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The 10 Best Problem-Solving Software to Use in 2024

Sarah Burner

ClickUp Contributor

February 14, 2024

Do you want a solution to help your teams work well together, reduce friction, and speed up productivity?

The best problem-solving software has all the answers for you. Problem-solving software helps find bottlenecks, simplify workflows, and automate tasks to improve efficiency. The result? Communication is easy, and your team enjoys a collaborative work environment.

Problem-solving software gives you the right visualization tools and techniques to better articulate your ideas and concepts.

That’s not all; it also automates repetitive tasks while your team focuses on brainstorming and ideating.

In this article, we’ll cover the best problem-solving software and highlight its various features, limitations, customer ratings, and pricing details to help you make an informed decision.

What Should You Look For In Problem-Solving Software?

1. clickup , 2. omnex systems , 5. meistertask, 6. teamwork, 10. airtable .

Businesses encounter many challenges, from operational inefficiencies and customer complaints to financial discrepancies.

As your team slowly navigates through these issues, having problem-solving software with the right features will reduce the hassle. Before investing in one, consider some of these following factors:

User-friendly interface: The software should have an intuitive and easy-to-use interface to minimize the learning curve for users
Versatility: Look for software that addresses various problem types and complexities. It should be adaptable to different industries and scenarios
Mind maps and Visualization features: Get yourself problem-solving software solutions that offers mind maps and other visual tricks. It must be a digital canvas for your team to brainstorm ideas, connect the dots, and execute strategies
AI assistant: If your team is stuck with repetitive mundane tasks, then it’s time you let AI take over. With the right problem-solving tool comes in-built AI that handles everyday tasks, leaving your team to focus on the important stuff
Automation capabilities: Look for problem-solving process that’s all about automation. This way, you ensure efficiency and effectiveness without the grunt work
Goal tracking: Your efforts improve when you optimize your tracking process. You need goal monitoring and tracking features to ensure you are on track
Cost-effectiveness: Look for the features that various plans offer and compare them to choose an option that provides maximum features while the benefits justify the cost

The 10 Best Problem Solving Software In 2024

While you have many options, select the one with the right features that suit your needs .

Check out our list of the ten best problem-solving tools to ensure you have the features to solve complex issues effectively:

Henry Ford once said that success takes care of itself if everyone moves forward together. ClickUp problem-solving software helps you succeed by ensuring all your team members are always on the same page.

With its live collaboration, you can see if your teammates are looking at or editing documents. Also, edit documents together in real-time. Moreover, any changes on any device are updated instantly, so nobody falls behind.

The whiteboard feature is super helpful in getting your team together for brainstorming and ideating. As problem-solving involves generating and evaluating multiple ideas, the whiteboard helps write, modify, and build ideas together.

Now that you have brainstormed on core problems, you must establish a clear visual reference point for ongoing analysis. That’s where the ClickUp mind maps feature stands out. Create a hierarchical structure, with the main problem at the center and subtopics branching out.

Since these maps have interconnections, it is easy to visualize connections between different elements. This feature effectively identifies possible cause-and-effect relationships in a problem.

ClickUp best features

Documentation: Address and solve problems by storing and accessing project-related documents in ClickUp Docs
Mind maps : Identify critical connections, uncover insights, and implement creative approaches by visually mapping relationships between concepts and information with ClickUp Mind Maps
Task prioritization: Make problem-solving easier for your software developers—sort tasks by urgency. This helps your team focus on the most crucial aspects, making problem resolution more efficient
Virtual whiteboards: Enhance collaborative problem-solving and critical thinking through ClickUp Whiteboards . Brainstorm, visualize ideas, and collectively work towards solutions in an interactive setting
Goal monitoring: Set and monitor business metrics to address challenges, track progress, and ensure the software development team remains aligned with objectives
Custom access rights: Customizing access rights ensures that the right individuals have the necessary permissions to contribute to problem resolution
ClickUp AI: Use ClickUp AI to automate repetitive tasks, analyze data for insights, and enhance productivity in tackling complex problems

ClickUp limitations

Learning curve is involved in fully grasping all features and capabilities

ClickUp pricing

Free Forever Plan
Unlimited Plan: $7 per month per user
Business Plan : $12 per month per user
Business Plus Plan : $19 per month per user
Enterprise Plan : custom pricing
ClickUp AI: $5 per Workspace on all paid plans

ClickUp ratings and reviews

G2: 4.7/5 (2,000+ reviews)
Capterra: 4.7/5 (2,000+ reviews)

Omnex’s problem-solving software has many helpful features to track, manage, and solve problems quickly. It’s a one-stop shop for dealing with internal and external issues.

The platform is also customer-centric, which responds to customers in their preferred formats. This ensures a tailored and user-friendly experience, further enhancing problem resolution through seamless interaction with stakeholders.

Omnex best features

Define timelines and metrics for problem resolution
Leverage several problem-solving tools, such as 5Why, Is/Is Not, etc
Respond to customers in various formats, including 8D, 7D, and PRR

Omnex limitations

Initiating projects involves many steps
Temporary delays may occur

Omnex pricing

Omnex has custom pricing plans

Hive is another excellent platform to instruct your teams better while solving complex challenges and enhancing their problem-solving skills. It’s highly interactive and lets all your team members view what’s happening and express their opinions simultaneously.

Collaborative work management helps you solve issues effectively. Hive is your virtual file cabinet where sharing documents with different teams and collaboratively working becomes more accessible.

Hive best features

User-friendly interface ensures seamless navigation
Gantt view helps in mapping out project timelines
Project hierarchies allow for easy task execution
Kanban view allows you to understand progress better

Hive limitations

Being a relatively new tool, it needs frequent updates and additional features
There are occasional bugs that slow down processes
Locating notes from tasks and meetings is time-consuming
Auto-generated reports are not always accurate
Apart from ticketing, the platform needs some intuitive features

Hive pricing

Teams: $12 per month per user
Enterprise: custom plans

Hive customer ratings

G2: 4.6/5 (480+ reviews)
Capterra: 4.5/5 (190+ reviews)

Asana is a popular problem-solving tool that speeds up decision-making . It improves project management , and its many integrations are useful. The well-organized project documents make it easy to find what you need quickly.

It’s excellent for managing many small projects and suitable for teams without complex workflows or collaboration features.

Asana best features

The rules and workflow feature helps automate repeating activities
Customizable workflows help teams adapt the tool to their unique needs
For easy understanding, organize tasks as a list, calendar, timeline, Gantt chart, or Kanban board
Integrate with popular tools and apps such as Google Drive, Dropbox, Slack, Zoom, Microsoft, etc.

Asana limitations

Inefficient for handling larger projects with sub-projects and multiple workstreams
Limited capability to measure project deviations from original plans
Lack of comprehensive workflows and customizable animations, a feature some competitors offer
Pricing is less favorable for smaller teams; advanced features like custom fields, portfolios, and timeline views are only available in premium plans

Asana pricing

Personal (free)
Starter: $10.99 per month per user
Advanced: $24.99 per month per user

Asana customer ratings

G2: 4.3/5 (9,520+ reviews)
Capterra: 4.5/5 (12,290+ reviews)

Mesitertask is one of those problem-solving tools that offers strong kanban boards. These boards visualize the workflow and make it easier to identify bottlenecks and trace issues back to their source. Such visualizing features are similar to the ones found in the best root cause analysis tools .

A customizable drag-and-drop feature further allows users to rearrange and prioritize tasks easily. Therefore, your team members will easily play around the field and segregate tasks effectively.

Meistertask best features

Gain a visual representation of task timelines with a timeline view
Streamline processes with automated workflows
Easily categorize and prioritize tasks within sections
Monitor and analyze time spent on tasks for valuable insights

Meistertask limitations

Unnecessary negative space impacts task visibility
Limited report and analytics features, not accessible offline
Confusing registration process

Meistertask pricing

Basic (free)
Pro: $6.50 per month per user
Business: $12 per month per user
Enterprise: custom pricing

Meister task ratings and reviews

G2: 4.6/5 (170+ reviews)
Capterra: 4.7/5 (1130+ reviews)

Tracking employee workload for better project management in Teamwork, a project management software platform

Teamwork is another viable problem-solving software dealing with operational challenges. It provides a clear overview of task assignments, project profitability, and other essential details.

When combined with effective brainstorming techniques , such a clear division of work will help you solve complex issues faster.

Teamwork features

Get four distinct project views, including List, Table, Boards, and Gantt
Efficient task management simplifies the process of creating and assigning tasks to users, enhancing team collaboration
The time tracking feature helps determine billable hours, aiding in project budgeting and resource allocation
Standard communication features, such as commenting and mentioning coworkers, are seamlessly integrated, promoting practical collaboration

Teamwork limitations

You need to subscribe to premium plans to unlock advanced features
The user interface is intricate and poses a challenge for some users
Certain features, like the reminder function, do not operate on mobile apps
Continuous email notifications have the potential to disrupt focus, as not all updates or status changes are crucial

Teamwork Pricing

Free Forever
Starter: $5.99 per month per user
Deliver: $9.99 per month per user
Grow: $19.99 per month per user
Scale: custom pricing

Teamwork Customer Ratings

G2: 4.4/5 (1,070+ reviews)
Capterra: 4.5/5 (830+ reviews)

Trello is another good option if you are searching for efficient problem-solving software. With powerful task management tools, it ensures you handle your issues efficiently.

However, Trello’s communication and collaboration tools are not up to the mark compared to other problem-solving tools. Also, it relies heavily on integrations to do the heavy lifting.

Trello Features

Streamline your workflow effortlessly by arranging tasks with a simple drag-and-drop interface
The project map feature gives a complete overview to help you visualize tasks, dependencies, and progress at a glance
Focus on what matters the most and prioritize tasks effectively with its intuitive tools
Stay on top of your responsibilities with dynamic to-do lists

Trello Limitations

The free version imposes limitations on file attachments, a lack of advanced integrations, and automation
Manually arranging Trello cards one by one is a time-consuming task
There is a lack of functionality for creating a comprehensive dashboard or Gantt chart to provide a clear overview
The absence of restrictions on card movement poses a security risk, with anyone accessing and potentially disrupting the board
Trello becomes less practical when the board becomes densely populated with cards

Trello pricing

Standard: $5 per month per user
Premium: $10 per month per user
Enterprise: $17.50 per month per user

Trello customer ratings

G2: 4.4/5 (13,000+ reviews)
Capterra: 4.5/5 (23,000+ reviews)

Wrike is one of the preferred project management collaboration tools that help businesses of all sizes. With preconfigured templates for tasks, workflows, and communication, it takes the burden off your shoulders.

It also has a user-friendly dashboard with enterprise-grade tools to manage recurring and one-time projects.

Wrike best features

Planning tools to outline tasks, set deadlines, and allocate resources
A clear visual overview helps in identifying potential challenges
Detailed reports to analyze project performance
Helps efficiently address issues by prioritizing tasks

Wrike limitations

There are no options to view projects on the Kanban board (only tasks)
Basic project management features are missing, such as time breaks for a task
Pricing remains on the higher end

Wrike pricing

Professional variant: $9.80 per month per user
Business variant: $24.80 per month per user

Wrike customer ratings

G2: 4.2/5 (3500+ reviews)
Capterra: 4.3/5 (2540+ reviews)

Monday is a cloud-based open platform, allowing businesses to collaborate better on projects. Explore many pre-built templates or create one from scratch depending on what you need.

Monday best features

Streamline workflows by making bulk changes efficiently
Plan and organize tasks effectively with powerful scheduling tools
Keep a detailed record of project activities, providing transparency and aiding in tracking progress, which is critical for troubleshooting and resolving issues
Gain valuable insights through customizable views and comprehensive reporting, facilitating data-driven decision-making

Monday limitations

There is a minimum team size of three required for paid plans
The free trial lasts only for 14 days
Advanced features like time tracking are only available in premium plans

Monday pricing

Basic: $8 per month per user
Standard: $10 per month per user
Pro: $16 per month per user
Enterprise: custom pricing

Monday customer ratings

G2: 4.7/5 (9,570+ reviews)
Capterra: 4.6/5 (4,430+ reviews)

Managing office time tracking tasks in Airtable

Airtable is a cloud-based collaboration platform that combines the simplicity of a spreadsheet with the complexity of a relational database.

It allows users to create and manage databases, spreadsheets, and other types of structured data in a flexible and user-friendly way. With its user-friendly interface, you will quickly organize and track crucial information for problem-solving.

Airtable best features

Supports real-time collaboration
Attach files, images, and other multimedia directly to records
Highlight and format cells based on specific conditions with conditional formatting
Use pre-built templates for different use cases

Airtable limitations

While the interface is user-friendly, users unfamiliar with databases may find it initially complex
For extremely large datasets or complex relationships, Airtable may face performance challenges
As a cloud-based platform, it relies on an internet connection, and lack of connectivity may hinder problem-solving efforts

Airtable pricing

Team: $20 per month per user
Business: $45 per month per user

Airtable customer ratings

G2: 4.6/5 (2,180+ reviews)
Capterra: 4.7/5 (1920+ reviews)

Solve Problems to Drive Successful Business Outcomes

It is best to invest in problem-solving software to ensure that problems do not bog down your team and that you have the tools to solve and focus on strategic work. Our list of the ten best problem-solving software should help you find the right fit for your organization.

Thousands of businesses of all sizes choose ClickUp. With ClickUp, you get different tools to map your project, divide tasks, view the interdependence of tasks, allocate resources, and resolve bugs on time. Whether improving team productivity or identifying and squashing bugs, ClickUp does it all!

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Nine essential problem solving tools: The ultimate guide to finding a solution

October 26, 2023 by MindManager Blog

Problem solving may unfold differently depending on the industry, or even the department you work in. However, most agree that before you can fix any issue, you need to be clear on what it is, why it’s happening, and what your ideal long-term solution will achieve.

Understanding both the nature and the cause of a problem is the only way to figure out which actions will help you resolve it.

Given that most problem-solving processes are part inspiration and part perspiration, you’ll be more successful if you can reach for a problem solving tool that facilitates collaboration, encourages creative thinking, and makes it easier to implement the fix you devise.

The problem solving tools include three unique categories: problem solving diagrams, problem solving mind maps, and problem solving software solutions.

They include:

Fishbone diagrams
Strategy maps
Mental maps
Concept maps
Layered process audit software
Charting software
MindManager

In this article, we’ve put together a roundup of versatile problem solving tools and software to help you and your team map out and repair workplace issues as efficiently as possible.

Let’s get started!

Problem solving diagrams

Mapping your way out of a problem is the simplest way to see where you are, and where you need to end up.

Not only do visual problem maps let you plot the most efficient route from Point A (dysfunctional situation) to Point B (flawless process), problem mapping diagrams make it easier to see:

The root cause of a dilemma.
The steps, resources, and personnel associated with each possible solution.
The least time-consuming, most cost-effective options.

A visual problem solving process help to solidify understanding. Furthermore, it’s a great way for you and your team to transform abstract ideas into a practical, reconstructive plan.

