techniques used for problem solving and decision making

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Decision-Making and Problem Solving

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The SkillsYouNeed Guide to Interpersonal Skills

Making decisions and solving problems are two key areas in life, whether you are at home or at work. Whatever you’re doing, and wherever you are, you are faced with countless decisions and problems, both small and large, every day.

Many decisions and problems are so small that we may not even notice them. Even small decisions, however, can be overwhelming to some people. They may come to a halt as they consider their dilemma and try to decide what to do.

Small and Large Decisions

In your day-to-day life you're likely to encounter numerous 'small decisions', including, for example:

Tea or coffee?

What shall I have in my sandwich? Or should I have a salad instead today?

What shall I wear today?

Larger decisions may occur less frequently but may include:

Should we repaint the kitchen? If so, what colour?

Should we relocate?

Should I propose to my partner? Do I really want to spend the rest of my life with him/her?

These decisions, and others like them, may take considerable time and effort to make.

The relationship between decision-making and problem-solving is complex. Decision-making is perhaps best thought of as a key part of problem-solving: one part of the overall process.

Our approach at Skills You Need is to set out a framework to help guide you through the decision-making process. You won’t always need to use the whole framework, or even use it at all, but you may find it useful if you are a bit ‘stuck’ and need something to help you make a difficult decision.

Decision Making

Effective Decision-Making

This page provides information about ways of making a decision, including basing it on logic or emotion (‘gut feeling’). It also explains what can stop you making an effective decision, including too much or too little information, and not really caring about the outcome.

A Decision-Making Framework

This page sets out one possible framework for decision-making.

The framework described is quite extensive, and may seem quite formal. But it is also a helpful process to run through in a briefer form, for smaller problems, as it will help you to make sure that you really do have all the information that you need.

Problem Solving

Introduction to Problem-Solving

This page provides a general introduction to the idea of problem-solving. It explores the idea of goals (things that you want to achieve) and barriers (things that may prevent you from achieving your goals), and explains the problem-solving process at a broad level.

The first stage in solving any problem is to identify it, and then break it down into its component parts. Even the biggest, most intractable-seeming problems, can become much more manageable if they are broken down into smaller parts. This page provides some advice about techniques you can use to do so.

Sometimes, the possible options to address your problem are obvious. At other times, you may need to involve others, or think more laterally to find alternatives. This page explains some principles, and some tools and techniques to help you do so.

Having generated solutions, you need to decide which one to take, which is where decision-making meets problem-solving. But once decided, there is another step: to deliver on your decision, and then see if your chosen solution works. This page helps you through this process.

‘Social’ problems are those that we encounter in everyday life, including money trouble, problems with other people, health problems and crime. These problems, like any others, are best solved using a framework to identify the problem, work out the options for addressing it, and then deciding which option to use.

This page provides more information about the key skills needed for practical problem-solving in real life.

Guiding you through the key skills needed in life

As always at Skills You Need, our approach to these key skills is to provide practical ways to manage the process, and to develop your skills.

Neither problem-solving nor decision-making is an intrinsically difficult process and we hope you will find our pages useful in developing your skills.

Start with: Decision Making Problem Solving

See also: Improving Communication Interpersonal Communication Skills Building Confidence

techniques used for problem solving and decision making

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Steps in problem solving and decision making

Improved efficiency and productivity: Employees with strong problem solving and decision making skills are better equipped to identify and solve issues that may arise in their work. This leads to improved efficiency and productivity as they can complete their work more timely and effectively.
Improved customer satisfaction: Problem solving and decision making skills also help employees address any concerns or issues customers may have. This leads to enhanced customer satisfaction as customers feel their needs are being addressed and their problems are resolved.
Effective teamwork: When working in teams, problem solving and decision making skills are essential for effective collaboration . Groups that can effectively identify and solve problems together are more likely to successfully achieve their goals.
Innovation: Effective problem-solving and decision-making skills are also crucial for driving innovation in the workplace. Employees who think creatively and develop new solutions to problems are more likely to develop innovative ideas to move the business forward.
Risk management: Problem solving and decision making skills are also crucial for managing risk in the workplace. By identifying potential risks and developing strategies to mitigate them, employees can help minimize the negative impact of risks on the business.

Brainstorming: Brainstorming is a technique for generating creative ideas and solutions to problems. In a brainstorming session, a group of people share their thoughts and build on each other’s suggestions. The goal is to generate a large number of ideas in a short amount of time. For example, a team of engineers could use brainstorming to develop new ideas for improving the efficiency of a manufacturing process.
Root Cause Analysis: Root cause analysis is a technique for identifying the underlying cause of a problem. It involves asking “why” questions to uncover the root cause of the problem. Once the root cause is identified, steps can be taken to address it. For example, a hospital could use root cause analysis to investigate why patient falls occur and identify the root cause, such as inadequate staffing or poor lighting.
SWOT Analysis: SWOT analysis is a technique for evaluating the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats related to a problem or situation. It involves assessing internal and external factors that could impact the problem and identifying ways to leverage strengths and opportunities while minimizing weaknesses and threats. For example, a small business could use SWOT analysis to evaluate its market position and identify opportunities to expand its product line or improve its marketing.
Pareto Analysis: Pareto analysis is a technique for identifying the most critical problems to address. It involves ranking problems by impact and frequency and first focusing on the most significant issues. For example, a software development team could use Pareto analysis to prioritize bugs and issues to fix based on their impact on the user experience.
Decision Matrix Analysis: Decision matrix analysis evaluates alternatives and selects the best course of action. It involves creating a matrix to compare options based on criteria and weighting factors and selecting the option with the highest score. For example, a manager could use decision matrix analysis to evaluate different software vendors based on criteria such as price, features, and support and select the vendor with the best overall score.

Cost-Benefit Analysis: Cost-benefit analysis is a technique for evaluating the costs and benefits of different options. It involves comparing each option’s expected costs and benefits and selecting the one with the highest net benefit. For example, a company could use cost-benefit analysis to evaluate a new product line’s potential return on investment.
Decision Trees: Decision trees are a visual representation of the decision-making process. They involve mapping out different options and their potential outcomes and probabilities. This helps to identify the best course of action based on the likelihood of different outcomes. For example, a farmer could use a decision tree to choose crops to plant based on the expected weather patterns.
SWOT Analysis: SWOT analysis can also be used for decision making. By identifying the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of different options, a decision maker can evaluate each option’s potential risks and benefits. For example, a business owner could use SWOT analysis to assess the potential risks and benefits of expanding into a new market.
Pros and Cons Analysis: Pros and cons analysis lists the advantages and disadvantages of different options. It involves weighing the pros and cons of each option to determine the best course of action. For example, an individual could use a pros and cons analysis to decide whether to take a job offer.
Six Thinking Hats: The six thinking hats technique is a way to think about a problem from different perspectives. It involves using six different “hats” to consider various aspects of the decision. The hats include white (facts and figures), red (emotions and feelings), black (risks and drawbacks), yellow (benefits and opportunities), green (creativity and new ideas), and blue (overview and control). For example, a team could use the six thinking hats technique to evaluate different options for a marketing campaign.

Aastha Bensla

Aastha, a passionate industrial psychologist, writer, and counselor, brings her unique expertise to Risely. With specialized knowledge in industrial psychology, Aastha offers a fresh perspective on personal and professional development. Her broad experience as an industrial psychologist enables her to accurately understand and solve problems for managers and leaders with an empathetic approach.

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What is Problem Solving? (Steps, Techniques, Examples)

By Status.net Editorial Team on May 7, 2023 — 5 minutes to read

What Is Problem Solving?

Definition and importance.

Problem solving is the process of finding solutions to obstacles or challenges you encounter in your life or work. It is a crucial skill that allows you to tackle complex situations, adapt to changes, and overcome difficulties with ease. Mastering this ability will contribute to both your personal and professional growth, leading to more successful outcomes and better decision-making.

Problem-Solving Steps

The problem-solving process typically includes the following steps:

Identify the issue : Recognize the problem that needs to be solved.
Analyze the situation : Examine the issue in depth, gather all relevant information, and consider any limitations or constraints that may be present.
Generate potential solutions : Brainstorm a list of possible solutions to the issue, without immediately judging or evaluating them.
Evaluate options : Weigh the pros and cons of each potential solution, considering factors such as feasibility, effectiveness, and potential risks.
Select the best solution : Choose the option that best addresses the problem and aligns with your objectives.
Implement the solution : Put the selected solution into action and monitor the results to ensure it resolves the issue.
Review and learn : Reflect on the problem-solving process, identify any improvements or adjustments that can be made, and apply these learnings to future situations.

Defining the Problem

To start tackling a problem, first, identify and understand it. Analyzing the issue thoroughly helps to clarify its scope and nature. Ask questions to gather information and consider the problem from various angles. Some strategies to define the problem include:

Brainstorming with others
Asking the 5 Ws and 1 H (Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How)
Analyzing cause and effect
Creating a problem statement

Generating Solutions

Once the problem is clearly understood, brainstorm possible solutions. Think creatively and keep an open mind, as well as considering lessons from past experiences. Consider:

Creating a list of potential ideas to solve the problem
Grouping and categorizing similar solutions
Prioritizing potential solutions based on feasibility, cost, and resources required
Involving others to share diverse opinions and inputs

Evaluating and Selecting Solutions

Evaluate each potential solution, weighing its pros and cons. To facilitate decision-making, use techniques such as:

SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats)
Decision-making matrices
Pros and cons lists
Risk assessments

After evaluating, choose the most suitable solution based on effectiveness, cost, and time constraints.

Implementing and Monitoring the Solution

Implement the chosen solution and monitor its progress. Key actions include:

Communicating the solution to relevant parties
Setting timelines and milestones
Assigning tasks and responsibilities
Monitoring the solution and making adjustments as necessary
Evaluating the effectiveness of the solution after implementation

Utilize feedback from stakeholders and consider potential improvements. Remember that problem-solving is an ongoing process that can always be refined and enhanced.

Problem-Solving Techniques

During each step, you may find it helpful to utilize various problem-solving techniques, such as:

Brainstorming : A free-flowing, open-minded session where ideas are generated and listed without judgment, to encourage creativity and innovative thinking.
Root cause analysis : A method that explores the underlying causes of a problem to find the most effective solution rather than addressing superficial symptoms.
SWOT analysis : A tool used to evaluate the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats related to a problem or decision, providing a comprehensive view of the situation.
Mind mapping : A visual technique that uses diagrams to organize and connect ideas, helping to identify patterns, relationships, and possible solutions.

Brainstorming

When facing a problem, start by conducting a brainstorming session. Gather your team and encourage an open discussion where everyone contributes ideas, no matter how outlandish they may seem. This helps you:

Generate a diverse range of solutions
Encourage all team members to participate
Foster creative thinking

When brainstorming, remember to:

Reserve judgment until the session is over
Encourage wild ideas
Combine and improve upon ideas

Root Cause Analysis

For effective problem-solving, identifying the root cause of the issue at hand is crucial. Try these methods:

5 Whys : Ask “why” five times to get to the underlying cause.
Fishbone Diagram : Create a diagram representing the problem and break it down into categories of potential causes.
Pareto Analysis : Determine the few most significant causes underlying the majority of problems.

SWOT Analysis

SWOT analysis helps you examine the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats related to your problem. To perform a SWOT analysis:

List your problem’s strengths, such as relevant resources or strong partnerships.
Identify its weaknesses, such as knowledge gaps or limited resources.
Explore opportunities, like trends or new technologies, that could help solve the problem.
Recognize potential threats, like competition or regulatory barriers.

SWOT analysis aids in understanding the internal and external factors affecting the problem, which can help guide your solution.

Mind Mapping

A mind map is a visual representation of your problem and potential solutions. It enables you to organize information in a structured and intuitive manner. To create a mind map:

Write the problem in the center of a blank page.
Draw branches from the central problem to related sub-problems or contributing factors.
Add more branches to represent potential solutions or further ideas.

Mind mapping allows you to visually see connections between ideas and promotes creativity in problem-solving.

Examples of Problem Solving in Various Contexts

In the business world, you might encounter problems related to finances, operations, or communication. Applying problem-solving skills in these situations could look like:

Identifying areas of improvement in your company’s financial performance and implementing cost-saving measures
Resolving internal conflicts among team members by listening and understanding different perspectives, then proposing and negotiating solutions
Streamlining a process for better productivity by removing redundancies, automating tasks, or re-allocating resources

In educational contexts, problem-solving can be seen in various aspects, such as:

Addressing a gap in students’ understanding by employing diverse teaching methods to cater to different learning styles
Developing a strategy for successful time management to balance academic responsibilities and extracurricular activities
Seeking resources and support to provide equal opportunities for learners with special needs or disabilities

Everyday life is full of challenges that require problem-solving skills. Some examples include:

Overcoming a personal obstacle, such as improving your fitness level, by establishing achievable goals, measuring progress, and adjusting your approach accordingly
Navigating a new environment or city by researching your surroundings, asking for directions, or using technology like GPS to guide you
Dealing with a sudden change, like a change in your work schedule, by assessing the situation, identifying potential impacts, and adapting your plans to accommodate the change.
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Divya Parekh , of The DP Group, covers business growth, storytelling, high-impact performance and authority building.

Are you struggling to find effective solutions to problems you face in your professional or entrepreneurial ventures? Are you often indecisive when faced with complex decisions?

The ability to solve problems and make decisions quickly and effectively can mean the difference between success and failure. There are two main approaches to problem-solving and decision-making: vertical thinking and horizontal thinking. Both approaches have strengths and weaknesses, so understanding the differences between them can help you apply the right method at the right time.

Let's look at a few case studies to understand the very different benefits of these two approaches.

Vertical Thinking For Decision-Making

First, let's take Jane, the CFO of a financial services company. She needs to decide whether to invest in a new company software system.

Jane gathers all the relevant data about the software system and analyzes it thoroughly. She compares the cost of the system to the potential benefits, evaluates the risks involved and consults with subject matter experts. After careful consideration, she decides the benefits outweigh the costs and risks, and the company should invest in the software system.

This is vertical thinking: making a well-informed decision based on a thorough analysis of the data. Vertical thinking is especially useful in situations where there is a clear goal and a need for a precise, data-driven approach. Experts often use it in fields like finance, where decisions depend heavily on facts and figures.

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Let's move on to Sophie, the head of marketing for a fashion company. The company has been struggling to attract new customers.

Sophie sets up a brainstorming meeting with different department heads. They come up with a variety of creative solutions based on their diverse perspectives. One idea that stands out is to partner with a popular social media influencer to promote the company's products. The team works together to develop a plan to reach out to the influencer and negotiate a partnership.

This is horizontal thinking: working with a team to generate a variety of ideas and consider different perspectives to find an innovative solution. Horizontal thinking is a great approach for problem-solving when the problem is complex and there may be multiple solutions or approaches. Creative professionals, especially in marketing, advertising and designing, highly value this approach.

How Emotions Affect These Approaches

Over several years of coaching, I've noticed that emotions can play a significant role in problem-solving and decision-making, regardless of the thinking style used.

For instance, when using vertical thinking, emotions such as frustration and impatience can arise when a person or team has been working on a problem for an extended period with no clear solution. Conversely, when a team lands on a solution, there can be a sense of relief and accomplishment.

Similarly, when using horizontal thinking, emotions such as excitement and optimism can arise during a brainstorming session when new and creative ideas are being generated. However, disappointment or frustration can also arise when an idea fails to work.

It's important to recognize and acknowledge these emotions as they can affect team dynamics and ultimately, the success of the problem-solving process. I encourage leaders to create a safe and supportive environment where team members feel comfortable expressing their emotions and concerns.

Make These Thinking Styles Work For You

In my experience, a personalized approach that balances both vertical and horizontal thinking can help manage emotions and any other issues that arise effectively. By using vertical thinking to identify specific problems and solutions, and horizontal thinking to generate creative ideas, you can create a problem-solving process that encourages collaboration, creativity and innovation while minimizing negative emotions.

Are you ready to take your problem-solving and decision-making skills to the next level?

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This is how effective teams navigate the decision-making process

Zero Magic 8 Balls required.

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Flipping a coin. Throwing a dart at a board. Pulling a slip of paper out of a hat.

Sure, they’re all ways to make a choice. But they all hinge on random chance rather than analysis, reflection, and strategy — you know, the things you actually need to make the big, meaty decisions that have major impacts.

So, set down that Magic 8 Ball and back away slowly. Let’s walk through the standard framework for decision-making that will help you and your team pinpoint the problem, consider your options, and make your most informed selection. Here’s a closer look at each of the seven steps of the decision-making process, and how to approach each one.

Step 1: Identify the decision

Most of us are eager to tie on our superhero capes and jump into problem-solving mode — especially if our team is depending on a solution. But you can’t solve a problem until you have a full grasp on what it actually is .

This first step focuses on getting the lay of the land when it comes to your decision. What specific problem are you trying to solve? What goal are you trying to achieve?

How to do it:

Use the 5 whys analysis to go beyond surface-level symptoms and understand the root cause of a problem.
Try problem framing to dig deep on the ins and outs of whatever problem your team is fixing. The point is to define the problem, not solve it.

⚠️ Watch out for: Decision fatigue , which is the tendency to make worse decisions as a result of needing to make too many of them. Making choices is mentally taxing , which is why it’s helpful to pinpoint one decision at a time.

2. Gather information

Your team probably has a few hunches and best guesses, but those can lead to knee-jerk reactions. Take care to invest adequate time and research into your decision.

This step is when you build your case, so to speak. Collect relevant information — that could be data, customer stories, information about past projects, feedback, or whatever else seems pertinent. You’ll use that to make decisions that are informed, rather than impulsive.

