Creative Problem Solving

Creative problem solving, a type of problem solving, is the mental process of searching for a new and novel creative solution to a problem, a solution which is novel, original and not obvious.

Creative Problem Solving is a proven method for approaching a problem or a challenge in an imaginative and innovative way. It’s a tool that helps people re-define the problems they face, come up with breakthrough ideas and then take action on these new ideas.

Most of the times, when we face a problem, first thing that comes to mind is how difficult will it be to solve the problem? Thus we make an assumption that the solution would be very tough to find out. The mantra for creative problem solving is to free our mind from all the inhibitions and be innovative and creative.

Process Stage	Steps
Explore The Stage	Objective Finding (identify the goal, wish or challenge)
	Fact Finding (gather the relevant data)
	Problem Finding (clarify the problems that need to be solved in order to achieve the goal)
Generate Ideas	Idea Finding (generate ideas to solve the identified problem)
Prepare for action	Solution Finding (move from idea to implementable solution)
	Acceptance Finding (plan for action)

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	Objective Finding - Identify Goal, Wish or Challenge This could be a wish or a goal. It might be the initial dissatisfaction or a desire that opens the door to using the CPS process.
	Fact Finding - Gather Data Assess and review all the data that pertains to the situation at hand. Who’s involved, what’s involved, when, where, and why it’s important. Make a list of the facts and information, as well as the more visceral hunches, feelings, perceptions, assumptions and gossip around the situation. In this step, all the data is taken into consideration to review the objective and begin to innovate.
	Problem Finding - Clarify the Problem In this step, explore the facts and data to find all the problems and challenges inherent in the situation, and all the opportunities they represent. This is about making sure you’re focusing on the right problem. It is possible to come up with the right answer to the wrong problem. Re-define what you want or what’s stopping you.

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Idea Finding - Generate Ideas Generating ideas is much more than brainstorming. During this step, be vigilant about deferring judgment and coming up with wild, outrageous, out-of-the-box ideas. This is where you explore ideas that are possible solutions and have the most fun. It’s also where you need to stretch to make connections, take risks, and try new combinations to find potentially innovative solutions.

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Solution Finding – Select and Strengthen Solutions First, try to strengthen and improve the best ideas generated. Next, generate the criteria that needs to be considered to evaluate the ideas for success. Apply that criteria to the top ideas and decide which are most likely to solve the redefined problem. The best idea needs to meet criteria that makes it actionable before it becomes the solution. A creative idea is not really useful if it won’t be implemented.

Acceptance Finding – Plan for Action In this step, look at who’s responsible, what has to be done by when, and what resources are available in order to realize this idea as a full-fledged, activated solution.

Dr Mandi brought some red color plastic leaves and and gave us a problem to think of creative ways to use those leaves.Though some of us tried  but Dr Mandi accomplished magic with those leaves