not even all of Monday, to uncover that their actual problem was not a gender problem. Their actual problem was a communication problem. And if we did all of the things that we know exist in our gender tool kit on how to fix gender, that would have all been wasted effort. But instead, what we found out is that the founders of this organization, and they were two cofounders, and they were very similar to each other, and they’d worked together and known each other for decades. They had a really uncomfortably and aggressively direct communication style. That communication style repelled all women and most men. So yes, the symptoms were gender. But oh, my goodness, the cause was that the two founders were succumbing to a problem many of us succumb to, which is, we were treating others as we like to be treated. They loved to be treated with aggressively direct communication. But nobody else loved it. And when we simply confronted them with that and taught them that instead of treating others as you want to be treated, now it’s a puzzle. Find out how they want to be treated, and treat them that way. Gets fixed. And all of a sudden, women and lots of other men are flowing to the organization. So, Monday… and we take a whole day for this. Let’s make sure we’re solving the real problem. And symptoms are rarely the cause. So, we just want to do some due diligence, some due diligence there. Once we know we’re solving for the real problem, there’s going to be trust broken down somewhere in the… amidst the problem. Well, very fortunately, we now understand trust super well. If I’m going to earn your trust, you will have an involuntary reaction of trusting me if you experience my authenticity, logic, and empathy all at the same time. When these three things are present, you will trust me. But if any one of these three is missing, you will not trust me. And here’s the catch. If trust is broken, and we know it’s only ever broken for one of these three reasons, we need to know which of the three, because the prescriptions to solve a broken authenticity pillar versus logic pillar versus empathy pillar, they’re entirely different from one another. So, you can think about rebuilding trust. It’s just a matching game. Know which one is at stake. And then bring in the curated prescription for that. There is a myth about trust that it takes a lifetime to build and a moment to destroy. And then you can never rebuild it. None of those things are true, that we can actually build trust very quickly when we understand the architecture of it. We can rebuild it quickly and just as strong as it was before. So, this notion that trust is a Faberge egg, it’s catchy and not true. Trust is being rebuilt all the time. But we want to do it with a deep understanding of the stable architecture. So, Tuesday takes all day. We solve for trust. On Wednesday, we call Wednesday making new friends. And what we mean by that is whichever collection of people you bring to the table who are the people that maybe are on your senior team or the people that you bring to the table to solve problems. And here, I’ve represented a table. And there’s eight check marks for eight seats. I encourage you to bring four extra chairs to that table. If you have eight seats, bring four extra chairs. Point to the extra chairs and ask yourself, who’s not here? Who has a stake in our problem who’s not represented at the table? I was recently in a conversation with our senior colleagues at the Harvard Business School. And we were talking about how to do junior faculty development. And we came up with what we thought were great ideas. And then we looked around and we were like, Oh, my goodness, there’s no junior faculty here. How on Earth do we know if these are good ideas? So, we got the empty seats. We invited people in. And sure enough, the junior faculty helped improve our plans dramatically. The equivalent of that always happens. So, on Wednesday, we want to make new friends. So, one is inviting them into the room. But then the second part is, how do you make sure that their voices are heard? And what we need to do is that when someone comes to the room, they’re going to be awfully tempted to say things that they think we want to hear. They’re going to be awfully tempted to conform to what we’re already saying. So, what we need to do is learn how to be inclusive of their unique voices. And the way we do that is by going through this four-step progressive process, which is, first, we have to make sure they feel safe and that they feel… they’re going to feel physically and emotionally safe, I’m sure, but that they feel psychologically safe. And that’s a shout-out to Amy Edmondson and all of her beautiful work there. But we have to make sure that we feel safe. Once we feel safe, then it’s our job to make sure that the new voices feel welcome. You can think of that as table stakes. Then when we’re doing is we’re really trying to move people up the inclusion dial. And here, this is when it really starts to make a big difference. And now what we want to do is make sure that they feel celebrated for their unique contribution. And so, what we’re doing is moving them up the inclusion dial. Now, here’s why that’s kind of hard. Most of us tend to celebrate sameness. And here, I’m asking you to celebrate uniqueness. And what I mean by celebrating sameness is that for the most part, like, when I watch my students in class, if one student says something, and then another student was going to say that, after class, they go and seek out the first person. And they’re like, you’re awesome. You said what I was going to say. They didn’t realize this. They’re celebrating sameness. They’re encouraging sameness. So, what I do is I advise my students to not share that verbal treat, that what we playfully refer to as a Scooby snack. Don’t share that Scooby snack for when somebody says something you were going to say. Share it for when somebody says something you could never have said on your own, and that it comes from their lived experience and learned experience, and how they metabolize successes and failures, and their ambition, if they’re lucky enough to have neurodiversity, their worldview, all of that. It’s a beautiful cocktail. Wait till they say something that comes uniquely from all of that. Celebrate that. When we celebrate uniqueness, that’s when we get the blossoming of the perspectives. And what we want to do to make somebody really feel included is we celebrate them when they are in our presence. But if you really want somebody to feel included, and we bring folks into the room for this, make sure that you champion them when they’re in the absence. So, let’s not just ask the junior faculty to come along. Or if it’s a senior team, and it’s mostly men, and the board of directors is coming in, and we’re like, oh, goodness. Let’s make sure we can show some women too. So, we bring some women along. We celebrate them in our presence. Let’s make sure that we champion them in our absence as well, which is celebrate their uniqueness in our presence and champion them in rooms that they’re not yet allowed into in their absence. So that’s Wednesday. Let’s make new friends. Let’s include their voices. Let’s champion those new voices in their absence. Thursday, we tell a good story. And stories have three parts to it: past, present, and future. It is really important – if you’re going to change something, if you’re going to fix something, it is critical to honor the past. People that were here before us, if they don’t feel like we see the past, we see them, we’re honoring the past, I promise you, they’re going to hold us back. And they’re going to be like The Godfather movie and keep pulling us back. So, we have to honor the past with clear eyes, both the good part of the past and the bad part of the past. Then we have to answer the question, why should we change now? Like, why shouldn’t we change maybe next week, maybe the week after, maybe the month after, maybe next year? So, it’s really important that we give a clear and compelling change mandate that answers the question, why now? Why not in a little while? I find that if you’re a retailer, and you have the metaphor of Walmart just opened up next door, clear, compelling. We have to… that should be our metaphor. How can we be, with as crisp of a language, clear and compelling about why now? And then we’ve honored the past. We have a clear and compelling change mandate. You want people to follow us in the improved future, we have to have a super rigorous and a super optimistic way forward. We have seen so many people be optimistic without rigor. Nobody’s going to follow. And similarly, rigor without optimism, also, nobody’s going to follow. So, it’s our job to keep refining and refining and refining until we can be both rigorous and optimistic. Now, how do we know when our plan is working? Well, here are the four parts of storytelling that we know. Our job is to understand this plan so deeply that we can describe it simply. When we describe it, we want to make sure if I describe it to you, and you describe it to the next person, that the next person understands it as if I described it to them. So, our job is to understand so deeply that we can describe simply that it’s understood in our absence. And the ultimate test is it’s understood when they go home and share it with their family. They have the same understanding we want. We find this to be the four-stage litmus test to make sure we have been effective in our communication. And when people understand it this well, then they can act on it in our absence. And that’s when we’re now in the position to go as fast as we can. And when all of that infrastructure is in place, well, then we can go super fast. And there are all kinds of clever ways that we can do that. So, I look forward to opening this up and having a conversation with you.

NICOLE SMITH: That was excellent. Professor, we got several questions. I want to just dive right into it. Tessa asked, what tools, practices, and skills do you use to uncover the underlying superficial problems? It sounded like you talked a lot about questions and asking questions.

FRANCES FREI: Yeah, it’s right. So, the Toyota production system would famously refer to the five whys. And they had… and that was root cause analysis, which we all know. But essentially, what they found is that it’s about five… why does this exist? Well, why does that exist? Well, why does that exist? Like, if you ask why five times, they found that that’s how you got to the root cause. We find, in practice, the answer is closer to three. It’s rarely one. So, it would be, the symptom and the cause are usually a few layers. And you want to keep asking why. So, that’s the first thing I would say, is that we want to have… make sure that you’re doing root cause analysis. But the second thing on a specific tool, the tool that we like the most, we call the indignities list. And what you do is that… and the way we found out the symptom is we went to women in this company, because that’s what… they said they were having a gender problem. And we asked the women, is there anything that’s going on at work that just… it feels like it’s just nicking your dignity? And it occurs for… is it happening to you, or you observe it happening to other women? So, you go in search of the indignities list. Every time we do this, you’ll get a list of issues. Often, they will sound trivial. When you start to get convergence on those indignities, we then ask you to convert those indignities to the dignity list. And in this case, it was the communication style. And you know what the awesome thing about that was? It was free.

NICOLE SMITH: Wow.

FRANCES FREI: You can’t beat free.

NICOLE SMITH: Monique asks, can you speak more about how to amplify others’ ideas and perspectives, especially when they’re from underrepresented stakeholders?

FRANCES FREI: Oh, I love that question. Thank you very much. And so, I’m going to go to… here is my favorite visual on the amplification part, which is the team I’ve drawn in the middle, it’s a three-person team. And each circle represents a person on the team. And I’m showing that there’s three circles in the middle, that those folks are very similar to one another. And then on either side, we have a team where there’s difference among us. And this is where the underrepresented might come in. If we’re not careful, when we have underrepresented voices, we’re only going to be seeking from them the parts that overlap with us. So, this is when we’ve invited them to the table, but we’re not inclusive of their voices. What we want to do is make sure that everybody feels comfortable bringing all of their richness to the table, not just the part that overlaps. And so, what we find we need to do is be very solicitous about… and same with questions. From your perspective, how does this sound to you? What else are we missing? What I’m trying to do is get you off the scent of saying what you think I want to say or even asking you to say what I want to say because it makes me feel better. But I want to be inclusive of all of the gorgeous uniqueness. And this, of course, ties to diversity, equity, and inclusion, which I know has gotten a rocky go of things in the press. But what I’ll tell you is, if I got to rewrite diversity, equity, and inclusion, I would have written it as inclusion, equity, and diversity, because I have seen teams bring… I have seen organizations bring in diverse and underrepresented talent and not get the benefit from it.

NICOLE SMITH: Yeah.

FRANCES FREI: So, diversity may or may not beget inclusion. But I have never, ever seen an organization that was inclusive that didn’t beget gorgeous diversity.

NICOLE SMITH: Right.

FRANCES FREI: So, be inclusive first.

NICOLE SMITH: I appreciate you saying that, not just sitting at the table, but actually including and giving lift to people’s voices. I also want to talk about this friends thing you keep talking about, making new friends. First of all, how do I identify who’s a friend?

FRANCES FREI: Yeah. So, in this case, I want the friend to be someone who is as different from you as possible. So, the new friends. Like, who’s worthy of friendship? Not someone who you’re already attracted to, not somebody who you’re already hanging out with. So, here’s the thing about humans. We really like people who are really like us. It doesn’t make us bad people. But it just makes us human. And so, what I want you to do is seek difference. Find people from different perspectives. And that will be demographic difference, different lived experience, different learned experience. And so, if we’re senior faculty, let’s invite in junior faculty. If we’re all women, let’s invite in a man. If we’re all engineers, let’s make sure we’re bringing in the perspective of marketing. So, what I would say is my guiding principle is seek difference. Those are your potential new friends.

NICOLE SMITH: OK, so Steve wants to hone in on Friday, right? And Steve asks, can you paint a quick sketch of what’s going fast after this being slower – a slower, more thoughtful process?