Host a team mindmapping session to freely explore ideas and make connections between them. It can help you identify what information will best support the process.
Create a project poster to define your goals and also determine what information you already know and what you still need to find out.

⚠️ Watch out for: Information bias , or the tendency to seek out information even if it won’t impact your action. We have the tendency to think more information is always better, but pulling together a bunch of facts and insights that aren’t applicable may cloud your judgment rather than offer clarity.

3. Identify alternatives

Use divergent thinking to generate fresh ideas in your next brainstorm

Blame the popularity of the coin toss, but making a decision often feels like choosing between only two options. Do you want heads or tails? Door number one or door number two? In reality, your options aren’t usually so cut and dried. Take advantage of this opportunity to get creative and brainstorm all sorts of routes or solutions. There’s no need to box yourselves in.

Use the Six Thinking Hats technique to explore the problem or goal from all sides: information, emotions and instinct, risks, benefits, and creativity. It can help you and your team break away from your typical roles or mindsets and think more freely.
Try brainwriting so team members can write down their ideas independently before sharing with the group. Research shows that this quiet, lone thinking time can boost psychological safety and generate more creative suggestions .

⚠️ Watch out for: Groupthink , which is the tendency of a group to make non-optimal decisions in the interest of conformity. People don’t want to rock the boat, so they don’t speak up.

4. Consider the evidence

Armed with your list of alternatives, it’s time to take a closer look and determine which ones could be worth pursuing. You and your team should ask questions like “How will this solution address the problem or achieve the goal?” and “What are the pros and cons of this option?”

Be honest with your answers (and back them up with the information you already collected when you can). Remind the team that this isn’t about advocating for their own suggestions to “win” — it’s about whittling your options down to the best decision.

How to do it:

Use a SWOT analysis to dig into the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of the options you’re seriously considering.
Run a project trade-off analysis to understand what constraints (such as time, scope, or cost) the team is most willing to compromise on if needed.

⚠️ Watch out for: Extinction by instinct , which is the urge to make a decision just to get it over with. You didn’t come this far to settle for a “good enough” option!

5. Choose among the alternatives

This is it — it’s the big moment when you and the team actually make the decision. You’ve identified all possible options, considered the supporting evidence, and are ready to choose how you’ll move forward.

However, bear in mind that there’s still a surprising amount of room for flexibility here. Maybe you’ll modify an alternative or combine a few suggested solutions together to land on the best fit for your problem and your team.

Use the DACI framework (that stands for “driver, approver, contributor, informed”) to understand who ultimately has the final say in decisions. The decision-making process can be collaborative, but eventually someone needs to be empowered to make the final call.
Try a simple voting method for decisions that are more democratized. You’ll simply tally your team’s votes and go with the majority.

⚠️ Watch out for: Analysis paralysis , which is when you overthink something to such a great degree that you feel overwhelmed and freeze when it’s time to actually make a choice.

6. Take action

Making a big decision takes a hefty amount of work, but it’s only the first part of the process — now you need to actually implement it.

It’s tempting to think that decisions will work themselves out once they’re made. But particularly in a team setting, it’s crucial to invest just as much thought and planning into communicating the decision and successfully rolling it out.

Create a stakeholder communications plan to determine how you’ll keep various people — direct team members, company leaders, customers, or whoever else has an active interest in your decision — in the loop on your progress.
Define the goals, signals, and measures of your decision so you’ll have an easier time aligning the team around the next steps and determining whether or not they’re successful.

⚠️Watch out for: Self-doubt, or the tendency to question whether or not you’re making the right move. While we’re hardwired for doubt , now isn’t the time to be a skeptic about your decision. You and the team have done the work, so trust the process.

7. Review your decision

9 retrospective techniques that won’t bore your team to tears

As the decision itself starts to shake out, it’s time to take a look in the rearview mirror and reflect on how things went.

Did your decision work out the way you and the team hoped? What happened? Examine both the good and the bad. What should you keep in mind if and when you need to make this sort of decision again?

Do a 4 L’s retrospective to talk through what you and the team loved, loathed, learned, and longed for as a result of that decision.
Celebrate any wins (yes, even the small ones ) related to that decision. It gives morale a good kick in the pants and can also help make future decisions feel a little less intimidating.

⚠️ Watch out for: Hindsight bias , or the tendency to look back on events with the knowledge you have now and beat yourself up for not knowing better at the time. Even with careful thought and planning, some decisions don’t work out — but you can only operate with the information you have at the time.

Making smart decisions about the decision-making process

You’re probably picking up on the fact that the decision-making process is fairly comprehensive. And the truth is that the model is likely overkill for the small and inconsequential decisions you or your team members need to make.

Deciding whether you should order tacos or sandwiches for your team offsite doesn’t warrant this much discussion and elbow grease. But figuring out which major project to prioritize next? That requires some careful and collaborative thought.

It all comes back to the concept of satisficing versus maximizing , which are two different perspectives on decision making. Here’s the gist:

Maximizers aim to get the very best out of every single decision.
Satisficers are willing to settle for “good enough” rather than obsessing over achieving the best outcome.

One of those isn’t necessarily better than the other — and, in fact, they both have their time and place.

A major decision with far-reaching impacts deserves some fixation and perfectionism. However, hemming and hawing over trivial choices ( “Should we start our team meeting with casual small talk or a structured icebreaker?” ) will only cause added stress, frustration, and slowdowns.

As with anything else, it’s worth thinking about the potential impacts to determine just how much deliberation and precision a decision actually requires.

Decision-making is one of those things that’s part art and part science. You’ll likely have some gut feelings and instincts that are worth taking into account. But those should also be complemented with plenty of evidence, evaluation, and collaboration.

The decision-making process is a framework that helps you strike that balance. Follow the seven steps and you and your team can feel confident in the decisions you make — while leaving the darts and coins where they belong.

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Overview of the Problem-Solving Mental Process

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

Rachel Goldman, PhD FTOS, is a licensed psychologist, clinical assistant professor, speaker, wellness expert specializing in eating behaviors, stress management, and health behavior change.

Identify the Problem
Define the Problem
Form a Strategy
Organize Information
Allocate Resources
Monitor Progress
Evaluate the Results

Frequently Asked Questions

Problem-solving is a mental process that involves discovering, analyzing, and solving problems. The ultimate goal of problem-solving is to overcome obstacles and find a solution that best resolves the issue.

The best strategy for solving a problem depends largely on the unique situation. In some cases, people are better off learning everything they can about the issue and then using factual knowledge to come up with a solution. In other instances, creativity and insight are the best options.

It is not necessary to follow problem-solving steps sequentially, It is common to skip steps or even go back through steps multiple times until the desired solution is reached.

In order to correctly solve a problem, it is often important to follow a series of steps. Researchers sometimes refer to this as the problem-solving cycle. While this cycle is portrayed sequentially, people rarely follow a rigid series of steps to find a solution.

The following steps include developing strategies and organizing knowledge.

1. Identifying the Problem

While it may seem like an obvious step, identifying the problem is not always as simple as it sounds. In some cases, people might mistakenly identify the wrong source of a problem, which will make attempts to solve it inefficient or even useless.

Some strategies that you might use to figure out the source of a problem include :

Asking questions about the problem
Breaking the problem down into smaller pieces
Looking at the problem from different perspectives
Conducting research to figure out what relationships exist between different variables

2. Defining the Problem

After the problem has been identified, it is important to fully define the problem so that it can be solved. You can define a problem by operationally defining each aspect of the problem and setting goals for what aspects of the problem you will address

At this point, you should focus on figuring out which aspects of the problems are facts and which are opinions. State the problem clearly and identify the scope of the solution.

3. Forming a Strategy

After the problem has been identified, it is time to start brainstorming potential solutions. This step usually involves generating as many ideas as possible without judging their quality. Once several possibilities have been generated, they can be evaluated and narrowed down.

The next step is to develop a strategy to solve the problem. The approach used will vary depending upon the situation and the individual's unique preferences. Common problem-solving strategies include heuristics and algorithms.

Heuristics are mental shortcuts that are often based on solutions that have worked in the past. They can work well if the problem is similar to something you have encountered before and are often the best choice if you need a fast solution.
Algorithms are step-by-step strategies that are guaranteed to produce a correct result. While this approach is great for accuracy, it can also consume time and resources.

Heuristics are often best used when time is of the essence, while algorithms are a better choice when a decision needs to be as accurate as possible.

4. Organizing Information

Before coming up with a solution, you need to first organize the available information. What do you know about the problem? What do you not know? The more information that is available the better prepared you will be to come up with an accurate solution.

When approaching a problem, it is important to make sure that you have all the data you need. Making a decision without adequate information can lead to biased or inaccurate results.

5. Allocating Resources

Of course, we don't always have unlimited money, time, and other resources to solve a problem. Before you begin to solve a problem, you need to determine how high priority it is.

If it is an important problem, it is probably worth allocating more resources to solving it. If, however, it is a fairly unimportant problem, then you do not want to spend too much of your available resources on coming up with a solution.

At this stage, it is important to consider all of the factors that might affect the problem at hand. This includes looking at the available resources, deadlines that need to be met, and any possible risks involved in each solution. After careful evaluation, a decision can be made about which solution to pursue.

6. Monitoring Progress

After selecting a problem-solving strategy, it is time to put the plan into action and see if it works. This step might involve trying out different solutions to see which one is the most effective.

It is also important to monitor the situation after implementing a solution to ensure that the problem has been solved and that no new problems have arisen as a result of the proposed solution.

Effective problem-solvers tend to monitor their progress as they work towards a solution. If they are not making good progress toward reaching their goal, they will reevaluate their approach or look for new strategies .

7. Evaluating the Results

After a solution has been reached, it is important to evaluate the results to determine if it is the best possible solution to the problem. This evaluation might be immediate, such as checking the results of a math problem to ensure the answer is correct, or it can be delayed, such as evaluating the success of a therapy program after several months of treatment.

Once a problem has been solved, it is important to take some time to reflect on the process that was used and evaluate the results. This will help you to improve your problem-solving skills and become more efficient at solving future problems.

A Word From Verywell

It is important to remember that there are many different problem-solving processes with different steps, and this is just one example. Problem-solving in real-world situations requires a great deal of resourcefulness, flexibility, resilience, and continuous interaction with the environment.

Get Advice From The Verywell Mind Podcast

Hosted by therapist Amy Morin, LCSW, this episode of The Verywell Mind Podcast shares how you can stop dwelling in a negative mindset.

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You can become a better problem solving by:

Practicing brainstorming and coming up with multiple potential solutions to problems
Being open-minded and considering all possible options before making a decision
Breaking down problems into smaller, more manageable pieces
Asking for help when needed
Researching different problem-solving techniques and trying out new ones
Learning from mistakes and using them as opportunities to grow

It's important to communicate openly and honestly with your partner about what's going on. Try to see things from their perspective as well as your own. Work together to find a resolution that works for both of you. Be willing to compromise and accept that there may not be a perfect solution.

Take breaks if things are getting too heated, and come back to the problem when you feel calm and collected. Don't try to fix every problem on your own—consider asking a therapist or counselor for help and insight.

If you've tried everything and there doesn't seem to be a way to fix the problem, you may have to learn to accept it. This can be difficult, but try to focus on the positive aspects of your life and remember that every situation is temporary. Don't dwell on what's going wrong—instead, think about what's going right. Find support by talking to friends or family. Seek professional help if you're having trouble coping.

Davidson JE, Sternberg RJ, editors. The Psychology of Problem Solving . Cambridge University Press; 2003. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511615771

Sarathy V. Real world problem-solving . Front Hum Neurosci . 2018;12:261. Published 2018 Jun 26. doi:10.3389/fnhum.2018.00261

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

How to improve your problem solving skills and build effective problem solving strategies

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What is a problem solving process?

What are the problem solving steps I need to follow?

Problem solving strategies

What skills do i need to be an effective problem solver, how can i improve my problem solving skills.

Solving problems is like baking a cake. You can go straight into the kitchen without a recipe or the right ingredients and do your best, but the end result is unlikely to be very tasty!

Using a process to bake a cake allows you to use the best ingredients without waste, collect the right tools, account for allergies, decide whether it is a birthday or wedding cake, and then bake efficiently and on time. The result is a better cake that is fit for purpose, tastes better and has created less mess in the kitchen. Also, it should have chocolate sprinkles. Having a step by step process to solve organizational problems allows you to go through each stage methodically and ensure you are trying to solve the right problems and select the most appropriate, effective solutions.

What are the problem solving steps I need to follow?

All problem solving processes go through a number of steps in order to move from identifying a problem to resolving it.

Depending on your problem solving model and who you ask, there can be anything between four and nine problem solving steps you should follow in order to find the right solution. Whatever framework you and your group use, there are some key items that should be addressed in order to have an effective process.

We’ve looked at problem solving processes from sources such as the American Society for Quality and their four step approach , and Mediate ‘s six step process. By reflecting on those and our own problem solving processes, we’ve come up with a sequence of seven problem solving steps we feel best covers everything you need in order to effectively solve problems.

1. Problem identification

The first stage of any problem solving process is to identify the problem or problems you might want to solve. Effective problem solving strategies always begin by allowing a group scope to articulate what they believe the problem to be and then coming to some consensus over which problem they approach first. Problem solving activities used at this stage often have a focus on creating frank, open discussion so that potential problems can be brought to the surface.

2. Problem analysis

Though this step is not a million miles from problem identification, problem analysis deserves to be considered separately. It can often be an overlooked part of the process and is instrumental when it comes to developing effective solutions.

The process of problem analysis means ensuring that the problem you are seeking to solve is the right problem . As part of this stage, you may look deeper and try to find the root cause of a specific problem at a team or organizational level.

Remember that problem solving strategies should not only be focused on putting out fires in the short term but developing long term solutions that deal with the root cause of organizational challenges.

Whatever your approach, analyzing a problem is crucial in being able to select an appropriate solution and the problem solving skills deployed in this stage are beneficial for the rest of the process and ensuring the solutions you create are fit for purpose.

3. Solution generation

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

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

4. Solution development

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

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

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

5. Decision making

Nearly there! Once your group has reached consensus and selected a solution that applies to the problem at hand you have some decisions to make. You will want to work on allocating ownership of the project, figure out who will do what, how the success of the solution will be measured and decide the next course of action.

The decision making stage is a part of the problem solving process that can get missed or taken as for granted. Fail to properly allocate roles and plan out how a solution will actually be implemented and it less likely to be successful in solving the problem.

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

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

6. Solution implementation

This is what we were waiting for! All problem solving strategies have the end goal of implementing a solution and solving a problem in mind.

Remember that in order for any solution to be successful, you need to help your group through all of the previous problem solving steps thoughtfully. Only then can you ensure that you are solving the right problem but also that you have developed the correct solution and can then successfully implement and measure the impact of that solution.

Project management and communication skills are key here – your solution may need to adjust when out in the wild or you might discover new challenges along the way.

7. Solution evaluation

So you and your team developed a great solution to a problem and have a gut feeling its been solved. Work done, right? Wrong. All problem solving strategies benefit from evaluation, consideration, and feedback. You might find that the solution does not work for everyone, might create new problems, or is potentially so successful that you will want to roll it out to larger teams or as part of other initiatives.

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

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

It’s worth underlining how important record keeping is throughout the problem solving process. If a solution didn’t work, you need to have the data and records to see why that was the case. If you go back to the drawing board, notes from the previous workshop can help save time. Data and insight is invaluable at every stage of the problem solving process and this one is no different.

Problem solving workshops made easy

Problem solving strategies are methods of approaching and facilitating the process of problem-solving with a set of techniques , actions, and processes. Different strategies are more effective if you are trying to solve broad problems such as achieving higher growth versus more focused problems like, how do we improve our customer onboarding process?

Broadly, the problem solving steps outlined above should be included in any problem solving strategy though choosing where to focus your time and what approaches should be taken is where they begin to differ. You might find that some strategies ask for the problem identification to be done prior to the session or that everything happens in the course of a one day workshop.

The key similarity is that all good problem solving strategies are structured and designed. Four hours of open discussion is never going to be as productive as a four-hour workshop designed to lead a group through a problem solving process.

Good problem solving strategies are tailored to the team, organization and problem you will be attempting to solve. Here are some example problem solving strategies you can learn from or use to get started.

Use a workshop to lead a team through a group process

Often, the first step to solving problems or organizational challenges is bringing a group together effectively. Most teams have the tools, knowledge, and expertise necessary to solve their challenges – they just need some guidance in how to use leverage those skills and a structure and format that allows people to focus their energies.

Facilitated workshops are one of the most effective ways of solving problems of any scale. By designing and planning your workshop carefully, you can tailor the approach and scope to best fit the needs of your team and organization.

Problem solving workshop

Creating a bespoke, tailored process
Tackling problems of any size
Building in-house workshop ability and encouraging their use

Workshops are an effective strategy for solving problems. By using tried and test facilitation techniques and methods, you can design and deliver a workshop that is perfectly suited to the unique variables of your organization. You may only have the capacity for a half-day workshop and so need a problem solving process to match.

By using our session planner tool and importing methods from our library of 700+ facilitation techniques, you can create the right problem solving workshop for your team. It might be that you want to encourage creative thinking or look at things from a new angle to unblock your groups approach to problem solving. By tailoring your workshop design to the purpose, you can help ensure great results.

One of the main benefits of a workshop is the structured approach to problem solving. Not only does this mean that the workshop itself will be successful, but many of the methods and techniques will help your team improve their working processes outside of the workshop.

We believe that workshops are one of the best tools you can use to improve the way your team works together. Start with a problem solving workshop and then see what team building, culture or design workshops can do for your organization!