Here are three examples of common problem mapping diagrams you can try with your team:

1. Fishbone diagrams

Fishbone diagrams are a common problem solving tool so-named because, once complete, they resemble the skeleton of a fish.

With the possible root causes of an issue (the ribs) branching off from either side of a spine line attached to the head (the problem), dynamic fishbone diagrams let you:

Lay out a related set of possible reasons for an existing problem
Investigate each possibility by breaking it out into sub-causes
See how contributing factors relate to one another

Fishbone diagrams are also known as cause and effect or Ishikawa diagrams.

2. Flowcharts

A flowchart is an easy-to-understand diagram with a variety of applications. But you can use it to outline and examine how the steps of a flawed process connect.

Made up of a few simple symbols linked with arrows indicating workflow direction, flowcharts clearly illustrate what happens at each stage of a process – and how each event impacts other events and decisions.

3. Strategy maps

Once you’ve got a few tactics you feel are worth exploring as possible ways to overcome a challenge, a strategy map will help you establish the best route to your problem-solving goal.

Problem solving mind maps

Problem solving mind maps are especially valuable in visualization. Because they facilitate the brainstorming process that plays a key role in both root cause analysis and the identification of potential solutions, they help make problems more solvable.

Mind maps are diagrams that represent your thinking. Since many people struggle taking or working with hand-written or typed notes, mind maps were designed to let you lay out and structure your thoughts visually so you can play with ideas, concepts, and solutions the same way your brain does.

By starting with a single notion that branches out into greater detail, problem solving mind maps make it easy to:

Explain unfamiliar problems or processes in less time
Share and elaborate on novel ideas
Achieve better group comprehension that can lead to more effective solutions

Mind maps are a valuable problem solving tool because they’re geared toward bringing out the flexible thinking that creative solutions require. Here are three types of problem solving mind maps you can use to facilitate the brainstorming process.

4. Mental maps

A mental map helps you get your thoughts about what might be causing a workplace issue out of your head and onto a shared digital space.

Because mental maps mirror the way our brains take in and analyze new information, using them to describe your theories visually will help you and your team work through and test those thought models.

5. Idea maps

Idea maps let you take advantage of a wide assortment of colors and images to lay down and organize your scattered thought process. Idea maps are ideal brainstorming tools because they allow you to present and explore ideas about the best way to solve a problem collaboratively, and with a shared sense of enthusiasm for outside-the-box thinking.

6. Concept maps

Concept maps are one of the best ways to shape your thoughts around a potential solution because they let you create interlinked, visual representations of intricate concepts.

By laying out your suggested problem-solving process digitally – and using lines to form and define relationship connections – your group will be able to see how each piece of the solution puzzle connects with another.

Problem solving software solutions

Problem solving software is the best way to take advantage of multiple problem solving tools in one platform. While some software programs are geared toward specific industries or processes – like manufacturing or customer relationship management, for example – others, like MindManager , are purpose-built to work across multiple trades, departments, and teams.

Here are three problem-solving software examples.

7. Layered process audit software

Layered process audits (LPAs) help companies oversee production processes and keep an eye on the cost and quality of the goods they create. Dedicated LPA software makes problem solving easier for manufacturers because it helps them see where costly leaks are occurring and allows all levels of management to get involved in repairing those leaks.

8. Charting software

Charting software comes in all shapes and sizes to fit a variety of business sectors. Pareto charts, for example, combine bar charts with line graphs so companies can compare different problems or contributing factors to determine their frequency, cost, and significance. Charting software is often used in marketing, where a variety of bar charts and X-Y axis diagrams make it possible to display and examine competitor profiles, customer segmentation, and sales trends.

9. MindManager

No matter where you work, or what your problem-solving role looks like, MindManager is a problem solving software that will make your team more productive in figuring out why a process, plan, or project isn’t working the way it should.

Once you know why an obstruction, shortfall, or difficulty exists, you can use MindManager’s wide range of brainstorming and problem mapping diagrams to:

Find the most promising way to correct the situation
Activate your chosen solution, and
Conduct regular checks to make sure your repair work is sustainable

MindManager is the ultimate problem solving software.

Not only is it versatile enough to use as your go-to system for puzzling out all types of workplace problems, MindManager’s built-in forecasting tools, timeline charts, and warning indicators let you plan, implement, and monitor your solutions.

By allowing your group to work together more effectively to break down problems, uncover solutions, and rebuild processes and workflows, MindManager’s versatile collection of problem solving tools will help make everyone on your team a more efficient problem solver.

Download a free trial today to get started!

Ready to take the next step?

MindManager helps boost collaboration and productivity among remote and hybrid teams to achieve better results, faster.

Why choose MindManager?

MindManager® helps individuals, teams, and enterprises bring greater clarity and structure to plans, projects, and processes. It provides visual productivity tools and mind mapping software to help take you and your organization to where you want to be.

Explore MindManager

List of Top 13 Math Software to Solve Math Problem Efficiently

Solving math problems has often been stressful for students, engineers, and teachers. However, there are few math software that helps solve and explain complex mathematical equations accurately and efficiently.

There are dozens of Math problem solving programs available online with different specializations and problem-solving abilities. This article will provide you with a list of the top 13 math software that solves math queries efficiently.

Table of Contents

Best Math Software for Teachers, Students, and Engineers

Microsoft math solver, khan academy.

We have compiled some of the best math problem solving websites and software for you.

Best Math Software for Students

Students prefer online math software that not only provides accurate answers but also includes step by step guide to the answer. Here are our top choices for math software online .

$Microsoft Math Solver$

Microsoft Math Solver is simple yet powerful math problem solving application available for free on the Microsoft Store. It can be used by students of all levels, from elementary to college.

Microsoft Math Solver Features

Complex Graphing Calculator 
Step-by-step guide builder
Practice question sets
Multiple Languages including Hindi
Powerful scanning and solving
Sketch Calculator

Microsoft Mathematics Pricing: Microsoft Math Solver is a free software for mathematics.

Microsoft Math Solver Compatibility: Users can download and install it in Windows 8 and above. Besides, you can also use the math software online through Edge browser.

Suggested Read: Fun and Educational Best Software for Kids between Age 4-15+

GeoGebra is an open-source software for math calculation, popular among teachers and students due to its interactive learning feature.

The platform supports various mathematical concepts such as geometry, algebra, and calculus and provides different module for each function. It could also be accessed directly via web for online math problem solving.

GeoGebra Features

Create interactive geometric constructions
Quick Graphing Calculator
Interactive learning sessions
CAS and 3D Calculator
Collaborative Whiteboard
Perform statistical analyses
Data Visualization in dynamic graphs

GeoGebra Pricing: GeoGebra is an open-source math software available for free.

GeoGebra Compatibility: Available for Windows, macOS, Linux, Chromebook, and Linux. GeoGebra mobile apps for iOS and Android devices.

Mathway is an online math problem-solving software that offers step by step guide on how to solve a particular math problem. You cannot only find the answer to a specific problem but also determine the way of solving the question.

Mathway Features:

Method Selection
Precalculus problem solver
Graphical representation
Powerful statistical calculation

Mathway Pricing: It is a completely free online math problem solver for both students and teachers.

Mathway Compatibility: It is web-based software and can be used from any device through the web browser.

Suggested Read: Trending Learning Apps for Kids – Best Education Apps for Growing Kids

Photomath is one of the best math problem-solving software for parents, teachers, and students. It’s extremely simple user interface and easy navigation help users to quickly solve any math queries.

Besides students can also use the camera of their mobile device to click and scan a particular math problem. It provides step by step guide to solve it.

Photomath Features:

Point and Click Camera Calculator
Instant scan and Solve Math Problems
Focused process explanations
Personalized Visual Aids
Shared core-alignment
Deep solution extractor

Photomath Pricing: Photomath is a free math solver app available for iOS and Android devices. The premium Photomath Plus plan starts at Rs 387.20/ month with advanced features.

Photomath Compatibility: It is compatible with all Android and iOS devices.

Best Math Software for Teachers

Some math software is designed to help teachers by giving step-by-step solutions to high school or college mathematics problems. These are some of the best online math problem-solving websites that help teachers and professors.

Khan Academy is an ed-tech platform that provides multiple tools to teachers including a large database for math problem solving. It is designed to help teachers with planning and delivering math lessons, as well as assessing student progress.

Khan Academy Features:

Lesson builder
Progress tracker
Huge Resource Pool 
Grade-wise problem bifurcation

Khan Academy App Pricing: Khan Academy is a nonprofit Ed-tech platform. Anyone can study or contribute to the platform for free.

Khan Academy App Compatibility: Khan Academy app is available for both Android and iOS devices. Users can also log in through web browsers.

Suggested Read: Top Online Student Database Management System

QuickMath is another extremely powerful math software on this list specially designed for teachers and students. It allows users to quickly find answers to complicated math problems within a few steps. It also provides multiple formats making it easy for teachers to input algebraic and polynomial expressions.

Quickmath Features:

Inbuilt Advanced Solvers
Example based structuring
Automated Correction
Graphing, equation, and inequalities

QuickMath Pricing: QuickMath is a completely free online math problem solver.

QuickMmath Compatibility: QuickMath is available on both Apple Store and Play store for smartphones. Besides, it could also be used through the web.

Cymath is another powerful math problem-solving software for teachers. It not only provides a step-by-step solution to any problem but also explains every step for logical understanding of a Math concept.

Cymath Features:

Powerful Search feature
Online Equation Solver
Graphing Tools
Wide Range of Mathematical Functions
Reference material learning

Cymath Pricing: Cymath offers a free basic plan with limited features. The premium plan starts at around Rs 400/month with advanced features.

Cymath Compatibility: Cymath is an online math problem-solving website that can be accessed through a browser. It is also available for both Android and iOS devices.

Suggested Read: What is the Purpose of Student Information Systems? Evaluating Best Examples

Open Source and Free Math Software

While academic mathematics is simple, engineering and research level maths are complex. Due to these reasons, engineers, scientists and researchers need open source and free math problem-solving software. Here are three top open source and free software for math problems.

$Scilab math software$

Scilab is a free and open-source math problem-solving software for numerical computation. It provides an interactive environment to perform matrix operations, plot functions, and write algorithms.

Moreover, this free Math software also offers various toolboxes for specific purposes such as statistics, optimization, and signal processing.

Scilab Free Math Software Features:

High-level language for technical computation
Numerical analysis with a huge library of mathematical functions
Interface with C/C++, Fortran, Java, Python, and more
2D & 3D graphical representations of data
Textual and visual programming interface

Scilab Pricing: Scilab is opens source and free math software for engineers and researchers.

Compatibility: Scilab is compatible for Windows, macOS and Linux operating system.

GAP is an open-source system for computational discrete algebra with particular emphasis on computational group theory. GAP has powerful programming language including a library of thousands of functions implementing algebraic algorithms written in the GAP language.

GAP Features:

The inbuilt data type for major algebraic objects
Automated method selection
Pascal-like structure control
Automate garbage and memory management
Profiling and debugging facilities

GAP Pricing: GAP is completely free and open-source math software. Anyone can download and modify the application for non-commercial use.

GAP Free Math Software Compatibility: GAP could be installed in Linux, UNIX, or macOS.

Suggested Read: Best Learning Management Systems (LMS)

Gretl is a free and open-source cross-platform math and statistical package for econometric analysis. Gretl supports numerous linear and nonlinear statistical models, including OLS, 2SLS, GARCH, and so on.

Gretl Free Math Software Features:

MPI Parallelization 
Cross-platform interoperability
Machine Learning Support
Powerful Integrated Scripting Language
Latex File Output Model
Mixed Time Series Frequency report

Gretl Pricing: Gretl is distributed under GNU General public license and can be modified for personal use only.

Gretl Compatibility: Gretl could be installed and modified in Linux, MacOS and Windows.

Math Software for Engineers and Researchers

As an engineer or researcher, you need math software that helps solve complex and unstructured mathematics problems. Here are some of the powerful math problem-solving software for engineers and researchers.

SageMath is a free math software that combines the power of many existing open-source packages into a common Python-based interface. SageMath could also be used online and provides parallel computing capabilities making it an excellent choice for professional mathematicians and engineers.

SageMath Features:

Embedded graphics builder 
A wide range of built-in mathematical functions and libraries
Interfaces to more than 100 open-source packages
Advanced math like cryptography, group theory, commutative algebra, combinatorics, etc
Support for parallel computing with MPI
Multivariate and Univariate Polynomial

SageMath Pricing: SageMath is an open source and free math software program and can be downloaded from the SageMath website.

SageMath Compatibility: SageMath runs on Windows, macOS, Linux and could also be used on cloud.

Suggested Read: Free Online Courses to Enhance Your Skills for Career Success

GNUPlot is a mathematical graphing utility that produces high-quality 2D and 3D plots for complex mathematical equations. It offers a wide range of features for producing high-quality plots, including support for various types of data. It allows engineers and scientists to visualize data and mathematical functions interactively.

GNUPlot Features:

2D & 3D plotting
Interactive Data visualization
Direct file output ‘
Web display with mouse support
Non-interactive support including web scripting

GNUPlot Pricing: GNUPlot is a copyrighted but free-to-use graphing and math solving program.

GNUPlot Compatibility: GNUPlot runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Maxima is a computer algebra system that enables engineers and scientists to solve complex mathematical problems. It offers a wide range of features for solving mathematical equations like manipulation of numeric and symbolic expressions. Maxima also offers a powerful scripting language that allows users to automate their workflows.

Maxima Features:

Symbolic integration 
ODE solver 
3D plotting 
 High precision numerical results

Maxima Pricing: Maxima is free open-source software released under the GNU General Public License.

Maxima Compatibility: Maxima runs on Windows, Linux, and Macintosh. Besides, its could also be installed on RPM and Debian based systems.

Suggested Read: Best Free and Paid eLearning Authoring Tools

In conclusion, there are many excellent math problem-solving software programs available for students, teachers, engineers, and researchers. Each program has its own unique features that make it well suited for specific types of mathematical problems.

Choose the program that best suits your needs and budget, and you’ll be on your way to solving even the most complex mathematical equations.

FAQs on Math Problem Solver Tool

Which software is best for mathematics?

Some popular choices among students, teachers and engineers for Math software include SageMath, GNUPlot, and Microsoft Math Solver.

What is the best free Math software?

Mathway, Microsoft Math Solver, and QuickMath are widely popular free math software among students and teachers.

What is the best Math software for PC?

Some popular choices for Math problem solvers for PC include Microsoft Math Solver, PhotoMath, and MathWay.

What is the best Math software for Mac?

Most of the open-source Math software are available for MacOS. GNUPlot, Maxima, and Gretl are some of the best math software for Mac.

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Best Apps for Problem Solving: Top Picks for Effective Solutions

In today’s fast-paced and technology-driven world, problem-solving skills are becoming increasingly crucial for personal and professional success. It is important to recognize that problem-solving involves more than just finding answers to a problem; it’s about understanding the problem, identifying potential solutions, and making informed decisions. In this regard, problem-solving apps have the potential to drastically improve one’s abilities in a variety of areas, as well as provide educational benefits.