FRANCES FREI: I sure can. Thank you, Steve. And so, here’s how I would think about Friday. We need ruthless prioritization. And what I mean by that is that for the most part, organizations have… that we work equally on everything. We think everything is equally important. But what we know is that organizations that win, they have ruthless prioritization. And they know, this is what I’m designed to be great at. And this is what I’m designed to be bad at. Not bad for sport, bad in the service of great. And if an organization can’t discern between these two, they’re going to end up with exhausted mediocrity. And so, what we have to do for our employees and the rest of the organization is, here’s what we’re going to optimize on. That’s half the story. And here’s what we’re not. So, I’ll give you an example of this. And the example is from Steve Jobs. And if those of you that are a bit techie, and you remember 20 years ago, when Steve Jobs walked out on that Worldwide Developer Conference stage with a manila envelope, and it had a MacBook Air in it. And he slid out that MacBook Air. And the crowd and the world went crazy, because it was the lightest-weight laptop in the world. Well, he very, very openly said, we are best in class at weight because we are worst in class at physical features. We could have been best in class at physical features. But then we would have been worst in class at weight. Or we could have chosen to be average at both. But then we would have had to rename our company. And then he made fun of another company that I won’t say here. So, we will end up… if we aren’t deliberate, we’re going to end up with exhausted mediocrity, constantly getting better at the things we’re bad at, which, without realizing it, means we’re getting worse at the things we’re good at. So, the most important thing we can do on Friday is to articulate, this is what we want to be disproportionately good at. And thus, this is what we want to be disproportionately bad at. And there’s a whole other series of things. But that’s the most important one.

NICOLE SMITH: Mm-hmm. Speaking of Steve Jobs, we have a question where they ask, do you think that the culture in Silicon Valley is changing from break things to fix things, particularly as it pertains to not only their own companies, but broader societal problems?

FRANCES FREI: Yeah, so I – not in all of Silicon Valley. So, I think we can famously see, it’s not clear to me that Twitter is moving fast and fixing things. But what I will say is that, look at Uber today. And I had the pleasure of going and working with Uber back in 2017, when they were going to move fast and break things. They are moving fast and fixing things now, and going at a catapulting speed. Or ServiceNow didn’t ever even go through move fast and break things. It’s just moving fast and fixing things. Stripe is doing the same thing. Airbnb is now moving fast and fixing things. So, what I would say is that Silicon Valley can now choose to move fast and fix things, whereas, in the past, I think they only thought they had the choice of going slow or moving fast and breaking things. Today, we have the choice. And more and more companies are making that choice.

NICOLE SMITH: Mm-hmm. And so, Bill asked, which one of these steps do you find the most commonly in need of… that companies need the most help with? So, you laid out Monday through Friday. Is there something that sticks out often?

FRANCES FREI: Well, I’ll tell you that if companies are really pressed for time, they skip Thursday. And that’s to their peril, because if we skip Thursday, that means we have to be present. And we’re a bottleneck for everything. That means people need us to translate why this is important. So, I would say that Thursday is the one that’s most often skipped. And I encourage you not to. And then I would say that Tuesday is the one that’s most often misunderstood because of all of the myths I mentioned that we have about trust. And we just think, oh, if trust is broken, we have to work around it, as opposed to going right through it and rebuilding trust.

NICOLE SMITH: So, Thursday, that’s the storytelling, honoring the past, describing it simply, right? So why do we struggle to describe things simply?

FRANCES FREI: Oh, I don’t know what your inbox looks like on your email. But you tell me how many long emails you have.

NICOLE SMITH: I refuse to deal with my inbox. I’ll deal with it later.

FRANCES FREI: So, Mark Twain was right. I apologize for sending you a long letter. I didn’t have the time to send you a short letter. It’s the metaphor for all of this, that when we understand something in a complicated way, we want to benefit people from the entirety of our knowledge. And we just throw up all of it on people, as opposed to realizing the beautiful curation and skill that’s required to go from understanding it deeply to understanding it elegantly in its simplicity. So, I think it takes time. It’s also… it takes skill. Like, this is… there are professional communicators for a reason. They’re really good at it. But if you’re on your second draft of something, you have no chance of describing it simply. So, I would say, unless you’re on your 10th draft, you’re probably describing it in too complicated of a way.

NICOLE SMITH: Yeah. So, can I ask you a little bit more of a personal question, Professor?

FRANCES FREI: Yeah, anything.

NICOLE SMITH: So, Abby asks, how do you apply the essential steps to moving fast and fixing things in your own consulting role? So, Uber and all the places that you go.

FRANCES FREI: Yeah. Yeah, so I’ll tell you, when we’ve been successful, it’s when organizations come to us, and they say, here’s our problem. Will you help us? When we’ve been unsuccessful is when we go to the organizations, and we’re like, we think you’re having a problem. So, pull works. Push doesn’t. So, the only thing we can’t provide is the desire to change. And so, I would say personally, make sure there’s an opening. And then you can be super helpful in fixing a problem. And I also would say that all of this applies to yourself. I mean, that ruthless prioritization – so many of us are trying to be good at as many things as possible – at work, at home, daughter, sister, cousin, parent, friend – as opposed to, I’m going to kill it at work, kill it at home. And I am not going to be good… not now. I’m not going to be as good at all of these other things. So, you can either choose exhausted mediocrity, or you can have the nobility of excellence. These things are choices. So, I think all of this applies to ourselves.

NICOLE SMITH: So, let’s go back to Tuesday, where you drew that triangle with logic, and empathy, and authenticity. So, Hung asks, between logic and empathy, which one would you say an individual should develop first? And Hung really describes just having a left foot and right foot and not knowing which one to go forward.

FRANCES FREI: Yeah. So, here’s what I would say, Hung, is, ask yourself… I bet you’re trusted most of the time, which means people are experiencing your authenticity, logic, and empathy most of the time. But ask yourself, the last time, or the most recent times you had a skeptic, you had someone who was doubting you, who they were wobbling on your trust, ask yourself, what is it that they doubted about you? And if it’s that they doubted your logic, double click there. If they doubted your empathy, double click there. And that is, each of us has what we call a wobble. Each one of us has a pattern where the distribution of these is higher for one or the other. That’s the sequence I would go in. There’s not some generic sequence that is better. All three of these pillars are equally important. But I bet, for each one of us, one tends to be more shaky than the other. And that’s what I would go after. Now, I will just tell you the distribution in the world. The vast majority of us have empathy wobbles, then logic wobbles, then authenticity wobbles. But that doesn’t help any of us specifically. It just tells us we have lots of company.

NICOLE SMITH: OK. So, we got a lot more questions and a little time. I want to get as many as I can in, but…

FRANCES FREI: OK, I’ll go super quick. Yeah.

NICOLE SMITH: No, take your time. But I just want to let you know, you’re pretty popular in this conversation. Rock star, as Allison said. Tara asks, how can company leadership make sure that their messaging is actually heard and understood? I feel like you touched on this a bit with simplicity.

FRANCES FREI: Yeah. Yeah, and I think that the way to do it is, talk to people about your message that didn’t hear it directly from you. And see how well they understood. That tells you whether or not it’s reaching. So, don’t ask the people that were in the room. Ask the people that were spoken to by other people in the room. That will tell you how well it’s there. And if it took you a long time to describe it, I promise you, it’s not going to be heard.

NICOLE SMITH: Mm. Oh, wow. Yeah, thinking about it, probably need to shorten my own stories a little bit here. So, Karen asks you, how do you handle employees who are not willing to accept others’ points of view and be open minded? I mean, you described this uniqueness and diversity. But there are people who are holdouts that don’t see the advantage of that.

FRANCES FREI: So, I often find those folks are an education away, because if I can let you know that if I get to benefit from everyone’s point of view, and you only get to benefit from some people’s point of view, I will competitively thump you. So, let’s say you don’t have the moral imperative wanting to do it. Well, the performance imperative… we have found that organizations that are inclusive get a 200% to 500% boost on employee engagement and team performance with no new people, no new technology, simply the act of being inclusive. So, the person who doesn’t want to be inclusive, I’m going to ask them, can they afford… can their career afford performing so suboptimally?

NICOLE SMITH: Mm. And so, we have a question. The person didn’t leave their name, so I don’t have a name. But how much time do you spend on each stage? Some folks like to spend more time on stages than others. Does the team not move forward until everyone’s satisfied with the current step? What do you do when you hit a roadblock on each stage, and not everyone is in agreement?

FRANCES FREI: Yeah. Well, I don’t like consensus, so I’ll just… I’ll say there. And so, what I try to do is work on momentum, which is that I want to make sure that everybody’s voices have been heard. But then you have to leave the decision to someone else. So, we want to do is make sure everybody’s voices are heard, and they had a chance to do it. But we don’t hold out until the very last person. We move forward. And then we can retrace and see if the momentum can bring people forward. So, not consensus. I would consider it not consensus, and we have to make sure that everybody gets to air out what their problems are.

NICOLE SMITH: OK. Well, Christopher asks our last question. How does transparency fit into this model, specifically this trust, authenticity, logic model? Does it have a place?

FRANCES FREI: Yeah. It sure does. And I find that the most important part for transparency is on the logic side. So, if you’re going to say… if you’re going to inspect whether or not I have good rigor, and I have a good plan, I could say, oh, just have faith. I did all of this hard work. Or I could give you a glimpse inside so that you can see the inner workings. Now, I often call it a window of transparency, because there’s actually a cost of full transparency that I’m not always willing to take. But a window of transparency, I think we always need. So, to me, the transparency part is, let’s be transparent about our logic so people can see it for themselves, and they don’t have to do it in too much of a faith-based way.

NICOLE SMITH: Professor, that was all dynamic. And thank you for the illustrations. You made it simple with the illustrations.

FRANCES FREI: Yeah, all right. Awesome. Thanks so much.

NICOLE SMITH: Thank you for your time.

FRANCES FREI: OK.

HANNAH BATES: That was Harvard Business School professor Frances Frei in conversation with HBR’s editorial audience director Nicole Smith at the “Future of Business” virtual conference in November 2023.

We’ll be back next Wednesday with another hand-picked conversation about leadership from Harvard Business Review. If you found this episode helpful, share it with your friends and colleagues, and follow our show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. While you’re there, be sure to leave us a review.

When you’re ready for more podcasts, articles, case studies, books, and videos with the world’s top business and management experts, you’ll find it all at HBR.org.

This episode was produced by Anne Saini, and me, Hannah Bates. Ian Fox is our editor. Music by Coma Media. Special thanks to Dave Di Iulio, Terry Cole, and Maureen Hoch, Erica Truxler, Ramsey Khabbaz, Nicole Smith, Anne Bartholomew, and you – our listener. See you next week.

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Collaborative skills are crucial in knowledge-rich domains, such as medical diagnosing. The Collaborative Diagnostic Reasoning (CDR) model emphasizes the importance of high-quality collaborative diagnostic activities (CDAs; e.g., evidence elicitation and sharing), influenced by content and collaboration knowledge as well as more general social skills, to achieve accurate, justified, and efficient diagnostic outcomes (Radkowitsch et al., 2022). However, it has not yet been empirically tested, and the relationships between individual characteristics, CDAs, and diagnostic outcomes remain largely unexplored. The aim of this study was to test the CDR model by analyzing data from three studies in a simulation-based environment and to better understand the construct and the processes involved ( N = 504 intermediate medical students) using a structural equation model including indirect effects. We found various stable relationships between individual characteristics and CDAs, and between CDAs and diagnostic outcome, highlighting the multidimensional nature of CDR. While both content and collaboration knowledge were important for CDAs, none of the individual characteristics directly related to diagnostic outcome. The study suggests that CDAs are important factors in achieving successful diagnoses in collaborative contexts, particularly in simulation-based settings. CDAs are influenced by content and collaboration knowledge, highlighting the importance of understanding collaboration partners’ knowledge. We propose revising the CDR model by assigning higher priority to collaboration knowledge compared with social skills, and dividing the CDAs into information elicitation and sharing, with sharing being more transactive. Training should focus on the development of CDAs to improve CDR skills.

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Introduction

Collaborative skills are highly relevant in many situations, ranging from computer-supported collaborative learning to collaborative problem-solving in professional practice (Fiore et al., 2018 ). While several broad collaborative problem-solving frameworks exist (OECD, 2017 ), most of them are situated in knowledge-lean settings. However, one example of collaborative problem-solving of knowledge-rich domains is collaborative diagnostic reasoning (CDR; Radkowitsch et al., 2022 )—which aligns closely with medical practice—as this is a prototypical knowledge-rich domain requiring high collaboration skills in daily practice. In daily professional practice, physicians from different specialties often need to collaborate with different subdisciplines to solve complex problems, such as diagnosing, that is, determining the causes of a patient’s problem. Moreover, research in medical education and computer-supported collaborative learning suggests that the acquisition of medical knowledge and skills is significantly enhanced by collaborative problem-solving (Hautz et al., 2015 ; Koschmann et al., 1992 ). For problem-solving and learning, it is crucial that all relevant information (e.g., evidence and hypotheses) is elicited from and shared with the collaboration partner (Schmidt & Mamede, 2015 ). However, CDR is not unique to the medical field but also relevant in other domains, such as teacher education (Heitzmann et al., 2019 ).