Run a design sprint

Great for:

aligning large, multi-discipline teams
quickly designing and testing solutions
tackling large, complex organizational challenges and breaking them down into smaller tasks

By using design thinking principles and methods, a design sprint is a great way of identifying, prioritizing and prototyping solutions to long term challenges that can help solve major organizational problems with quick action and measurable results.

Some familiarity with design thinking is useful, though not integral, and this strategy can really help a team align if there is some discussion around which problems should be approached first.

The stage-based structure of the design sprint is also very useful for teams new to design thinking. The inspiration phase, where you look to competitors that have solved your problem, and the rapid prototyping and testing phases are great for introducing new concepts that will benefit a team in all their future work.

It can be common for teams to look inward for solutions and so looking to the market for solutions you can iterate on can be very productive. Instilling an agile prototyping and testing mindset can also be great when helping teams move forwards – generating and testing solutions quickly can help save time in the long run and is also pretty exciting!

Break problems down into smaller issues

Organizational challenges and problems are often complicated and large scale in nature. Sometimes, trying to resolve such an issue in one swoop is simply unachievable or overwhelming. Try breaking down such problems into smaller issues that you can work on step by step. You may not be able to solve the problem of churning customers off the bat, but you can work with your team to identify smaller effort but high impact elements and work on those first.

This problem solving strategy can help a team generate momentum, prioritize and get some easy wins. It’s also a great strategy to employ with teams who are just beginning to learn how to approach the problem solving process. If you want some insight into a way to employ this strategy, we recommend looking at our design sprint template below!

Use guiding frameworks or try new methodologies

Some problems are best solved by introducing a major shift in perspective or by using new methodologies that encourage your team to think differently.

Props and tools such as Methodkit , which uses a card-based toolkit for facilitation, or Lego Serious Play can be great ways to engage your team and find an inclusive, democratic problem solving strategy. Remember that play and creativity are great tools for achieving change and whatever the challenge, engaging your participants can be very effective where other strategies may have failed.

LEGO Serious Play

Improving core problem solving skills
Thinking outside of the box
Encouraging creative solutions

LEGO Serious Play is a problem solving methodology designed to get participants thinking differently by using 3D models and kinesthetic learning styles. By physically building LEGO models based on questions and exercises, participants are encouraged to think outside of the box and create their own responses.

Collaborate LEGO Serious Play exercises are also used to encourage communication and build problem solving skills in a group. By using this problem solving process, you can often help different kinds of learners and personality types contribute and unblock organizational problems with creative thinking.

Problem solving strategies like LEGO Serious Play are super effective at helping a team solve more skills-based problems such as communication between teams or a lack of creative thinking. Some problems are not suited to LEGO Serious Play and require a different problem solving strategy.

Card Decks and Method Kits

New facilitators or non-facilitators
Approaching difficult subjects with a simple, creative framework
Engaging those with varied learning styles

Card decks and method kids are great tools for those new to facilitation or for whom facilitation is not the primary role. Card decks such as the emotional culture deck can be used for complete workshops and in many cases, can be used right out of the box. Methodkit has a variety of kits designed for scenarios ranging from personal development through to personas and global challenges so you can find the right deck for your particular needs.

Having an easy to use framework that encourages creativity or a new approach can take some of the friction or planning difficulties out of the workshop process and energize a team in any setting. Simplicity is the key with these methods. By ensuring everyone on your team can get involved and engage with the process as quickly as possible can really contribute to the success of your problem solving strategy.

Source external advice

Looking to peers, experts and external facilitators can be a great way of approaching the problem solving process. Your team may not have the necessary expertise, insights of experience to tackle some issues, or you might simply benefit from a fresh perspective. Some problems may require bringing together an entire team, and coaching managers or team members individually might be the right approach. Remember that not all problems are best resolved in the same manner.

If you’re a solo entrepreneur, peer groups, coaches and mentors can also be invaluable at not only solving specific business problems, but in providing a support network for resolving future challenges. One great approach is to join a Mastermind Group and link up with like-minded individuals and all grow together. Remember that however you approach the sourcing of external advice, do so thoughtfully, respectfully and honestly. Reciprocate where you can and prepare to be surprised by just how kind and helpful your peers can be!

Mastermind Group

Solo entrepreneurs or small teams with low capacity
Peer learning and gaining outside expertise
Getting multiple external points of view quickly

Problem solving in large organizations with lots of skilled team members is one thing, but how about if you work for yourself or in a very small team without the capacity to get the most from a design sprint or LEGO Serious Play session?

A mastermind group – sometimes known as a peer advisory board – is where a group of people come together to support one another in their own goals, challenges, and businesses. Each participant comes to the group with their own purpose and the other members of the group will help them create solutions, brainstorm ideas, and support one another.

Mastermind groups are very effective in creating an energized, supportive atmosphere that can deliver meaningful results. Learning from peers from outside of your organization or industry can really help unlock new ways of thinking and drive growth. Access to the experience and skills of your peers can be invaluable in helping fill the gaps in your own ability, particularly in young companies.

A mastermind group is a great solution for solo entrepreneurs, small teams, or for organizations that feel that external expertise or fresh perspectives will be beneficial for them. It is worth noting that Mastermind groups are often only as good as the participants and what they can bring to the group. Participants need to be committed, engaged and understand how to work in this context.

Coaching and mentoring

Focused learning and development
Filling skills gaps
Working on a range of challenges over time

Receiving advice from a business coach or building a mentor/mentee relationship can be an effective way of resolving certain challenges. The one-to-one format of most coaching and mentor relationships can really help solve the challenges those individuals are having and benefit the organization as a result.

A great mentor can be invaluable when it comes to spotting potential problems before they arise and coming to understand a mentee very well has a host of other business benefits. You might run an internal mentorship program to help develop your team’s problem solving skills and strategies or as part of a large learning and development program. External coaches can also be an important part of your problem solving strategy, filling skills gaps for your management team or helping with specific business issues.

Now we’ve explored the problem solving process and the steps you will want to go through in order to have an effective session, let’s look at the skills you and your team need to be more effective problem solvers.

Problem solving skills are highly sought after, whatever industry or team you work in. Organizations are keen to employ people who are able to approach problems thoughtfully and find strong, realistic solutions. Whether you are a facilitator , a team leader or a developer, being an effective problem solver is a skill you’ll want to develop.

Problem solving skills form a whole suite of techniques and approaches that an individual uses to not only identify problems but to discuss them productively before then developing appropriate solutions.

Here are some of the most important problem solving skills everyone from executives to junior staff members should learn. We’ve also included an activity or exercise from the SessionLab library that can help you and your team develop that skill.

If you’re running a workshop or training session to try and improve problem solving skills in your team, try using these methods to supercharge your process!

Active listening

Active listening is one of the most important skills anyone who works with people can possess. In short, active listening is a technique used to not only better understand what is being said by an individual, but also to be more aware of the underlying message the speaker is trying to convey. When it comes to problem solving, active listening is integral for understanding the position of every participant and to clarify the challenges, ideas and solutions they bring to the table.

Some active listening skills include:

Paying complete attention to the speaker.
Removing distractions.
Avoid interruption.
Taking the time to fully understand before preparing a rebuttal.
Responding respectfully and appropriately.
Demonstrate attentiveness and positivity with an open posture, making eye contact with the speaker, smiling and nodding if appropriate. Show that you are listening and encourage them to continue.
Be aware of and respectful of feelings. Judge the situation and respond appropriately. You can disagree without being disrespectful.
Observe body language.
Paraphrase what was said in your own words, either mentally or verbally.
Remain neutral.
Reflect and take a moment before responding.
Ask deeper questions based on what is said and clarify points where necessary.

Active Listening #hyperisland #skills #active listening #remote-friendly This activity supports participants to reflect on a question and generate their own solutions using simple principles of active listening and peer coaching. It’s an excellent introduction to active listening but can also be used with groups that are already familiar with it. Participants work in groups of three and take turns being: “the subject”, the listener, and the observer.

Analytical skills

All problem solving models require strong analytical skills, particularly during the beginning of the process and when it comes to analyzing how solutions have performed.

Analytical skills are primarily focused on performing an effective analysis by collecting, studying and parsing data related to a problem or opportunity.

It often involves spotting patterns, being able to see things from different perspectives and using observable facts and data to make suggestions or produce insight.

Analytical skills are also important at every stage of the problem solving process and by having these skills, you can ensure that any ideas or solutions you create or backed up analytically and have been sufficiently thought out.

Nine Whys #innovation #issue analysis #liberating structures With breathtaking simplicity, you can rapidly clarify for individuals and a group what is essentially important in their work. You can quickly reveal when a compelling purpose is missing in a gathering and avoid moving forward without clarity. When a group discovers an unambiguous shared purpose, more freedom and more responsibility are unleashed. You have laid the foundation for spreading and scaling innovations with fidelity.

Collaboration

Trying to solve problems on your own is difficult. Being able to collaborate effectively, with a free exchange of ideas, to delegate and be a productive member of a team is hugely important to all problem solving strategies.

Remember that whatever your role, collaboration is integral, and in a problem solving process, you are all working together to find the best solution for everyone.

Marshmallow challenge with debriefing #teamwork #team #leadership #collaboration In eighteen minutes, teams must build the tallest free-standing structure out of 20 sticks of spaghetti, one yard of tape, one yard of string, and one marshmallow. The marshmallow needs to be on top. The Marshmallow Challenge was developed by Tom Wujec, who has done the activity with hundreds of groups around the world. Visit the Marshmallow Challenge website for more information. This version has an extra debriefing question added with sample questions focusing on roles within the team.

Communication

Being an effective communicator means being empathetic, clear and succinct, asking the right questions, and demonstrating active listening skills throughout any discussion or meeting.

In a problem solving setting, you need to communicate well in order to progress through each stage of the process effectively. As a team leader, it may also fall to you to facilitate communication between parties who may not see eye to eye. Effective communication also means helping others to express themselves and be heard in a group.

Bus Trip #feedback #communication #appreciation #closing #thiagi #team This is one of my favourite feedback games. I use Bus Trip at the end of a training session or a meeting, and I use it all the time. The game creates a massive amount of energy with lots of smiles, laughs, and sometimes even a teardrop or two.

Creative problem solving skills can be some of the best tools in your arsenal. Thinking creatively, being able to generate lots of ideas and come up with out of the box solutions is useful at every step of the process.

The kinds of problems you will likely discuss in a problem solving workshop are often difficult to solve, and by approaching things in a fresh, creative manner, you can often create more innovative solutions.

Having practical creative skills is also a boon when it comes to problem solving. If you can help create quality design sketches and prototypes in record time, it can help bring a team to alignment more quickly or provide a base for further iteration.

The paper clip method #sharing #creativity #warm up #idea generation #brainstorming The power of brainstorming. A training for project leaders, creativity training, and to catalyse getting new solutions.

Critical thinking

Critical thinking is one of the fundamental problem solving skills you’ll want to develop when working on developing solutions. Critical thinking is the ability to analyze, rationalize and evaluate while being aware of personal bias, outlying factors and remaining open-minded.

Defining and analyzing problems without deploying critical thinking skills can mean you and your team go down the wrong path. Developing solutions to complex issues requires critical thinking too – ensuring your team considers all possibilities and rationally evaluating them.

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.

Data analysis

Though it shares lots of space with general analytical skills, data analysis skills are something you want to cultivate in their own right in order to be an effective problem solver.

Being good at data analysis doesn’t just mean being able to find insights from data, but also selecting the appropriate data for a given issue, interpreting it effectively and knowing how to model and present that data. Depending on the problem at hand, it might also include a working knowledge of specific data analysis tools and procedures.

Having a solid grasp of data analysis techniques is useful if you’re leading a problem solving workshop but if you’re not an expert, don’t worry. Bring people into the group who has this skill set and help your team be more effective as a result.

Decision making

All problems need a solution and all solutions require that someone make the decision to implement them. Without strong decision making skills, teams can become bogged down in discussion and less effective as a result.

Making decisions is a key part of the problem solving process. It’s important to remember that decision making is not restricted to the leadership team. Every staff member makes decisions every day and developing these skills ensures that your team is able to solve problems at any scale. Remember that making decisions does not mean leaping to the first solution but weighing up the options and coming to an informed, well thought out solution to any given problem that works for the whole team.

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

Dependability

Most complex organizational problems require multiple people to be involved in delivering the solution. Ensuring that the team and organization can depend on you to take the necessary actions and communicate where necessary is key to ensuring problems are solved effectively.

Being dependable also means working to deadlines and to brief. It is often a matter of creating trust in a team so that everyone can depend on one another to complete the agreed actions in the agreed time frame so that the team can move forward together. Being undependable can create problems of friction and can limit the effectiveness of your solutions so be sure to bear this in mind throughout a project.

Team Purpose & Culture #team #hyperisland #culture #remote-friendly This is an essential process designed to help teams define their purpose (why they exist) and their culture (how they work together to achieve that purpose). Defining these two things will help any team to be more focused and aligned. With support of tangible examples from other companies, the team members work as individuals and a group to codify the way they work together. The goal is a visual manifestation of both the purpose and culture that can be put up in the team’s work space.

Emotional intelligence

Emotional intelligence is an important skill for any successful team member, whether communicating internally or with clients or users. In the problem solving process, emotional intelligence means being attuned to how people are feeling and thinking, communicating effectively and being self-aware of what you bring to a room.

There are often differences of opinion when working through problem solving processes, and it can be easy to let things become impassioned or combative. Developing your emotional intelligence means being empathetic to your colleagues and managing your own emotions throughout the problem and solution process. Be kind, be thoughtful and put your points across care and attention.

Being emotionally intelligent is a skill for life and by deploying it at work, you can not only work efficiently but empathetically. Check out the emotional culture workshop template for more!

Facilitation

As we’ve clarified in our facilitation skills post, facilitation is the art of leading people through processes towards agreed-upon objectives in a manner that encourages participation, ownership, and creativity by all those involved. While facilitation is a set of interrelated skills in itself, the broad definition of facilitation can be invaluable when it comes to problem solving. Leading a team through a problem solving process is made more effective if you improve and utilize facilitation skills – whether you’re a manager, team leader or external stakeholder.

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

Flexibility

Being flexible is a vital skill when it comes to problem solving. This does not mean immediately bowing to pressure or changing your opinion quickly: instead, being flexible is all about seeing things from new perspectives, receiving new information and factoring it into your thought process.

Flexibility is also important when it comes to rolling out solutions. It might be that other organizational projects have greater priority or require the same resources as your chosen solution. Being flexible means understanding needs and challenges across the team and being open to shifting or arranging your own schedule as necessary. Again, this does not mean immediately making way for other projects. It’s about articulating your own needs, understanding the needs of others and being able to come to a meaningful compromise.

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.

Working in any group can lead to unconscious elements of groupthink or situations in which you may not wish to be entirely honest. Disagreeing with the opinions of the executive team or wishing to save the feelings of a coworker can be tricky to navigate, but being honest is absolutely vital when to comes to developing effective solutions and ensuring your voice is heard.

Remember that being honest does not mean being brutally candid. You can deliver your honest feedback and opinions thoughtfully and without creating friction by using other skills such as emotional intelligence.

Explore your Values #hyperisland #skills #values #remote-friendly Your Values is an exercise for participants to explore what their most important values are. It’s done in an intuitive and rapid way to encourage participants to follow their intuitive feeling rather than over-thinking and finding the “correct” values. It is a good exercise to use to initiate reflection and dialogue around personal values.

Initiative

The problem solving process is multi-faceted and requires different approaches at certain points of the process. Taking initiative to bring problems to the attention of the team, collect data or lead the solution creating process is always valuable. You might even roadtest your own small scale solutions or brainstorm before a session. Taking initiative is particularly effective if you have good deal of knowledge in that area or have ownership of a particular project and want to get things kickstarted.

That said, be sure to remember to honor the process and work in service of the team. If you are asked to own one part of the problem solving process and you don’t complete that task because your initiative leads you to work on something else, that’s not an effective method of solving business challenges.

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.

Impartiality

A particularly useful problem solving skill for product owners or managers is the ability to remain impartial throughout much of the process. In practice, this means treating all points of view and ideas brought forward in a meeting equally and ensuring that your own areas of interest or ownership are not favored over others.

There may be a stage in the process where a decision maker has to weigh the cost and ROI of possible solutions against the company roadmap though even then, ensuring that the decision made is based on merit and not personal opinion.

Empathy map #frame insights #create #design #issue analysis An empathy map is a tool to help a design team to empathize with the people they are designing for. You can make an empathy map for a group of people or for a persona. To be used after doing personas when more insights are needed.

Being a good leader means getting a team aligned, energized and focused around a common goal. In the problem solving process, strong leadership helps ensure that the process is efficient, that any conflicts are resolved and that a team is managed in the direction of success.

It’s common for managers or executives to assume this role in a problem solving workshop, though it’s important that the leader maintains impartiality and does not bulldoze the group in a particular direction. Remember that good leadership means working in service of the purpose and team and ensuring the workshop is a safe space for employees of any level to contribute. Take a look at our leadership games and activities post for more exercises and methods to help improve leadership in your organization.

Leadership Pizza #leadership #team #remote-friendly This leadership development activity offers a self-assessment framework for people to first identify what skills, attributes and attitudes they find important for effective leadership, and then assess their own development and initiate goal setting.

In the context of problem solving, mediation is important in keeping a team engaged, happy and free of conflict. When leading or facilitating a problem solving workshop, you are likely to run into differences of opinion. Depending on the nature of the problem, certain issues may be brought up that are emotive in nature.