These apps come in many forms, addressing everything from math and science problems to enhancing attention and concentration. They offer accessibility and support for users seeking to bolster their problem-solving capabilities. In addition to educational applications, many of these apps are also tailored to address challenges in industries like business and mental health or even to provide career guidance.

Key Takeaways

Problem-solving apps cover a wide range of topics and can improve both personal and professional success.
Educational benefits are a significant aspect of these apps, as they deal with various subjects such as math, science, and concentration.
Apps that provide support for problem-solving extend beyond education, addressing challenges in business, mental health, and career guidance.

Recognizing Problem-Solving Apps

Today’s technology landscape is filled with mobile apps that aim to address various challenges we face daily. Recognizing essential problem-solving apps for iOS and Android devices can significantly improve our efficiency and simplify our lives.

Lumosity : This app is designed to improve mental skills with engaging activities that target memory, flexibility, information processing speed, and concentration levels. Lumosity is perfectly suitable for individuals looking to enhance their problem-solving capabilities.
Braingle : Braingle stands out for its focus on mental sharpness and reasoning through riddles and visual illusions. Compared to other apps, Braingle offers a unique approach to problem-solving, instead of relying on memory and reaction-based tasks.

Android Apps

Educurious : This website offers supplemental apps that aim to turn students into “developing experts” by connecting them with real-world mentors and providing problem-based learning activities.
Photomath : An app that simplifies mathematical problem-solving, Photomath allows users to scan a math problem with their device’s camera and receive instant solutions, explanations, and step-by-step instructions on how to solve it.

By incorporating these problem-solving apps into daily routines, users can enhance their mental abilities and find solutions to everyday challenges more effectively. Focusing on the right technology and investing time in useful software will undoubtedly improve one’s overall problem-solving skills.

Educational Benefits of Problem-Solving Apps

Boosting learning skills.

Problem-solving apps provide a variety of educational benefits to users, aiding in the development of crucial learning skills. These apps target different aspects of learning, such as memory, reading, writing, and listening, by presenting engaging challenges and activities. As users navigate through these tasks, they gain valuable insights and ideas that contribute to their overall understanding of an array of subjects.

Incorporating elements such as Lumosity with a personalized approach to learning can offer tailored activities to improve memory, attention, speed, and problem-solving skills. This adaptability allows users to progress at their own pace while receiving appropriate guidance and support.

Enhancing Critical Thinking

Problem-solving apps also play a vital role in enhancing critical thinking abilities. By offering various challenges and exercises, these apps motivate users to employ creative thinking, logical reasoning, and decision-making skills. Through continuous practice and application, the users develop a deeper understanding of concepts and improve their ability to analyze and evaluate scenarios.

Moreover, apps like Educurious , which connects students with real-world mentors and incorporates the Common Core aligned curriculum, help students build their critical thinking abilities and problem-based learning skills in line with the 21st-century technology demands.

In conclusion, problem-solving apps offer numerous educational benefits, from boosting learning skills to enhancing critical thinking. As users engage with these apps, they become more confident in their learning abilities, paving the way for higher academic achievement and lifelong learning.

Applications in Math and Science

In this digital age, there are numerous apps and websites available to help students develop problem-solving skills in math and science. These resources provide interactive, engaging, and adaptive platforms to enhance their educational experience.

Apps for Math Problems

From basic calculations to more complex topics like algebra, calculus, and word problems, math apps offer an excellent way to empower students with the tools they need for success.

One such resource is Mathway , which caters to a wide range of mathematical topics. Mathway enables students to input math problems, offering step-by-step solutions and explanations to further their understanding. The app even has a graphing feature for visual learners.

Another engaging resource is Moose Math , a free app that focuses on math games. These games assist younger students in refining their math skills, such as counting, addition, and subtraction, through points earned for completing challenges.

Applications for Science Tasks

When it comes to science, students need a comprehensive understanding of various concepts across physics, chemistry, and biology. Several apps can help with this intricate learning process.

For common core science concepts, Brilliant offers hands-on, interactive lessons to build quantitative skills. This platform covers core topics like algebra functions, quadratics, and even computer science concepts. Brilliant is designed to help students dive deep into problem-solving by breaking down complex topics and providing in-depth examples.

To assist students with their science homework, websites like Educators Technology can offer a selection of math problem solver apps. These apps not only tackle math problems but also provide additional reinforcement for understanding scientific concepts.

In conclusion, utilizing these various apps and online tools can significantly improve students’ problem-solving abilities in both math and science domains, paving the way for academic success.

Enhancing Attention and Concentration

A critical aspect of improving problem-solving skills involves enhancing one’s attention and concentration. Numerous apps are designed to target these cognitive abilities, allowing individuals to perform tasks efficiently and manage their time effectively.

One popular app that aims to maximize attention span is Lumosity . Developed by a team of game designers and scientists, Lumosity offers a range of interactive games and training exercises. These games are specifically tailored to improve memory, processing speed, attention span, and overall cognitive ability. By engaging in these activities regularly, users can strengthen their focus and address their weaknesses.

In addition to Lumosity, other apps are well-regarded for their positive influence on attention and concentration. For instance, Calm Sage lists several brain training apps to help improve memory and cognitive function. These apps provide fun, challenging exercises that test users’ problem-solving skills and logical thinking abilities while also identifying areas of improvement. Engaging in these activities can foster perseverance, allowing individuals to tackle tasks with greater determination and success.

To ensure that users can effectively manage their time, it is essential to incorporate strategies that promote enhanced attention and concentration. By utilizing apps like Lumosity and those mentioned on Calm Sage, individuals can train their brains to focus on tasks more effectively and allocate their time more efficiently. Ultimately, these tools can lead to meaningful improvements in one’s ability to approach complex problem-solving scenarios with confidence and clarity.

Support and Help within Apps

When it comes to problem-solving apps, efficient support and help features are crucial for users to navigate through the platform and find the solutions they need. A good app will provide diverse support mechanisms, whether it’s tutorials for first-time users, FAQs to answer common questions, or customer service to address specific concerns.

In-app purchases often play a significant part in enhancing app experience. They might offer advanced features or additional resources, allowing users to unlock their full potential when solving problems. However, it’s essential for the app developers to offer a clear and transparent payment system, helping users to make informed decisions on whether the additional content is worth the investment.

Problem-solving apps rely on user reviews and feedback to constantly improve their features and functionalities. Therefore, it’s essential to have an efficient way for users to communicate their experiences, suggestions, and issues. Developers should ensure that they actively monitor feedback and provide prompt responses to users who might need assistance with the app.

When it comes to navigating through an app, a well-designed interface and smooth user experience will keep users engaged and motivated to solve problems. This includes logical menu structures, consistent design elements, and clear labeling for different sections or features. Visual aids, such as color-coding or iconography, can further help users find their way around the app, streamlining the overall problem-solving process.

By addressing these aspects, problem-solving apps can create a holistic experience with clear solutions and support mechanisms in place. When users feel empowered to access the help they need, it enables them to tackle challenges effectively, enhancing their overall problem-solving experience.

Problem-Solving Apps for Business

Applications for business challenges.

In today’s fast-paced business environment, companies face various challenges, such as improving customer service, addressing operational inefficiencies, and managing resources effectively. With the help of innovative mobile apps, businesses can tackle these issues and find effective solutions.

Lumosity is a prime example of a problem-solving app designed to improve mental skills. By enhancing memory, flexibility, and information processing speed, this web app can indirectly contribute to the development of employees’ problem-solving capabilities.

Mobile applications are becoming increasingly useful in improving customer services by providing quicker query resolution and 24/7 support. AI-based chatbots, often embedded in mobile apps, can help businesses respond to customer queries and questions more efficiently, resulting in better customer satisfaction.

In addressing business operations , many organizations turn to Microsoft Power Apps to identify and solve problems. Power Apps allow developing custom applications tailored to specific business needs without requiring extensive coding experience. By streamlining processes and automating manual tasks, these apps can significantly impact operational efficiency.

Furthermore, numerous apps on the market solve everyday problems faced by both businesses and individuals. For example, Google Play offers 2.56 million mobile apps, while the App Store provides access to 1.85 million apps. Among these vast selections, businesses can surely find applications that cater to their specific requirements, from project management to financial planning.

In summary, as businesses traverse the ever-evolving landscape of challenges, adopting problem-solving applications can undoubtedly provide valuable assistance in finding the most effective and efficient solutions along their path to success.

Mental Health Support through Apps

In today’s fast-paced world, finding support and solutions for mental health issues is crucial. Numerous apps have been developed to help individuals cope with and manage their anxiety and depression. These digital tools offer a variety of approaches to maintaining mental well-being, from cognitive training exercises to resources for professional guidance.

Apps for Anxiety

Anxiety can manifest in different ways, but common symptoms include constant worrying, restlessness, and even physical symptoms like rapid heartbeat or shortness of breath. The following apps aim to provide support and techniques for managing anxiety:

Headspace : This popular meditation app teaches mindfulness techniques, which have been found effective in managing anxiety and reducing instances of negative, repetitive thinking.
MindShift : Designed specifically for anxiety, MindShift provides resources and tools to help users develop healthy coping strategies and face their fears. This app embraces Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) principles, which are widely considered as an effective approach to dealing with anxiety disorders.

Apps for Depression

Depression can be a debilitating condition resulting in persistent sadness, loss of interest in daily activities, and even physical symptoms like lack of energy or changes in appetite. The following apps offer support and solutions for those experiencing depression:

Lumosity : This brain-training app focuses on cognitive exercises that stimulate different areas of the brain and encourage users to develop healthy cognitive habits. By improving memory, attention, and problem-solving skills, Lumosity can help individuals coping with depression maintain their mental abilities and gain a stronger sense of control.
Elevate : Like Lumosity, Elevate is a cognitive training app aimed at improving focus, memory, and comprehension through engaging games and activities. Regular use of the app can lead to better mental clarity, which may help alleviate some depressive symptoms.
BetterHelp : This platform connects users with licensed therapists, offering a convenient way to access professional mental health support. BetterHelp provides therapy sessions through phone, video, or messaging, making it easier for those experiencing depression to receive the guidance they need.

Using apps for mental health support can be an effective and accessible way to manage anxiety and depression. It is important, however, to remember that these apps are not a substitute for professional help but can serve as valuable supplementary tools in one’s mental health journey.

Popular Puzzle and Brain Games

Memory-boosting puzzle games.

A variety of memory-boosting puzzle games are available for those who wish to sharpen their cognitive skills. These games are designed to challenge the brain and improve memory, logic, and problem-solving abilities. Some popular memory-boosting puzzle games include:

Lumosity : This app offers over 40 puzzles and games that test your brain and help train memory, logic, and math skills for a well-rounded mind workout. It features specific challenges for attention, flexibility, problem solving, language, math, speed, memory, and more ( source ).
Grindstone : A strategy puzzle game where players plan each move carefully to complete levels efficiently, thus encouraging the development of critical thinking and planning skills ( source ).
Monument Valley : This beautiful and captivating game requires players to manipulate the environment to progress through an M.C. Escher-inspired world, enhancing spatial reasoning and creativity.

The New York Times Crossword

The New York Times Crossword is a classic app that has stood the test of time, providing avid fans with daily crossword puzzles to stimulate their brains and expand their vocabularies. The puzzles range in difficulty, offering varying levels of challenge for both new and experienced solvers. The app is easily accessible on both Android and iOS devices, enabling players to indulge in a moment of problem-solving fun anytime and anywhere.

By engaging in these popular puzzle and brain games, players can keep their minds sharp and refine their problem-solving skills. These activities not only provide a fun and engaging form of entertainment but also promote cognitive growth and development.

Career Guidance through Problem-Solving Apps

In today’s competitive job market, individuals seeking career success must continually hone their problem-solving skills. By utilizing problem-solving apps, they can sharpen their cognitive abilities, find solutions to challenges, and stay on the right path to achievement. In this section, we will discuss some of the best apps that are designed to help improve problem-solving skills.

Braingle is a unique app that pushes the limits of mental sharpness through the use of riddles and visual illusions. By presenting different types of puzzles, Braingle encourages users to strengthen their reasoning and analytical skills, which could be beneficial in various aspects of career growth.

Another outstanding app is Lumosity , specifically designed to enhance cognitive function. It offers various activities that focus on memory, flexibility, information processing speed, and concentration. Incorporating Lumosity into one’s routine can ultimately lead to better problem-solving capabilities necessary for career advancement.

The third app, Elevate , is an award-winning brain training program offering a wide array of exercises and games. These activities are aimed at improving cognitive abilities critical for effective problem-solving. With a progress tracking feature, users can monitor their improvement over time and see how they are progressing in their problem-solving skills.

In addition to these apps, individuals must also practice problem-solving strategies in the workplace. Asana recommends a four-step approach, starting with identifying the problem, gathering information, formulating a plan, and executing the solution. Following this process can efficiently solve issues faced in a professional environment.

By using these problem-solving apps and adopting a methodical approach to tackling career challenges, individuals can pave the way for continuous growth and achievement. It is vital to remember that enhancing one’s problem-solving skills is a journey, requiring dedication and persistent effort.

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Leanne Armstrong

May 17, 2021

9 Essential Problem Solving Tools: The Ultimate Guide

Problem solving studies have suggested that the average business professional spends 3 hours every week solving work-related problems!

Problem solving may unfold differently depending on the industry, or even the department you work in. But most of us will agree that before you can fix any issue, you need to be clear on what it is, why it’s happening, and what your ideal long-term solution will achieve.

Understanding both the nature and the cause of a problem is the only way to figure out which actions will help you resolve it.

And given that most problem-solving processes are part inspiration, part perspiration, you’ll be more successful, more often, if you can reach for a problem solving tool that facilitates collaboration, encourages creative thinking, and makes it easier to implement the fix you devise.

We’ve put together this roundup of versatile problem solving tools and software to help you and your team map out and repair workplace issues as efficiently as possible. The problem solving tools include three unique categories: problem solving diagrams, problem solving mind maps, and problem solving software solutions. They include:

Fishbone diagrams
Strategy maps
Mental maps
Concept maps
Layered process audit software
Charting software
MindManager

Let’s get started!

[Free Webinar] Lean Six Sigma: What it is and why you’ll want to use it on your next project

Problem solving diagrams

Mapping your way out of a problem is the simplest way to see where you are, and where you need to end up.

Not only do visual problem maps let you plot the most efficient route from Point A (dysfunctional situation) to Point B (flawless process), problem mapping diagrams make it easier to see:

The root cause of a dilemma
Steps, resources, and personnel associated with each possible solution
The least time-consuming, most cost-effective options

A visual problem solving process help to solidify understanding and are a great way for you and your team to transform abstract ideas into a practical, reconstructive plan.

Here are three examples of common problem mapping diagrams you can try with your team.

1. Fishbone diagrams

Fishbone diagrams are a common problem solving tool so-named because, once complete, they resemble the skeleton of a fish.

With the possible root causes of an issue (the ribs) branching off from either side of a spine line attached to the head (the problem), dynamic fishbone diagrams let you:

Lay out a related set of possible reasons for an existing problem
Investigate each possibility by breaking it out into sub-causes
See how contributing factors relate to one another

Fishbone diagrams are also known as cause and effect or Ishikawa diagrams.