The CDR model has been the basis of empirical studies and describes how individual characteristics and the diagnostic process are related to the diagnostic outcome. However, it has not yet been empirically tested, and the relationships between individual characteristics, diagnostic process, and diagnostic outcome remain mostly unexplored (Fink et al., 2023 ). The aim of this study is to test the CDR model by analyzing data from three studies with similar samples and tasks investigating CDR in a simulation-based environment. By undertaking these conceptual replications, we aspire to better understand the construct and the processes involved. As prior research has shown, collaboration needs to be performed at a high quality to achieve accurate problem solutions respectively learning outcomes (Pickal et al., 2023 ).

Collaborative Diagnostic Reasoning (CDR) Model

Diagnosing can be understood as the process of solving complex diagnostic problems through “goal-oriented collection and interpretation of case-specific or problem-specific information to reduce uncertainty” in decision-making through performing diagnostic activities at a high quality (Heitzmann et al., 2019 , p. 4). To solve diagnostic problems, that is, to identify the causes of an undesired state, it is increasingly important to collaborate with experts from different fields, as these problems become too complex to be solved individually (Abele, 2018 ; Fiore et al., 2018 ). Collaboration provides advantages such as the division of labor, access to diverse perspectives and expertise, and enhanced solution quality through collaborative sharing of knowledge and skills (Graesser et al., 2018 ).

The CDR model is a theoretical model focusing on the diagnostic process in collaborative settings within knowledge-rich domains (Radkowitsch et al., 2022 ). The CDR model is based on scientific discovery as a dual-search model (SDDS; Klahr & Dunbar, 1988 ) and its further development by van Joolingen and Jong ( 1997 ). The SDDS model describes individual reasoning as the coordinated search through hypothetical evidence and hypotheses spaces and indicates that for successful reasoning it is important not only that high-quality cognitive activities within these spaces are performed but also that one is able to coordinate between them (Klahr & Dunbar, 1988 ). In the extended SDDS model (van Joolingen & Jong, 1997 ) focusing on learning in knowledge-rich domains, a learner hypothesis space was added including all the hypotheses one can search for without additional knowledge. Although Dunbar ( 1995 ) found that conceptual change occurs more often in groups than in individual work, emphasizing the importance of collaborative processes in scientific thinking and knowledge construction, the SDDS model has hardly been systematically applied in computer-supported collaborative learning and collaborative problem-solving.

Thus, the CDR model builds upon these considerations and describes the relationship between individual characteristics, the diagnostic process, and the diagnostic outcome. As in the SDDS model we assume that CDR involves activities within an evidence and hypotheses space; however, unlike the SDDS in the CDR model, these spaces are understood as cognitive storages of information. Which aligns more to the extended dual search space model of scientific discovery learning (van Joolingen & Jong, 1997 ). In summary we assume that coordinating between evidence (data) and hypothesis (theory) is essential for successful diagnosing. Further, the CDR model is extended to not only individual but also collaborative cognitive activities and describes the interaction of epistemic activities (F. Fischer et al., 2014 ) and collaborative activities (Liu et al., 2016 ) to construct a shared problem representation (Rochelle & Teasley, 1995 ) and effectively collaborate. Thus, we define CDR as a set of skills for solving a complex problem collaboratively “by generating and evaluating evidence and hypotheses that can be shared with, elicited from, or negotiated among collaborators” (Radkowitsch et al., 2020 , p. 2). The CDR model also makes assumptions about the factors necessary for successful CDR. First, we look at what successful CDR means, why people differ, and what the mediating processes are.

Diagnostic Outcome: Accuracy, Justification, and Efficiency

The primary outcome of diagnostic processes, such as CDR, is the accuracy of the given diagnosis, which indicates problem-solving performance or expertise (Boshuizen et al., 2020 ). However, competence in diagnostic reasoning, whether it is done individually or collaboratively, also includes justifying the diagnosis and reaching it effectively. This is why, in addition to diagnostic accuracy, diagnostic justification and diagnostic efficiency should also be considered as secondary outcomes of the diagnostic reasoning process (Chernikova et al., 2022 ; Daniel et al., 2019 ). Diagnostic justification makes the reasoning behind the decision transparent and understandable for others (Bauer et al., 2022 ). Good reasoning entails a justification including evidence, which supports the reasoning (Hitchcock, 2005 ). Diagnostic efficiency is related to how much time and effort is needed to reach the correct diagnosis; this is important for CDR, as diagnosticians in practice are usually under time pressure (Braun et al., 2017 ). Both diagnostic justification and diagnostic efficiency are thus indicators of a structured and high-quality reasoning process. So, while in many studies, the focus of assessments regarding diagnostic reasoning is on the accuracy of the given diagnosis (Daniel et al., 2019 ), the CDR model considers all three facets of the diagnostic outcome as relevant factors.

Individual Characteristics: Knowledge and Social Skills

Research has shown that content knowledge, social skills, and, in particular, collaboration knowledge are important prerequisites for, and outcomes of, computer-supported collaborative learning (Jeong et al., 2019 ; Vogel et al., 2017 ). CDR has integrated these dependencies into its model structure. Thus, the CDR model assumes that people engaging in CDR differ with respect to their content knowledge, collaboration knowledge, and domain general social skills.

Content knowledge refers to conceptual and strategic knowledge in a specific domain (Förtsch et al., 2018 ). Conceptual knowledge encompasses factual understanding of domain-specific concepts and their interrelations. Strategic knowledge entails contextualized knowledge regarding problem-solving during the diagnostic process (Stark et al., 2011 ). During expertise development, large amounts of content knowledge are acquired and restructured through experience with problem-solving procedures and routines (Boshuizen et al., 2020 ). Research has repeatedly shown that having high conceptual and strategic knowledge is associated with the diagnostic outcome (e.g., Kiesewetter et al., 2020 ; cf. Fink et al., 2023 ).

In addition to content knowledge, the CDR model assumes that collaborators need collaboration knowledge. A key aspect of collaboration knowledge (i.e., being aware of knowledge distribution in the group; Noroozi et al., 2013 ) is the pooling and processing of non-shared information, as research shows that a lack of collaboration knowledge has a negative impact on information sharing, which in turn has a negative impact on performance (Stasser & Titus, 1985 ).

Finally, general social skills influence the CDR process. These skills mainly influence the collaborative aspect of collaborative problem-solving and less the problem-solving aspect (Graesser et al., 2018 ). Social skills are considered particularly important when collaboration knowledge is low (F. Fischer et al., 2013 ). CDR assumes that in particular the abilities to share and negotiate ideas, to coordinate, and to take the perspective are relevant for the diagnostic process and the diagnostic outcome (Radkowitsch et al., 2022 ; see also Liu et al., 2016 , and Hesse et al., 2015 ).

Diagnostic Process: Collaborative Diagnostic Activities

The diagnostic process is thought to mediate the effect of the individual characteristics on the diagnostic outcome and is described in the CDR model using collaborative diagnostic activities (CDAs), such as evidence elicitation, evidence sharing, and hypotheses sharing (Heitzmann et al., 2019 ; Radkowitsch et al., 2022 ). One of the main functions of CDAs is to construct a shared problem representation (Rochelle & Teasley, 1995 ) by sharing and eliciting relevant information, as information may not be equally distributed among all collaborators initially. To perform these CDAs at a high quality, each collaborator needs to identify information relevant to be shared with the collaboration partner as well as information they need from the collaboration partner (OECD, 2017 ).

Evidence elicitation involves requesting information from a collaboration partner to access additional knowledge resources (Weinberger & Fischer, 2006 ). Evidence sharing and hypothesis sharing involve identifying the information needed by the collaborator to build a shared problem representation. This externalization of relevant information can be understood as the novelty aspect of transactivity (Vogel et al., 2023 ). However, challenges arise from a lack of relevant information due to deficient sharing, which can result from imprecise justification and insufficient clustering of information. In particular, research has shown that collaborators often lack essential information-sharing skills, such as identifying information relevant for others from available data, especially in the medical domain (Kiesewetter et al., 2017 ; Tschan et al., 2009 ).

It is crucial for the diagnostic outcome that all relevant evidence and hypotheses are elicited and shared for the specific collaborators (Tschan et al., 2009 ). However, diagnostic outcomes seem to be influenced more by the relevance and quality of the shared information than by their quantity (Kiesewetter et al., 2017 ; Tschan et al., 2009 ). In addition, recent research has shown that the diagnostic process is not only an embodiment of individual characteristics but also adds a unique contribution to diagnostic outcome (Fink et al., 2023 ). However, it remains difficult to assess and foster CDAs.

Collaboration in Knowledge-Rich Domains: Agent-Based Simulations

There are several challenges when it comes to modelling collaborative settings in knowledge-rich domains for both learning and research endeavors. First, many situations are not easily accessible, as they may be scarce (e.g., natural disasters) or too critical or overwhelming to be approached by novices (e.g., some medical procedures). In these cases, the use of simulation-based environments allows authentic situations approximating real-life diagnostic problems to be provided (Cook et al., 2013 ; Heitzmann et al., 2019 ). Further, the use of technology-enhanced simulations allows data from the ongoing CDR process to be collected in log files. This enables researchers to analyze process data without the need for additional assessments with dedicated tests. Analyzing process data instead of only product data (the assessment’s outcome) permits insights into the problem-solving processes leading to the eventual outcome (e.g., Goldhammer et al., 2017 ). Second, when using human-to-human collaboration, the results of one individual are typically influenced by factors such as group composition or motivation of the collaboration partner (Radkowitsch et al., 2022 ). However, we understand CDR as an individual set of skills enabling collaboration, as indicated by the broader definition of collaborative problem-solving (OECD, 2017 ). Thus, the use of simulated agents as collaboration partners allows a standardized and controlled setting to be created that would otherwise be hard to establish in collaborations among humans (Rosen, 2015 ). There is initial research showing that performance in simulations using computerized agents is moderately related to collaborative skills in other operationalizations (Stadler & Herborn et al., 2020 ). Thus, computerized agents allow for enhanced control over the collaborative process without significantly diverging from human-to-human interaction (Graesser et al., 2018 ; Herborn et al., 2020 ). Third, in less controlled settings it is hard to ensure a specific process is taking place during collaborative problem-solving. For example, when using a human-to-human setting, it is possible that, even though we envision measuring or fostering a specific activity (i.e. hypotheses sharing), it is not performed by the student. Through using an agent-based simulated collaboration partner, we can ensure that all required processes are taking place while solving the problem (Rosen, 2015 ).

Summarizing, by fostering a consistent and controlled setting, simulated agents facilitate the accurate measurement and enhancement of collaborative problem-solving. Evidential support for the application of simulated agents spans a variety of contexts, including tutoring, collaborative learning, knowledge co-construction, and collaborative problem-solving itself, emphasizing their versatility and effectiveness in educational settings (Graesser et al., 2018 ; Rosen, 2015 ).

Research Question and Current Study

In computer-supported collaborative learning there has been the distinction between approaches addressing collaboration to learn and approaches focusing on learning to collaborate. Our study is best understood as addressing the second approach, learning to collaborate. We want to better understand CDR to be able to facilitate collaborative problem-solving skills in learners. Thus, in this paper, we examine what it takes to be able to collaborate in professional practice of knowledge-rich domains, such as medical diagnosing.

When solving diagnostic problems, such as diagnosing a patient, it is often necessary to collaborate with experts from different fields (Radkowitsch et al., 2022 ). In CDR, the diagnostic outcome depends on effectively eliciting and sharing relevant evidence and hypotheses among collaborators, who often lack information-sharing skills (Tschan et al., 2009 ). Thus, the CDR model emphasizes the importance of high-quality CDAs influenced by content and collaboration knowledge as well as social skills to achieve accurate, justified, and efficient diagnostic outcomes (Radkowitsch et al., 2022 ).

This study reviews the relationships postulated in CDR model across three studies to test them empirically and investigate the extent to which the relationships in the CDR model are applicable across studies . By addressing this research question, the current study contributes to a better understanding of the underlying processes in collaborative problem-solving.