Being an effective mediator means helping those people on either side of such a divide are heard, listen to one another and encouraged to find common ground and a resolution. Mediating skills are useful for leaders and managers in many situations and the problem solving process is no different.

Conflict Responses #hyperisland #team #issue resolution A workshop for a team to reflect on past conflicts, and use them to generate guidelines for effective conflict handling. The workshop uses the Thomas-Killman model of conflict responses to frame a reflective discussion. Use it to open up a discussion around conflict with a team.

Planning

Solving organizational problems is much more effective when following a process or problem solving model. Planning skills are vital in order to structure, deliver and follow-through on a problem solving workshop and ensure your solutions are intelligently deployed.

Planning skills include the ability to organize tasks and a team, plan and design the process and take into account any potential challenges. Taking the time to plan carefully can save time and frustration later in the process and is valuable for ensuring a team is positioned for success.

3 Action Steps #hyperisland #action #remote-friendly This is a small-scale strategic planning session that helps groups and individuals to take action toward a desired change. It is often used at the end of a workshop or programme. The group discusses and agrees on a vision, then creates some action steps that will lead them towards that vision. The scope of the challenge is also defined, through discussion of the helpful and harmful factors influencing the group.

Prioritization

As organisations grow, the scale and variation of problems they face multiplies. Your team or is likely to face numerous challenges in different areas and so having the skills to analyze and prioritize becomes very important, particularly for those in leadership roles.

A thorough problem solving process is likely to deliver multiple solutions and you may have several different problems you wish to solve simultaneously. Prioritization is the ability to measure the importance, value, and effectiveness of those possible solutions and choose which to enact and in what order. The process of prioritization is integral in ensuring the biggest challenges are addressed with the most impactful solutions.

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.

Project management

Some problem solving skills are utilized in a workshop or ideation phases, while others come in useful when it comes to decision making. Overseeing an entire problem solving process and ensuring its success requires strong project management skills.

While project management incorporates many of the other skills listed here, it is important to note the distinction of considering all of the factors of a project and managing them successfully. Being able to negotiate with stakeholders, manage tasks, time and people, consider costs and ROI, and tie everything together is massively helpful when going through the problem solving process.

Record keeping

Working out meaningful solutions to organizational challenges is only one part of the process. Thoughtfully documenting and keeping records of each problem solving step for future consultation is important in ensuring efficiency and meaningful change.

For example, some problems may be lower priority than others but can be revisited in the future. If the team has ideated on solutions and found some are not up to the task, record those so you can rule them out and avoiding repeating work. Keeping records of the process also helps you improve and refine your problem solving model next time around!

Personal Kanban #gamestorming #action #agile #project planning Personal Kanban is a tool for organizing your work to be more efficient and productive. It is based on agile methods and principles.

Research skills

Conducting research to support both the identification of problems and the development of appropriate solutions is important for an effective process. Knowing where to go to collect research, how to conduct research efficiently, and identifying pieces of research are relevant are all things a good researcher can do well.

In larger groups, not everyone has to demonstrate this ability in order for a problem solving workshop to be effective. That said, having people with research skills involved in the process, particularly if they have existing area knowledge, can help ensure the solutions that are developed with data that supports their intention. Remember that being able to deliver the results of research efficiently and in a way the team can easily understand is also important. The best data in the world is only as effective as how it is delivered and interpreted.

Customer experience map #ideation #concepts #research #design #issue analysis #remote-friendly Customer experience mapping is a method of documenting and visualizing the experience a customer has as they use the product or service. It also maps out their responses to their experiences. To be used when there is a solution (even in a conceptual stage) that can be analyzed.

Risk management

Managing risk is an often overlooked part of the problem solving process. Solutions are often developed with the intention of reducing exposure to risk or solving issues that create risk but sometimes, great solutions are more experimental in nature and as such, deploying them needs to be carefully considered.

Managing risk means acknowledging that there may be risks associated with more out of the box solutions or trying new things, but that this must be measured against the possible benefits and other organizational factors.

Be informed, get the right data and stakeholders in the room and you can appropriately factor risk into your decision making process.

Decisions, Decisions… #communication #decision making #thiagi #action #issue analysis When it comes to decision-making, why are some of us more prone to take risks while others are risk-averse? One explanation might be the way the decision and options were presented. This exercise, based on Kahneman and Tversky’s classic study , illustrates how the framing effect influences our judgement and our ability to make decisions . The participants are divided into two groups. Both groups are presented with the same problem and two alternative programs for solving them. The two programs both have the same consequences but are presented differently. The debriefing discussion examines how the framing of the program impacted the participant’s decision.

Team-building

No single person is as good at problem solving as a team. Building an effective team and helping them come together around a common purpose is one of the most important problem solving skills, doubly so for leaders. By bringing a team together and helping them work efficiently, you pave the way for team ownership of a problem and the development of effective solutions.

In a problem solving workshop, it can be tempting to jump right into the deep end, though taking the time to break the ice, energize the team and align them with a game or exercise will pay off over the course of the day.

Remember that you will likely go through the problem solving process multiple times over an organization’s lifespan and building a strong team culture will make future problem solving more effective. It’s also great to work with people you know, trust and have fun with. Working on team building in and out of the problem solving process is a hallmark of successful teams that can work together to solve business problems.

9 Dimensions Team Building Activity #ice breaker #teambuilding #team #remote-friendly 9 Dimensions is a powerful activity designed to build relationships and trust among team members. There are 2 variations of this icebreaker. The first version is for teams who want to get to know each other better. The second version is for teams who want to explore how they are working together as a team.

Time management

The problem solving process is designed to lead a team from identifying a problem through to delivering a solution and evaluating its effectiveness. Without effective time management skills or timeboxing of tasks, it can be easy for a team to get bogged down or be inefficient.

By using a problem solving model and carefully designing your workshop, you can allocate time efficiently and trust that the process will deliver the results you need in a good timeframe.

Time management also comes into play when it comes to rolling out solutions, particularly those that are experimental in nature. Having a clear timeframe for implementing and evaluating solutions is vital for ensuring their success and being able to pivot if necessary.

Improving your skills at problem solving is often a career-long pursuit though there are methods you can use to make the learning process more efficient and to supercharge your problem solving skillset.

Remember that the skills you need to be a great problem solver have a large overlap with those skills you need to be effective in any role. Investing time and effort to develop your active listening or critical thinking skills is valuable in any context. Here are 7 ways to improve your problem solving skills.

Share best practices

Remember that your team is an excellent source of skills, wisdom, and techniques and that you should all take advantage of one another where possible. Best practices that one team has for solving problems, conducting research or making decisions should be shared across the organization. If you have in-house staff that have done active listening training or are data analysis pros, have them lead a training session.

Your team is one of your best resources. Create space and internal processes for the sharing of skills so that you can all grow together.

Ask for help and attend training

Once you’ve figured out you have a skills gap, the next step is to take action to fill that skills gap. That might be by asking your superior for training or coaching, or liaising with team members with that skill set. You might even attend specialized training for certain skills – active listening or critical thinking, for example, are business-critical skills that are regularly offered as part of a training scheme.

Whatever method you choose, remember that taking action of some description is necessary for growth. Whether that means practicing, getting help, attending training or doing some background reading, taking active steps to improve your skills is the way to go.

Learn a process

Problem solving can be complicated, particularly when attempting to solve large problems for the first time. Using a problem solving process helps give structure to your problem solving efforts and focus on creating outcomes, rather than worrying about the format.

Tools such as the seven-step problem solving process above are effective because not only do they feature steps that will help a team solve problems, they also develop skills along the way. Each step asks for people to engage with the process using different skills and in doing so, helps the team learn and grow together. Group processes of varying complexity and purpose can also be found in the SessionLab library of facilitation techniques . Using a tried and tested process and really help ease the learning curve for both those leading such a process, as well as those undergoing the purpose.

Effective teams make decisions about where they should and shouldn’t expend additional effort. By using a problem solving process, you can focus on the things that matter, rather than stumbling towards a solution haphazardly.

Create a feedback loop

Some skills gaps are more obvious than others. It’s possible that your perception of your active listening skills differs from those of your colleagues.

It’s valuable to create a system where team members can provide feedback in an ordered and friendly manner so they can all learn from one another. Only by identifying areas of improvement can you then work to improve them.

Remember that feedback systems require oversight and consideration so that they don’t turn into a place to complain about colleagues. Design the system intelligently so that you encourage the creation of learning opportunities, rather than encouraging people to list their pet peeves.

While practice might not make perfect, it does make the problem solving process easier. If you are having trouble with critical thinking, don’t shy away from doing it. Get involved where you can and stretch those muscles as regularly as possible.

Problem solving skills come more naturally to some than to others and that’s okay. Take opportunities to get involved and see where you can practice your skills in situations outside of a workshop context. Try collaborating in other circumstances at work or conduct data analysis on your own projects. You can often develop those skills you need for problem solving simply by doing them. Get involved!

Use expert exercises and methods

Learn from the best. Our library of 700+ facilitation techniques is full of activities and methods that help develop the skills you need to be an effective problem solver. Check out our templates to see how to approach problem solving and other organizational challenges in a structured and intelligent manner.

There is no single approach to improving problem solving skills, but by using the techniques employed by others you can learn from their example and develop processes that have seen proven results.

Try new ways of thinking and change your mindset

Using tried and tested exercises that you know well can help deliver results, but you do run the risk of missing out on the learning opportunities offered by new approaches. As with the problem solving process, changing your mindset can remove blockages and be used to develop your problem solving skills.

Most teams have members with mixed skill sets and specialties. Mix people from different teams and share skills and different points of view. Teach your customer support team how to use design thinking methods or help your developers with conflict resolution techniques. Try switching perspectives with facilitation techniques like Flip It! or by using new problem solving methodologies or models. Give design thinking, liberating structures or lego serious play a try if you want to try a new approach. You will find that framing problems in new ways and using existing skills in new contexts can be hugely useful for personal development and improving your skillset. It’s also a lot of fun to try new things. Give it a go!

Encountering business challenges and needing to find appropriate solutions is not unique to your organization. Lots of very smart people have developed methods, theories and approaches to help develop problem solving skills and create effective solutions. Learn from them!

Books like The Art of Thinking Clearly , Think Smarter, or Thinking Fast, Thinking Slow are great places to start, though it’s also worth looking at blogs related to organizations facing similar problems to yours, or browsing for success stories. Seeing how Dropbox massively increased growth and working backward can help you see the skills or approach you might be lacking to solve that same problem. Learning from others by reading their stories or approaches can be time-consuming but ultimately rewarding.

A tired, distracted mind is not in the best position to learn new skills. It can be tempted to burn the candle at both ends and develop problem solving skills outside of work. Absolutely use your time effectively and take opportunities for self-improvement, though remember that rest is hugely important and that without letting your brain rest, you cannot be at your most effective.

Creating distance between yourself and the problem you might be facing can also be useful. By letting an idea sit, you can find that a better one presents itself or you can develop it further. Take regular breaks when working and create a space for downtime. Remember that working smarter is preferable to working harder and that self-care is important for any effective learning or improvement process.

Want to design better group processes?

Over to you

Now we’ve explored some of the key problem solving skills and the problem solving steps necessary for an effective process, you’re ready to begin developing more effective solutions and leading problem solving workshops.

Need more inspiration? Check out our post on problem solving activities you can use when guiding a group towards a great solution in your next workshop or meeting. Have questions? Did you have a great problem solving technique you use with your team? Get in touch in the comments below. We’d love to chat!

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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

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.

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!

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5 Key Decision-Making Techniques for Managers

Business manager engaging in decision-making with his team

31 Mar 2020

Decision-making is an essential business skill that drives organizational performance. A survey of more than 750 companies by management consulting firm Bain found a 95 percent correlation between decision-making effectiveness and financial results. The data also showed companies that excel at making and executing strategic decisions generate returns nearly six percent higher than those of their competitors.

At many organizations, it’s up to managers to make the key decisions that influence business strategy. Research by consulting firm McKinsey , however, shows that 61 percent of them believe at least half the time they spend doing so is ineffective.

If you want to avoid falling into this demographic, here are five decision-making techniques you can employ to improve your management skills and help your organization succeed.

Access your free e-book today.

Decision-Making Techniques for Managers

1. take a process-oriented approach.

One of your primary responsibilities as a manager is to get things done with and through others, which involves leveraging organizational processes to accomplish goals and produce results. According to Harvard Business School Professor Len Schlesinger, who’s featured in the online course Management Essentials , decision-making is one of the processes you can use to your advantage.

“The majority of people think about making decisions as an event,” Schlesinger says. “It’s very rare to find a single point in time where a ‘decision of significance’ is made and things go forward from there. What we’re really talking about is a process. The role of the manager in overseeing that process is straightforward, yet, at the same time, extraordinarily complex.”

When establishing your decision-making process , first frame the issue at hand to ensure you ask the right questions and everyone agrees on what needs to be decided. From there, build your team and manage group dynamics to analyze the problem and craft a viable solution. By following a structured, multi-step process, you can make informed decisions and achieve the desired outcome.

2. Involve Your Team in the Process

Decision-making doesn’t have to be done in a vacuum. To avoid relying on managerial decisions alone, involve your team in the process to bring multiple viewpoints into the conversation and stimulate creative problem-solving .

Research in the journal Royal Society Open Science shows team decision-making is highly effective because it pools individuals’ collective knowledge and experience, leading to more innovative solutions and helping to surface and overcome hidden biases among groups.

Considering others’ perspectives on how to approach and surmount a specific challenge is an ideal alternative because it helps you become more aware of your implicit biases and manage your team with greater emotional intelligence .

Related: Emotional Intelligence Skills: What They Are & How to Develop Them

3. Foster a Collaborative Mindset

Fostering the right mindset early in the decision-making process is critical to ensuring your team works collaboratively—not contentiously.

When facing a decision, there are two key mindsets to consider:

Decision-Making Mindsets: Advocacy vs. Inquiry

Advocacy: A mindset that regards decision-making as a contest. In a group with an advocacy mindset, individuals try to persuade others, defend their positions, and downplay their weaknesses.
Inquiry: A mindset that navigates decision-making with collaborative problem-solving. An inquiry mindset centers on individuals testing and evaluating assumptions by presenting balanced arguments, considering alternatives, and being open to constructive criticism.

“On the surface, advocacy and inquiry approaches look deceptively similar,” HBS Professor David Garvin says in Management Essentials . “Both involve individuals engaged in debates, drawing on data, developing alternatives, and deciding on future directions. But, despite these similarities, inquiry and advocacy produce very different results.”

A study by software company Cloverpop found that decisions made and executed by diverse teams deliver 60 percent better results. Strive to instill your team members with an inquiry mindset so they’re empowered to think critically and feel their perspectives are welcomed and valued rather than discouraged and dismissed.

4. Create and Uphold Psychological Safety

For your team members to feel comfortable sharing their diverse perspectives and working collaboratively, it’s crucial to create and maintain a psychologically safe environment. According to research by technology company Google , psychological safety is the most important dynamic found among high-performing teams.

“Psychological safety is essential—first and foremost—for getting the information and perspectives out,” HBS Professor Amy Edmondson says in Management Essentials . “It’s helpful to be able to talk about what we know and think in an effective and thoughtful way before coming to a final conclusion.”

To help your team feel psychologically safe, be respectful and give fair consideration when listening to everyone’s opinions. When voicing your own point of view, be open and transparent, and adapt your communication style to meet the group’s needs. By actively listening and being attuned to your colleagues’ emotions and attitudes, you can forge a stronger bond of trust, make them feel more engaged and foster an environment that allows for more effective decisions.

Related: 5 Tips for Managing Change in the Workplace

5. Reiterate the Goals and Purpose of the Decision

Throughout the decision-making process, it’s vital to avoid common management pitfalls and lose sight of the goals and purpose of the decision on the table.

The goals you’re working toward need to be clearly articulated at the outset of the decision-making process—and constantly reiterated throughout—to ensure they’re ultimately achieved.

“It’s easy, as you get into these conversations, to get so immersed in one substantive part of the equation that you lose track of what the actual purpose is,” Schlesinger says.

Revisiting purpose is especially important when making decisions related to complex initiatives—such as organizational change —to ensure your team feels motivated and aligned and understands how their contributions tie into larger objectives.

Why Are Decision-Making Skills Important?

Effective decision-making can immensely impact organizational performance. By developing your decision-making skills, you can exercise sound judgment and guide your team through the appropriate frameworks and processes—resulting in more data-driven decisions .

You can also anticipate and navigate organizational challenges while analyzing the outcomes of previous efforts, which can have lasting effects on your firm’s success.

Management Essentials | Get the job done | Learn More

Improve Your Decision-Making Skills

Enhancing your decision-making capabilities can be an integral part of your journey to becoming a better manager , reaching your business goals, and advancing your career. In addition to real-world experience, furthering your education by taking a management training course can equip you with a wide range of skills and knowledge that enable both your team and organization to thrive.

Do you want to design, direct, and shape organizational processes to your advantage? Explore Management Essentials , one of our online leadership and management courses , and discover how you can influence the context and environment in which decisions get made.

This post was updated on December 21, 2022. It was originally published on March 31, 2020.

About the Author

Problem Solving

Problem solving is a valuable skill that can really only be learnt, and perfected, through continual practice. A wide range of problem solving models and techniques are available to assist in evaluating and solving diverse problems of varying degrees of complexity. As a manager you, are encouraged to find the model which best works for you - one that is flexible and can be adapted to suit your own specific circumstances. Over time, your model of choice should become an automatic and integral part of your working practices.

Problem Solving Definition

A problem is the distance between how things currently are and the way they should be. Problem solving forms the ‘bridge’ between these two elements. In order to close the gap, you need to understand the way things are (problem) and the way they ought to be (solution).