2. Flowcharts

A flowchart is an easy-to-understand diagram with a variety of applications. But you can use it to outline and examine how the steps of a flawed process connect. Made up of a few simple symbols linked with arrows indicating workflow direction, flowcharts clearly illustrate what happens at each stage of a process – and how each event impacts other events and decisions.

3. Strategy maps

Frequently used as a strategic planning tool , strategy maps also work well as problem mapping diagrams. Based on a hierarchal system, thoughts and ideas can be arranged on a single page to flesh out a potential resolution. Once you’ve got a few tactics you feel are worth exploring as possible ways to overcome a challenge, a strategy map will help you establish the best route to your problem-solving goal.

9 Essential Problem Solving Tools: The Ultimate Guide

Problem solving mind maps

By starting with a single notion that branches out into greater detail, problem solving mind maps make it easy to:

Explain unfamiliar problems or processes in less time
Share and elaborate on novel ideas
Achieve better group comprehension that can lead to more effective solutions

4. Mental maps

A mental map helps you get your thoughts about what might be causing a workplace issue out of your head and onto a shared digital space. Because mental maps mirror the way our brains take in and analyze new information, using them to describe your theories visually will help you and your team work through and test those thought models.

5. Idea maps

6. Concept maps

Concept maps are one of the best ways to shape your thoughts around a potential solution because they let you create interlinked, visual representations of intricate concepts. By laying out your suggested problem-solving process digitally – and using lines to form and define relationship connections – your group will be able to see how each piece of the solution puzzle connects with another.

Problem solving software solutions

Here are three problem-solving software examples.

7. Layered process audit software

8. Charting software

9. MindManager

Once you know why an obstruction, shortfall, or difficulty exists, you can use MindManager’s wide range of brainstorming and problem mapping diagrams to:

Find the most promising way to correct the situation
Activate your chosen solution, and
Conduct regular checks to make sure your repair work is sustainable

MindManager is the ultimate problem solving software .

Lean Six Sigma is one powerful problem solving and efficiency auditing technique that can be accomplished using MindManager. Watch this webinar for a full overview of what Lean Six Sigma is, and how MindManager fits into the process.

Find more great content here !

5 steps to problem solving proficiency
9 problem solving tools you should be using with your team

Armstrong, L. (2021). 9 Essential Problem Solving Tools: The Ultimate Guide. Available at: https://blog.mindmanager.com/blog/2020/07/202007problem-solving-tools/ [Accessed: 11th May 2021].

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The Ultimate Guide to Problem Solving Tools

Ossian Muscad
March 10, 2022
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Last Updated on February 29, 2024 by Ossian Muscad

Every business, regardless of its industry, encounters the inevitable challenge of problem-solving. This critical aspect of business operations is often multifaceted, whether it’s in the process of anticipating potential obstacles, addressing immediate issues at hand, or refining systems for improved efficiency. The intricate and often time-intensive nature of solving these problems demands not only a systematic approach but also the right set of tools to navigate the complexities effectively.

Problem-solving tools are, therefore, not just useful but essential for any business professional. This guide delves into the intricacies of these tools, equipping you with the necessary understanding and skills to employ them within your organizational context. From the nuances of selecting the appropriate tool for a specific challenge to the strategic implementation for maximum impact, we offer a comprehensive exploration into the world of problem-solving tools designed to streamline and enhance your decision-making processes.

What are Problem Solving Tools?

Problem-solving tools are structured methodologies or frameworks designed to aid individuals and organizations in navigating the complexities of various challenges. They offer a systematic way to deconstruct and comprehend issues, thereby empowering you to tackle each component with clarity and strategic insight. These tools serve as a kind of compass in the intricate maze of decision-making, providing a step-by-step guide to dissect problems and identify their underlying causes.

By enabling focused brainstorming, these methodologies help in the generation and assessment of potential resolutions, ensuring that the execution of solutions is not only strategic but also monitored for effectiveness. Diverse in their application, problem-solving tools adapt to a range of scenarios, each with its distinct intricacies and nuances. They encourage a proactive approach to conflict resolution, fostering a mindset geared towards continual improvement and preemptive action.

Utilizing visual aids like charts or diagrams, these tools can chart the most efficient path from a problem-ridden present to a solution-oriented future, mapping out the journey from dysfunction to functional success in a clear and accessible manner.

Common Problem Solving Tools and Diagrams

A visual problem-solving process will help reinforce your understanding of the issue and is an excellent way for you and your team to convert abstract ideas into an actual, reconstructive plan. With that said, here are six examples of common problem-mapping diagrams that you can try:

Fishbone Diagram

The Fishbone Diagram , also known as the Cause-and-effect Diagram or the Ishikawa diagram , is a powerful problem-solving tool that visually maps out the potential causes of an issue. Its distinctive shape resembles the skeleton of a fish, where the “head” represents the problem and the “bones” branching out from the “spine” symbolize different categories of root causes.

Each of these categories, such as Methods, Equipment, People, and Materials, is probed to identify possible contributing factors to the problem at hand. The simplicity and effectiveness of the Ishikawa diagram lie in its ability to facilitate comprehensive brainstorming sessions based on the principle of cause and effect.

With its widespread popularity, teams across industries value this type of diagram for its ease of use and its competence in stimulating the identification and analysis of various potential causes for a problem. Fishbone diagrams are versatile tools that can be applied in numerous situations. Here’s a comprehensive list detailing common uses:

Root Cause Analysis in Manufacturing : Identifying the root causes of defects or product quality issues, often drilling down to factors in the production process.
Service Industry Problem-Solving : Pinpointing causes of customer complaints or service bottlenecks, leading to more effective service delivery.
Healthcare Error Analysis : Analyzing medical errors or healthcare process inefficiencies, aiming to improve patient care and safety.
Product Development : Exploring potential issues in new product design and development phases, ensuring all possible flaws are addressed.
Business Process Improvement : Examining processes within a business to identify inefficiencies or recurrent problems, which can then be systematically eliminated.
Marketing Analysis : Understanding complex challenges within marketing campaigns, such as low engagement rates or poor customer feedback.
Human Resources Issues : Addressing issues relating to staff, such as absenteeism, low morale, or high turnover, with an aim to enhance employee satisfaction and retention.

Flowcharts are among the most prevalent and straightforward problem-solving tools utilized across various industries due to their visual representation of processes or systems. They consist of shapes and arrows that designate sequential steps, illustrating the flow from one stage to another. This visual mapping allows individuals and teams to follow a problem from initiation to resolution, providing a bird’s-eye view of the entire process.

The primary advantage of employing a flowchart lies in its capacity to lay out each step in a predictable manner, thereby enabling the observer to identify bottlenecks, redundancies, or inefficiencies within any step. By using flowcharts, you can dissect complex processes into manageable parts, ensuring a more precise understanding of how each component interacts with others.

This comprehensive perspective not only aids in pinpointing where the issues arise but also enhances the potential for optimizing different segments of the workflow to achieve a more efficient, streamlined process. Flowcharts are a universal tool used to break down complex processes and illustrate step-by-step sequences. Common uses for flowcharts that span across various disciplines include, but are not limited to:

Process Documentation : For capturing and communicating the steps involved in a process within an organization, ensuring consistency and clarity.
Troubleshooting Guides : A diagnostic tool to guide users through a series of decisions to resolve a problem or understand a complex scenario.
Operational Improvement : To identify inefficiencies or bottlenecks in operational processes and pinpoint areas for improvement or simplification.
Educational Tool : Utilized in teaching to explain complex topics in a visual, step-by-step manner that is easier for students to follow and understand.
Decision Making : Aids individuals and businesses by mapping out the possible routes and outcomes of a decision, making the decision-making process clearer and more informed.
Quality Management : Helps in ensuring compliance with quality standards by outlining the process flow and establishing critical control points.
System Design : In systems engineering, it represents the interactions and flow between various system components or subsystems.
Project Management : Project managers often use flowcharts to plan and monitor the stages of a project, ensuring that each phase transitions smoothly into the next.

Strategy Maps

Strategy Maps are a frequently used tool for strategic planning within companies, but they also hold significant value in problem-solving tasks. The essence of a strategy map is to illustrate the connections among various aspects of the organization, such as objectives, measures, initiatives, and activities. These diagrams provide a visual representation of how each component supports the overarching goals and serve as a guide to understanding which areas require attention in order to solve a problem. There are three main types of strategy maps:

Cause-and-effect maps : Demonstrating the relationships between different strategic objectives. Each objective is linked by arrows that show how one influences another, creating a network of cause-and-effect connections.
Objective Maps : Focused on detailing the primary objectives of the organization and outlining the necessary measures and initiatives to achieve each one.
Balanced Scorecard Maps : They correspond to the Balanced Scorecard framework and display the organization’s strategy balanced across four perspectives: Financial, Customer, Internal Processes, and Learning & Growth.

While each type of map has its specific applications and nuances, the underlying premise remains constant: to provide a comprehensive view of the strategic interdependencies within an organization. In doing so, strategy maps facilitate the identification of areas where resources can be optimized or where shifts in strategy may resolve existing problems.

Strategy Maps enable leaders and teams to align their efforts toward a common goal and to comprehend how changes in one segment of the business can ripple through and impact the organization as a whole. Strategy Maps are incredibly versatile and can be applied to a number of uses within an organization to enhance strategic understanding and alignment. Below is a detailed list of the common uses of Strategy Maps:

Vision and Strategy Communication : Strategy Maps articulate an organization’s vision and strategy across various levels, ensuring all employees understand how their roles contribute to the broader objectives.
Aligning Initiatives : They align projects and initiatives with strategic objectives, ensuring that each effort is coherent with the overall direction of the company.
Performance Analysis : These maps facilitate performance measurement against strategic goals, allowing companies to track progress and make informed adjustments.
Business Unit Synchronization : They offer a holistic view that aids in synchronizing efforts across different business units or departments, fostering an integrated approach to achieving strategic goals.
Strategic Discussion and Decision Making : Strategy Maps stimulate discussion among executives and managers, providing a framework for strategic decision-making and problem-solving.
Identifying and Closing Gaps : They help identify gaps in strategy execution and provide a structured way of developing initiatives to close those gaps.
Facilitating Strategy Review and Planning Sessions : Strategy Maps are used during strategy review meetings and planning sessions to reflect on strategic performance and plan for future periods.

The 5 Whys is a problem-solving method developed by Sakichi Toyoda and later used within Toyota Motor Corporation during its manufacturing process improvements. It is a simple yet effective technique used to uncover the root cause of a problem by asking “Why?” a minimum of five times or until the underlying issue is identified.

The process involves a team collaboratively pinpointing an issue and then questioning the cause of that issue iteratively. This exercise forces deeper inquiry beyond surface-level symptoms, leading to the discovery of the fundamental problem at hand. By addressing the root cause, organizations can implement substantive, long-term solutions rather than temporary fixes.

The 5 Whys technique is versatile and can be applied in various industries and scenarios, making it a staple in the toolbox of lean manufacturing, quality management, and process improvement. The 5 Whys technique has a multitude of applications across different fields and industries due to its simplicity and effectiveness in root cause analysis. Here is a comprehensive list detailing seven common uses of the 5 Whys:

Problem-Solving in Manufacturing : Applied to identify the root cause of defects or production issues, contributing to improved product quality and process optimization.
Safety Incident Analysis : Used to dissect the series of events leading to a safety incident, allowing organizations to implement measures that prevent future occurrences.
Healthcare Error Reduction : Helps in understanding the underlying causes of errors in medical procedures or patient care, aiming to enhance patient safety and care quality.
IT Troubleshooting : Assists in diagnosing the core issues in IT service disruptions or system failures, ensuring more reliable and efficient technological infrastructures.
Business Process Improvement : Employs the technique to delve into inefficiencies or bottlenecks in business operations, resulting in streamlined processes and reduced operational costs.
Customer Experience Enhancement : Identifies the fundamental reasons behind customer complaints or dissatisfaction, leading to better service and elevated customer satisfaction levels.
Environmental Sustainability : Applied to analyze the root causes of environmental impact within an operation, informing strategies for more sustainable business practices.

Pareto Charts

Pareto charts are statistical tools named after the Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, who is best known for the Pareto Principle. This principle, also known as the 80/20 rule, posits that for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. A Pareto Chart conveys this concept through a visual graph that combines both bar and line graphs.

The bars represent individual values in descending order from left to right and are typically related to frequency or cost. Next to these, a line graph indicates the cumulative total, enabling users to easily identify which factors contribute the most to the problem they are examining. Pareto Charts are especially useful in quality control and process improvement because they help stakeholders prioritize issues or defects in a process.

By concentrating efforts on the most significant problems, organizations can significantly improve their overall performance, often with considerably less effort than by treating all problems equally. Pareto Charts are widely recognized for their ability to visually represent and prioritize problems to focus improvement efforts. Here are seven common uses of Pareto Charts across various disciplines:

Quality Control in Manufacturing : Helps identify the most frequent defects or errors in the manufacturing process, allowing prioritization and allocation of resources to tackle the issues that will have the greatest impact on quality improvement.
Customer Feedback Analysis : By categorizing and ranking customer complaints or feedback, businesses can focus on resolving the problems that affect the largest number of customers or those that have the most severe impact on customer satisfaction.
Inventory Management : The use of Pareto Charts can highlight the small proportion of items that often constitute the bulk of an inventory’s value, enabling better stock optimization and cost savings.
Sales Analysis : Assists companies in determining their most profitable products or services, as well as their most valuable customers, thus guiding more effective sales and marketing strategies.
Health and Safety : Identifies the most common causes of accidents or health incidents in the workplace, leading to targeted interventions that can improve worker safety and reduce the risk of future incidents.
Operational Bottlenecks : Pinpoints the few critical bottlenecks in operational processes that cause the majority of delays or inefficiencies, allowing for focused process improvement efforts.
Financial Analysis : Enables businesses to target the most significant cost drivers or the areas where spending is greatest, promoting more strategic financial management and cost reduction measures.

Decision Trees

A decision tree is a flowchart-like structure that is used as a decision support tool, representing a series of decisions and their possible consequences, including chance event outcomes, resource costs, and utility. It’s a visual representation that maps out multiple decision paths and evaluates them based on various scenarios, which can be immensely beneficial in making informed choices in complex situations.

Decision trees feature branches that depict decision nodes and leaf nodes representing outcomes, allowing individuals or organizations to review all possible solutions and identify the best course of action before committing. This analytical tool is widely used across business, engineering, law, and medical fields due to its straightforward graphical approach, which promotes clarity in the decision-making process.