We derived a model (Fig. 1 ) from the postulated relationships made by the CDR model. We assume that the individual characteristics are positively related to the CDAs (Hypotheses 1–3), as well as that the CDAs are positively related to the diagnostic outcome (Hypotheses 4–6). Further, we expect that the relationship between the individual characteristics and the diagnostic outcome is partially mediated by the CDAs (Hypotheses 7–15).

Visualization of hypothesized relationships between individual characteristics, collaborative diagnostic activities, and diagnostic outcome

We used data from three studies with similar samples and tasks investigating CDR in an agent-based simulation in the medical domain. The studies can therefore be considered conceptual replication studies. Furthermore, we decided to use an agent-based simulation of a typical collaboration setting in diagnostic reasoning, namely the interdisciplinary collaboration between an internist and a radiologist (Radkowitsch et al., 2022 ).

To test the hypotheses, three studies were analyzed. Footnote 1 Study A was carried out in a laboratory setting in 2019 and included medical students in their third to sixth years. Study B included medical students in their fifth to sixth years. Data collection for this study was online due to the pandemic situation in 2020 and 2021. In both studies, participation was voluntary, and participants were paid 10 per hour. Study C was embedded as an online session in the curriculum of the third year of medical school in 2022. Participation was mandatory, but permission to use the data for research purposes was given voluntarily. All participants took part in only one of the three studies. All three studies received ethical approval from LMU Munich (approval numbers 18-261, 18-262 & 22-0436). For a sample description of each study, see Table 1 . We would like to emphasize that none of the students were specializing in internal medicine, ensuring that the study results reflect the competencies of regular medical students without specialized expertise.

Each of the three studies was organized in the same way, with participants first completing a pretest that included a prior knowledge test, socio-demographic questions, and questions about individual motivational-affective characteristics (e.g., social skills, interest, and motivation). Participants then moved on to the CDR simulation and worked on the patient case. The patient case was the same for studies B and C, but was different for study A. The complexity and difficulty of the patient case did not vary systematically between the patient cases.

Simulation and Task

In the CDR simulation, which is also used as a learning environment, the task was to take over the role of an internist and to collaborate with an agent-based radiologist to obtain further information by performing radiological examinations to diagnose fictitious patient cases with the chief symptom of fever. Medical experts from internal medicine, radiology, and general medicine constructed the patient cases. Each case was structured in the same way: by studying the medical record individually, then collaborating with an agent-based radiologist, and finally reporting the final diagnosis and its justification again individually. For a detailed description on the development and validation of the simulation, see Radkowitsch and colleagues ( 2020 ).

Before working within the simulation, participants were presented with an instruction for the simulated scenario and informed what they were to do with it. Then, we instructed participants how to access further information in the medical record by clicking on hyperlinks, as well as how they could use the toolbar to make notes for the later in the process. Furthermore, we acquainted the students with how they could request further information through collaborating with a radiologist.

During the collaboration with an agent-based radiologist, participants were asked to fill out request forms to obtain further evidence from radiological examinations needed to diagnose the patient case. To effectively collaborate with radiologists, it is crucial for internists to clearly communicate the type of evidence required to reduce uncertainty (referred to as “evidence elicitation”) and share any relevant patient information such as signs, symptoms, and medical history (referred to as “evidence sharing”) as well as suspected diagnoses under investigation (referred to as “hypotheses sharing”) that may impact the radiologists’ diagnostic process. Only when participants shared evidence and hypotheses appropriately for their requested examination did they receive a description and evaluation of the radiologist’s radiologic findings. What was considered appropriate was determined by medical experts for each case and examination in preparation of the cases. Therefore, this scenario involves more than a simple division of tasks, as the quality of one person’s activity (i.e., description and evaluation of the radiologic findings) depends on the collaborative efforts (i.e., CDAs) of the other person (OECD, 2017 )

Measures—Individual Characteristics

The individual characteristics were measured in the pretest. The internal consistencies of each measure per study are displayed in Table 4 in the Results section. We want to point out that the internal consistency of knowledge as a construct—determined by the intercorrelations among knowledge pieces—typically exhibits a moderate level. Importantly, recent research argues that a moderate level of internal consistency does not undermine the constructs’ capacity to explain a significant amount of variance (Edelsbrunner, 2024 ; Stadler et al., 2021 ; Taber, 2018 ).

Content knowledge was separated into radiology and internal medicine knowledge, as these two disciplines play a major role in the diagnosis of the simulated patient cases. For each discipline, conceptual and strategic knowledge was assessed (Kiesewetter et al., 2020 ; Stark et al., 2011 ). The items in each construct were presented in a randomized way in each study. However, the items for study C were shortened due to the embedding of the data collection in the curriculum. Therefore, items with a very high or low item difficulty in previous studies were excluded (Table 2 ).

Conceptual knowledge was measured using single-choice questions including five options adapted from a database of examination questions from the Medical Faculty of the LMU Munich, focusing on relevant and closely related diagnoses of the patient cases used in the simulation. A mean score of 0–1 was calculated, representing the percentage of correct answers and indicating the average conceptual knowledge of the participant per medical knowledge domain.

Strategic content knowledge was measured contextually using key features questions (M. R. Fischer et al., 2005 ). Short cases were introduced followed by two to three follow up questions (e.g., What is your most likely suspected diagnosis?, What is your next examination?, What treatment do you choose?). Each question had eight possible answers, from which the learners were asked to choose one. Again, a mean score of 0–1 was calculated, representing the percentage of correct responses, indicating the average strategic content knowledge of the participant per domain.

The measure of collaboration knowledge was consistent across the three studies and specific to the simulated task. Participants were asked to select all relevant information for seven different patient cases with the cardinal symptom of fever (internal medicine). The patient cases were presented in a randomized order and always included 12 pieces of information regarding the chief complaints, medical history, and physical examination of the patient cases. We then assessed whether each piece of information was shared correctly (i.e. whether relevant information was shared and irrelevant information was not shared) and assigned 1 point and divided it by the maximum of 12 points to standardized the range of measure to 0–1. Then we calculated a mean score for each case and then across all cases, resulting in a range of 0–1 indicating the participants’ collaboration knowledge

The construct of social skills was consistent across the three data collections and was measured on the basis of self-report on a 6-point Likert scale ranging from total disagreement to total agreement. The construct was measured using 23 questions divided into five subscales; for example items, see Table 3 . Five questions aimed to measure the overall construct, and the other four subscales were identified using the complex problem-solving frameworks of Liu et al. ( 2016 ) and Hesse et al. ( 2015 ): perspective taking (four questions), information sharing (five questions), negotiation (four questions), and coordination (five questions). For the final score, the mean of all subcategories was calculated, ranging from 1 to 6, representing general social skills.

Measures—Collaborative Diagnostic Activities (CDA)

We operationalize CDAs in the pretest case in terms of quality of evidence elicitation, evidence sharing, and hypotheses sharing. The internal consistencies of each measure per study are displayed in Table 4 in the Results section.

The quality of evidence elicitation was measured by assessing the appropriateness of the requested radiological examination for the indicated diagnosis. An expert solution was developed to indicate which radiological examinations were appropriate for each of the possible diagnoses. If participants requested an appropriate radiological examination for the indicated diagnoses, they received 1 point for that request attempt. Finally, a mean score across all request attempts (maximum of 3) was calculated and scored. The final mean score was transformed into a binary indicator, with 1 indicating that all requested radiological examinations were appropriated and 0 indicating that inappropriate radiological examinations were also requested, due to the categorical nature of the original data and its skewed distribution, with a majority of responses concentrated in a single category.

The quality of evidence sharing was measured using a precision indicator. This was calculated as the proportion of shared relevant evidence out of all shared evidence. Relevant evidence is defined per case and per diagnosis and indicated by the expert solution. The precision indicator was first calculated per radiological request. We then calculated the mean score, summarizing all attempts in that patient case. This resulted in a range from 0 points, indicating that only irrelevant evidence was shared, to 1 point, indicating that only relevant evidence was shared.

The quality of hypotheses sharing was also measured using a precision indicator. For each patient case, the proportion of diagnoses relevant for the respective patient case to all shared diagnoses was calculated. Which diagnoses were considered relevant for a specific case was determined by an expert solution. As with evidence elicitation, this score was evaluated and converted into a binary variable, where 1 indicated that only relevant diagnoses were shared and 0 indicated that also irrelevant diagnoses were shared, due to the categorical nature of the original data and its skewed distribution, with a majority of responses concentrated in a single category.

Measures—Diagnostic Outcome

We operationalize diagnostic outcome in the pretest case in terms of diagnostic accuracy, diagnostic justification, and diagnostic efficiency.

For diagnostic accuracy, a main diagnosis was assigned to each patient case as expert solution. After working on the patient case and requesting the radiological examination, participants indicated their final diagnosis. To do this, they typed in the first three letters of their desired diagnosis and then received suggestions from a list of 249 possible diagnoses. Diagnostic accuracy was then calculated by coding the agreement between the final diagnosis given and the expert solution. Accurate diagnoses (e.g., hospital-acquired pneumonia) were coded as 1, correct but inaccurate diagnoses (e.g., pneumonia) were coded as 0.5, and incorrect diagnoses were coded as 0. A binary indicator was used for the final diagnostic accuracy score, with 0 indicating an incorrect diagnosis and 1 indicating an at least inaccurate diagnosis, due to the categorical nature of the original data and its skewed distribution, with a majority of responses concentrated in a single category.

A prerequisite for diagnostic justification and diagnostic efficiency is the provision of at least an inaccurate diagnosis. If a participant provided an incorrect diagnosis (coded as 0), diagnostic justification and diagnostic efficiency were immediately scored as 0.

After choosing a final diagnosis, participants were asked to justify their decision in an open text field. Diagnostic justification was then calculated as the proportion of relevant reported information out of all relevant information that would have fully justified the final accurate diagnosis. Again, medical experts agreed on an expert solution that included all relevant information to justify the correct diagnosis. The participants’ solution was coded by two independent coders, each coding the full data, and differences in coding were discussed until the coders agreed. We obtained a range from 0 points, indicating a completely inadequate justification, to 1 point, indicating a completely adequately justified final diagnosis.

Diagnostic efficiency was defined as diagnostic accuracy (non-binary version) divided by the minutes required to solve the case.

Statistical Analyses

To answer the research question, a structural equation model (SEM) was estimated using MPlus Editor, version 8 (Muthén & Muthén, 2017 ). We decided to use a SEM, as it is a comprehensive statistical approach widely used in psychology and educational sciences for its ability to model complex relationships among observed and latent variables while accounting for measurement error (Hilbert & Stadler, 2017 ). SEM support the development and verification of theoretical models, enabling scholars to refine theories and interventions in psychology and education based on empirical evidence, as not only can one relationship be investigated but a system of regressions is also considered simultaneously (Nachtigall et al., 2003 ).

We included all links between the variables and applied a two-step approach, using mean-adjusted and variance-adjusted unweighted least squares (ULSMV, Savalei & Rhemtulla, 2013 ) as the estimator and THETA for parametrization, first examining the measurement model and then the structural model. The assessment of model fit was based on chi-square (χ2), root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA), and comparative fit index (CFI). Model fit is generally indicated by small chi-squared values; RMSEA values of < 0.08 (acceptable) and < 0.06 (excellent), and CFI values ≥ 0.90. We do not consider standardized root mean squared residual (SRMR), because, according to the definition used in MPlus, this index is not appropriate when the sample size is 200 or less, as natural variation in such small samples contributes to larger SRMR values (Asparouhov & Muthén, 2018 ). For hypotheses 1–6, we excluded path coefficients < 0.1 from our interpretation, as they are relatively small. In addition, at least two interpretable path coefficients, of which at least one is statistically significant, are required to find support for the hypothesis. For hypotheses 7–15, specific indirect effects (effect of an individual characteristic on diagnostic outcome through a specific CDA) and total indirect effects (mediation of the effect of an individual characteristic on diagnostic outcome through all mediators) were estimated.

We reported all measures in the study and outlined differences between the three samples. All data and analysis code have been made publicly available at the Open Science Framework (OSF) and can be accessed at https://osf.io/u8t62 . Materials for this study are available by email through the corresponding author. This study’s design and its analysis were not pre-registered.

The descriptive statistics of each measure per study are displayed in Table 4 . The intercorrelations between the measures per study can be found in Appendix Table 7 .

