SOLVE eX

The SOLVE eX method aims to strengthen individual and team thinking. It is grounded in two habits of outstanding thinkers:

1. They take a structured problem-solving approach to the issue at hand.
2. They use the right questions and thinking tools.

They take a structured approach

To be an exceptional thinker, it is not just about asking the right questions but also about using a structured problem-solving process. A structured problem-solving process is like a mental framework that guides how we think. It is a sequence of steps, and skipping any can lead to ineffective thinking. For example:

• The phase of your problem solving influences the questions you ask.
• The questions you ask determine the kind of information you collect.
• The information you gather shapes how you analyze the situation.
• Your analysis leads to specific conclusions.
• These conclusions guide the creation of ideas to be passed on to the next phase.
• Finally, your ideas and solutions drive the actions you take.

Everything starts with understanding where you are in the process. Misjudging this or jumping ahead can disrupt the flow of effective thinking. Each phase serves a purpose, building on the one before it. Rushing into solution development without fully understanding the problem can lead to poor outcomes or missed opportunities. Gathering data without a clear idea of what information is needed can lead to analysis paralysis or irrelevant conclusions. By following each step of a structured process, you ensure that your thinking is systematic, thorough, and aligned with the goal at hand. This approach minimizes errors, enhances clarity, and leads to more innovative and effective solutions.

The method has six phases, each with its own steps:

• S, State. Articulate the current state: describe the situation, write the problem statement, and frame the situation.
• O, Objective. Define the desired objective: the reasons to resolve, the goal statement, and the requirements.
• L, Learn. Learn the facts and data: current, past, systems, and future.
• V, Vision. Create an abundant inventory of divergent ideas: analyze root causes for possible reversion, form ideas expansively, craft solutions for the future state, and refine the ideas for practical use.
• E, Evaluate. Evaluate the inventory of options: define the evaluation criteria, select the right decision tools, and validate the decision's impact and execution.
• eX, Execute. Execute the chosen solution: design and test it, create an action plan, implement the plan, and follow up and take feedback.

Each phase begins with a decision point to determine its necessity. If a phase is deemed unnecessary, the process moves to the decision point of the next phase. Skipping is a decision made there, deliberately, never a jump ahead. Whoever runs the process can also loop back to an earlier phase whenever later work shows the earlier work was thin.

This structured, iterative approach enables comprehensive problem solving, from understanding and framing the problem to evaluating options and implementing solutions, ensuring thoroughness and adaptability in addressing complex business challenges.

They use the right questions and thinking tools

SOLVE eX is a method to improve thinking and problem solving by asking the right questions. It is based on the idea that effective thinkers ask great questions but might not always remember them when needed. So SOLVE eX provides a list of questions for each step of problem solving.

Here is a simplified guide to using it:

1. Identify your current phase in the six-phase process.
2. Pinpoint the specific step in the phase you are on.
3. Choose from three types of questions, described below.
4. Be judicious in asking questions. Too many can be counterproductive.
5. Get familiar with the thinking tools recommended for the step, and consider others. These tools include analytic techniques, conversation guides, data collection templates, and worksheets.

The three types of questions:

• Exploratory Assessment. These questions help analyze and understand the problem in depth. They focus on defining the problem, its effects, and the factors causing it.
• Practicable Analysis. This set focuses on the practical aspects of solving the problem. It includes questions about immediate actions, decision making, and implementation.
• Critical Evaluation. These questions aim to critically assess solutions for their long-term viability and broader impact.

Every step's page carries its full bank of questions in those three groups, and names the tools that serve it.

The tools

The 26 thinking tools written for SOLVE eX each have a page of their own, with the template as a working figure. Most of them adapt or combine methods other people devised, and each page names those people first.

They sit in a larger inventory: Thinking Tools, several hundred thinking tools from management, decision science, engineering, negotiation, systems thinking, and other fields, each credited to the people who devised it and filed under the step of SOLVE eX where it does its work. Find the step you are on, and the inventory shows what can help. Where the problem is organizational politics, the Lam System for Political Interaction, The ADAPT Loop, and the Tactics of Organizational Politics take it further.

The full SOLVE eX operating volume, with the process, the question banks, and the tool library in a form an AI assistant can run with you, is open source under a Creative Commons Attribution license: JawnLam/SOLVE-eX on GitHub.