Decision Trees are versatile tools, and their application can be found in diverse areas. By exploring different scenarios and their potential outcomes, you can uncover hidden insights and make more informed decisions. Here are some common uses of Decision Trees:

Strategic Business Decisions : Enables businesses to visually map out various strategic choices and assess potential outcomes and risks, leading to well-informed decisions.
Project Management : Assists managers in anticipating potential project challenges and outcomes, allowing for proactive mitigation strategies and better allocation of resources.
Finance and Investment : Used by investors to evaluate different investment opportunities and scenarios, aiding in the risk assessment and decision-making process.
Operations Research : Helps determine optimal operational decisions based on various conditional and probabilistic scenarios, improves efficiency, and reduces costs.
Marketing Analysis : Allows marketers to understand customer behavior and segment markets, facilitating targeted marketing campaigns and customer relationship management.
Medical Diagnosis and Treatment Planning : Helps healthcare providers in assessing the probability of diseases based on symptoms and deciding on the best treatment plans.
Machine Learning and Data Mining : Provides algorithms that assist in classification and regression tasks, making predictions based on data patterns.

Objective Map

An objective map is a strategic tool utilized by companies to visualize their objectives and the connections between them. This graphical illustration aids in clarifying how various goals relate to one another and often reveals how addressing one objective can influence the achievement of others.

By mapping out objectives in a clear and structured way, an objective map enables team members and stakeholders to gain insight into the hierarchy and interdependencies of their collective goals. It’s particularly valuable when trying to solve complex problems within an organization, as it helps to pinpoint which objectives need to be prioritized and tackled in order to address and resolve specific challenges effectively.

This visual mapping can become a critical step in strategic planning, ensuring that efforts are directed toward the most impactful areas. Objective Maps are crucial in a multitude of organizational processes. Here are seven common uses:

Strategic Planning : Assists organizations in identifying their primary goals and exploring secondary objectives that support them. By understanding the impact and relationship between different aims, companies can better allocate resources to critical areas.
Performance Management : Helps translate organizational goals into employee performance metrics, ensuring individual objectives are aligned with the company’s vision and mission.
Process Improvement : Provides a framework to identify processes that are directly tied to strategic goals, which can be optimized for better efficiency and results.
Product Development : Clarifies the objectives surrounding a product’s features, market fit, and customer needs, making it a valuable tool in prioritizing development milestones.
Change Management : Aids in visualizing the objectives tied to organizational change, helping stakeholders see the bigger picture and the key goals that change initiatives support.
Resource Allocation : By clarifying which objectives are most critical, Objective Maps guide decision-makers in allocating budget, personnel, and other resources more effectively.
Risk Management : Facilitates the identification of goals that could be impacted by potential risks, allowing for a proactive approach to mitigating threats to the organization’s objectives.

Balanced Scorecard Map

A Balanced Scorecard Map is a strategic planning and management tool that provides a visual representation of an organization’s performance measures and objectives across different perspectives. It brings together financial, customer, internal, and growth-related goals in a coherent manner, articulating how the organization creates value.

By identifying key performance indicators (KPIs) and targets within these areas, the map serves as a guide to translate a company’s vision into actionable goals. It allows managers and teams to understand at a glance how various objectives tie into overall corporate strategy and how they contribute to resolving organizational issues.

With its clear, graphical design, a Balanced Scorecard Map can highlight specific areas that require attention to drive improvement and achieve strategic balance. Balanced Scorecard Maps are used widely across various industries to enhance strategic alignment and improve organizational performance. Here is a comprehensive list detailing their common uses:

Strategic Alignment & Execution : Aligns the day-to-day work that everyone is doing with strategy, making sure that projects, initiatives, and daily activities all move in the same direction as the organization’s strategic objectives.
Performance Measurement : Goes beyond financial metrics to include valuable KPIs concerning customers, internal processes, and learning and growth, thus providing a more ‘balanced’ view of organizational performance.
Communication of Strategy : Acts as a vehicle to communicate the organization’s strategy internally and externally clearly and concisely, ensuring that everyone understands the strategic priorities and how their roles impact them.
Linking Rewards to Performance Metrics : Ties performance management to KPIs and strategic goals, which can inform compensation and reward systems that motivate employees to support and achieve these goals.
Strategic Feedback & Learning : Provides a structured feedback system for monitoring, analyzing, and reviewing strategic performance and results, promoting continuous improvement and strategic learning within the organization.
Prioritization of Projects & Investments : Helps prioritize projects and investments based on how they align with and impact strategic objectives, ensuring that resources are allocated to the most strategically relevant initiatives.
Organizational Development & Change Management : Facilitates organizational growth and adaptation by linking change management initiatives to long-term strategic objectives, helping manage transformation and development in a strategic context.

No matter what type of problem you’re facing, there’s a diagram that can help you solve it. Therefore, by understanding the different types of diagrams and how to use them, you’ll need to prepare for any issue that comes your way.

How to Choose the Ideal Problem-Solving Tool?

Choosing the ideal problem-solving tool largely depends on the nature of the problem and its complexity. Here are some steps you can follow to select the most suitable tool:

Define the Problem: Before you choose a tool, you need to understand the problem clearly. What is the issue you’re trying to solve? What are its effects?
Identify the Nature of the Problem: Is the problem simple, complicated, or complex? Simple problems have predictable solutions, while complicated ones may require expert knowledge or detailed analysis. Complex problems involve many interconnected parts and are best approached by understanding those connections and their effects.
Consider the Level of Analysis Required: Some problems can be solved with a simple root cause analysis . In contrast, others may require more in-depth analysis, such as a SWOT or PESTEL analysis.
Identify the Resources Available: Some tools require specific resources or software. Ensure you have access to these resources before choosing a tool.
Consider Your Team’s Familiarity with the Tool: If your team is already familiar with a particular tool, it might be advantageous to use it. If not, you’ll need to consider whether there will be a learning curve and if sufficient time and resources are available for training.
Evaluate the Tool: Once you have chosen a tool, use it to solve the problem. Then, evaluate the effectiveness of the tool. Did it help solve the problem? Was it easy to use? Did it save time and resources?

The goal is not just to solve the problem but to learn from the process. This learning can be applied to future problem-solving efforts, continuously improving your approach.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q1: what differentiates a simple problem from a complex one in problem-solving.

Simple problems usually have a clear and predictable solution, whereas complex problems have many interconnected components that change dynamically and may require holistic and flexible approaches to solve. By understanding the nature of the problem, you can choose a suitable tool for effective problem-solving.

Q2: How frequently should I review and update the problem-solving tools used in my organization?

Review and update your problem-solving tools as needed when there is a significant change in the organization’s objectives or market conditions or when feedback or results indicate an improvement is warranted. Make sure your tools are aligned with your current strategy and goals to ensure their effectiveness.

Q3: Can one problem-solving tool be used for all types of problems?

Not typically. Problem-solving tools are varied and designed to address specific types of issues. It’s crucial to match the right tool to the problem to ensure an effective solution. At the same time, some tools may be adaptable and useful for multiple types of problems.

Q4: What should I do if a selected problem-solving tool does not yield the expected results?

If the tool isn’t working, it’s essential to re-evaluate the situation, possibly redefining the problem or choosing a different tool that may be better suited to the circumstances. That way, you can find a solution that is more likely to yield the expected results. If necessary, seek guidance or assistance from experts in the field to help identify a suitable tool and approach.

Q5: Is collaboration always beneficial when using problem-solving tools?

Collaborative problem-solving can foster diverse ideas and lead to innovative solutions. However, the situation and type of problem should guide the necessity and extent of collaboration. By understanding these factors, you can choose the most effective problem-solving approach and tool for your organization’s needs.

Q6: How important is it to be trained in multiple problem-solving tools?

Proficiency in various tools allows for flexibility and adaptability in tackling different problems. Continuous learning and training in multiple methodologies can significantly improve problem-solving effectiveness. Making sure your team is well-versed in various tools can also increase their confidence and competence in addressing complex issues. So, it’s beneficial to invest in training and development programs that expose individuals to a variety of problem-solving approaches and tools.

Streamline Problem-Solving Processes with DATAMYTE

DATAMYTE is a quality management platform with low-code capabilities. Our Digital Clipboard , in particular, is a low-code workflow automation software that features a workflow, checklist, and smart form builder. This tool lets you build and deploy custom solutions for problem-solving, quality control, data collection, and analysis without any programming knowledge.

DATAMYTE also lets you conduct layered process audits, a high-frequency evaluation of critical process steps, focusing on areas with the highest failure risk or non-compliance. Conducting LPA with DATAMYTE lets you effectively identify and correct potential defects before they become major quality issues.

With DATAMYTE , you have an all-in-one solution for efficient and effective problem-solving, quality management, and continuous improvement. Book a demo now to learn more.

The art of problem-solving necessitates a careful evaluation of the problem, consideration of the tools and resources available, and a sound understanding of your organization’s capabilities. Whether the problem at hand is simple, complicated, or complex, the key lies in matching the right problem-solving tool to the task.

Regular review and adaptation of tools, coupled with a readiness to embrace training and collaboration, bolsters the problem-solving process. Through an iterative and informed approach to problem-solving, it is possible to enhance decision-making, drive continuous improvement, and achieve strategic organizational goals.

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Business problem solving softwares – 4 examples of software solutions that allows to handle business problems

There is no denying the fact that software is an incredibly powerful tool that shapes the world we know. It doesn't just support business—it transforms it. Through custom software development, solutions can be crafted and tailored precisely to unique needs, far surpassing the capabilities of off-the-shelf products. However, the number of possibilities may lead to creating over-extensive solutions with several unnecessary functions.

Understanding the business problems you are trying to solve is every bit as vital as the tech employed to tackle them. The key lies in finding that golden equilibrium between the objectives of a project and the technology deployed.

An ideal development team marries tech expertise—think developers, QA, and tech leads—with the strategic prowess of business-focused roles like product owners or managers.

To achieve the product-problem fit, it is crucial to identify particular points of a process and evaluate which ones should and can be improved by business software solutions. Luckily, there are a number of methodologies that help to identify and design the problem-solving software for the core problem .

Delve into the list below to uncover four common business problems, possible to address through both bespoke and ready-made software solutions.

Business management software as a tool for managing operations in a scaling organization

The dynamic organization growth entails all sorts of challenges – from imbalanced culture (increasing number of employees), through inefficient business operation systems to overgrown organizational structure.

The truth is that an organization can grow as fast as its weakest link. At the early stage of the company’s life, it is super challenging to predict where business problems can occur. As we know, no two companies in the world are the same – thousands of processes and specific conditions affect the organization’s situation. Because of this, the usage of problem-solution software often requires remodelling of the company’s operations or structure to its particular conditioning.

Problem The rapidly growing number of clients in the accounting company followed significant scaling challenges in operational processes. The reason is that the cost of service per single client was significantly higher compared to online accounting services. Conducted in-depth process analysis revealed that the primary source of problems were an inefficient external communication system and highly time-consuming document processing procedures.

Solution Custom software development allowed to create business management software that precisely addressed each of the identified bottlenecks.

Integrated solution for quick scanning of high volume of documents, paired with OCR and automatic document classification and semi-automatic verification.
Back office application streamlining the process of document handling. Document workflow integrated with main accounting software, allowing to integrate both documents at the accounting office and uploaded by the customers.
Desktop application resembling dropbox – allowing upload of all accounting documents by customers, often eliminating the need to send physical documents.
Web application allowing customers to create invoices and have a live preview of their financial data and events or payments (including taxes) due in the given period of time.

Results Applying the created business management software solution resulted in a significant increase in overall company efficiency. The automated system of scanning and processing documentation decreased time needed to proceed invoice. From now on, the accountant was approving automatically processed documents, instead of manual implementation to the system. Automation and increased workflow decreased manual labor, which in turn reduced costs. The overall performance resulted in:

9x lower cost of processing a single document / invoice
300% increase in number of customers that can be handled by the same team of accountants
Introduction of non-accounting roles responsible for scanning and document handling

If you are interested in developing your own software, learn how to do it step by step with the software house:

Show me how

Team collaboration software – key to resolve business problems with inefficient information exchange

Exchange of information is one of the biggest challenges in fast-scaling company. Organization’s growth often translates into an increase in the number of employees. Each new person onboard is an additional set of skills, talents, and information. Depending on organizational structure, people work together in departments, project groups, etc. Because of the universal problem characteristic, individual company conditions don’t affect overall communication problem. That is why – in most cases, off-the-shelf collaboration software will pass the test.

Problem Most of the operational activities are grounded in the processes of gathering, proceeding, and exchanging information. Exchange of information is one of the most challenging and universal processes most of the companies have to face. To name a few issues related to storage, access, and knowledge flow:

Materials often scattered between departments, project groups, devices, etc.
Chaotic communication divided between emails, chats, calls, etc.
Lack of access to communication history for all the stakeholders.
Lack of unified systems to verify employee’s performance or work progress.

Solution Some of the SaaS product solutions can address each of the named problems:

Google Drive/Dropbox – cloud systems of data storage, make information easily shareable and accessible for all the company members, or chosen groups. Such solutions enable teams for online collaboration space to work on particular projects, including documents such as presentations or spreadsheets.
Slack – internal communication software. The app creates collaboration space for common work, communication, and file exchange. The whole chat, organized around channels – enables employees to communicate instantly and transparently. All the stakeholders have access to information without unnecessary mailbox overloading.
Asana – a solution designed to assign, manage task-oriented projects. The project collaboration software includes features such as creating roadmaps, task boards or structuring processes.
Dropbox – with over 72 offices in the world, thanks to Dropbox Expedia is able to collaborate on multiple projects in real-time. Find more in the video .
Slack – for Intuit, Slack became the number one tool to collaborate between teams, departments, and headquarters around the globe. App reached an uncomparable high satisfaction rate among the Intuit’s employees.
Asana – Helped Sony Music to increase creative production capacity by 4x and reduce campaign production time by 75%.

ERP software is a solution for excessive use of resources

Spending too many resources on processes that could be done with way smaller costs is where no company wants to be. Saving resources by improved efficiency or well-structured processes is what we aim for. By resources, we mean all the things involved in the process to achieve desired results. To name a few employee’s time, money and materials. Depending on industry, condition, department, and process – the problem is extremely specific, often unique for a particular organization. In this case, we have two software solutions – custom enterprise resource planning software or off-the-shelf ERP software. Let me introduce you to the story of one of our clients.

Problem Decathlon faced a problem with store safety audits. The foregoing execution of the procedure combined with a growing number of stores was time-consuming and dispersed. The reports were in a printable form; the audit proceeded with the use of paper documentation and excel spreadsheets. This form was generating vast paper use and required time to print and manage the physical documentation. What is more, the end results were scattered, which made it difficult to control the process from one place.

Solution A web application with built-in guidelines about the store safety audit. Thanks to the interactive interface, the use of paper, and related activities weren’t necessary anymore. Additionally, the ERP software is connected with a database, which enables to update the same safety standards or audit tasks simultaneously for all the stores. What is more, the app enables employees to send audit results, report accidents, and day-to-day changes about the particular store. It enables managers to control and maintain the same standards across all the stores and warehouses.

Results The new system reduced the time required to conduct a store audit by 40% and paper use by 95%, compared to the previous system. The app is being used in over 60 Decathlon stores and warehouses now. Real-time reporting system greatly improved safety and reaction times in case of emergency. Last but not least, the reporting system enabled managers to plan future improvements based on the built-in reporting tool supported by the user-friendly dashboard.