Overall Results of the SEM

All loadings were in the expected directions and statistically significant, except for conceptual knowledge in internal medicine in study C (λ = 0.241, p  = .120), conceptual knowledge in radiology in study A (λ = 0.398, p  = .018), and strategic knowledge in internal medicine (λ = 0.387, p  = .206) and radiology (λ = -0.166, p  = .302) in study B. Standardized factor loadings of the measurement model are shown in Appendix Table 8 .

The SEM has a good fit for study A [ X 2 (75) = 74.086, p = .508, RMSEA = 0.00, CFI = 1.00], study B [ X 2 (75) = 68.309, p  = .695, RMSEA = 0.000, CFI = 1.00], and study C [ X 2 (75) = 93.816, p  = .070, RMSEA = 0.036, CFI = 1.00].

Paths between Individual Characteristics, CDAs, and Diagnostic Outcome

The standardized path coefficients and hypotheses tests for the theoretical model are reported in Table 5 . An overview of the paths supported by the data is shown in Fig. 2 .

Evidence on supported relationships between individual characteristics, collaborative diagnostic activities, and diagnostic outcome

Overall, the R 2 for the CDAs ranged from medium to high for evidence elicitation and evidence sharing, depending on the study, and were consistently low for hypotheses sharing across all three studies. Looking at diagnostic outcome, R 2 is consistently large for diagnostic accuracy and medium to large for diagnostic justification and diagnostic efficiency (Table 6 ).

The path from content knowledge to evidence elicitation was positive and > 0.1 in all three studies, as well as statistically significant in two of them; therefore, we consider Hypothesis 1a supported. The path from content knowledge to evidence sharing was positive and > 0.1 in two studies, as well as statistically significant in one of them; therefore, Hypothesis 1b is also supported. In contrast, the path from content knowledge to hypotheses sharing was indeed also positive in two studies, but as neither was statistically significant, we conclude that Hypothesis 1c was not supported. The path from collaboration knowledge to evidence elicitation was positive and > 0.1 in only one study, but also not statistically significant. Thus, we found that Hypothesis 2a was not supported. For the path from collaboration knowledge to evidence sharing, we found relevant positive and statistically significant coefficients in all three studies. Hypothesis 2b is therefore fully supported by the data. This is not the case for Hypothesis 2c, for which we found no coefficient > 0.1 for the path from collaboration knowledge to hypotheses sharing. For the path from social skills to evidence elicitation, we found positive coefficients > 0.1 in two out of three studies, of which one was also statistically significant. Thus, we consider Hypothesis 3a to be supported. For the path from social skills to evidence sharing, we again found one statistically significant positive coefficient, but in the other two studies it was < 0.1. Therefore, we do not consider Hypothesis 3b to be supported by the data. The same applies to the path from social skills to hypotheses sharing, where the coefficient is < 0.1 in two studies. We therefore do not consider Hypothesis 3c to be supported.

The path from evidence elicitation to diagnostic accuracy was statistically significant and large in magnitude in two out of three studies. Hypothesis 4a is therefore supported. The path from evidence elicitation to diagnostic justification was only positive and > 0.1 in one study, which was also not statistically significant. Therefore, we find no support for Hypothesis 4b. In contrast, the path from evidence elicitation to diagnostic efficiency was positive and statistically significant in two out of three studies, with one large effect. Hypothesis 4c is therefore supported. The path from evidence sharing to diagnostic accuracy was only positive and reasonably large in one study. Therefore, we do not find support for Hypothesis 5a. The path from evidence sharing to diagnostic justification was positive and > 0.1 in two studies as well as statistically significant in one of them, so Hypothesis 5b is supported. In contrast, we did not find a positive coefficient > 0.1 for the path from evidence sharing to diagnostic efficiency. Therefore, Hypothesis 5c is not supported by the data. Although we found coefficients > 0.1 in two studies for the path from hypotheses sharing to diagnostic accuracy, we found no support for Hypothesis 6a, as none of these was statistically significant. This is different for Hypothesis 6b, as we found two positive paths from hypotheses sharing to diagnostic justification, one of which was statistically significant and large. Finally, we found two positive paths from evidence sharing to diagnostic efficiency in three studies, one of which was statistically significant. Hypothesis 6c is therefore supported.

Indirect Effects between Individual Characteristics, CDA, and Diagnostic Outcome

Indirect effects of CDAs on the effect of individual characteristics on the diagnostic outcome in CDR were estimated to test hypotheses 7–15. Although we found a mediating effect of all CDAs (β = .31, p = .008), and specifically for evidence elicitation (β = .27, p = .021) from content knowledge on diagnostic accuracy in study C, and some significant overall and direct effects for other relationships (Appendix Table 9 ), none of these were consistent across all of the studies. Thus, we conclude no consistent support for any of the Hypotheses 7–15.

The aim of the current study was to investigate the extent to which the relationships specified in the CDR model (Radkowitsch et al., 2022 ) are applicable across studies, to better understand the processes underlying CDR in knowledge-rich domains. Not only is this exploration crucial for the medical field or collaborative problem-solving in knowledge-rich domains, but it also offers valuable insights for computer-supported collaborative learning research. Despite CDR’s specific focus, the principles and findings have relevant implications for understanding and enhancing collaborative processes in various educational and professional settings.

Specifically, we investigated how individual learner characteristics, the CDAs, and the diagnostic outcome are related. We therefore analyzed data from three independent studies, all from the same context, a simulation-based environment in the medical domain. Our study found positive relationships between content knowledge and the quality of evidence elicitation as well as the quality of evidence sharing, but not for the quality of hypotheses sharing. Furthermore, collaboration knowledge is positively related to the quality of evidence sharing, but not to the quality of evidence elicitation and the quality of hypotheses sharing. Social skills are only positively related to the quality of evidence elicitation. This underscores the multifaceted nature of collaborative problem-solving situations. Thus, effective CDR, a form of collaborative problem-solving, necessitates a nuanced understanding of the interplay between individual characteristics and CDAs.

The relevance of content knowledge for diagnostic competence is well established in research (Chernikova et al., 2020 ). To develop any diagnostic skills in knowledge-rich domains, learners need to acquire large amounts of knowledge and to restructure it through experience with problem-solving procedures and routines (Boshuizen et al., 2020 ). In the case of CDR this enables the diagnostician to come up with an initial suspected diagnosis, which is likely to be relevant information for the collaboration partner and to guide the further CDAs effectively. The finding that content knowledge only has a relation to the quality of evidence elicitation but none of the other CDAs can be explained by the fact that evidence elicitation is the least transactive CDA within the collaborative decision-making process. When eliciting evidence, the collaboration partner is used as an external knowledge resource (Weinberger & Fischer, 2006 ). So, despite being a collaborative activity, evidence elicitation is about what information from the collaboration partner is needed rather than what the collaboration partner needs. Thus, elicitation is less transactive than sharing, which is focused at what the collaboration partner needs.

Not only content knowledge but also collaboration knowledge is related to the quality of evidence sharing. This finding implies that collaboration knowledge may influence the CDR above and beyond individual content knowledge. It also supports the differentiation of knowledge types made in the CDR model (Radkowitsch et al., 2022 ). Thus, it is important to learn not only the conceptual and strategic medical knowledge that is required for diagnosing but also knowledge about what information is relevant for specific collaboration partners when diagnosing collaboratively. This finding underpins the importance of being aware of the knowledge distribution among collaboration partners and the relevance of the transactive memory (Wegner, 1987 ). Thus, for collaborative problem-solving in knowledge-rich domains—as for computer-supported collaborative learning more generally—knowledge and information awareness is crucial (Engelmann & Hesse, 2010 ).

Thus, the relevance of collaboration knowledge in collaborative problem-solving is an important finding of our study, highlighting that it is critical in facilitating effective collaborative processes and outcomes. The current findings emphasize the need for educational strategies that explicitly target the development of collaborative knowledge to ensure that learners have the knowledge and skills necessary to participate in productive collaborative problem-solving and computer-supported collaborative learning processes. In doing so, the CDR model emphasizes the need for learners to master collaborative skills and build shared problem representations to take full advantage of collaborative learning opportunities.

As CDR is conceptualized to be an interplay of cognitive and social skills (Hesse et al., 2015 ), we also assumed that social skills are related to CDAs. However, we only found evidence of the expected relationship between social skills and CDAs for the quality of evidence elicitation. One explanation could be that collaboration knowledge was relatively high in all three samples, outweighing the influences of general skills. This is consistent with the assumption of the CDR model that the influence of more general social skills is reduced with an increasing level of professional collaboration knowledge (Radkowitsch et al., 2022 ). When collaboration knowledge is available to the diagnosticians, it becomes more important than social skills. This finding again underlines the importance of collaboration knowledge, which can be seen as a domain- and profession-specific development of social skills. However, another explanation could be that, when collaborating with an agent, the effect of social skills decreases, as the agent was not programmed to respond to social nuances. The design of the simulation would thus buffer against the effect of social skills. Although the study by Herborn et al. ( 2020 ) found no differences between human-to-human and human-to-agent collaboration, this does not necessarily invalidate the potential variability in outcomes associated with the social skills incorporated into the agent. For a thorough investigation into the impact of social skills, the agent would need variable social abilities, enabling the variation of the importance of basic social skills for successful collaboration.

Further, we need to conclude that there is no support for a relationship between the individual characteristics and hypotheses sharing, as we found no stable support for the relationship between any of the individual characteristics and the quality of hypotheses sharing. One possible explanation could be that the binary precision measure used to operationalize quality in hypotheses sharing is not sensitive enough or is not capturing the relevant aspect of quality in that activity. Another explanation could be that there is no direct relationship between the individual characteristics and hypotheses sharing, as this relationship is mediated by evidence sharing and thus influenced by the activated knowledge scripts (Schmidt & Rikers, 2007 ).

Looking at the relationships between CDAs and the diagnostic outcome, the current results highlight the need to distinguish between primary (diagnostic accuracy) and secondary (diagnostic justification and efficiency) outcomes of diagnostic reasoning (Daniel et al., 2019 ). Achieving diagnostic accuracy, a purely quantitative outcome measure, is less transactive than other aspects of the diagnostic outcome. This is also where we find the link to evidence elicitation, as we consider this to be the least transactive CDA within the collaborative decision-making process. However, the ability to justify and reach this decision efficiently is then highly dependent on evidence sharing and hypotheses sharing, activities that are more focused on transactivity within CDR (Weinberger & Fischer, 2006 ).

Although individual learner characteristics are found to have an effect on CDAs, and CDAs impact the diagnostic outcome, the effect is not mediated by CDAs across studies. Thus, we assume that, for effective collaborative problem-solving in knowledge-rich domains, such as CDR, it is not enough to have sufficient content and collaboration knowledge; it is also necessary to be able to engage in high quality CDAs to achieve a high-quality diagnostic outcome. This is consistent with research on individual diagnostic reasoning, which shows that diagnostic activities have a unique contribution to the diagnostic outcome after controlling for content knowledge (Fink et al., 2023 ).

In summary, we explored evidence elicitation, evidence sharing, and hypotheses sharing as crucial CDAs. The findings revealed diverse associations of these CDAs with individual characteristics and facets of the diagnostic outcome, supporting the notion that the CDR-process involves a variety of different skills (instead of being one overarching skill). On the basis of these results, we propose categorizing CDAs into activities primarily focused on individual goals and needs (e.g., elicitation) and more transactive activities directly targeted at the collaborator (e.g., sharing). To enhance quality in CDAs, instructional support should be considered. For instance, providing learners with an adaptive collaboration script has been shown to improve evidence sharing quality and promote the internalization of collaboration scripts, fostering the development of collaboration knowledge (Radkowitsch et al., 2021 ). Further, group awareness tools, such as shared concept maps, should be considered to compensate for deficits in one’s collaboration knowledge (Engelmann & Hesse, 2010 ). However, what is required to engage in high-quality CDAs remains an open question. One starting point is domain-general cognitive skills. These could influence CDAs, particularly in the early stages of skill development (Hetmanek et al., 2018 ). Previous research showed that, in diagnostic reasoning, instructional support is more beneficial when being domain-specific than domain-general (Schons et al., 2022 ). Thus, there is still a need for further research on how such instructional support might look like.