Difference Between Problem Solving And Decision Making

Although there is a clear distinction between problem solving and decision making, the two are often confused. Problem solving differs fundamentally from decision making. A problem occurs when something is not behaving as it should, something is deviating from the norm or something goes wrong. Decision making is a case of choosing between different alternatives. Decision making is required in response to the question: "Which computer shall I buy?" Problem solving is needed in response to the statement: "My computer won't work".

Most problem solving methods follow a common pattern, beginning with a definition of the problem, moving on to the consideration of potential solutions, and culminating with the selection, testing and implementation of a chosen course of action. Divergent thinking techniques can be helpful in generating creative ideas, while convergent thinking can assist in structuring and evaluating potential solutions.

Problems can be classified into one of two categories: the ‘fix-it’ or the ‘do-it’ scenario:

Fix-it – solving an existing problem, (e.g. a current product range is falling short of its sales targets). An immediate short-term solution could be to increase marketing activity, for example.
Do-it – moving you in the right direction for what you want to achieve, (e.g. a new product range needs to be introduced to compete with market rivals). This type of problem will require longer term planning in order to achieve its objectives.

Irrespective of the severity or complexity of the problem, the process should:

be systematic and thorough
provide evidence to show how the problem was solved
avoid a rush to a solution without first understanding the cause of the problem
enable possible causes to be assessed

Problem solving process and framework

Effective managers include below actions into their problem solving strategies.

Define and understand the problem
Assess the scale of the problem
Gather relevant information
Identify the root causes
Test the hypothesis
Involve others
Consider the proposed solution(s)
Test the proposed solution
Champion your decision
Monitor the results

To learn more about problem solving and detailed description of the action checklist, view the guide below:

Download the guide

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Critical Thinking

Decision-making and Problem-solving

Appreciate the complexities involved in decision-making & problem solving.

Develop evidence to support views

Analyze situations carefully

Discuss subjects in an organized way

Predict the consequences of actions

Weigh alternatives

Generate and organize ideas

Form and apply concepts

Design systematic plans of action

A 5-Step Problem-Solving Strategy

Specify the problem – a first step to solving a problem is to identify it as specifically as possible. It involves evaluating the present state and determining how it differs from the goal state.

Analyze the problem – analyzing the problem involves learning as much as you can about it. It may be necessary to look beyond the obvious, surface situation, to stretch your imagination and reach for more creative options.

seek other perspectives

be flexible in your analysis

consider various strands of impact

brainstorm about all possibilities and implications

research problems for which you lack complete information. Get help.

Formulate possible solutions – identify a wide range of possible solutions.

try to think of all possible solutions

be creative

consider similar problems and how you have solved them

Evaluate possible solutions – weigh the advantages and disadvantages of each solution. Think through each solution and consider how, when, and where you could accomplish each. Consider both immediate and long-term results. Mapping your solutions can be helpful at this stage.

Choose a solution – consider 3 factors:

compatibility with your priorities

amount of risk

practicality

Keys to Problem Solving

Think aloud – problem solving is a cognitive, mental process. Thinking aloud or talking yourself through the steps of problem solving is useful. Hearing yourself think can facilitate the process.

Allow time for ideas to "gel" or consolidate. If time permits, give yourself time for solutions to develop. Distance from a problem can allow you to clear your mind and get a new perspective.

Talk about the problem – describing the problem to someone else and talking about it can often make a problem become more clear and defined so that a new solution will surface.

Decision Making Strategies

Decision making is a process of identifying and evaluating choices. We make numerous decisions every day and our decisions may range from routine, every-day types of decisions to those decisions which will have far reaching impacts. The types of decisions we make are routine, impulsive, and reasoned. Deciding what to eat for breakfast is a routine decision; deciding to do or buy something at the last minute is considered an impulsive decision; and choosing your college major is, hopefully, a reasoned decision. College coursework often requires you to make the latter, or reasoned decisions.

Decision making has much in common with problem solving. In problem solving you identify and evaluate solution paths; in decision making you make a similar discovery and evaluation of alternatives. The crux of decision making, then, is the careful identification and evaluation of alternatives. As you weigh alternatives, use the following suggestions:

Consider the outcome each is likely to produce, in both the short term and the long term.

Compare alternatives based on how easily you can accomplish each.

Evaluate possible negative side effects each may produce.

Consider the risk involved in each.

Be creative, original; don't eliminate alternatives because you have not heard or used them before.

An important part of decision making is to predict both short-term and long-term outcomes for each alternative. You may find that while an alternative seems most desirable at the present, it may pose problems or complications over a longer time period.

Uses of Critical Thinking
Critically Evaluating the Logic and Validity of Information
Recognizing Propaganda Techniques and Errors of Faulty Logic
Developing the Ability to Analyze Historical and Contemporary Information
Recognize and Value Various Viewpoints
Appreciating the Complexities Involved in Decision-Making and Problem-Solving
Being a Responsible Critical Thinker & Collaborating with Others
Suggestions
Read the Textbook
When to Take Notes
10 Steps to Tests
Studying for Exams
Test-Taking Errors
Test Anxiety
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Essay Tests
The Reading Process
Levels of Comprehension
Strengthen Your Reading Comprehension
Reading Rate
How to Read a Textbook
Organizational Patterns of a Paragraph
Topics, Main Ideas, and Support
Inferences and Conclusions
Interpreting What You Read
Concentrating and Remembering
Converting Words into Pictures
Spelling and the Dictionary
Eight Essential Spelling Rules
Exceptions to the Rules
Motivation and Goal Setting
Effective Studying
Time Management
Listening and Note-Taking
Memory and Learning Styles
Textbook Reading Strategies
Memory Tips
Test-Taking Strategies
The First Step
Study System
Maximize Comprehension
Different Reading Modes
Paragraph Patterns
An Effective Strategy
Finding the Main Idea
Read a Medical Text
Read in the Sciences
Read University Level
Textbook Study Strategies
The Origin of Words
Using a Dictionary
Interpreting a Dictionary Entry
Structure Analysis
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Guide to Talking with Instructors
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Making the Difference: Problem Solving vs Decision Making

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Do you ever find yourself stuck between a rock and hard place, unable to decide what the best course of action is?

I have. Whether it’s what desk to put in our new conservatory space (and I’ll tell you what we ended up deciding later), or who to invite to meetings, or managing to order everyone else’s food and then getting so overwhelmed with having made decisions all day for all the people that I couldn’t choose anything for myself.

I left the café with nothing for me and ended up with a couple of slices of peanut butter toast at home.

Making decisions can be difficult for even the most experienced project managers. But before making any decision, it’s important to understand the difference between problem solving and decision making.

Ready to get into it?

Problem solving involves diagnosing issues that arise during projects while decision making requires taking appropriate steps based on those diagnoses. While they may appear similar at first glance, there are key differences in how each process should be approached – understanding these differences will help you make more informed decisions!

Let’s explore both processes as well as their similarities and differences.

What is problem solving?

You’ve been solving problems since you were a baby: how to stand up, how to get your socks off, how to get your parents to bring you your favorite sippy cup.

As an adult, we solve problems every day at work and at home.

So it probably sounds a bit odd to want to define problem solving before we go any further. Surely we all know what we are talking about as we do it all the time?

Humor me. Problem solving is the process of identifying and analyzing a problem, generating potential solutions, and selecting the best solution to address the issue. It involves breaking down complex problems into smaller components and then finding ways to solve them.

The problem solving process

If you think that description sounds linear, then you’d be right. Problem solving fits neatly into a process, one that we don’t even know we’re following most of the time.

The problem solving process typically consists of four steps:

Identify the problem
Generate possible solutions
Evaluate each option
Select an appropriate course of action.

That does make it sound easy. Wicked problems need a slightly different approach (PMI has a problem solving training course that is brilliant and will help with that).

But for now, let’s stick with a high-level approach that works for most problems.

1. Identify the problem

First, it’s important to understand what caused the issue in order to determine how best to resolve it.

You’d be surprised at how many managers don’t bother to find the root cause of the problem to truly understand it. Use techniques like the 5 Whys or an Ishikawa diagram to dig down into what the problem actually is.

2. Generate possible solutions

Brainstorming is one way to come up with different ideas for potential solutions. You could also interview experts, review lessons learned or innovative solutions from previous projects, research what the rest of your industry is doing or consult customers on what they’d like to see. There are no silly ideas at this point!

Choose the creative approach that gets you a range of options to review.

Read next: How to improve problem solving with lessons learned.

3. Evaluate each option

Once you have several options to consider, you can evaluate each one based on its effectiveness and cost before deciding which one is most suitable for your situation.

Use pairwise prioritisation, multi-criteria decision making or analytical hierarchy process (AHP) to help with the evaluation.

4. Select an appropriate course of action

Now you’ve got all the options for solving your problem, you can actually solve it by choosing a course of action that will sort it out. This is where decision making comes in. in this step you make the decision.

Finally, implement your chosen solution and monitor its progress over time so that any necessary adjustments can be made as needed.

Benefits of problem solving skills

There are many benefits associated with having effective problem solving skills.

These include improved decision making abilities (more on that in a minute), increased creativity, better communication skills, greater confidence when faced with challenging situations, enhanced ability to think critically, more efficient use of resources, improved relationships between colleagues or team members due to shared understanding of goals and increased productivity levels due to fewer mistakes being made during projects or tasks.

(Breathe. That was a long sentence, sorry.)

All these advantages make problem solving an invaluable skill in both personal life and professional life scenarios.

What is decision making?

Basically, decision making is the process of selecting a course of action from a number of alternatives. It involves gathering information, weighing options, and choosing the best option for achieving a desired outcome.

But how is that different to problem solving?

Decision making is the process of doing Step 4 of the problem solving process. It’s the choice making, option selection, conclusion of the analysis and thinking.

It’s decisive (duh), purposeful, specific. It removes the ambiguity of the ‘what do we do?’ and helps the team move towards the ‘OK, how do we do that?’

It brings action to a situation.

The decision making process

There is a simple method for decision making too, although the actual decision itself might be tough to make.

Identify that a decision is required
Ensure you have the data to make the decision
Make the decision
Tell whoever needs to implement the decision

1. Identify that a decision is required

The decision-making process typically begins with identifying what decision needs to be made. Are you making the right decision, or is there something else, deeper, different that is really what’s required?

In this step you also want to identify who is making the decision. That could be your project sponsor, a panel, you by yourself, a committee or whoever. Getting this step clear saves headaches later.

2. Ensure you have the data to make the decision

Do you have all the info you need to make the decision? If not, get it.

When decisions are made quickly but thoughtfully, they can save time and resources while still producing quality results.

Major decisions need more time spent on this step to make sure you understand all the variables.

3. Make the decision

After considering all potential solutions, it’s time to make a choice based on what will yield the best results for everyone involved.

This is the hard part: make the decision! The person or people responsible for this should weigh up the data and use their professional judgement to choose the right course of action. Decision trees can be useful here to avoid unconscious bias (or conscious bias!).

Obviously this is harder for complex decisions. What vendor to choose for a 3-year outsourcing arrangement is harder to decide than what venue to book for a team away day.

4. Tell whoever needs to implement the decision

Great – you’ve made the call and know what to do, but does the rest of the team? Don’t keep the decision to yourself!

Make sure whoever needs to know the next steps is aware that the decision has been made so they can implement it and take the right action.

Having confidence in decisions leads to greater trust between team members and better collaboration overall, which can lead to improved project outcomes over time. Well-made decisions often create opportunities for growth within teams by allowing them to learn from their mistakes as well as their successes along the way.

Similarities between problem solving and decision making

Problem solving and decision making sound very similar, right?

Well, that is true. Both processes involve gathering information, analyzing it, and coming up with solutions or courses of action. They both require critical thinking skills to identify potential solutions or options that are most likely to be successful.

The processes use a similar flow

Both processes involve identifying a problem or issue, researching possible solutions, evaluating those solutions based on criteria such as cost-effectiveness or feasibility, selecting an option from among the available choices, implementing the chosen solution, and you’d also want to monitor its effectiveness over time.

The process can be iterative if necessary; if one solution does not work out as expected then another may need to be tried until a satisfactory outcome is achieved.

They both produce a satisfactory solution

Problem solving and decision making usually lead to some kind of action being taken in order to address a given issue or situation. Problem solving often involves finding creative solutions for complex problems, while decision making typically entails selecting a course of action from several possibilities after carefully evaluating each option’s advantages and disadvantages.

But ultimately, the goal is for something positive (or at least neutral) to come out of the helpful process so that whatever challenge was initially presented can be effectively addressed.

Despite being so similar you could pretty much interchange them in some circumstances, there are some differences.

Differences between problem solving and decision making

Although they have similarities in terms of the process used to come up with a solution, their goals differ significantly.

Process goals are different

The goal of problem solving is to find a solution to an existing issue. It involves identifying the cause of a problem and then finding ways to address it. Problem solving often requires input from multiple stakeholders who can provide different perspectives on how best to solve the issue at hand.

On the other hand, decision making focuses on choosing the best option from multiple alternatives. This could include selecting between competing products or services or deciding which strategy will be most effective for achieving certain objectives.

In other words: decision making doesn’t necessarily mean there is a problem. We make decisions every day about small things and big things, but they aren’t all problems that need the creative step of solutioning.

Sometimes a decision just needs to be taken and the options are clearly known.

They require different stakeholders

Another key difference between problem solving and decision making is that while problem solving typically requires input from multiple stakeholders, decision making is usually done by one individual or group who has access to all relevant information needed for the decision-making process.

To give you an example. Let’s say on a technical project the development team hit a problem. They have to bring in various subject matter experts to research and identify the parameters involved. They consult, brainstorm and debate. It’s a group effort, and it’s likely to end in a solution.

However, if I need my project sponsor to choose between two risk treatments, I’ll take him my recommendation and a summary of options and he’ll simply choose. Done.

Decisions are made based on what is known about a situation rather than relying on external opinions or advice when trying to make an informed choice about what course of action should be taken next.

They produce different results

The nature of both processes also differs in terms of the types of solutions they produce. Problem solving typically results in creative solutions that can be implemented over time, while decision making produces immediate choices from among existing alternatives without necessarily creating something new or unique.

Both processes involve the identification of a problem or issue, the collection of information to evaluate possible solutions, and an analysis of potential outcomes. The main difference between them is in their goals: problem solving seeks to identify the root cause of an issue and develop a solution that will address it; decision making focuses on selecting from among available options.

Both processes require careful consideration of facts and opinions before any action is taken. Problem solving often involves more people than decision making as it requires collaboration to identify underlying causes and brainstorm potential solutions. Decision makers may consult with others for input but ultimately make decisions independently based on their own judgment.

Still got a question?

What is the difference between decision and decision making.

A decision is the act of making a choice between two or more alternatives. Decision making is the process by which decisions are made. It involves gathering information, analyzing data, evaluating alternatives and choosing a course of action based on this analysis. The outcome of the process is the decision. The decision-making process also includes monitoring progress to ensure that goals are being met and taking corrective action if needed.

What is the importance of problem-solving and decision making?

Problem-solving and decision making are essential skills for project managers and managers in general. The processes keep work moving by making sure problems get solved and decisions get made so team members are not blocked from finishing their tasks.

What are the steps in problem-solving and decision making?

Problem-solving and decision making involve a series of steps that can help ensure the best possible outcome. The first step is to identify the problem or opportunity, then analyze it by gathering relevant information and evaluating potential solutions. After considering all options, select an appropriate solution and develop an action plan for implementation. Finally, monitor progress to ensure success and make necessary adjustments along the way. By following these steps, project managers can effectively manage projects while minimizing risks and maximizing results.

Before you go…

Sometimes there isn’t a right decision – it’s simply important to make a decision. As for the desk, in the end, we used a piece of furniture we already had upstairs and didn’t buy one at all.

I spent a morning measuring and researching options, and I’ll never get that time back, but that’s OK.

As a leader, you should be skilled at solving problems and making decisions, and the processes that support them. However, you don’t have to be doing all the solving and making all the calls yourself. As long as you facilitate the process and get the right people in the room, you can step back and let the experts do their thing.

Let the right people do the work and create an environment where your projects move forward because everyone’s got what they need to keep things moving.

Project manager, author, mentor

Elizabeth Harrin is a Fellow of the Association for Project Management in the UK. She holds degrees from the University of York and Roehampton University, and several project management certifications including APM PMQ. She first took her PRINCE2 Practitioner exam in 2004 and has worked extensively in project delivery for over 20 years. Elizabeth is also the founder of the Project Management Rebels community, a mentoring group for professionals. She's written several books for project managers including Managing Multiple Projects .

Problem Solving And Decision Making Tools

Problem-solving and decision-making tools and techniques can be used to help in gathering the right information to make optimal decisions and learn from those decisions, as well as in the process of making those decisions. Often, the learning steps in the decision-making process are neglected, but it should not be. It is important to evaluate and analyze both the decision made and the process used in coming to the decision to ensure learning and enable continuous improvement.

A structured approach to problem-solving and decision making includes the following steps:

 Identifying and framing the issue or problem.

 Generating or determining possible courses of action and evaluating those alternatives.

 Choosing and implementing the best solution or alternative; and

 Reviewing and reflecting on the previous steps and outcomes

Mapping Techniques Mind Mapping In this structured brainstorming technique, ideas are organized on a “map” and the connections between them are made explicit. Mind mapping starts with an issue to be addressed placed in the center of the map. Ideas on causes, solutions, and so on radiate from the central theme. Questions such as who, what, where, why, when, and how are often helpful for problem-solving.