Use culture software to foster company’s values

If we could name one thing that outdates rarely and should remain unchanged along with the organization growth – hands down for values. The fact that culture is difficult to measure, keeping this aspect under control seems to be quite tricky. In a small organization, you can deal with this by maintaining old school human relations (1-1 conversation) or providing a comprehensive onboarding process. However, this approach is nearly impossible to scale along with the organization’s growth. Preservation of initial vision becomes more and more challenging with each new employee on board. This problem is especially visible in a fast-growing organization. Because fostering the culture is quite a specific process – it requires both universal technology and highly specific communication. The business solution software to these problems can be solved by both – simple off-the-shelf culture software and more comprehensive company culture software.

Problem Along with extreme organization growth (160% year to year), Airbnb faced difficulties in maintaining their culture. The growing number of new employees each month, entering with their own habits and culture, was bringing completely new DNA into the organization. Additionally, the dynamic environment made it difficult to proceed with the long-lasting, detailed onboarding process.

In Decathlon, dynamic growth and hundreds of physical locations may cause difficulties in maintaining high-standard company culture. Under such conditions, it is easy to lose inclusivity among employees. Despite comprehensive onboarding, it was challenging to foster the values and update employees on the company’s mission on a daily basis. Decathlon took a step ahead and decided to reach for custom software development with a solution that would deliver comprehensive information and the latest news about the company.

Solutions Airbnb CEO executes a “hands-on” strategy. One of the most significant elements is a weekly newsletter written by the CEO to every employee. In the letter, Brian Chesky covers all the most important events of a particular week, future plans, and all the additional thoughts. Each employee can reply to the email and discuss it with the CEO. This solution can be made with the use of any newsletter tool – such as MailChimp or Freshmail. In this video , you can find more about Chesky’s culture-building philosophy.

Decathlon designed an dedicated company culture software for maintaining employee’s inclusivity. The mobile app makes the business software solution easily accessible to all the employees – also those working in the stores. The app includes articles, the latest news, and the company’s plans. The main advantage of this culture software over emailing approaches is gathering all the company’s internal information in one place. Even a new employee can easily reach the full knowledge base. Apart from sharing the information, employees have access to tools and valuable content to enrich their knowledge. In addition, the management board receives exact information about published content performance which helps to produce better quality content in the future.

Result It is hard to evaluate the culture in numbers. However, it is worth to mention that AirBnB can boast of one of the strongest organization’s culture in the world. Decathlon’s culture reflects in very high ratings on job portals . The culture software is actively used by employees, noting over 5000 launches each month with over 500+ active installations.

Problem-solving software wrap up

Despite diversified processes and industries, all the examples above share one common ground. The business software solutions were designed based on real core business problems existing inside the organization. It is undeniably the first critical factor in the result-oriented custom software development approach. As you noticed, some problems may be solved with off-the-shelf software solutions, while others require custom software. The approach depends on the specific company’s situation; that’s why it is important to precede the design-solution phase with equally important process mapping and business analysis process.

Additional resources:

Intuit customer stories

Expedia case study

Sony music creative production

Organization culture

Decathlon culture

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3 reasons to choose IT outsourcing services

When you decide about outsourcing some of your software development work, many options emerge as you’ve done your research. Different services may be appropriate depending on your deadlines are and how much dev work still needs completion. This article should help you to make an optimal decision.

35 problem-solving techniques and methods for solving complex problems

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How do you identify problems?

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Complete problem-solving methods

Problem-solving techniques to identify and analyze problems
Problem-solving techniques for developing solutions

Problem-solving warm-up activities

Closing activities for a problem-solving process.

Before you can move towards finding the right solution for a given problem, you first need to identify and define the problem you wish to solve.

Here, you want to clearly articulate what the problem is and allow your group to do the same. Remember that everyone in a group is likely to have differing perspectives and alignment is necessary in order to help the group move forward.

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 scary for people to stand up and contribute, especially if the problems or challenges are emotive or personal in nature. Be sure to try and create a psychologically safe space for these kinds of discussions.

Remember that problem analysis and further discussion are also important. Not taking the time to fully analyze and discuss a challenge can result in the development of solutions that are not fit for purpose or do not address the underlying issue.

Successfully identifying and then analyzing a problem means facilitating a group through activities designed to help them clearly and honestly articulate their thoughts and produce usable insight.

With this data, you might then produce a problem statement that clearly describes the problem you wish to be addressed and also state the goal of any process you undertake to tackle this issue.

Finding solutions is the end goal of any process. Complex organizational challenges can only be solved with an appropriate solution but discovering them requires using the right problem-solving tool.

After you’ve explored a problem and discussed ideas, you need to help a team discuss and choose the right solution. Consensus tools and methods such as those below help a group explore possible solutions before then voting for the best. They’re a great way to tap into the collective intelligence of the group for great results!

Remember that the process is often iterative. Great problem solvers often roadtest a viable solution in a measured way to see what works too. While you might not get the right solution on your first try, the methods below help teams land on the most likely to succeed solution while also holding space for improvement.

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

In 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!

Tips for more 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.

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!

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
Lightning Decision Jam
Problem Definition Process
Discovery & Action Dialogue

Design Sprint 2.0

Open Space Technology

1. 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.

2. 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 The problem with anything that requires creative thinking is that it’s easy to get lost—lose focus and fall into the trap of having useless, open-ended, unstructured discussions. Here’s the most effective solution I’ve found: Replace all open, unstructured discussion with a clear process. What to use this exercise for: Anything which requires a group of people to make decisions, solve problems or discuss challenges. It’s always good to frame an LDJ session with a broad topic, here are some examples: The conversion flow of our checkout Our internal design process How we organise events Keeping up with our competition Improving sales flow

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. World Cafe

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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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!

The Creativity Dice
Fishbone Analysis
Problem Tree
SWOT Analysis
Agreement-Certainty Matrix
The Journalistic Six
LEGO Challenge
What, So What, Now What?
Journalists

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.

10. 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.

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. 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.

14. 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.

16. Speed Boat

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.

17. 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.

18. 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.

19. 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!

20. 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 developing 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 narrow down to the correct solution.

Use these problem-solving techniques when you want to help your team find consensus, compare possible solutions, and move towards taking action on a particular problem.

Improved Solutions
Four-Step Sketch
15% Solutions
How-Now-Wow matrix
Impact Effort Matrix

21. 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.

22. 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.

23. 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

24. 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.

25. 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.

26. 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.

27. Dotmocracy

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.

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
Doodling Together
Show and Tell
Constellations
Draw a Tree

28. 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.

29. 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.

30. 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.

31. 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.

32. 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.

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
Who What When Matrix
Response Cards

How do I conclude a problem-solving process?

All good things must come to an end. With the bulk of the work done, it can be tempting to conclude your workshop swiftly and without a moment to debrief and align. This can be problematic in that it doesn’t allow your team to fully process the results or reflect on the process.

At the end of an effective session, your team will have gone through a process that, while productive, can be exhausting. It’s important to give your group a moment to take a breath, ensure that they are clear on future actions, and provide short feedback before leaving the space.

The primary purpose of any problem-solving method is to generate solutions and then implement them. Be sure to take the opportunity to ensure everyone is aligned and ready to effectively implement the solutions you produced in the workshop.

Remember that every process can be improved and by giving a short moment to collect feedback in the session, you can further refine your problem-solving methods and see further success in the future too.

33. 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.

34. 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.

35. 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.

Save time and effort discovering the right solutions

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 creative 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!

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The 6 Best Apps to Improve Your Problem-Solving Skills

Want to improve your problem-solving skills and become more solution-oriented in your daily routine? Here are some apps to try.

Your ability to solve problems is a valuable skill you cannot do without if you want to succeed in your career, business, and life. While most people learn to solve problems primarily through exposure to challenging situations and having to find solutions almost immediately, others don't.

As such, not everyone is skilled at effective problem-solving. However, there is an easy way to improve your problem-solving skills using technology. Today, there are several fun ways to do so, including playing brain games on your mobile. Here are six game apps you can use to develop problem-solving skills while having fun.

1. Lumosity

Lumosity is a web app that helps you improve your mental skills. It is programmed with activities that help people improve their memory, flexibility, rate of processing information, and concentration levels. Thus, Lumosity is a great tool to help you develop problem-solving capabilities.

Lumosity was launched in 2007 and had over 70 million users as of January 2015. The app is available in English, French, Spanish, and German.

Download : Lumosity for Android | iOS (Free, in-app purchases available)

Happify is a company that works to enhance personal, organizational, and healthcare effectiveness by improving the emotional health of its users.

The Happify app incorporates scientific experiments into gaming activities designed to improve resilience and mindfulness and tackle health conditions like mood disorders, depression, anxiety, severe pain, and insomnia. Thus, it is a great healthcare software platform for improving your mental and physical conditions.

Download : Happify for Android | iOS (Free, in-app purchases available)

Launched by Elevate Labs in 2014, Elevate is a brain game app that focuses on improving its users' reading, writing, speaking, listening, and math skills. It is also one of the best android apps to help you solve math problems .

Seeing you already possess the skills mentioned above, you may wonder, is the Elevate brain training app worth your time ? The truth is, there is always room for improvement, hence, the need for you to keep developing these skills. And, as you pass each assessment in the training sessions, the difficulty level increases. This way, you can test whether your abilities are basic or strong.

Download : Elevate for Android | iOS (Free, in-app purchases available)

4. Neuronation

Neuronation is a cognitive training site and app that was made public in 2011. Since then, over 10 million people have used the app. The Neuronation app focuses on improving users' cognitive abilities, such as thinking, learning, understanding, and remembering, through its specialized training activities in the program.

Although native to Germany, the app is available in over eight languages, including English, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Turkish, and German. Additionally, the app enjoys widespread use, especially among German healthcare practitioners.

Download: Neuronation for Android | iOS (Free, in-app purchases available)

The Peak brain training app is designed to correct cognitive disorders with the help of short, interactive games. To get started on the Peak brain game app, you will be required to set goals on areas you want to improve, like mental processing, emotional strength, linguistic skills, recollection, concentration levels, and problem-solving.

Once you complete this stage, a virtual coach will be assigned to guide you through the program, and you will be given an assessment. Immediately after you finish each assessment, you will receive feedback based on your result.

You can start using the app for free with the basic version, but it has a limited number of daily exercises that are randomly selected. On the other hand, with the paid version, Peak Pro, you enjoy unlimited access to over 40+ exercises, alongside detailed feedback and personalized training sessions.

Download : Peak for Android | iOS (Free, in-app purchases available)

6. New York Times Crossword

The New York Times Crossword is a daily puzzle published by the renowned New York Times magazine on their website and mobile apps. The New York Times Crossword puzzle dates back to 1942. The first puzzle was published on Sunday, 15 February 1942.

Several freelance puzzle developers generate the puzzle. The puzzle gets tougher as each day goes by in a week, so the simplest puzzles are on Mondays, and the hardest are on Saturdays. Sunday's crossword puzzle is a 21×21 square matrix, whereas the daily crossword puzzle is a 15×15 square matrix. The crossword and other free puzzle games greatly improve critical thinking, learning, and reasoning abilities.

Download : New York Times Crossword for Android | iOS (Free, in-app purchases available)

Have Fun While Improving Your Problem-solving Skills

Developing cognitive abilities, emotional well-being, and problem-solving skills are no longer challenging. Thanks to these brain game apps, you can develop and improve your mental and emotional abilities more easily, faster, and while having fun.

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Problem-Solving Skills for Software Developers: Why & How to Improve

how to improve problem-solving skills for software developers

Problem-solving skills go hand-in-hand with software development. Learn some great problem-solving techniques and tips for improvement here!

Software developer jobs today require that you possess excellent problem-solving skills , and for good reason. Unfortunately, there seems to be a sort of talent gap when it comes to this one skill required of all software developers.

Troubleshooting and problem resolution are both informally and formally taught, but you mostly find that software developers have to learn problem-solving skills on their own. This is true for self-taught developers , obviously, but also even for those with software engineering degrees or who’ve graduated from coding boot camps.

This is why it’s necessary to acquaint yourself with the problem-solving process, whether you are a newbie or an experienced developer. In this article, we’ll explore everything you need to know about problem-solving so you can 10x your software development career.

What are Problem-Solving Skills?

As a developer, what do we mean by problem-solving? Let’s attempt a simple definition.

In software development, problem-solving is the process of using theories and research to find solutions to a problem domain, while testing different ideas and applying best practices to achieve a desired result. Problem-solving also has to do with utilizing creativity and logical thought processes to identify problems and resolve them with software.

Becoming a great software developer hinges more on learning algorithms than programming languages or frameworks . And algorithms are simply step-by-step instructions to solve a given problem.

Read More : How to Build a Software Engineer Portfolio (With Examples & Tips)

Why are impeccable problem-solving skills crucial?

Making good use of a computer language can be likened to being a skilled writer. An effective writer must know how to construct sentences and use grammar appropriately. There’s more to writing than just knowing all the words in the dictionary, and that’s how it works for developers, too.

You have different tasks to work on as a software developer, including perhaps designing, coding, and troubleshooting. Much of your time will be spent on identifying problems, spotting and correcting bugs, and making sense of codebases from before you started working there. Being ingenious at problem-solving is essential in creating incredible solutions to issues that arise throughout software development.

To demonstrate ingenuity, let’s consider Google’s autocomplete tool as an example.

The autocomplete tool is built to suggest related terms in the search bar as you type. The idea behind the tool is to reduce more than 200 years of time spent typing daily and to help users save time by up to 25% while typing.

Here’s what had to be done:

To activate real-time completion of suggestions, the UI experience and JavaScript had to be implemented.
Next, since users could type just about anything, the autocomplete suggestions had to be compiled into a sensible list dependent on user input.
Then, Google had to create a back-end sustainability system for this function. Doing this meant massively increasing its infrastructure to accommodate all forms of data query and HTTP requests.
Finally, the user interface had to be refined by software engineers in order to make sure that every user enjoyed a worthwhile experience. So they employed Google Trends to power the auto-completion tool while using algorithms to take out explicit or offensive predictions in line with Google’s auto-completion policy.

This is just one of Google’s innumerable problem-solving examples, but it’s clear to see that solving problems involves more than just telling a computer to do stuff. It’s about your ability to come up with parameters rightly tailored to target users so they can meet their goals.

So why must developers focus on problem-solving at work?

Software developers work with a wide range of people and departments, and it’s common to discover that some clients and teams find it difficult to define what they want. As a problem solver, it’s up to you to help them identify their needs and communicate their thoughts in an effective way.

Of course, you’ll need time and practice to develop your problem resolution ability. That’s because it’s less about solving problems faster but more about coming up with the best solution . And then you’ll need to deploy that solution.

Read More : Common Interview Questions for Software Developer Jobs (Non-Technical)

Types of problem-solving skills

Now let’s talk about four types of problem-solving skills for developers:

1. Parallel thinking

As a software developer, parallel thinking is a crucial skill necessary to perform optimally. This makes it possible for you to carry out two tasks that complement each other at the same time (like an optimized form of multitasking skills). Being able to reorder tasks to boost parallel execution can help to improve your output and save valuable time .