Future Research

Although we used data from three studies, all of them were in the same domain; thus, it remains an open question whether these findings are applicable across domains. The CDR model claims that the described relationships are not limited to the medical domain, but rather are valid across domains for collaboratively solving complex problems in knowledge-rich domains. Future research should explore generalizability, for example, for teacher education, which is a distinct field that also requires diagnosing and complex problem-solving (Heitzmann et al., 2019 ).

Regardless of domain, the non-mediating relationship of CDAs between individual characteristics and diagnostic outcomes, as well as the found effects of the CDAs in the current study, suggests that an isolated analysis of CDAs does not fully represent the complex interactions and relationships among activities, individual characteristics, and diagnostic outcomes. Future studies might assess CDAs as a bundle of necessary activities, including a focus on their possible non-linear interactions. We propose to use process data analysis to account for the inherent complexity of the data, as different activities in different sequences can lead to the same outcome (Y. Chen et al., 2019 ). More exploratory analyses of fine-grained, theory-based sequence data are needed to provide insights into more general and more specific processes involved in successful solving complex problems collaboratively (Stadler et al., 2020 ).

As our results have shown, collaboration knowledge and thus awareness of the knowledge distribution among collaboration partners is highly relevant. While a recent meta-analyses showed a moderate effect of group awareness of students’ performance in computer-supported collaborative learning (D. Chen et al., 2024 ), it has so far not been systematically investigated in collaborative problem-solving. Thus, more research on the influence collaboration knowledge in collaborative problem-solving is needed.

Further, additional factors associated with success in collaborative problem-solving—not yet incorporated into the model and thus not yet investigated systematically—include communication skills (OECD, 2017 ), the self-concept of problem-solving ability (Scalise et al., 2016 ), and positive activating emotions during problem-solving tasks (Camacho-Morles et al., 2019 ).

Limitations

There are, however, some limitations to be considered. One is that we have only considered CDAs and how they relate to individual characteristics and outcomes. However, the CDR model also introduces individual diagnostic activities, such as the generation of evidence and the drawing of conclusions. These occur before and after the CDAs and may therefore also have an impact on the described relationships. However, we decided to focus on the CDAs within the CDR process because they are particularly relevant for constructing a shared problem representation, being central to CDR. Future research might consider these individual diagnostic activities, as they could, for example, further explain the how content knowledge is related to the diagnostic outcome.

Another limitation of the current analyses is the operationalization of quality for the CDAs. We chose the appropriateness of radiological examination for the indicated diagnosis for quality of evidence elicitation and precision for quality of evidence sharing and hypotheses sharing. However, all of these only shed light on one perspective of each activity, while possibly obscuring others. For example, it may be that content knowledge is not related to the precision of hypotheses sharing, but this may be different when looking at other quality indicators, such as sensitivity or specificity. However, we decided to use the precision aspect of activities, as research shows that collaborators often fail to identify relevant information, and the amount of information is not related to performance (Tschan et al., 2009 ). Future research may explore a broader variety of quality indicators to be able to assess the quality of CDAs as comprehensively as possible. It should also be noted that in study B a suppression effect (Horst, 1941 ) between hypothesis sharing and evidence elicitation artificially inflated the observed effect size. This is to be expected with process data that can be highly correlated and needs to be considered when interpreting the effect sizes.

In addition, it should be noted that the omega values obtained for the conceptual and strategic knowledge measures were below the commonly accepted threshold of 0.7. While we chose to use omega values as a more appropriate measure of reliability in our context, given the complex and multifaceted nature of the knowledge constructs, these lower-than-expected values raise important questions about the quality of the data and the robustness of the findings. Thus, it is important to understand that knowledge constructs, by their very nature, may not always exhibit high levels of internal consistency due to the diverse and interrelated components they encompass (Edelsbrunner, 2024 ; Stadler et al., 2021 ; Taber, 2018 ). This complexity may be reflected in the moderate omega values observed, which, while seemingly counterintuitive, does not invalidate the potential of the constructs to account for substantial variance in related outcomes. However, findings related to these constructs should be interpreted with caution, and the results presented should be considered tentative. Future research should further explore the implications of using different reliability coefficients in assessing complex constructs within the learning sciences, potentially providing deeper insights into the nuanced nature of knowledge and its measurement.

Another limitation of this study is related to the agent-based collaboration, as a predictive validation of collaborative problem-solving for later human-to-human collaboration in comparable contexts has not yet been systematically conducted. Although the agent-based collaboration situation used has been validated in terms of perceived authenticity, it still does not fully correspond to a real collaboration situation (Rosen, 2015 ). This could be an explanation for the low influence of social skills, as the setting might not require the application of a broad set of social skills (Hesse et al., 2015 ; Radkowitsch et al., 2020 ). In a real-life collaboration, the effects of social skills might be more pronounced. However, research showed that the human-to-agent approach did not lead to different results in collaborative problem-solving than the human-to-human approach in the 2015 PISA study, and correlations with other measures of collaborative skills have been found (Herborn et al., 2020 ; Stadler, Herborn et al., 2020 ). Future studies should specifically test the relevance of social skills for CDR in a human-to-human setting to strengthen the generalizability of our findings.

In conclusion, the current study highlights the importance of individual characteristics and CDAs as independent predictors for achieving good diagnoses in collaborative contexts, at least in the simulation-based settings we used in the studies included in our analysis. Collaboration knowledge emerged as a critical factor, demonstrating its importance over early acquired, general social skills. Therefore, it is imperative to revise the CDR approach by giving higher priority to the proficiency of collaboration knowledge compared with social skills. Furthermore, we conclude that, in simulation-based CDR, content knowledge does not play such a crucial role in predicting diagnostic success compared with many other educational settings, most probably because of the endless opportunities for retrying and revising in simulation-based learning environments.

With respect to CDAs, we suggest refining the perspective on the quality of CDAs and consider revising the CDR model by summarizing CDAs as information elicitation and information sharing, with the former being less transactive, and thus, less demanding than the latter. Adequate performance in both types of CDA is presumed to result in a high-quality shared problem representation, resulting in good diagnostic outcome. Collaborative problem-solving skills are highly relevant in professional practice of knowledge-rich domains, highlighting the need to strengthen these skills in students engaged in CDR and to provide learning opportunities accordingly. Further, the ability to effectively collaborate and construct shared problem representations is important, not only in CDR but also in collaborative problem-solving and computer-supported collaborative learning more in general, highlighting the need for integrating such skills into curricula and instructional design.

By emphasizing these aspects, we can improve the diagnostic skills of individuals in collaborative settings. Through advancing our understanding of CDR, we are taking a key step forward in optimizing collaborative problem-solving and ultimately contributing to improved diagnostic outcomes in various professional domains beyond CDR in medical education. In particular, integrating collaboration knowledge and skills into computer-supported collaborative learning environments can enrich learning experiences and outcomes in various knowledge-rich domains.

Please note that the data employed in this study have been used in previous publications (e.g., Brandl et al., 2021 ; Radkowitsch, et al., 2021 ; Richters et al., 2022 ). However, the research question and the results reported in this study are completely unique to this study.

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Collaborative project-based learning in global health: Enhancing competencies and skills for undergraduate nursing students

• Sujin Lee 1 , 2 ,
• Ju Young Yoon 2 &
• Yeji Hwang 2  

BMC Nursing volume  23 , Article number:  437 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

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Despite the importance of collaboration and communication in global health, existing educational approaches often rely on traditional one-way instruction from instructor to student. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a newly developed undergraduate curriculum on global health in enhancing nursing students’ competencies in global health and communication, problem-solving, and self-directed learning skills.

A 15-week course “Global Health and Nursing” was designed for undergraduate nursing students, and a collaborative project-based learning method was used. Study participants were undergraduate nursing students enrolled in the course. The study was a multi-method study and included quantitative and qualitative components. It employed a one-group pretest–posttest design to quantitatively assess the impact of the curriculum. Additionally, student experiences with the learning process were qualitatively explored through a focus group interview. A total of 28 students participated in this study, and 5 of them participated in the focus group interview.

The collaborative project-based learning method significantly improved global health competency ( t  = − 10.646, df  = 22, p  < 0.001), with a large effect size. It also improved communication skills ( t  = − 2.649, df  = 22, p  = 0.015), problem-solving skills ( t  = − 3.453, df  = 22, p  = 0.002), and self-directed learning skills ( t  = − 2.375, df  = 22, p  = 0.027). Three themes were found through the focus group interview: (a) Promoting global health competency; (b) Fostering life skills through collaborative projects; and (c) Recommendations for future classes. The focus group interview indicated that overall, the study participants were satisfied with the collaborative project-based method for global health education.

Conclusions

This study confirms that project-based learning significantly boosts the competencies and skills of students, recommending its broader adoption in nursing education. Nursing instructors should consider adopting this teaching approach for global health education at the undergraduate level. Future studies may employ a longitudinal design to assess the prolonged effects of the collaborative project-based learning approach, particularly focusing on the long-term retention of skills and the broader applicability of this model across different educational settings.

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Introduction

Global health problems, such as infectious diseases and intensifying health inequality, have arisen due to the acceleration of globalization. Thus, it has been recommended that prospective medical personnel should obtain interest and globalized competencies in areas such as disease characteristics, epidemiology, and health polarization across countries [ 1 , 2 ]. The global health-related curriculum has been continuously developed in response to the demands of each era [ 3 , 4 , 5 ]. Starting with the International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations established in 1951, student participation and discussions to improve global health are actively taking place in various European countries [ 6 ]. Since the mid-1990s, global health education courses have been developed in countries such as Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands [ 6 ]. In North America, after the establishment of the Global Health Education Consortium for International Health Education in 1991, the Consortium of Universities for Global Health was formed in 2008, and various academic systems and related organizations have cooperated to share information and develop global health education [ 7 ].

Project-based learning is a learner-centered teaching method in which the learner actively learns through autonomous goal setting, collaboration, communication, and reflection on practical cases [ 8 , 9 ]. Project-based learning is characterized by viewing students as active subjects in the learning process and respecting their knowledge, perspectives, and experiences [ 10 ]. In health-care education, project-based learning has been considered a remarkable method for training health-care personnel [ 11 , 12 ]. In this method, individuals and teams work collaboratively to improve the completeness of results through continuous team communication; students discover and develop their strengths in the process of understanding and solving project problems [ 13 , 14 ]. These characteristics can have a meaningful effect on the development of health-care personnel’s capabilities to collaborate with experts in various fields in the rapidly changing global health field [ 15 ].

According to previous literature on global health competencies, common features include collaboration, partnering, communication, self-directed and ongoing learning, and identifying innovative solutions to global health problems [ 16 , 17 ]. Therefore, when teaching global health, nurse educators need to consider improving the students’ global health competencies, communication, self-directed learning, and problem-solving skills so that they can become experts with sufficient competence in the global community. Problem-oriented learning is often suggested for global health education [ 17 , 18 ]. However, most global health education continues to use the one-way traditional teaching method from instructor to student [ 19 ], which is more limiting than the global health experience that can be attained through collaboration [ 2 ]. Traditional lecture-based teaching methods often restrict the development of critical thinking or problem-solving skills, both of which are essential components in the field of global health [ 20 ]. While it is crucial to educate nurses to effectively practice in various areas of the global community, the existing literature provides limited evidence on the impact of project-based learning in enhancing global health competencies among nursing students.

Therefore, the overarching aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a newly developed undergraduate nursing course in global health; the course used collaborative project-based learning methodology. Specifically, the study aims were: (1) to quantitatively evaluate the change in global health competency, communication skills, problem-solving skills, and self-directed learning skills before and after the implementation of the course; and (2) to qualitatively investigate the undergraduate nursing students’ overall experiences with the course. For the quantitative components, we hypothesized that the collaborative project-based learning method would improve global health competency, communication skills, problem-solving skills, and self-directed learning skills.

Study design

This study was a multi-method study and included quantitative and qualitative approaches [ 21 ]. It used a one-group pretest–posttest design to examine the effectiveness of a global health course that employed collaborative project-based learning. Additionally, a focus group interview was conducted after the course ended to explore the undergraduate nursing students’ overall experience with the course.

Study participants

The participants of this study were undergraduate nursing students from a university located in Seoul, Korea, enrolled in the course “Global Health and Nursing” during the fall semester of 2023. A total of 45 students enrolled in the course were approached for participation in this study. At the beginning of the study, its purpose and procedures were outlined to the students by the first author of this study (SL), who was not teaching the course. To ensure that participation was free of any undue pressure, the course director (YH) was not present during the information session.