Process Mapping A process map, or flowchart, is a graphic depiction of a process showing inputs, outputs, and steps in the process. Depending on the purpose of the map, it can be high level or detailed.

The steps for creating a process map or flowchart are:

Assemble and train the team
Determine the boundaries of the process
Brainstorm the major process tasks and subtasks
Create a formal chart
Make corrections
Determine additional data needs

Activity and Role Lane Mapping Activity and role lane mapping can be a useful exercise to include in process mapping. List the process activities and the roles involved, and ask who performs the activity now. Then, take the role out of the activity so that “nurse records vital signs” becomes “record vital signs”, this type of analysis can help with process redesign and streaming.

Service Blueprinting Service blueprinting is a special form of process mapping, it begins by mapping the process from the point of view of the customer. The typical purpose of a service blueprint is to identify points where the service might fail to satisfy the customer and then redesign or add controls to the system to reduce or eliminate the possibility of failure.

Problem Identification Tools

Root-Cause Analysis Root-Cause Analysis is a structured, step-by-step technique for problem-solving. It aims to determine and correct the ultimate causes of a problem, not just the visible symptoms, to ensure that the problem does not happen again.

Five Whys technique The five whys technique consists of asking why the condition occurred, noting the answer, and then asking why for each answer over and over until the “root” causes are identified.

Cause-and-effect-diagram The cause-and-effect diagram is one of the seven basic quality tools, it is sometimes called a fishbone diagram (because it looks like the skeleton of a fish). The problem, or outcome of interest, is the “head” of the fish. The rest of the fishbone consists of a horizontal line leading to the problem statements and several branches, or “fishbone” vertical to the main line.

The branches represent different categories of causes.

Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) FMEA is used to identify the ways in which a process (or a piece of equipment) might potentially fail, and its goal is eliminating or reducing the severity of such a potential failure.

Theory of Constraints The TOC maintains that every organization is subject to at least one constraint that limits it from moving toward or achieving its goal. Eliminating or alleviating the constraint can enable the organization to come closer to its goal. Constraints can be physical (e.g., the capacity of a machine) or nonphysical (e.g., an organizational procedure).

Analytical Tools

Optimization Optimization, or mathematical programming, is a technique used to determine the optimal allocation of limited resources given the desired goal. For example, the resources might be people, money, or equipment. Of all possible resources’ allocation, the goal or objective is to find the allocation that maximizes or minimize some numerical quantity such as profit or cost.

Linear Programming

Decision Analysis Decision analysis is a process for examining and evaluating decisions in a structured manner. A decision tree is a graphic representation of the order of events in a decision process. It is a structured process that enables an evaluation of the risks and rewards of choosing a particular course of action. In constructing a decision tree, events are linked from left to right in the order in which they would occur. Three types of events, represented by nodes, can occur: decision or choice events (squares), chance events (circles), and outcomes (triangles)

Strategy and the Balanced Scorecard

Quality management: focus on lean-six sigma, project management.

The Difference Between Problem Solving and Decision Making

Decision making and problem solving are two related but different skill sets that apply to distinct business challenges. Sometimes leaders use decision-making techniques when they should be using a problem-solving approach, and vice versa. Knowing the difference between problem solving and decision making and understanding which skill to utilize in a particular situation will help you overcome challenges more quickly.

Seeking a Solution, or Choosing Between Options?

Both decision making and problem solving use information to inform a certain action, but that’s where the similarities end. Problem solving is the process of finding a solution to an ongoing, intermittent, or one-time failure of a process or system to perform at an acceptable level — or perform at all. It consists of identifying the causes through asking basic questions like “where,” “how,” “who,” and “why” to find the solution. Decision making involves choosing between different courses of action by evaluating each based on a set of criteria. It requires implementing an action plan based on what you have learned from problem solving.

A helpful way to illustrate the difference between problem solving and decision making is to consider the difference between a detective and a judge. As anyone who has seen an episode of Law & Order knows, a detective is a problem-solver. Their role is to determine who committed the crime based on evidence. A judge is a decision-maker. They weigh evidence, circumstances, and precedent to arrive at a judgment.

Understanding Differences in Processes and Outcomes

The process of decision making is clear: each option is evaluated based on a set of parameters or criteria. But the outcome is uncertain until a specific decision is made and time tells how well it worked — or didn’t work.

The process of problem solving is not immediately clear. Initially you might not understand the root of the problem, which makes it difficult to know where to start. For example, you can see that the conveyor belt in your warehouse isn’t working, but what made the motor controlling it stop working remains a mystery until you diagnose the problem, system by system. Once the problem is determined and addressed, the outcome is clear: the conveyor belt is again working.

In business, typical problems could be:

Customer churn is increasing. Solution: expand product offering.
The organization’s carbon footprint is too big and costly. Solution: implement green initiatives.
A team is struggling to keep up with leads and organize customer data. Solution: implement a customer relationship management [CRM] system.

The associated complex decisions would be:

Determining what new product to launch
Selecting the green strategies that best balance cost and effectiveness
Identifying which CRM solution is right for your organization

Problem solving and Decision Making: Best Practices

Whether problem solving or decision making, there are some factors you should consider to make the process as successful and efficient as possible. When problem solving, make sure to gather as many facts as you can, which will help make the solution more obvious. For example, app development companies will often take a “ test and learn ” approach to determine what customers want and need in an app. They’ll create a beta version, provide it free-of-charge to customers, and then analyze that data to develop a paid app that meets customer needs.

When making decisions, be action-oriented. This means that you should be able to act on your decisions. Many of your decisions, especially those concerning complex issues, should involve other key employees and subject matter experts for the best results. Gather a team with diverse backgrounds, experiences and perspectives to help you consider a wide range of options. Be open to feedback; even the most carefully made decision may not work out as expected when implemented. And lastly, you should adopt a decision-making framework that enables you to make the best decisions possible on a consistent basis, in a variety of scenarios.

Ken Thompson

Decision making and problem solving

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Competitive strategy
Corporate strategy
Customer strategy

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Kepner-Tregoe Method: Unveiling its Essence in Logical Decision Making

Explore the Kepner-Tregoe Method's essence for logical decision-making. Streamline problem-solving with tested techniques. Perfect your strategy!

The importance of efficacious problem-solving and decision-making processes within corporate environments cannot be overstated. With the proliferation of complex business challenges, the quest for systematic and reliable methodologies to tackle such issues is indispensable.

In this context, the Kepner-Tregoe Method emerges as a distinguished beacon of logical decision making, renowned for its structured and analytical approach. This blog post offers an in-depth exploration of the essence of the Kepner-Tregoe Method, its application across varied industries, and real-world examples demonstrating its efficacy. The objective is to illuminate the multifaceted nature of this strategic tool, enabling business professionals to harness its full potential.

Understanding the Kepner-Tregoe Method

History and origin of the Kepner-Tregoe Method

The Kepner-Tregoe Method was birthed in the 1950s by Charles H. Kepner and Benjamin B. Tregoe, two behavioral scientists who endeavored to codify a comprehensive framework for problem-solving and decision-making. Their motivation was to devise a system that could transcend the limitations of human judgment by minimizing bias and improving the clarity and efficiency of managerial decisions. This aspiration led to the development of a method grounded in the rational evaluation of information, which has since matured into an instrumental resource for organizations worldwide.

Fundamental principles of the Kepner-Tregoe Method

At its core, the Kepner-Tregoe Method is premised on the notion that effective decision-making and problem-solving pivot on the delineation and systematic analysis of all pertinent information. This encompasses a meticulous appraisal of the situation, swift identification of problems, and the establishment of priorities. Furthermore, the method places great emphasis on the segregation of issues, concerns, and decisions, thereby ensuring that each facet of a problem receives the attention and rigor it warrants.

Overview of Kepner-Tregoe processes

The Kepner-Tregoe Method comprises a robust suite of processes, each tailored to address distinct facets of business dilemmas. This framework is built upon four principal areas: Problem Analysis, Decision Analysis, Potential Problem Analysis, and Situation Appraisal. Each process operates in concert to provide a comprehensive toolkit that empowers executives and staff alike to dissect complex scenarios, navigate uncertainties, and forge robust, informed decisions.

Unpacking the Four-Step Process

Description of Problem Analysis

Problem Analysis is the first cornerstone of the Kepner-Tregoe Method, wherein the emphasis is placed on the two-fold task of situational analysis and delineation of cause-and-effect relationships. It begins with a careful examination of the facts, categorizing them based on their relevance and emergent patterns. This step ensures clarity and a contextual understanding, thereby setting the stage for the accurate identification of underlying core issues.

Distinguishing between cause and effect

In this second phase, the Kepner-Tregoe Method promotes an analytical prowess that seeks to identify the root cause of problems as distinct from their symptoms. By discerning cause from effect, it becomes possible to target corrective measures accurately without being ensnared by the superfluous details that can often overshadow the true origins of an issue.

Description of Decision Analysis

Decision Analysis is the consequential step in the Kepner-Tregoe Method, characterized by the formulation of decision objectives that correspond to a clear hierarchy of business goals and values. This process ensures that decisions are not made in isolation but are embedded in the broader strategic vision of an organization.

Evaluating and weighing alternatives

Once objectives are articulated, attention turns to evaluating potential alternatives. This involves an exhaustive assessment of options against predefined criteria, considering both qualitative and quantitative factors. By weighing different directives, stakeholders can determine the most favorable course of action that aligns with organizational objectives and mitigates risks effectively.

Description of Potential Problem Analysis (PPA)

The Kepner-Tregoe Method's PPA harnesses the power of foresight, urging decision-makers to anticipate potential issues that could emerge from implemented decisions. This prospective analysis is essential for preparing contingency plans and establishing preventive measures.

Preparing for different scenarios

By mapping out various scenarios, the PPA provides a fertile ground for the development of strategies that are both reactive and proactive. This ensures a well-orchestrated approach to managing the unknown and reduces the likelihood of being blindsided by future challenges.

Description of Situation Appraisal

In Situation Appraisal, the primary task is to survey the present scene holistically, sift through complexities, and accurately catalogue issues. This process is seminal in that it grants a panoramic view of the situation, illuminating areas that might necessitate immediate action or deeper investigation.

Prioritizing problems

Once issues have been identified, the next critical endeavor is to prioritize them in accordance with their respective urgency and impact. Prioritization is foundational to effective management; it ensures that resources are allocated judiciously and that systemic attention is oriented towards the most pressing concerns that have the potential to profoundly influence business outcomes.

The Value of the Kepner-Tregoe Method in Different Industries

Application of the Kepner-Tregoe Method in Manufacturing

In manufacturing, the precision and efficiency mandated by production processes serve as an ideal backdrop for the Kepner-Tregoe Method. Its application can lead to significant enhancements in quality control, reduction of downtime, and optimization of operational workflows. By employing this method, manufacturers can craft durable solutions to recurring problems, streamline production lines, and elevate overall productivity.

Use of the Kepner-Tregoe Method in IT and Software Development

The IT and software development sectors are well-acquainted with complex, adaptive systems where problem-solving is daily bread. Here, the Kepner-Tregoe Method shines by affording IT professionals the acumen to dissect intricate technical challenges, manage change effectively, and deliver robust software solutions that stand the test of rapidly-evolving technological landscapes.

Role of the Kepner-Tregoe Method in Healthcare

Healthcare stands out as a domain where decision-making can have profound and immediate human implications. By incorporating the Kepner-Tregoe Method into healthcare operations, medical practitioners and hospital administrators can improve patient care delivery, navigate clinical decision-making with greater confidence, and manage healthcare resources more effectively, thus elevating the standard of care provided to patients.

Real-world Examples of the Kepner-Tregoe Method in Action

Case study 1: Successful application in a manufacturing setting: In a manufacturing plant beset with quality issues, the implementation of the Kepner-Tregoe Method facilitated a dramatic turnaround. By applying Problem and Decision Analysis, engineers were able to isolate and address the root cause of their quality shortcomings, which resulted in enhanced product integrity and customer satisfaction.

Case study 2: Effective use in IT problem management: An IT service provider leveraged the Kepner-Tregoe Method to revamp its problem management operations. Through rigorous application of Situation Appraisal and PPA, the company not only resolved pressing technical issues more quickly but also bolstered its preventive maintenance procedures, thereby diminishing incident rates and bolstering system reliability.

Case study 3: Utilization in healthcare decision-making: A hospital grappling with resource allocation during periods of high patient influx adopted the Kepner-Tregoe Method to refine its triage processes. By prioritizing cases through critical analysis and structured evaluation, healthcare staff were able to optimize patient outcomes and bolster the hospital's capacity to deliver care during peak demand.

Advantages and Limitations of the Kepner-Tregoe Method

Key benefits of using the Kepner-Tregoe Method

The advantages of employing the Kepner-Tregoe Method are multifaceted. It champions a rational, stepwise approach to problem-solving and decision-making, which inherently promotes transparency and repeatability. By instilling systematic thinking, it reduces cognitive biases and fosters a culture of proactive problem management. Additionally, the method's versatility allows for its adoption across a vast array of industries, demonstrating its universal applicability.

Potential drawbacks or challenges in implementing the Kepner-Tregoe Method

While the Kepner-Tregoe Method boasts many strengths, it is not without its limitations. The structured nature of the method may sometimes be viewed as rigid, and its implementation requires a certain level of buy-in and training. Ensuring that all team members are adequately skilled to employ the method can pose a challenge, and there might be scenarios that demand a more nuanced or agile approach than the method seemingly affords.

The Kepner-Tregoe Method has cemented its status as a powerhouse in the realm of logical decision making within the business context.

It provides an essential structure, enabling organizations to dissect and navigate complex problems with precision and strategic acumen. As businesses continue to confront an ever-changing landscape, the Kepner-Tregoe Method’s principles stand as timeless pillars supporting sound decision-making processes.

Enterprises seeking to bolster their operational efficiency and problem-solving efficacy would do well to consider online certificate programs or a problem solving course to enhance their team’s proficiency in the Kepner-Tregoe Method. In summary, the method's alignment with sound judgment, strategic foresight, and organizational optimization will undoubtedly continue to carve its niche as an indispensable tool for years to come.

What are the key principles behind the Kepner-Tregoe method in logical decision making?

The kepner-tregoe methodology explained.

The Kepner-Tregoe method stands as a critical thinking framework. It aids in the efficient resolution of problems. Also, it enhances decision-making capabilities. The approach emerged in the 1960s. Charles Kepner and Benjamin Tregoe designed it.

Core Principles

Several key principles drive the method. Together, they form a robust structure for analysis.

Situation Appraisal

Clarity matters in any issue. Identify concerns. Distinguish them from actual problems. Sort issues based on priority. Allocate resources accordingly.

Problem Analysis

Define the problem. Specify what has deviated from the norm. Use factual data. Identify potential causes. Test causes against the facts. Confirm the root cause.

Decision Analysis

List possible actions. Examine risks and benefits. Prioritize solutions by feasibility and impact. Set objective criteria for decision-making.

Potential Problem Analysis

Anticipate future challenges. Develop preemptive measures. Cultivate proactive thinking. Create contingency plans for identified risks.

Systematic Approach

The method promotes structured problem-solving. It relies on logic more than on intuition.

Use Objective Information

Base decisions on data. Discard guesswork and assumptions.

Make the Process Visible

Document each step. Offer transparence to all stakeholders. Encourage accountability. Enhance learning by reviewing decisions.

Flexibility and Consistency

The Kepner-Tregoe approach adapts to various problems. Maintain consistency in its application.

Each step follows logically from the last. Maintain focus. Avoid hastily drawn conclusions.

Increased Efficiency

The method streamlines complex decisions. It leads to informed, resilient choices. Implement the model for effectiveness across teams. Foster shared understanding and collaboration.

In conclusion, the Kepner-Tregoe method centers around clarity, prioritization, and evidence-based decision making. It provides an effective, structured way to approach complex problem-solving within organizations.

How can the Kepner-Tregoe method enhance the quality of decision-making processes in an organizational context?

The Kepner-Tregoe method offers a systematic framework. It enhances decision-making in organizations. This approach prioritizes careful analysis and clear thinking. Decision quality thus improves.

Structured Problem-Solving

Clarity and focus remain key in problem-solving. The Kepner-Tregoe method enforces this structure. It breaks down complex issues into manageable parts. Users identify the root causes. They list potential solutions. The method encourages considering all possible outcomes.

Improving Decision Quality

The technique enhances the decision-making quality. It emphasizes gathering relevant information. Decisions rest on factual bases. This reduces uncertainty. Risk becomes more manageable.

Encouraging Team Collaboration

Teams benefit from this method. It fosters collaboration. Team members contribute diverse perspectives. They engage in the problem-solving process. Cross-functional expertise merges.

Enhancing Problem Assessment

Detail matters in assessing problems. The method provides a detailed process. It assists in defining the problem accurately. Misunderstandings diminish. Accurate problem assessments lead to better solutions.

Prioritizing Issues

Some problems need immediate attention. Others do not. The Kepner-Tregoe method assists in prioritization. It helps organizations tackle the most critical issues first. Resources focus where necessary.

Rationalizing Decision Processes

Emotion often clouds judgment. The Kepner-Tregoe method instills rationality. It requires logical analysis. Emotions take a back seat. Decisions born from logic prove more reliable.

Facilitating Continuous Improvement

The method is not a one-time application. It fosters continuous learning. Organizations identify shortcomings in decision-making. They make ongoing improvements. Efficiency and effectiveness increase over time.

Reducing Bias

Human bias is inevitable. The Kepner-Tregoe method mitigates it. It encourages objective analysis. Subjectivity reduces. Decisions become less prone to bias.