2. Dissecting broad and/or complex goals

When it comes to building software, you will need to effectively outline the steps and tasks necessary to achieve your goal. Developers must learn to break large and complex tasks into smaller assignments because this is an important skill that will help you create results with precision.

3. Reimplementing existing solutions

You don’t always need to reinvent the wheel. Part of being an effective software developer comes with being able to use already existing tools before even thinking of creating new solutions. Developing problem-solving skills is very much connected to finding solutions that already exist and reusing them.

4. Abstraction

Keep in mind that goals tend to evolve. So if your client comes up with new ideas, that will mean changing your design goals and reordering your tasks. A good programmer must learn to create solutions in such a way that does not require a complete redesign from scratch.

You also have to become adept at abstracting problems so that your solutions can get them resolved so long as they aren’t entirely different from the original issue. You don’t necessarily have to abstract every aspect to avoid more complications being created. This calls for balance by abstracting only where necessary without making narrow decisions.

Read More : Learn 8 Great Benefits of Working From Home

4 Important Tips & Strategies for Improving Problem-Solving Skills

To keep your problem-solving skills and techniques from growing weaker over time, you need to exercise them non-stop. As they say: practice makes perfect!

To train the problem-solving side of your brain, these four tips and strategies can help you improve your abilities:

1. Make problem-solving a part of your life

Never restrict yourself to working on problems only during work hours. Don’t make it a chore, but, instead, do things that make problem-solving look fun. The game of chess, solving puzzles, and playing video games that compel you to think critically will help strengthen your problem-solving skills, and you can tell your significant other you are advancing your career! 🙂

When you come to a complex problem in your life, whether it’s budgeting for a home or renovating the downstairs bathroom, approach it both creatively and critically. Ask yourself: What would a great software engineer do in this situation?

2. Use different platforms to solve problems

Proffer solutions to a set of problems without restricting yourself to one platform. Using different platforms and tools regularly helps make sure you become flexible as a problem-solver. And it makes sense, because there really is no universal solution for the different problems that pop up in your line of work. Trying out different platforms to solve different problems helps you to keep an open mind and enables you to test out different techniques when looking to find solutions.

Read More : 12 Common Mistakes Keeping You From Landing Your First Developer Job

3. Be open to assistance from external sources

Part of being a good software developer comes with being able to ask for help and also accept all forms of feedback. You might need a different opinion or a new set of eyes to help find the most fitting solution to some problems. It makes sense to view building problem-solving skills as more of a team effort rather than a personal journey.

Have an open mind and heart to function not only as an individual but also as a collective. It’s a utopian working environment where everyone supports each other to become better versions of themselves. So if you come across an issue that keeps you stuck, get help! You may find someone who has a more refined framework or method you never knew existed or would have thought of using. You could then learn from them and add their solution to your toolkit.

Get feedback often, as well. This could be the catalyst to making improvements to your processes and evolving them into something truly refined.

4. Tackle new problems using lessons from past solutions

As you practice and finesse your ability to identify problems and find solutions, you’ll begin to notice patterns. It’s more like developing your toolbox armed with a wide range of solutions that have proved useful in the past. So when problems emerge, you will notice how easy it is to take some of those old solutions and apply them to the new problem.

The more you attempt to apply creativity in solving problems, the more you grow your skills. In the long run, that will help you find the right solutions faster and apply them to a wide range of problems more naturally. It’s all about improving the effectiveness and efficiency with which you tackle new problems while applying only the best possible solutions.

Read More : How to Stay Motivated at Work

3 Complementary Skills to Improve to Become a Good Problem Solver

Developing software is mostly about problem-solving at the very core before even writing your first lines of code. You have to identify problems that can be solved using software. Then you have to go on to understand how people try to solve such problems in real life.

It’s up to you to come up with a framework that allows you to take both the problem and the solution and convert them into computer code. And you have to do this in such a way that makes the software even more efficient and effective than a human.

While going through this process, developers also have to handle other problems such as deadline deliveries, checking for bugs and fixing them, and collaborate across teams. So, supporting skills must not be overlooked.

Software developers must build interpersonal skills and collaboration skills . Being able to empathize, accept feedback, handle criticism, listen intently, and show respect for others are all important characteristics and abilities necessary for teamwork, and, thus, necessary for solving problems on the job.

Read More : 5 Ways to Stand Out & Get Noticed in Your Current Development Job

Communication

No one is an island, and that’s true when you consider how software engineers work. Building software requires keeping up with clients and teammates and other departments. You can’t afford to be a Lone Ranger, at least not 100% of the time, and that’s why employers always look for good communication skills.

Being a good software developer also involves how well you can break down very complex concepts to laypeople. You want to be the kind of person who fixes a problem and is able to explain how you were able to do it. It’s all about your ability to be clear and articulate about every aspect of your work. And you want to be able to communicate not just verbally but also in written form.

To build your communication skills as a developer, you can learn from more experienced people and observe how they interact with their clients. And, don’t forget, with more and more companies becoming global enterprises and going remote, it’s important to brush up on your intercultural communication skills , as well.

Logical thinking

The difference between elite software developers and average ones is often said to be logical thinking. The ability to process thoughts logically is important, because you’ll often spend most of your time finding and fixing bugs rather than writing code.

Problems can show up from just about anywhere, even from what seems to be the most insignificant errors. So, your ability to detect software issues and solve these problems using deductive thought processes is a vital ingredient to your success as a software developer.

Read More : Questions to Ask at Interviews for Software Engineering Jobs

Problem-Solving Stages & Practices

There are countless problem-solving processes and various schools of thought regarding the best way to approach problems whenever they arise. To solve that problem, we’ve pooled some of these frameworks together to come up with a comprehensive approach to problem-solving.

Step 1 – Define the problem

You have to first start with problem identification. Knowing what you are dealing with is important, because you don’t want to risk spending valuable time applying wrong solutions. Avoid making automatic assumptions. Even when the symptoms look familiar, you want to investigate properly because such signs could be pointing to something else entirely.

Problems in software development come in different sizes and scopes. You could be having trouble getting some aspects of the product to respond in the desired way. Or maybe you’re having issues trying to decipher a codebase section where you can no longer communicate with the original developers. Sometimes, the problem could come in the form of an unfamiliar error message and you’re at loss.

Once you’re able to define the problem, make sure to document it.

Step 2 – Analyze the problem

Now it’s time to carry out problem analysis . Before deciding what problem resolution methods to adopt, it’s necessary to find out all there is to the issue, which builds on our first step. This will make it easier to come up with ideas and solutions later on.

Problem analysis isn’t always a walk in the park. There are times when the problem involves a very small mistake such as failing to import a package correctly or a small syntax error. Other times, however, it could be such a huge error, like the entire program acting differently than what you want. There might be no alarms or blinking red lights to tell you what the exact problem is.

If you encounter such situations, you can find answers by articulating the problem. Document what you intend to do, what you’ve done, the original intention for the program, and where you currently are. Communication comes in handy here, of course, not just in your documentation, but also in how you relay it to your teammates.

Read More : Got a Busy Developer Schedule? Here’s How to Keep Learning & Make Time

Step 3 – Brainstorm

This step has to do with generating ideas, and you can benefit from discussing the problem with a team and then coming up with ways to get it fixed. Keep in mind that problem-solving at work involves interacting with a diverse group of people where the individuals have unique skill sets and experiences.

Many developers tend to neglect the previous steps and rush straight into brainstorming. That’s definitely not a good way to go about problem-solving. The idea is not to skip the important steps in the process.

Once you get to the point where ideas need to be generated, do not discard any, because this step relies on a wide range of ideas. Only after gathering as many perspectives as possible should you then begin reviewing and narrowing down to the best possible solution.

Step 4 – Make a decision

At this point, all viable solutions have to be analyzed before selecting the most appropriate one to implement. Picking the best possible solution depends on its ability to meet certain criteria. It must be suitable, feasible, and then acceptable.

What it means is that the solution must be able to get the problem solved. It should also be easy to see how such a solution fits into the equation. And then every member of the team involved in the brainstorming process has to unanimously accept the solution.

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Step 5 – Implement

After identifying and choosing the solution, the next logical step is to plan out the implementation process and then execute it. Coming up with a detailed plan is crucial if the solution is to be a success.

Now this plan must detail all the necessary steps required to implement the solution. It will also explain the length of time and stages of work required. Once all of that is put in place, you can then move forward with the execution. The idea is not just to execute a solution but to do it the right way.

Implementation using automated tests can help to keep unexpected issues from arising in the future. Some other problem-solving practices or approaches begin the process with this step. So, whenever any changes are made to the project, tests asserting that the changes will perform as required will be written first before the changes are then made.

Step 6 – Evaluate

No problem-solving process can be deemed comprehensive enough if there is no room for evaluation. Whatever the solution may be, it has to undergo strict evaluation in order to see how it performs. That will also help determine whether the problem still exists and the extent to which such an issue keeps recurring.

In the event that the problem persists despite the implementation of a detailed plan, then the developer and team may even have to restart the problem-solving process. However discouraging that may sound, at least you’ll have caught it early enough. And, this also proves the process worked.

Read More : How to Become a Software Engineer: Education, Steps & Tips for Success

Final Thoughts

Developing problem-solving skills is quite necessary for software developers. To be a successful problem solver, you will need lots of years down the line to practice what you study.

Always remember that you are a problem solver first before anything else. There is more to building software than just understanding the tech behind it and writing lines of code. It’s all about improving your ability to identify problems and find solutions, and that will need lots of experience on your part.

Never shy away from problems, but learn to think critically and logically in any situation. By applying the six-step strategy for problem-solving at work discussed in this piece, you will be more equipped to come up with the most effective and efficient solutions.

We hope you enjoyed reading our guide on how to solve a problem as a software developer and ways to improve skills as a problem solver! If you have any questions, feedback, or other great problem-solving techniques or methods, let us know in the comments below 🙂

The Arc team publishes insightful articles and thought leadership pieces related to software engineering careers and remote work. From helping entry-level developers land their first junior role to assisting remote workers struggling with working from home to guiding mid-level programmers as they seek a leadership position, Arc covers it all and more!

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The Most Popular Coding Challenge Websites

If you want to improve your analytical skills, there's no better way to do that than solving problems.

If you are a programmer, then this is something you should do for yourself. Programmers need to deal with all sorts of problems almost every day.

Most importantly, solving problems in an efficient manner can make you much more productive. And solving challenging problems helps us do that.

You can watch this complete video on YouTube as well if you like 🎥

Why Should You Develop Your Problem-Solving Skills?

These days, technology is developing rapidly, and we are seeing some amazing changes and improvements almost every day.

Whenever we talk about technology, a buzzword appears in our mind – and that is coding or programming. Now, coding/programming isn't just about solving different kinds of problems using different programming languages, but it's a large part of what you'll do as a developer.

The fields of Web development, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality, App Development, and many others require strong problem-solving skills.

There are many popular websites that help you do that by providing various types of problems where you need to apply your analytical and mathematical skills to solve each problem using programming languages.

I am going to provide you with a list of coding challenge websites that will help you become more advanced day by day.

Keep in mind that these websites are useful for everybody, whether you are new to coding challenges or you are a professional programmer and so on.

Project Euler
GeeksforGeeks
Online Judge
HackerEarth
Code Jam - Google's Coding Competitions

Best Coding Challenge Websites

1. beecrowd (formerly uri).

beecrowd is perfect for those who have just started solving coding challenges and are looking for a beginner-friendly website. It used to be named URI , so there is a chance that you are already familiar with this site as URI.

If you want to solve problems in a specific category, then you're in luck as this website also offers that.

A dropdown showing the different challenge categories on beercrowd

Here is an image of a Strings problem set. You can also filter the problems by the ID (#), name (NAME), Subject (SUBJECT), solved (SOLVED), and so on. Beginners like these features very much.

On this website, you can also take part in different programming contests, and check your global ranking, country-wide ranking, and university-wide ranking.

Also, you can check your progress, how many days have passed after signing up, how many problems you have solved, how many points you have got, and more.

You will also get a nice profile page that looks beautiful as well. 😊 I used to practice solving problems on this website when I was just starting out my CP (Competitive Programming) journey. Not to mention, I got the 3rd position among 1250 students back then at my university. 🎉

You can also check out my beecrowd profile here .

2. HackerRank

HackerRank is one of the most popular coding practice websites out there. This is a nice platform for everyone, especially beginners.

The website looks nice and polished, and the users who come here the first time don't struggle when navigating throughout the website, so that is definitely a positive thing here.

HackerRank offers different portals for companies and developers. If you are learning to solve problems, then you will choose the For Developers section.

If you want to learn any specific topics or programming languages, then this website is the perfect place to get started in that. You can prepare yourself by topics. You can also take their certification exam and stand out from the crowd. I have already passed their Python (Basic) certification exam.

You can also choose preparation kits from there, and prepare yourself before your interview if you want. Moreover, you can take part in programming contests.

Here, you will also get a nice personal profile page. You can check out my profile from HackerRank here .

3. Codeforces

Codeforces is one of the most used and well-known coding challenge and practice websites in the world, and it is sponsored by Telegram. Especially if you know about CP (Competitive Programming), then there is a high chance you have heard a lot about this website.

Although the website might look a little bit different to newcomers, you won't need much time to get used to it. You can train yourself by solving problems of different categories, difficulty levels, and so on.

Competitive programmers have ranks based on their successful results in programming contests. If you have heard about the RED coder / PURPLE coder, etc, then it is definitely from Codeforces.

You can get the idea of the ranking system on Codeforces from the image above. For more details, you can check out this blog entry .

Codeforces arranges contests regularly each week, and they are categorized into div 1, div 2, div 3 and div 4. They also arrange global round and educational round contests. You can get the timeline of the contests directly from here .

Codeforces also provides a nice user profile on their website. You can check mine here as well.

4. LeetCode

If you are familiar with the FAANG (Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, Google) buzzword, then you should definitely know about this website! If you want to practice for your coding interview for the big giant tech companies like FAANG, then they all do leetcoding .

You might think that I have made a typo in the above paragraph. No, I didn't. LeetCode has become this popular among people who target FAANG and those who are working on their problem solving skills. Taking part in contests on LeetCode has become common, and people call it leetcoding!

Here, you can solve a lot of problems, and filter the problems by the lists, difficulty levels, status, and tags.

You can also choose problems regarding Arrays, Strings, Hash Tables, Dynamic Programming, and many other categories.

As I mentioned above, you can also take part in programming contests. The only thing that makes LeetCode different is that it is based on Algorithm practice. Yeah, LeetCode is not like any other coding website, because it focuses on algorithm practice alone.

You do not need to provide the full code for solving a problem here, you just need to crack the solution by providing a valid algorithm using any popular language that can solve the problem.

You also get to see how your code performs among others, how much space and time it takes, and so on.

Most importantly, LeetCode has an amazing discussion group where people talk about their problems, solutions, how to improve their algorithms, how to improve the efficiency of their code, and so on. This is one of the most powerful features of LeetCode.

