Understand the Problem
Often the most difficult step, because it's easy to focus on the wrong part of the problem, or look at the problem too broadly.
The first thing you need to do is reduce it to its simplest and purest form so you know exactly what you're dealing with. While you're doing this, you need to ask yourself questions to make sure you're focusing on the right things.
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Abstract the problem
A step away from functional fixedness is to break a problem into its basic components. Instead of focusing on the details, only focus on the essential elements. When the problem is stripped from unnecessary detail, you're less likely to fall back on functional fixedness.
Define the problem
Ask people to explain it to you a few times. Keep asking questions to really get to the root of the problem.
Then go ahead and explain the problem to someone else, just to make sure you really understand it. Often times, simply formulating the problem and explaining it to others can hel...
Understand the requirements
To solve a problem, you have to understand exactly what the problem is.
When you start solving a problem, be sure to understand the starting point, the end goal, and the obstacles in between. The worst possible thing is to produce a solution that actually doesn’t do what’...
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