Streamlining Action Plans

Clear action plans follow sound decisions. The method aids in developing these plans. It addresses who, what, when, and how. Implementation becomes smoother.

Building Decision-Making Competency

Competency develops with practice. The Kepner-Tregoe method is a tool for this practice. Decision-makers grow more skilled. Their confidence in their abilities increases.

In conclusion, the Kepner-Tregoe method offers a robust framework. It refines decision-making in organizations significantly. It helps leaders navigate complex issues with a clear, rational approach. It builds collaborative, informed, and bias-resistant decision-making cultures. Organizations become better equipped to tackle challenges. They thrive in today's fast-paced and uncertain business environment.

What are the major steps involved in applying the Kepner-Tregoe method to complex problem-solving situations?

The Kepner-Tregoe method offers a systematic framework. Its aim is to aid decision-making. Complex problems become more manageable with it.

Step 1: Situation Analysis

Begin with situation appraisal. Gather initial information. Determine the issue's urgency. Assess its impact. Prioritize concerns accordingly.

Step 2: Problem Analysis

Identify the core problem. Ask what's happening. Determine where, when, and to what extent. Get specific about the issue's nature.

Step 3: Decision Analysis

List potential actions. Consider possible outcomes. Evaluate risk versus return. Prioritize these options based on objectives.

Step 4: Potential Problem Analysis

Foresee future complications. Anticipate potential pitfalls. Develop preventative measures. Prepare contingency plans.

Applying the Method

The application requires discipline. Each step necessitates critical thinking.

Detailing Each Step

Clarify the concern.

Distinguish problems from decisions.

Set priorities.

Define the problem clearly.

Explore causes methodically.

Seek relevant evidence.

Draft alternative courses.

Weight pros and cons.

Select the best option.

Identify what might go wrong.

Devise preventative strategies.

Plan for possible issues.

Using the Kepner-Tregoe Method Effectively

The method requires meticulousness. Each step builds upon the last. Skip none.

Be thorough in analysis.

Maintain objectivity.

Engage relevant stakeholders.

Document findings systematically.

By working methodically, the Kepner-Tregoe method simplifies complex situations. It encourages comprehensive exploration. It facilitates sound decision-making. Use it to navigate challenges with precision.

A middle-aged man is seen wearing a pair of black-rimmed glasses. His hair is slightly tousled, and he looks off to the side, suggesting he is deep in thought. He is wearing a navy blue sweater, and his hands are folded in front of him. His facial expression is one of concentration and contemplation. He appears to be in an office, with a white wall in the background and a few bookshelves visible behind him. He looks calm and composed.

He is a content producer who specializes in blog content. He has a master's degree in business administration and he lives in the Netherlands.

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Lateral Thinking for Problem-Solving: Find the Haystack!

Unlock your problem solving skills and learn where problems come from. Discover the root causes of issues and how to develop strategies to tackle them.

Unlocking Problem Solving Skills: Where Do Problems Come From?

The Wisdom of Jefferson: Moving, Doing, Thinking

Learn how to master problem solving skills with the help of thinking aloud. Discover the benefits of this technique and how it can help you become a better problem solver.

Mastering Problem Solving Skills: How Thinking Aloud Works

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Open access
Published: 17 June 2024

A novel Hellinger distance-based regret theory method for spherical fuzzy decision making model and its application in logistics

Haiping Ren 1 &
Hui Zhou 2

Scientific Reports volume 14 , Article number: 13952 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

Metrics details

Engineering
Mathematics and computing

Actual decision making problems are often based on the company decision maker’s behavior factors, such as risk attitude, subjective preference, etc. Regret theory can well express the behavior of the decision maker. In this pursuit, a novel decision making method was developed, based on the regret theory for the multi-attribute decision making problem, in which attribute values were expressed by spherical fuzzy numbers. Distance measurement not only has extensive applications in fields such as pattern recognition and image processing, but also plays an important role in the research of fuzzy decision theory. The existing distance measures of spherical fuzzy set either have special cases of anti-intuition or are more complex in calculation, so finding suitable distance measures is also an important research topic in the decision-making theory of spherical fuzzy set. For this reason, we first establish a new distance of spherical fuzzy sets based on Hellinger distance of probability distribution. A decision maker’s perception utility value function is proposed using the new distance formula, which is used to measure the regretful and rejoice value. Then we establish an optimization model for solving the attribute weights, when the information of attribute weight was partially known. Subsequently, the comprehensive perceived utility values were utilized to rank the order of the alternatives. Finally, a numerical example of assessment of logistics providers is used to show that the new decision making method is effective and feasible.

Introduction

The concept of fuzzy sets, firstly founded by Zadeh in 1965, due to the need to describe and process the large number of fuzzy phenomena that exist in the real world. In people’s thinking, many concepts are fuzzy, such as young, very large, warm, evening, etc. 1 . The attributes of objects described by these concepts cannot be simply answered with “yes” or “no”. Therefore, the concept of fuzzy sets emerged in order to describe and deal with these fuzzy concepts 2 . By establishing appropriate membership functions and utilizing relevant operations and transformations of fuzzy sets, fuzzy objects can be analyzed. This method provides an effective mathematical tool for describing and dealing with fuzzy phenomena. It has become a powerful tool to describe the human brain’s thinking in processing fuzzy information and it has many successful applications in dealing with various practical problems, such as automatic control, pattern recognition, and medical diagnosis wherein some vague or uncertain characteristics exist 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 .

Although Zadeh’s fuzzy set theory can describe and handle fuzziness, it still has some limitations. It mainly relies on membership functions to describe the degree of an element belonging to a set. However, in many cases, it is difficult to fully characterize fuzziness using only membership functions 9 , 10 . For example, when dealing with certain complex problems, we not only need to know the degree of an element belonging to a set, but also need to understand the degree of the element not belonging to the set or the hesitation degree of belonging to the set. Therefore, to more comprehensively describe and handle fuzziness, more parameters need to be introduced in the concepts of extensions of Zadeh’s fuzzy sets. In recent years, some extensions of Zadeh’s fuzzy set were proposed, they are intuitionistic fuzzy set, vague set, picture fuzzy set, neutrosophic set etc. Some extensions of Zadeh’s fuzzy set and applications can be found in Table 1 . Figure 1 illustrates the extensions of fuzzy sets.

The extensions of fuzzy sets.

Spherical fuzzy (SF) set is a newly extension of Zadeh’s fuzzy set, which was introduced by Ashraf and Abdullah 17 . A SF set can better describe abstain degree and refusal degree of the judgment than a fuzzy set or intuitionistic fuzzy set because SF set contains three parameters: membership degree and non-membership degree and refusal degree. SF sets have been proved as an effective tool in expressing the uncertainty or fuzzy information in actual applications 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 .

Multi-attribute/multi-criteria decision making (MADM/MACD) models have extensive applications in many fields, including engineering, technology, economy, management, military, and so on 22 , 23 . But most of MADM methods do not consider the influence of behavior of the decision-maker (DM) in the decision process, because of the assumption of the complete rationality of DM. However, the actual evaluation process often accompanies the behavior factors of the DM. Taking into account DM’s bounded rationality in multi-attribute decision-making (MADM) processes is more realistic. Therefore, MADM methods based on behavioral decision theory have received widespread attention and research in the past decade. In recent years, prospect theory and regret theory have attracted widely attention and based on these theories some decision making methods have been put forward 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 . Pen and Dai 28 suggested that the regret theory has many advantages over the prospect theory in the actual decision process. For example, in decision making, if regret theory is applied, DMs need not give reference points, and the decision function involves fewer parameters in the calculation formula, which makes the calculation simpler 29 , 30 . One task of this article is to develop a new evaluation method based on SF information.

Fourth-party logistics (4PLs) refer to a comprehensive logistics service model that includes not only traditional third-party logistics (3PLs) services but also higher-level supply chain management and coordination services 31 . 4PL providers typically have higher technical capabilities and management levels, enabling them to achieve visualized and intelligent management of the supply chain through information technology means, thereby improving logistics efficiency and reducing costs 32 . Logistics provider evaluation is an important part of selecting the right logistics provider for a business 33 . Evaluating logistics providers can help businesses understand their capabilities and performance, thereby better controlling logistics costs, improving logistics efficiency, reducing risks, etc. 34 , 35 . Evaluating logistics providers is of great significance for businesses to select the right logistics providers, reduce procurement risks, improve logistics efficiency, control logistics costs, and promote supply chain collaboration 36 . Due to the presence of many difficult-to-quantify qualitative indicators in the evaluation of logistics providers, the use of fuzzy numbers or linguistic terms to express these indicators is more accurate. Guo et al. 37 introduces a improved TODIM method for evaluation of emergency logistics suppliers based on probabilistic linguistic term sets. Jovčić et al. 38 developed the fuzzy AHP method and TOPSIS method on the evaluation of emergency logistics suppliers based on linguistic terms and triangular fuzzy numbers. Aydn et al. 39 put forward a novel neutrosophic MCDM method for the evaluation of fourth party logistics firms.There is still very little research on the use of SF sets for the assessment of logistics providers. So far, no one has extended the regret theory to SF decision making methods. In this pursuit, the present study developed a new regret theory based MADM method in solving the assessment of logistics providers, wherein the attribute values were expressed by SF numbers.

The organization of this manuscript is as follows: Section “Preliminary knowledge” introduces the concepts of SF numbers and puts forward a new spherical fuzzy distance. Section “New spherical fuzzy MADM method based on Helinger distance and regret theory” introduces the relevant knowledge of regret theory and develops a new MADM method based on the regret theory. Section “Application of assessment of logistics provider” provides two examples to illustrate the effectiveness and feasibility of the new proposed MADM method. Finally, Section “Conclusions” presents the conclusions of this study.

Preliminary knowledge

Some concepts about SF sets will be first recalled, and then we will establish a new distance formula based on Hillinger distance and study the properties of the new distance measure.

Spherical fuzzy set

Definition 1

Let \(\mathscr{T}\) be a given domain. Gündoğdu and Kahraman 18 introduced the concept of SF as follows:

Here, \(\sigma_{\mathscr{M}} (\Delta ):\Delta \to [0,1]\) , \(\varsigma_{\mathscr{M}} (\Delta ):\Delta \to [0,1]\) , and \(\tau_{\mathscr{M}} (\Delta ):\Delta \to [0,1]\) represent the membership degree, neutrality, and non-membership degree of elements \(\Delta\) belonging to \(\mathscr{M}\) in \(\mathscr{T}\) , respectively, and for all \(\Delta \in \mathscr{T}\) , \(0 \le \sigma_{{_{\mathscr{M}} }}^{2} (\Delta ) + \varsigma_{{_{\mathscr{M}} }}^{2} (\Delta ) + \tau_{{_{\mathscr{M}} }}^{2} (\Delta ) \le 1\) . For each fuzzy subset in \(\mathscr{T}\) , \(\pi_{\mathscr{M}} (\Delta ) = 1 - \sqrt {\sigma_{\mathscr{M}}^{2} (\varvec{t}) + \varsigma_{\mathscr{M}}^{2} (\varvec{t}) + \tau_{\mathscr{M}}^{2} (\varvec{t})}\) is called the rejection degree of element \(\Delta\) belonging to \(\mathscr{M}\) in \(\mathscr{T}\) . When \(\mathscr{T}\) has only one element, \(\mathscr{M} = < \mu_{\mathscr{M}} ,\eta_{\mathscr{M}} ,\upsilon_{\mathscr{M}} >\) is commonly referred to as a SF number.

Definition 2

Let \(\mathscr{T} = \{ \Delta_{1} ,\Delta_{2} ,...,\Delta_{\varvec{n}} \}\) be a given domain. There are two SF sets \(\mathscr{M} = \{ \langle \Delta ,\sigma_{\mathscr{M}} (\Delta ),\varsigma_{\mathscr{M}} (\Delta ),\tau_{\mathscr{M}} (\Delta )\rangle \left| {\Delta \in \mathscr{T}} \right.\}\) and \(\mathscr{N} = \{ \langle \Delta ,\sigma_{\mathscr{N}} (\Delta ),\varsigma_{\mathscr{N}} (\Delta ),\tau_{\mathscr{N}} (\Delta )\rangle \left| {\Delta \in \mathscr{T}} \right.\}\) defined in \(\mathscr{T}\) . The operational laws are defined as follows (Gündoğdu and Kahraman 18 ):

(i) \(\mathscr{M} \subseteq \mathscr{N} \Leftrightarrow \forall \Delta \in \mathscr{T},\sigma_{\mathscr{M}} (\Delta ) \le \sigma_{\mathscr{N}} (\Delta ),\varsigma_{\mathscr{M}} (\Delta ) \le \varsigma_{\mathscr{N}} (\Delta ),\tau_{\mathscr{M}} (\Delta ) \ge \tau_{\mathscr{N}} (\Delta )\) ;

\(\mathscr{M} = \mathscr{N} \Leftrightarrow \mathscr{M} \subseteq \mathscr{N} \wedge \mathscr{N} \subseteq \mathscr{M}\)

\(\mathscr{M}^{c} = \{ \langle \Delta ,\sigma_{\mathscr{M}} (\Delta ),\varsigma_{\mathscr{M}} (\Delta ),\tau_{\mathscr{M}} (\Delta )\rangle \left| {\Delta \in \mathscr{T}} \right.\}\)

Definition 3

Let \(\mathscr{S}\mathscr{F}\mathscr{S}(\mathscr{T})\) be the set of all SF sets on the domain \(\mathscr{T}\) . A real-valued function \(\mathscr{D}:\mathscr{S}\mathscr{F}\mathscr{S}(\mathscr{T}) \times \mathscr{S}\mathscr{F}\mathscr{S}(\mathscr{T}) \to R\) is called a distance measure on \(\mathscr{S}\mathscr{F}\mathscr{S}(\mathscr{T})\) . If for any \(\mathscr{M},\mathscr{N},\mathscr{O} \in \mathscr{S}\mathscr{F}\mathscr{S}(\mathscr{T})\) , the function \(\mathscr{D}\) satisfies the following properties (Ali and Garg 40 ):

\(\mathscr{D}(\mathscr{M},\mathscr{N}) \ge 0\)

\(\mathscr{M} = \mathscr{N}\) if and only if \(\mathscr{D}(\mathscr{M},\mathscr{N}) = 0\) ;

\(\mathscr{D}\,(\mathscr{M},\mathscr{N}) = \mathscr{D}(\mathscr{N},\mathscr{M})\) ;

\(\mathscr{D}(\mathscr{M},\mathscr{N}) \le \mathscr{D}(\mathscr{M},\mathscr{O}) + \mathscr{D}(\mathscr{O},\mathscr{N})\) .

A new spherical fuzzy Hellinger distance

Definition 4.

Let \(P = (p_{1} ,p_{2} , \cdots ,p_{n} )\) and \(Q = (q_{1} ,q_{2} , \cdots ,q_{n} )\) be two discrete probability distributions. The Hillinger distance between these two probability distributions is defined as (Sengar et al. 41 ):

Since its proposal, the Hillinger distance has been widely applied in fields such as data mining and cryptography 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 .

According to the Cauchy–Schwarz inequality, we can easily obtain the conclusion of Lemma 1 .

Let \(R\) be the set of real numbers and \(\alpha_{\varvec{i}} ,\beta_{\varvec{i}} ,\gamma_{\varvec{i}} \in R\,(\varvec{i} = 1,2,...,\varvec{n})\) , then.

For given non-negative real numbers \(\alpha_{k} ,\beta_{k} (k = 1,2,3)\) , the following expression is always true:

Next, we will propose the Hillinger distance formula between two any SF sets based on Eq. ( 1 ).

Let \(\mathscr{T} = \{ \Delta_{1} ,\Delta_{2} ,...,\Delta_{\varvec{n}} \}\) be a given domain. There are two SF sets \(\mathscr{M} = \{ \langle \Delta ,\sigma _{\mathscr{M}} (\Delta ),\varsigma _{\mathscr{M}} (\Delta ),\tau _{\mathscr{M}} (\Delta )\rangle \left| {\Delta \in \mathscr{T}} \right.\} \) and \( \mathscr{N} = \{ \langle \Delta ,\sigma _{ \mathscr{N}} (\Delta ),\varsigma _{ \mathscr{N}} (\Delta ),\tau _{ \mathscr{N}} (\Delta )\rangle \left| {\Delta \in \mathscr{T}} \right.\} \) defined in \(\mathscr{T}\) . Based on the Hillinger distance ( 1 ), a new information measurement between \(\mathscr{M}\) and \(\mathscr{N}\) is defined as follows:

Then \(\mathscr{D}_{H} (\mathscr{M},\mathscr{N})\) is a distance measure. That is it satisfies (i)–(iv) of Definition 1.

Proof of Theorem 1

The property (i) is obviously true.

(ii) If \(\mathscr{M} = \mathscr{N}\) , then

Therefore, it is obvious that \(\mathscr{D}_{H} (\mathscr{M},\mathscr{N}) = 0\) .

Conversely, If \(\mathscr{D}_{H} (\mathscr{M},\mathscr{N}) = 0\) , i.e.

Then \(\forall \Delta \in \mathscr{T},\sigma_{\mathscr{M}} (\Delta ) = \sigma_{\mathscr{N}} (\Delta ),\varsigma_{\mathscr{M}} (\Delta ) = \varsigma_{\mathscr{N}} (\Delta ),\tau_{\mathscr{M}} (\Delta ) = \tau_{\mathscr{N}} (\Delta )\) .

That is \(\mathscr{M} = \mathscr{N}\) . Thus, (ii) is proved.

(iii) It is obvious that

Next, we prove (iv).