The students were informed that participation was voluntary and that there would be no negative consequences to them if they did not participate in this study. Students who were 18 years old or older, enrolled in the course, and willing to participate were included in the study. Students who failed to complete the course (e.g., having more than five absences, not submitting assignments, or dropping out of the course) were excluded from the study. Consents to participate in the study were obtained from all participants, ensuring they were aware of their rights and the confidentiality measures taken to protect their personal information.

Out of the 45 enrolled in the course, 28 agreed to participate in this study. The initial survey (pretest) was completed by 28 students, and the follow-up survey (posttest) was completed by 23 students (Fig.  1 ). Consequently, the final analysis was conducted using the complete datasets from these 23 respondents. The sample size was calculated using G*Power 3.1.9.2 software before starting the study. With a large effect size (Cohen’s d  = 0.8), a power of 0.95, and a significance level of 0.05 [ 22 ], the minimum required sample size was determined as 19. Therefore, the sample size of the study was sufficient.

Participant Recruitment Flowchart

The pretest was administered at the beginning of the semester in September 2023, and the posttest was conducted at the end of the semester in December 2023. A focus group interview was conducted with 5 students at the end of the semester in December 2023. This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board at the authors’ institution (IRB No. 2309/001–005).

“Global Health and Nursing” course

The “Global Health and Nursing” course was developed by the corresponding author of this study (YH). It was an elective 15-week course for undergraduate nursing students taught in English. A collaborative project-based learning methodology was the main teaching method in this course. Although there were several mini-lectures on global health, the students mainly used the class time to work on their group projects. The development of the course, including the core content and topics for group projects, was based on literature on global health education [ 23 , 24 ].

The group projects involved group assignments made by the course director at the beginning of the semester; each group comprised 5 students. The students were provided with a list of topics from which they could choose their project topic. The list included topics such as access to health care, nutritional health disparities, advanced directives, health of immigrants, environmental and health issues, reproductive health, communicable diseases and health, and literacy and health. They were able to either choose a topic from the list or create their own after discussing their proposed topic with the course director. Then, each group selected a specific global health issue that they wished to work on within their chosen topic. For example, if a group selected “environmental and health issues,” they could select a specific topic such as “Fukushima nuclear wastewater release in 2023 and its potential health impacts.”

The course director provided guidelines to assist students in the group project. The goals of the group project were to state the nature of the selected global health issue, identify its potential solutions, and determine nurses’ roles in the global health issue. The objectives of the course were to acquire knowledge about a variety of global health issues abroad, to assess global health problems, to identify potential solutions for global health issues, and to discuss nurses’ roles in the field of global health. The course director monitored each group’s progress weekly, discussing their current status during class and providing appropriate guidance and feedback on the group projects. At the end of the semester, each group was evaluated via group project papers and presentations. The course director assessed each project based on several key factors: whether the paper clearly outlined its research question, whether accurate and recent data were used to describe a global health problem, how potential solutions for the issues were identified, and how the nurses’ roles in addressing these issues were articulated.

The course director actively encouraged students to utilize generative artificial intelligence (AI) software, such as ChatGPT, as a pedagogical tool to augment learning outcomes. Specifically, the students were allowed to leverage this generative AI software for various educational purposes, including initiating discussions, generating ideas, and assisting with their English writing for the final paper. This innovative approach aimed to enhance student engagement and understanding by integrating cutting-edge technology into the learning process, thereby facilitating a more interactive and supportive educational environment.

The course director implemented a system for students to document and report their usage of AI resources. Each week, students filled out a form detailing their use of these resources, which they submitted at the end of the semester. The purpose of this system was to monitor and evaluate how students integrated AI tools into their learning process, ensuring that these technologies were used responsibly and effectively to enhance their educational outcomes.

Additionally, students were required to provide citations in their final group project paper, indicating the use of any resources that were not their original work. The course director employed plagiarism-checking software to review the final papers, deducting points for any plagiarism identified that lacked proper citations.

Participant characteristics

Data on participant characteristics were collected. These characteristics included age, sex, academic year, grades, level of English communication skills, experience of visiting abroad, experience of contact with other cultures within the country, previous education related to global health, experience with participation in collaborative project-based learning, and satisfaction with the nursing major.

Global health competency

Global health competency was measured by the Global Health Competency Scale developed by the Global Health Education Consortium & Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada to examine medical students’ global health competencies [ 25 ]. In this study, we used a Korean-translated version of the scale [ 26 ]. The scale has 30 items, which are measured on a 4-point Likert scale from 1 to 4. The possible scores range from 30 to 120, and a higher score indicates a greater level of competency in global health. The Cronbach’s alpha value for the Korean version of the scale is 0.95 [ 26 ], and in this study, the Cronbach’s alpha value was 0.97.

Communication, problem-solving, and self-directed learning skills

Communication, problem-solving, and self-directed learning skills were measured by the Life Skills Scale developed by Lee and colleagues in 2003 [ 27 ]. The original scale has 3 dimensions: communication skills (49 items), problem-solving skills (45 items), and self-directed learning skills (40 items). When developed, each dimension showed good reliability [ 27 ]. The alpha values of communication, problem-solving, and self-directed learning skills were 0.80, 0.94, and 0.93, respectively. Lee and colleagues have encouraged the use of the individual dimensions separately in other research [ 27 ]. Therefore, each dimension was used as a separate variable. In this study, Cronbach’s alpha for communication skills was 0.87, for problem-solving skills was 0.89, and for self-directed learning skills was 0.94.

Focus group interview

A focus group interview was conducted after all grades were released at the end of the semester. The course director (YH) arranged and conducted the interview with the participants who wished to participate. The interview was conducted in one group consisting of 5 students. It was completed in Korean so that the students could express their experiences without any language difficulties. The interview was conducted via Zoom and lasted approximately one hour. Participants gave verbal consent for the audio recording of the interview session. A semi-structured interview was conducted to understand the nursing students’ experiences with collaborative project-based global health education.

Interview questions included the following: “How has the collaborative project-based global health education impacted your global health competencies?” “How has the collaborative project-based global health education affected your communication skills?” “How has the collaborative project-based global health education influenced your problem-solving abilities?” “How has the collaborative project-based global health education affected your self-directed learning skills?” “What do you think about the approach of collaborative project-based global health education?” “Did you use generative AI, such as ChatGPT, for the class? If so, what was the experience like?” During the interview, participants were encouraged to freely express any additional thoughts. When new ideas emerged, the interviewer employed follow-up questions to elicit further details.

Data analysis

For quantitative analyses, the following methods were employed. First, descriptive analyses were conducted to describe the characteristics of the participants. Means, standard deviations, ranges, and percentages were used. Then, we assessed the normality of the scores for global health competency, communication skills, problem-solving skills, and self-directed learning skills. Paired t -tests were conducted to examine the effects of collaborative project-based learning on global health competency, communication skills, problem-solving skills, and self-directed learning skills. All statistical analyses were performed using SPSS ® software version 22.0. Statistical significance was set at a p -value less than 0.05.

To analyze the results of the focus group interview, qualitative content analysis was performed [ 28 ]. First, the interview was transcribed verbatim by one author (SL). Through a rigorous and iterative process of reviewing the original data, two authors of this study (SL and YH) identified initial codes. They then collaboratively worked to refine these codes into categories, from which subthemes and overarching themes were derived. This collaborative coding approach ensured methodological rigor and validity in analyzing the qualitative data. The analyses were conducted in Korean language, and the final themes and quotes were translated into English for this paper.

Table  1 describes the demographic characteristics of the participants. The mean age of the study participants was 22.64 ± 1.52 (Min–Max: 21–28). The majority of the participants were female ( n  = 25, 89.3%), sophomores ( n  = 17, 60.7%), and did not have any previous experience with global health ( n  = 18, 64.3%). Experience of visiting abroad or with other cultures within the country varied among the participants.

By evaluating the effectiveness of the course through paired t -tests, we found that the collaborative project-based learning approach produced statistically significant improvements in several key areas (Table  2 ; Fig.  2 ). There was a pronounced enhancement in global health competency ( t  = − 10.646, df  = 22, p  < 0.001), indicating a significant impact of the course on students’ understanding of global health issues. Moreover, communication skills improved significantly ( t  = − 2.649, df  = 22, p  = 0.015), suggesting that the course was effective in enhancing the ability of students to exchange ideas and cooperate with others. Another positive outcome was the improvement in problem-solving skills ( t  = − 3.453, df  = 22, p  = 0.002), reflecting a meaningful advance in the students’ capacity to tackle complex issues and think critically. Additionally, self-directed learning skills improved ( t  = − 2.375, df  = 22, p  = 0.027), underscoring the effect of the course in fostering independent learning among the students.

Comparison of scores in global health competency, communication, problem-solving, and self-directed learning skills ( N  = 23)

As a result of analyzing the focus group interview, three overarching themes that describe the experience of the collaborative project-based learning approach were identified: Theme 1: Promoting global health competency, Theme 2: Fostering life skills through collaborative projects, and Theme 3: Recommendations for future classes (Table  3 ).

Theme 1. Promoting global health competency

In-depth exploration by participating in collaborative projects.

Students experienced a substantial deepening of their knowledge and understanding through the collaborative projects. The collaborative project-based learning approach challenged them to engage with complex and unfamiliar topics, diverging from the traditional teaching methods that they were accustomed to. The traditional Korean teaching method in nursing includes one-way lectures from the lecturer to students. This shift required them to delve deeply and focus narrowly on specific issues, which they found to be a difficult yet rewarding process. By navigating the collaborative projects throughout the semester, the students felt that their global health competencies were significantly enhanced. The opportunity to analyze and think critically about global health issues provided a valuable learning experience, contributing positively to their educational growth and the development of their global health capabilities.

“When selecting a topic for the group project, we encountered topics that were unfamiliar, and selecting a topic was challenging. However, this experience led us to study in a very focused and in-depth manner, which I think had a positive impact on enhancing our global health competencies.” (Student 4) .

Participating in a collaborative project provided the students, who were accustomed to the traditional lecture-type teaching methods in nursing school, with a new learning experience.

Expanding nursing students’ perspectives

The course facilitated a significant broadening of the nursing students’ views related to global health, allowing them to gain a deeper understanding and empathy toward situations around the world. Students expressed an appreciation for the exposure to a wide array of global health issues, which they had not previously encountered to such an extent. This exposure expanded their horizons beyond the local or national context and contributed to a more comprehensive grasp of health as a global entity.

“The biggest takeaway for me was realizing that there are so many different health issues around the world, which has helped broaden my perspective significantly.” (Student 3) .

Additionally, the students valued the integration of global health education into their curriculum, which is traditionally dominated by a clinical focus on direct patient care. In Korea, a diverse global health curriculum is lacking, and less than half of nursing schools offer an undergraduate curriculum dealing with global health issues [ 19 ]. By learning about global health issues in their elective course, they felt better prepared for the broader nursing context.

Theme 2. Fostering life skills through collaborative projects

Process of reconciling perspectives.

The students reported that communication was challenging as they were required to collaborate on the projects. However, they also expressed that their communication skills improved after they finished the project. For example, when there was a diversity of interests within the group, it led to extensive group discussions and the reconciliation of diverse perspectives.

“Each team member had a lot of topics they were interested in…We communicated a lot with each other. I felt that my communication skills improved during that process.” (Student 1) .

One student reported that she learned the importance of explicit communication. The student recognized the need for more nuanced communication skills, especially regarding integrating and refining the collective inputs into the final product.

“The most difficult part was communicating during the final paper revisions. It was hard to grasp exactly what direction the feedback from each person was aiming for, and it was also a vague issue how to convey this to others…” (Student 4) .

Therefore, the process of reconciling perspectives was an iterative learning experience that underscored the importance of clear and effective communication in achieving a unified vision in collaborative work. Participating in collaborative projects provided the students, who were accustomed to traditional lecture-type teaching methods, with opportunities to hone their communication skills.

Enhancement of critical thinking skills

The collaborative projects underscored a significant growth in student abilities to engage deeply with complex issues facing the global community. By addressing real-world problems as a group, students experienced an increase in their awareness of global challenges and honed their critical thinking capabilities.