One sad part about LeetCode is that you will not get every feature for free! Yeah, it's true. You have to pay for it monthly or yearly to unlock all its features. There are a lot of problems you will find locked on the website. You can not unlock them if you do not purchase the premium plan.

If you are just starting your algorithm journey on LeetCode, then actually you don't need to worry about their premium plans as the free version will be more than enough for you.

Later, if you want to become more serious, then paying for their premium subscription will be a big deal actually as you'll get a ton more features. This is very much helpful, and includes things like top interview questions, top FAANG questions, video explanations, and more.

You also get a nice profile page on LeetCode. You can check out mine here .

I was pretty confused before writing this section, as Kaggle is not a typical website for coding practice. This website is basically for Data Science, and it's one of the most popular websites out there for this.

Kaggle is an online community platform for data scientists and machine learning enthusiasts.

It is a popular crowd-sourced platform to attract, nurture, train, and challenge Data Science and Machine Learning enthusiasts from all around the world to come together and solve numerous Data Science, Predictive Analytics, and Machine Learning problems.

So if you are interested in Data Science, then you should check this website. Here you can check others' notebooks, submit your notebook, join in the contests, improve datasets, and so on.

Kaggle allows users to collaborate with other users, find and publish datasets, use GPU integrated notebooks, and compete with other data scientists to solve data science challenges.

Also, if you are interested in data science, but don't know where to start, then don't worry! Kaggle has got you covered. You can check their learning section where they have many free courses which will teach you a lot of stuff from the beginning.

✨ BONUS: If you want to learn more then I'd suggest that you complete the data science playlist from freeCodeCamp's YouTube channel.

Kaggle also provides rankings and a nice user profile. You can check out my profile here .

6. CodeChef

CodeChef is another popular Indian website like HackerRank where you can solve a lot of problems, take part in contests, and so on.

You can filter the problems based on different categories and solve them using any of the most popular programming languages.

They also have a learning section on their website where you can learn how to solve problems in a systematic way. This is super helpful, especially for beginners.

In their learning section, you can choose self-learning, mentored learning, and doubt support. Some of them are free of charge, but in some courses, you have to pay before you can start them.

This website also provides user ranking including the global ranking and country-wide ranking. They also provide a user profile on their website. You can check out mine here although I am not active on most of the websites right now. 😅

AtCoder is a programming contest website based in Japan. Makoto Soejima (rng_58) who is one of the former admins and problem writers from Topcoder is a founding member of AtCoder.

On this website, you can take part in different programming contests. They held regular programming contests on Saturdays and Sundays. Also, you can solve problems from previously held programming contests.

I have seen a lot of people regularly participate in the programming contests and solve problems previously used in the contests regularly by solving problems on AtCoder. I also tried that for a while to check the efficiency, and truth to be told, it was really effective.

Here you can also check the global ranking. Here you will also get your own profile page where you and others can see your global ranking and so on.

8. Topcoder

Topcoder (formerly TopCoder) is a crowdsourcing company with an open global community of designers, developers, data scientists, and competitive programmers. Topcoder pays community members for their work on the projects and sells community services to corporate, mid-size, and small-business clients.

Here you can earn, learn, and do a lot more in their MVP program. For earning, you can participate in five different tracks, become a copilot, become a reviewer, and also get a freelance contract gig through Topcoder Gig Work .

Personally, I feel this website is a little bit overwhelming for beginners. You can get more details in the YouTube videos I have made for you.

9. Coderbyte

Coderbyte has a huge collection of problems that you can solve. They also offer a challenging library, starter courses, interview kits, career resources and so on.

To get all the features, you need to buy a subscription plan from them. I personally liked their interview kit a lot.

Here you will also get a personal profile page.

10. Project Euler

Project Euler is a series of challenging mathematical/computer programming problems that will require more than just mathematical insights to solve.

Project Euler is a great website for solving mathematical challenging problems. But solving a problem on this website requires more than just simple mathematical knowledge.

If you want to solve mathematical problems in a more analytical way, then this website will come in handy.

11. Codewars

Codewars is a coding challenge website for people of all programming levels. It claims to have a community of over 3 million developers.

One of the biggest benefits of this website is that it is highly focused on algorithms like LeetCode. Moreover, if your goal is to get very good at writing clean and efficient programs, then this website can be a great asset to you.

In Codewars, you will see Kata and Kyu a lot.

Kyu (or Kyū) indicates the number of degrees away from master level (Dan). This is why they count downward. Once you reach master level, we count upward. Black belts in martial arts are Dan level.

On Codewars, kata are code challenges focused on improving skill and technique. Some train programming fundamentals, while others focus on complex problem solving. Others are puzzles meant to test your creative problem solving, while others are based on real world coding scenarios.

If you want to know more about how the ranking system works on Codewars, then simply check their docs here .

On Codewars you will also get a nice profile page like mine . Keep in mind that I haven't solved that much on this website; therefore my profile page would seem empty. 😅

Additionally, I find their leaderboard page quite amusing.

SPOJ is a website that contains huge problems for solving. It claims to have 315,000 registered users and over 20,000 problems.

According to GFG,

You can start solving problems with maximum submission and follow or check the submission of good coders here. Once you solved around 50-70 problems and build some confidence, you can participate in different contests.

Their problem set is also quite amusing.

You will also get a nice user profile page here which you can use to showcase your problem solve skills.

13. CodinGame

In CodinGame, you can improve your coding skills with fun exercises in more than 25 programming languages.

It is a good website for intermediate and advanced software engineers to have fun while continuing to keep their skills sharp. Also, the challenges are gamified and the multiplayer access means that users can challenge friends and coworkers.

14. GeeksforGeeks (Popularly known as GFG)

You might wonder why I am including GFG in this article as it only provides algorithms, tutorials, and so on.

Well, that's not all they offer. Yes, GFG is pretty popular for its tutorials, algorithms, and so on, but they also provide a nice problem-solving platform here .

You can also filter the problems as you see fit for yourself.

You will also get your profile page where you can show your progress in problem solving on the GFG website.

Competitive programmers participate in programming contests and solve many problems on this website. This website is kind of special to the Bangladeshi people as the Bangladeshi universities arrange many programming contests through it.

You can solve problems in different categories on this website, and they also offer you a nice profile page. They also provide rankings based on your performance in the programming contests.

If you are a complete beginner in problem solving, then this website can help you a lot in starting your problem solving journey.

16. LightOJ

In LightOJ, you can solve a lot of categorized problems. It is highly based on solving algorithmic problems. Their problems are categorized as below:

LightOJ Volumes
Advanced Search Techniques
Data Structures
Divide And Conquer
Dynamic Programming
Fast Fourier Transform
Flow/Matching
Game Theory
Graph Theory
Parsing/Grammar
Recursion/Branch and Bound

They also provide you with a nice profile page where you can see your activities. It might seem odd, but sometimes I find this website better than LeetCode in some cases. Moreover, everything you do on this website is completely free of cost!

17. Exercism

You can develop your programming fluency in 57 different programming languages with their unique blend of learning, practice and mentoring.

Exercism is completely free of cost, and it's built by people like us. You can also contribute or donate to them to support their amazing service for free.

They also provide a very nice user profile page which also shows everything you have done on their website, starting from publishing to maintaining.

On their tracks page, you will get a list of 57 different programming languages where you can start your practice.

Solving problems on their website seems super fun to me. I really liked the way they manage their website.

18. Online Judge (Commonly known as UVa)

This is one of the oldest websites out there for solving programming-related problems. I still find it to be a very hard website for beginners. The UI and navigation of the website are also very old.

All of the questions come with a PDF here. You need to download the PDF file of the problem if you want to solve problems as they do not offer a direct preview of the questions.

They have a lot of problemsets on their website . I still find a lot of users using this website nowadays. Therefore, I mentioned it here.

19. HackerEarth

HackerEarth is an Indian software company headquartered in San Francisco, US, that provides enterprise software that helps organisations with their technical hiring needs. HackerEarth is used by organizations for technical skill assessment and remote video interviewing.

You can practice your problem solving skills from their practice page. Also, you can participate in programming challenges and hackathons from their challenges page.

Their interview prep section is quite amazing. You can take part in the mock assessments for the Adobe Coding Test, Facebook Coding Test, and Amazon Coding Test.

They also provide a nice user profile for everyone.

20. Code Jam - Google's Coding Competitions

Google Code Jam is an international programming competition hosted and administered by Google. The competition began in 2003. The competition consists of a set of algorithmic problems which must be solved in a fixed amount of time.

If you are interested in taking part in the Code Jam contests, then their archive section is full of amazing resources for you where you can get the earlier questions and practice them.

They also offer a lot of prize money in their contests. An example can be:

Out of thousands of participants, only the top 25 will head to the World Finals to compete for the title of World Champion and cash prizes of up to $15,000. And there will be plenty of other prizes to go around — the top 1,000 competitors will win an exclusive Code Jam 2022 t-shirt.

21. ICPC - International Collegiate Programming Contest

ICPC is one of the most prestigious programming contests in the world.

The International Collegiate Programming Contest, known as the ICPC, is an annual multi-tiered competitive programming competition among the universities of the world.

Who is eligible for ICPC?

ACM/ICPC is a team-based competition with certain requirements to the participants: only post-secondary students and first-year post-graduate students no older than 24 are eligible; each team consists of three members. One can participate in the finals no more than twice and in the regionals no more than five times.

Personal Opinion

If you are a complete beginner, then start with beecrowd . If you want to start problem solving along with learning a specific programming language, then start with HackerRank .

After solving almost 50+ problems on beecrowd or HackerRank, start solving problems on Codeforces . The first time, you won't be able to do that well in the programming contests on Codeforces, and that is completely okay – it is natural. You just need to try regularly. The questions might seem pretty hard to you, but it'll become easier day by day after solving problems continuously.

You can participate in AtCoder the day you start solving problems on Codeforces. You can also try CodeChef , but I find Codeforces is enough in this case.

This will prepare you for the ICPC and Code Jam . Don't forget to solve the earlier questions on Code Jam.

If you want to gain expertise in Data Science, then simply go for Kaggle .

If you want to gain expertise in Algorithms, then LeetCode , and LightOJ are your only places. GeeksforGeeoks will also help you in this aspect.

For LeetCode, get some help from Nick White . His LeetCode Solution playlist has 189 videos as of today, and you will learn a lot from him, trust me!

Another good resource is Neetcode where you can get curated problems and their solutions from LeetCode. The official YouTube channel of Neetcode is also a great channel.

Additional Websites

You might find the websites below useful too!

⭐ StopStalk

This website retrieves your friends' recent submissions from various competitive websites (Such as Codeforces, SPOJ, HackerRank, Timus, and so on) and shows all of them in one place. You can check my StopStalk profile from here .

⭐ CodersRank

This is a platform made to help developers in job-seeking and professional growth. Here, your CodersRank profile serves as a proven track record of your coding knowledge.

You have to connect your private and public repositories here from GitHub to generate your true CodersRank profile. You can also check my CodersRank profile from here .

Thanks for reading the entire article. If it helps you then you can also check out other articles of mine at freeCodeCamp .

If you want to get in touch with me, then you can do so using Twitter , LinkedIn , and GitHub .

You can also SUBSCRIBE to my YouTube channel (Code With FahimFBA) if you want to learn various kinds of programming languages with a lot of practical examples regularly.

If you want to check out my highlights, then you can do so at my Polywork timeline .

You can also visit my website to learn more about me and what I'm working on.

Thanks a bunch!

Introduction to Problem Solver Software

Problem solving software allows companies to address business problems. This software is an incredibly powerful tool designed to serve as a single repository for all internal and external problem management.

There are various problem-solving methodologies and tools that help identify root causes. Designing problem-solving software provides all these tools to assist in getting to the root of the problem.

Problem solving software is developed based on the CQI20 standard and is compliant with other standard as follows:

ISO 9001:2015
Aerospace AS9145

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Features and Benefits (Problem Solver Software)

Manage problems and incidents.

Problem solving software is an effective problem solving tool that allows you to standardize the problem management workflow.

Track Closure of Investigations

Define timelines and metrics for problem resolution from the problem itself to containment, correction, corrective action, and reporting all the way to closure.

Problem Solving Approaches

Respond to customers in preferred formats, including 8D, 7D, FRA/PRR/PSD, CAR, L0, Advanced CAR, or “Just-do-it” formats defined by the customer. There are many versions of 8D available to support your 8D formats.

Problem Solving Tools

Utilize 5Why, Is/Is Not, 5W2H, Cause and Effect Diagram (Ishikawa/Fishbone) seamlessly.

Linkage to FMEA

Connect 8D/Problem Solving to FMEA, linking detection to prevention.

Supplier Corrective Action

Empower suppliers to complete supplier corrective action.

Escalation to Closure

Ensure escalation to ensure effective closure.

Problem Solving Management by Mobility: Implement the mobile app Problem Solving. Users can create new concerns directly from shop floors on the go, even in offline mode, ensuring flexibility and enabling real-time data collection. Problem Solving is available in the Google Play Store (Android) and Apple App Store (iOS).
Comprehensive Compliance: Use Problem Solver to ensure alignment with various standards such as ISO 9001, IATF 16949, ISO 14001, ISO 45001, CQI 20 and more. Ensure your organization adheres to these standards through robust processes for problem solving management.
Supplier Problem Management: Use Problem Solver for Supplier Problem Management. Using Problem Solver will offer you to have a real-time reporting, enabling organizations to make informed decisions about their supply chain partnerships.
Saving resources: Using Problem Solving Management software you’ll save resources through improved efficiency and well-structured implemented processes. By resources, we mean all the things involved in the process to achieve the desired results. The EWQIMS system reduced the time needed to solve and close an issue and the paper usage by 100% compared to the previous system. All the issues can be managed in one single place.
Management of all types of issues: Using Problem Solver software, can be defined approaches for various scale of problems (e.g., current manufacturing issues, customer claims, audit findings, field failure, supplier issues …) and various types - quality assurance (external and internal), environmental, and health and safety issues.
Real-time reporting: The various reports updated in real-time allowed managers to plan future improvements based on the reporting tool built into the software, supported by the easy-to-use dashboard. The occurrence of the problem for other sites can be avoided by the lesson learned that can be shared in real-time with all the company’s sites.

What are the types of issues that can be addressed?

Using the software can be defined approaches for various types and scale of problems (e.g., current manufacturing issues, customer claims, audit findings, field failure, supplier issues, etc.)

What are the tools that can be used within this software?

There are different practical Problem-Solving Tools to address daily to complex issues, like 5 Whys, Fish-bone, 5W and 2Hs, Is – Is not analyze, 8D report.

What are the templates that can be used?

Through the use of software, templates can be created and adapted exactly to the unique needs of the organization, far exceeding the capabilities of standard products.

Why use software for problem solving?

Saving resources through improved efficiency or well-structured processes is what we aim for by using software. By resources, we mean all the things involved in the process to achieve the desired results.

Does the software comply with standards?

The Problem Solving software is developed based on the CQI20 standard and is compliant with other standards as ISO, IATF 16949, AS9145, etc.

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