According to the Cauchy–Schwarz inequality to Eqs. ( 8 )–( 10 ), we have

According to inequalities ( 11 )–( 13 ) and Eqs. ( 14 ) and ( 15 ), we have

Therefore, \(\mathscr{D}(\mathscr{M},\mathscr{N}) \le \mathscr{D}(\mathscr{M},\mathscr{O}) + \mathscr{D}(\mathscr{O},\mathscr{N})\) . Then the theorem is proved.

Let \(\mathscr{T} = \{ \Delta_{1} ,\Delta_{2} ,...,\Delta_{\varvec{n}} \}\) be a given domain, and \(w_{i}\) is the degree of importance of \(\Delta_{i}\) . There are two SF sets \(\mathscr{M} = \{ \langle \Delta_{i} ,\sigma_{\mathscr{M}} (\Delta_{i} ),\varsigma_{\mathscr{M}} (\Delta_{i} ),\tau_{\mathscr{M}} (\Delta_{i} )\rangle \left| {\Delta_{i} \in \mathscr{T}} \right.\}\) and \(\mathscr{N} = \{ \langle \Delta_{i} ,\sigma_{\mathscr{N}} (\Delta_{i} ),\varsigma_{\mathscr{N}} (\Delta_{i} ),\tau_{\mathscr{N}} (\Delta_{i} )\rangle \left| {\Delta_{i} \in \mathscr{T}} \right.\}\) defined in \(\mathscr{T}\) . Then we can obtain a new weighted distance between \(\mathscr{M}\) and \(\mathscr{N}\) as follows:

The proof of Theorem 2 is similar to the proof of Theorem 1 and is omitted here.

Comparative analysis

To facilitate analysis and comparison, the existing formulas for SF distance formulas are listed below.

Let \( \mathscr{M} = \{ \langle \Delta ,\sigma _{\mathscr{M}} (\Delta ),\varsigma _{\mathscr{M}} (\Delta ),\tau _{\mathscr{M}} (\Delta )\rangle \left| {\Delta \in \mathscr{T}} \right.\} \) and \( \mathscr{N} = \{ \langle \Delta ,\sigma _{\mathscr{N}} (\Delta ),\varsigma _{\mathscr{N}} (\Delta ),\tau _{\mathscr{N}} (\Delta )\rangle \left| {\Delta \in \mathscr{T}} \right.\} \) be two SF sets defined in the domain \(\mathscr{T} = \{ \Delta_{1} ,\Delta_{2} ,...,\Delta_{\varvec{n}} \}\) . Ashraf et al. 49 , 50 proposed the following distance formulas:

Here \(\rho \ge 1\) .

The distance formula of Mahood et al. 51 :

The distance formula of Khan et al. 52 :

The distance formula of Ali and Garg 40 :

Here, \(F:[0,1] \times [0,1] \to [0,1]\) is a strictly monotonic increasing or decreasing function, \(\left\| u \right\| = \sqrt {\varsigma_{\max } }\) , and \(\varsigma_{\max }\) is the largest non-negative eigenvalue of a positive definite Hermitian matrix \(u^{T} u\) .

To further examine the validity of the SF distance function proposed in this article, we will list five pairs of special SF sets (numbers) and calculate their distances. The cases of SFNs is shown in Table 2 and the results are shown in Table 3 , where bold font is used to indicate counterintuitive situations. Here, \(\rho = 2\) in \(\mathscr{D}_{al3} (\mathscr{M},\mathscr{N})\) and \(F\left( {x_{1} ,x_{2} } \right)\) in \(\mathscr{D}_{JH} (\mathscr{M},\mathscr{N})\) .

As shown in Table 3 , it can be seen that \(\mathscr{D}_{kk}\) , \(\mathscr{D}_{JH}\) and the SF Hellinger distance measure \(\mathscr{D}_{H}\) are more reasonable than other distance measures. However, the distance measure \(\mathscr{D}_{kk}\) cannot handle the case where the denominator is zero, and the calculation of the distance measure \(\mathscr{D}_{JH}\) is too complex. In contrast, the distance measure proposed in this article is simple and fast to calculate.

New spherical fuzzy MADM method based on Helinger distance and regret theory

A new spherical fuzzy madm model.

For a decision making problem, if the attribute evaluation values or attribute weight information contains SF numbers, then the problem can be regarded as a SF MADM problem. For ease of description, the following symbols represent sets or quantities in the assessment process:

The i -th alternative;

The j - th attribute;

The importance level of the i -th attribute \(o_{j}\) . Obviously \(0 \le \omega_{j} \le 1\left( {j = 1,2, \ldots m} \right)\) and \(\sum\nolimits_{j = 1}^{m} {w_{j} = 1}\) ;

The attribute value of solution \(A_{i}\) under attribute \(o_{j}\) is a SF number.

Therefore, the decision information matrix for this assessment problem of logistics providers is \(\tilde{\user2{D}} = ( < \mu_{ij} ,\eta_{ij} ,\upsilon_{ij} > )_{m \times n}\) .

In practical assessment process, the DM often directly provides the weights of evaluation attributes. However, there are also situations where the DM may not be able to accurately provide the weights of evaluation attributes due to their knowledge background and familiarity with the problem. Sometimes, they may have no information about attribute weights, while in other cases, they can only provide partial information about attribute weights. Let \({\varvec{H}}\) be the set of mathematical expressions representing known partial attribute weight information.

In MADM model, determining the weights of decision attributes is a very important research topic. There are already many methods for determining attribute weights based on information measures, such as entropy weight method, maximum deviation method, and optimization model solving methods based on information measures 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 . How to measure its fuzziness and how to measure the distance and discrimination between two SF sets well need to construct reasonable distance measure, similarity and other information measures to solve these problems. At the same time, these information measures mentioned above also help to determine attribute weights. Some scholars have constructed SF information measures and developed attribute weight determination methods and MADM methods. Ayodou and Gül 59 constructed a new type of SF entropy measure and used the entropy weight method to determine attribute weights. They developed the SF weighted sum product evaluation method based on the new entropy measure. By comparing and analyzing the decision results obtained with other methods, it was found that the new decision method is more robust. Ashraf et al. 49 defined the Euclidean distance and Hamming distance of SF set, and constructed the weighted operator of fuzzy distance based on these two distances. In this section, we will develop a new model (Model ( 37 )) to help solve the attribute weights.

New MADM method based on regret theory

The regret theory is a psychological theory that explores how people consider the potential consequences and feelings of regret when making decisions. The theory suggests that when making decisions, people not only consider current benefits and risks but also anticipate future outcomes and predict whether they will feel regret as a result.

The perceived utility value (PUV) of DM is defined as follows:

where \(\alpha\) and \(\beta\) are the results that can be obtained by selecting two alternatives \(A\) and \(B\) , respectively. Among them, \(V(\alpha )\) and \(V(\beta )\) respectively represent the utility value \(A\) and \(B\) after the DM selects the scheme and \( \mathscr{R}(V(\alpha ) - V(\beta ))\) is called regret-rejoice value, and if it is positive, we called it the rejoice value. Otherwise, it is called the regret value. Loomes and Sugden 25 suggested that \( \mathscr{R}( \cdot )\) can be chosen in the following function form:

where, \(\xi > 0\) is the regret avoidance coefficient, and \(\tau\) is the difference between \(V(\alpha )\) and \(V(\beta )\) .

Based on regret theory, when the positive ideal solution (PIS) is chosen as the reference point, the decision evaluation value of other options cannot be higher than the decision evaluation value of the PIS, and the DM will feel regretful; when the negative ideal solution (NIS) is chosen as the reference point, the decision evaluation value of other options cannot be lower than the decision evaluation value of the NIS, and the DM will feel happy.

Let \(x_{ij}\) be the attribute value of alternative \(A_{i}\) under attribute \(o_{j}\) , then the regret value of \(x_{ij}\) is relative to the corresponding attribute value \(x_{j}^{ + }\) of the PIS and \(x_{j}^{ - }\) of NIS are defined as follows 28 :

Then, the comprehensive regret-rejoice value for \(x_{ij}\) of \(A_{i}\) under \(o_{j}\) is

According to Bell 24 , the power function \(V_{ij} (x) = x^{\theta } , - \infty < x < \infty ,0 < \theta < 1\) can be used as a utility function, where \(\theta\) is the risk aversion coefficient of DMs.

This section will construct a new regret theory and Hellinger distance-based SF MADM model. Assume that the attribute evaluation value of \(A_{i}\) under \(o_{j}\) be a SF number \(x_{ij} = < \sigma_{ij} ,\varsigma_{ij} ,\tau_{ij} >\) .

In this study, a function \(V(x_{ij} ) = (S(x_{ij} ))^{\theta }\) is used as a utility function of \(x_{ij} = < \sigma_{ij} ,\varsigma_{ij} ,\tau_{ij} >\) . Then, the DM’s perception utility value (PUV) of SF number \(x_{ij}\) of the scheme \(A_{i}\) can be defined as:

Here, \(d(\varvec{x},\varvec{y})\) represents the Hellinger distance between two SF numbers \(\varvec{x}\) and \(\varvec{y}\) . \(S(x_{ij} )\) is the score function, which is defined as follows (Ali 60 ):

where \(\pi_{ij} = 1 - \sigma_{ij}^{2} - \varsigma_{ij}^{2} - \tau_{ij}^{2}\) .

Next, we will discuss the method for determining attribute weights when partial weight information is known. Let the set of known weight information be denoted as \({\varvec{H}}\) . For each \(A_{i}\) , its overall PUV is denoted as

The determination of weights should aim to maximize the overall PUV of each scheme \(A_{i}\) . That is, the objective function is \(\max \;\Gamma = (\Gamma (A_{1} ),\Gamma (A_{2} ), \cdots ,\Gamma (A_{m} ))\) .

Based on the principle that “the larger the overall PUV, the better the scheme”, and assuming fair competition among all alternatives, the following optimization model ( 37 ) is established with the goal of maximizing the DM’s overall PUV of the alternative set.

By solving the above model we can solve the optimal weight vector \({\varvec{w}}^{ * } \user2{ = }(w_{1}^{ * } ,w_{2}^{ * } , \cdots ,w_{n}^{ * } )\) .

The optimal overall PUV for \(A_{i}\) is

Figure 2 illustrates steps of our proposed algorithm for solving MADM problems.

Steps of our proposed SF algorithm.

In the follow, we introduce the steps for SF MADM method based on the new hellinger distance and regret theory.

Step 1. Identify the problem and establish the SF decision matrix \(\tilde{\user2{D}} = ( < \sigma_{ij} ,\varsigma_{ij} ,\tau_{ij} > )_{m \times n}\) .

Step 2. According to Eq. ( 35 ), calculate the scores of \(x_{ij} = < \sigma_{ij} ,\varsigma_{ij} ,\tau_{ij} >\) , then we get the SF score matrix \(\user2{S = }(S_{ij} )_{m \times n}\) .

Step 3. Define the positive ideal value (PIV) and negative ideal value (NIV) of attribute \(o_{j}\) .

PIV \(x_{j}^{ + }\) is defined as:

NIV \(x_{j}^{ - }\) is defined as:

where \(BB\) represents the set of benefit-type indicators and \(CC\) represents the set of cost-type indicators.

Step 4. Calculate the attribute values of each alternative (i.e. \(x_{ij} = < \sigma_{ij} ,\varsigma_{ij} ,\tau_{ij} >\) ) and the corresponding distances to the PIV and NIV, respectively. According to Eq. ( 4 ), we have:

Step 5. Substitute Eqs. ( 38 ), ( 41 ), and ( 42 ) into Eq. ( 36 ) to calculate the overall PUV \(\Gamma (A_{i} )\) for each alternative , respectively.

Step 6. With the goal of maximizing the overall PUVs of the DM for the set of alternatives, construct the optimization model ( 37 ).

Step 7. Substitute the optimal attribute weights obtained from Step 6 into Eq. ( 38 ) to obtain the overall PUV for each candidate alternative. The superiority or inferiority of each alternative is determined by the value of \(PUV(A_{i} )\) . The larger the value of \(PUV(A_{i} )\) , the better the corresponding candidate alternative \(A_{i}\) .

Application of assessment of logistics provider

Index system of assessment of 4pl providers.

The evaluation index system of fourth-party logistics (4PL) providers is an important task for enterprises when choosing 4PL service providers. After referring to the literature on the evaluation index system of logistics suppliers, it is found that the evaluation index system is not unified. Based on the need of case analysis and the summary of existing literature, the index system mainly includes aspects such as service quality, cost-effectiveness, technical ability, management system, and innovation ability 61 , 62 , 63 .

Service quality Service quality is one of the most important factors that enterprises pay attention to when choosing 4PL providers. Service quality includes indicators such as delivery time, delivery accuracy, damage rate, and customer satisfaction.

Cost-effectiveness Cost-effectiveness is another important factor that enterprises need to consider when choosing 4PL providers. Cost-effectiveness includes indicators such as transportation costs, inventory costs, and order processing costs.

Technical ability Technical ability is another important factor that enterprises need to consider when choosing 4PL providers. Technical ability includes indicators such as information technology level, logistics management ability, and transportation equipment level.

Management system The management system is another important factor that enterprises need to consider when choosing 4PL providers. The management system includes indicators such as quality management system, environmental management system, and safety management system.

Innovation ability Innovation ability is another important factor that enterprises need to consider when choosing 4PL providers. Innovation ability includes indicators such as new product development ability and innovation management ability.

These indicators can be adjusted and supplemented according to actual conditions. By constructing the evaluation index system of 4PL providers, enterprises can more comprehensively understand the performance of 4PL providers and choose the most suitable provider to improve logistics efficiency and reduce costs.

Numerical example of assessment of logistics providers

A company wants to select the most suitable 4PL service provider from four candidates, and after expert discussions, six evaluation attributes are determined: cost-effectiveness ( \(o_{1}\) ), Service quality ( \(o_{2}\) ), technical ability ( \(o_{3}\) ), management system ( \(o_{4}\) ), innovation ability ( \(o_{5}\) ). Based on the five evaluation attributes, assuming that after discussions with experts and the leadership team, a SF decision matrix is established for decision-making judgments on the four candidate solutions, as shown in Table 4 .

Assuming that some attribute weight information is already known and the attribute weights information is shown in the following set:

We are requested to determine the best 4PL service provider.

The solution steps are as follows:

Step 1 : Normalize the decision matrix using the following normalization formula:

In this example, only \(o_{1}\) belongs to the cost-effectiveness criterion, therefore the normalized SF decision matrix is shown in Table 5 .

Step 2: Calculate the scores of each alternative solution for each attribute value \(x_{ij} = < \mu_{ij} ,\eta_{ij} ,\upsilon_{ij} >\) , and obtain the SF score matrix \(\user2{S = }(S_{ij} )_{m \times n}\) as shown in Table 6 .

Step 3. Determine the PIS and NIS, as shown in Table 7 .

Step 4. According to Eqs. ( 17 ) and ( 18 ), calculate the attribute values of each alternative and the corresponding distances to the PIS and NIS, respectively. The results are shown in Tables 8 and 9 .

Step 5. Calculate the PUVs of the DM for each alternative attribute value \(x_{ij}\) . Here we set \(\theta = 0.88,\xi = 0.20\) , and the results are shown in Table 10 .

Step 6. Based on Eq. ( 37 ), establish the following linear programming model:

Using Matlab to solve the above optimization model (44), the attribute weights are obtained as follows:

Step 7. Calculate the comprehensive PUVs of each alternative, and we can get

The alternatives are sorted in descending order according to \(PUV(A_{i} )\) . The sorting result is \(A_{3} \succ A_{2} \succ A_{1} \succ A_{4}\) , and \(A_{3}\) is the best choice. The new assessment method of service providers not only considers the score function but also takes into account the regret-rejoice value of the DM’s alternative selection, which is in line with objective reality.

Conclusions

The present study was envisaged at the problem of SF MADM with partially known attribute weight. We first constructed a distance formula for Spherical fuzzy sets based on the Hellinger distance of discrete distributions. Through analysis of some examples, we found that the newly proposed distance measure is reasonable and effective. Based on this, we further proposed a Spherical fuzzy MADM method based on regret theory. Our MADM method considered the psychological factors of DMs, which was more in line with reality. In the proposed MADM algorithm, attribute weights are ontained by solving an optimization model, which offered the maximum optimal comprehensive PUV under given weighting information. The new method enriched and developed the weight attribute determination method. According to the values of the comprehensive perceived utility value, the alternatives were ranked. Furthermore, using an illustration of supplier provider evaluation, it was found that the proposed method was effective and feasible.

The method in this paper also has its shortcomings. For instance, we only used numerical examples to demonstrate the advantages of the new distance and the existing distances. However, there is still a lack of comparative studies between decision-making methods based on the new distance of spherical fuzzy sets and other decision-making methods.

Our future work will be to apply the new distance to areas such as image processing and system identification. Furthermore, we will develop the Hellinger distance and the regret theory based MADM to other fuzzy environments, such as T-SF set and q-rung orthopair fuzzy set. We also envisage solving other decision making problems, such as the risk evaluation, system optimization, and material selection using the proposed method.

Data availability

All data generated or analysed during this study are included in this published article.

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This research was funded by National Natural Science Foundation of China, grant number 71661012, and Jiangxi Provincial Department of Education Science and Technology Project, grant number GJJ211604.

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Teaching Department of Basic Subjects, Jiangxi University of Science and Technology, Nanchang, 330013, China

Haiping Ren

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Ren, H., Zhou, H. A novel Hellinger distance-based regret theory method for spherical fuzzy decision making model and its application in logistics. Sci Rep 14 , 13952 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-63876-1

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-63876-1

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