“It wasn’t just about searching for a topic and finding all the related materials. It involved first identifying countries related to the topic, then focusing on the issues that have arisen in those countries, and the policies being implemented to solve those problems. Narrowing down the scope in this way to find and interpret data was greatly helpful in enhancing my research and analytical skills.” (Student 3) .

The collaborative environment fostered by the team projects thus played a crucial role in developing students’ critical thinking skills, enabling them to approach global health challenges with an analytical and solution-oriented mindset.

Active learning and engagement

The students had a transformative educational experience, from conventional lecture-based learning toward a dynamic and participatory approach. The students shared their journey of engaging deeply with the course material. One student noted the unexpected depth of understanding gained through reading papers, researching materials, and preparing presentations, in contrast to merely studying from textbooks for exams. Another student emphasized the novelty of their experience in conducting thorough research, including finding and analyzing multiple papers on the same subject, which led to a broader exploration of related topics.

“Initially, I thought I wouldn’t study much for this subject since there were no exams. Contrary to my expectations, engaging in activities like reading papers, researching materials, and preparing presentations offered a depth of understanding far beyond what textbook study for exams could provide.” (Student 1) .

Theme 3. Recommendations for future classes

Use of generative ai software.

Students reported diverse experiences with generative AI software. These experiences ranged from highly beneficial to eliciting skepticism, illustrating the diverse ways in which students interacted with and perceived the value of generative AI in their studies.

One student leveraged ChatGPT for initial guidance, particularly for outlining and collecting related materials for their part of the project. This approach suggests that generative AI can serve as a starting point for research, offering a foundation to build upon and modify for specific academic needs. Another student found ChatGPT extremely useful for exploring cases, precedents, and solutions related to their project topic and appreciated the varied answers and insights it provided. This active engagement with the tool highlights its potential as a versatile resource for collecting information and generating ideas.

“The most significant aspect of using ChatGPT lies in its ability to yield diverse responses based on the type of question posed. For instance, when inquiring about strategies to address a sensitive topic like do-not-resuscitate (DNR) orders in Korea, ChatGPT can provide extensive insights. It may suggest examining policies from other countries, offering a comprehensive foundation for considering the implementation of analogous strategies within the Korean context.” (Student 2) .

Furthermore, a student highlighted that the use of ChatGPT was limited to English translation tasks within their group, and another student expressed their distrust of ChatGPT, citing its unreliability as a major concern, which led them to avoid using the tool altogether.

Overall, the landscape of student interactions with ChatGPT was nuanced, ranging from enriching research and idea generation to cautious or limited use. This reflects the evolving role of AI tools in educational settings and their varying impact on student learning and project development. Such diversity in use and opinion underscores the need for ongoing exploration into the efficacy and appropriateness of AI software use in future coursework.

Course director’s involvement

There was a range of student perspectives on the desired level of instructor involvement in the learning process. Some students appreciated the current level of involvement, which was hands-off, allowing them the autonomy to establish their own detailed timelines. This independence in managing their projects was perceived as beneficial, offering them the opportunity to develop self-regulation and project management skills.

Other students expressed a preference for more active intervention from the course director, such as the provision of a clear, structured timeline to guide them through the projects during the semester. This guidance was seen as a way to ensure consistent progress and help manage their workload effectively. Additionally, some students advocated for more assertive and direct feedback on their projects, including critical assessments. These students valued detailed and candid input, even negative, believing that such engagement could drive improvements and enhance the quality of their work.

“I believe that our learning capabilities could be enhanced if we received more feedback or were posed with sharper questions that challenge us. Personally, I’m open to and see the benefit of more assertive feedback.” (Student 2) .

This study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of global health education that utilized a collaborative project-based learning approach. This study found that the collaborative project-based learning approach was effective, especially in improving students’ skill sets.

Effect of the collaborative project-based learning approach

The results of this study confirm the effectiveness of the project-based learning approach that was reported in previous literature [ 9 , 29 ]. Many positive outcomes of applying a project-based learning approach have been reported [ 9 , 29 ]. One study reported that project-based learning was more effective in improving academic achievements than traditional teaching methods [ 29 ]. As project-based learning is inquiry-based and fosters student autonomy, it allows students to discover problems and find solutions on their own [ 8 , 30 ], which leads to improvements in motivation [ 31 ] and competency [ 32 ]. However, these results are mainly from other professional fields, and little knowledge is available on how project-based learning is effective specifically for nursing students. This study filled this gap in the literature by showing that project-based learning is an effective approach in the field of nursing as well. Furthermore, considering that project-based learning prepares students for real-world challenges [ 33 ], this method could significantly advance the professional development of nursing students by equipping them with practical skills for real-world settings. However, as the school environment, community support, or access to resources can influence project-based learning, nurse educators should consider providing a supportive environment and ensuring equal accessibility for such resources.

In addition to the project-based learning approach, the course integrated a collaborative approach so that students worked with their peers on a project. Collaboration and partnering are key aspects of global health competencies, as global health requires a diverse range of health professionals to work together [ 15 ]. Previous studies showed that collaborative learning has many positive effects, such as improving academic performance and enhancing student engagement [ 34 , 35 , 36 ]. Moreover, it can enhance cooperative skills among students [ 31 ], and effective communication, which is a critical skill for nurses [ 37 , 38 ]. Previous studies that applied collaborative learning to nursing students’ clinical practicum confirmed its effectiveness in enhancing nursing competencies [ 39 , 40 ]. Therefore, nurse educators who instruct courses on global health should consider applying a collaborative learning approach to improve communication skills among nursing students.

In this study, the collaborative project-based learning approach also improved problem-solving skills. This result is in line with previous studies, including systematic reviews and meta-analyses, reporting that problem-based learning improves overall thinking skills among nursing students [ 41 , 42 , 43 ]. Providing students with opportunities to contemplate real-world problems and potential solutions can increase their critical thinking skills. Therefore, nurse educators should consider exposing students to real-world problems to increase the students’ problem-solving skills.

Recommendations for the future

Several recommendations emerged from the focus group interview. First, there was a range of student experiences with the use of generative AI software, such as ChatGPT. Student experiences varied significantly. While some found it extremely helpful, others expressed skepticism about its reliability. The interview revealed diverse usage patterns of generative AI among the students. For instance, some utilized it for in-depth exploration, employing detailed and sequential questioning techniques.

Educational technologies have been widely used in nursing education including problem-based learning [ 30 , 44 ]. Generative AI software can be an effective supplementary learning tool in certain situations, but exploring whether it is being used effectively in project-based learning in nursing is necessary. Generative AI can be a learning partner when integrated into project-based learning and transform a competition-focused education system into a collaborative one [ 45 ]. Students can successfully perform a given task, gain confidence, and increase their participation through immediate feedback from AI learning partners, which can promote nursing education when appropriately used [ 46 ]. Further research is needed to determine whether generative AI can enhance learning outcomes for students. Specifically, these studies should explore how these technologies can be effectively integrated into curricula to maximize their potential benefits and address the unique challenges of global health training.

Another consideration for future classes includes the extent of the instructor’s involvement. Although the instructor’s support is essential in project-based learning, student choice and autonomy should be valued as well [ 8 ]. As mixed opinions were expressed by the students about the course director’s involvement in the collaborative projects, course instructors should consider the degree of their involvement when applying a project-based learning approach. Based on the findings, we recommend maintaining students’ autonomy while setting deadlines throughout the course so that students can keep it as a minimal guideline.

Moreover, exploring the cost-effectiveness of implementing collaborative project-based learning approaches in nursing education remains an essential area for future research. While this approach seems promising in enhancing student competencies, the financial and resource implications of widespread adoption in diverse educational settings warrant thorough investigation. For example, studies that analyze the scalability of such approaches and their impact on faculty workload and institutional resources could provide valuable insights into their practical viability. Additionally, challenges, such as managing group dynamics and workload distribution within collaborative settings, must be carefully considered. These factors can significantly influence the efficacy and sustainability of project-based learning methodologies.

Additionally, the long-term impact of collaborative project-based learning approaches on preparing nurses for global health careers should be further investigated. Understanding the immediate educational outcomes and how these approaches equip future healthcare professionals to handle complex global health challenges over the course of their careers is crucial.

Strengths and limitations

This study makes several contributions. First, although there is a lack of information available on applying a collaborative project-based learning approach in global health education, this study showed the effectiveness of this approach. Nursing instructors should consider adopting this teaching approach for global health education at the undergraduate level. Second, because this study employed a multi-method of quantitative and qualitative approaches, the effectiveness of the course was comprehensively assessed.

The study has several limitations as well. First, a pilot trial was not conducted before the study. Including a pilot trial could have enhanced the credibility and validity of our approach. Second, because the design of the study was a one-group pretest–posttest design, it did not include a control group for comparison, which limits the ability to attribute the observed changes directly to the intervention without considering other external factors. In future studies, randomized controlled trials should be considered to examine the approach’s effectiveness. Third, the study was conducted over a single semester; therefore, this 15-week course might not have been sufficient to observe long-term changes in student skills and knowledge. Future studies should consider extending the intervention duration to an academic year to evaluate its effect. Additionally, the long-term impact of the course was not observed in this study, which could have been possible by including time series results. Future studies should employ a longitudinal design so that the prolonged effects of the collaborative project-based learning approach can be assessed. Including follow-up assessments at multiple intervals post-intervention will enable better understanding of the sustainability of learning outcomes. Furthermore, integrating qualitative methods such as interviews or focus groups could provide deeper insights into how and why these approaches impact student learning over time. These strategies will not only enhance the robustness of the findings but also contribute to a more nuanced understanding of the educational interventions’ effectiveness.

Another limitation of this study was that it relied on the students’ self-reported data to examine the impact of collaborative project-based learning. Self-reported data can be susceptible to bias, and the improvements observed in global health competency, communication skills, problem-solving skills, and self-directed learning skills may reflect students’ perceptions rather than actual enhancements. Therefore, the findings must be interpreted with caution, as the reported improvements might not fully capture the students’ real skill development. Future studies should include objective measures in addition to self-reported data. Lastly, this study was conducted with a small sample of undergraduate students in Korea, and caution should be applied when interpreting the findings and considering their generalizability. Future studies with a larger and more diverse sample of nursing students are needed, and it is essential to test the approach in various educational settings to enhance generalizability and applicability.

Implications

This study highlights the effectiveness of collaborative project-based learning in significantly enhancing critical competencies in global health among nursing students. Notably, the competencies enhanced include an in-depth understanding of global health issues, improved communication skills such as idea exchange and teamwork, as well as elevated problem-solving and self-directed learning abilities. These improvements demonstrate the potential for more engaging and effective educational practices. However, implementing such approaches comes with challenges, including the need for adequate resources, instructor training, and adaptation to varying learning environments and student backgrounds. While this study demonstrated positive short-term outcomes, the long-term impacts of these competencies on professional practice remain to be explored. Future studies should, therefore, include longitudinal follow-up assessments to evaluate the sustainability of the learned skills over time. Additionally, given the diversity in educational settings, replicating this study across different contexts is crucial to verify its effectiveness and adaptability. We recommend that educational policymakers and curriculum developers consider these factors when integrating collaborative project-based learning strategies within nursing education programs. Furthermore, randomized controlled trials should be conducted to rigorously evaluate the approach’s effectiveness and facilitate its wider adoption.

The collaborative project-based learning approach was effective in global health education, especially in increasing students’ global health competencies and improving communication, problem-solving, and self-directed learning skills. Although they found it challenging, students were satisfied with the collaborative project-based learning approach, as it allowed them to delve deeply into learning global health issues. Therefore, nurse educators should consider applying this methodology to global health education for undergraduate nursing students. Future research employing a randomized controlled trial is warranted to further determine the effectiveness of the approach.

Data availability

The datasets generated and analyzed during the current study are not publicly available due ethical restrictions but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Abbreviations

artificial intelligence

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the study participants for providing valuable information for the study.

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

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SL contributed to conceptualization, data analysis, and writing the draft of the manuscript. JY contributed to the conceptualization and critically revised the manuscript. YH contributed to conceptualization, investigation, writing the draft of the manuscript, and supervised the study.

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Lee, S., Yoon, J.Y. & Hwang, Y. Collaborative project-based learning in global health: Enhancing competencies and skills for undergraduate nursing students. BMC Nurs 23 , 437 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-024-02111-8

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