The Workshop Training Library includes all of our courses for workshop training. Scroll down to see all of the courses included, plus other bulk pricing options. All of these workshop resources can be easily customized: mix and match training topics between courses, add new content, and even re-brand as your own.  Here's what's included with each course:

INSTRUCTOR GUIDE

TRAINING MANUAL

POWER POINT SLIDES

FLIP CHART NOTES
ACTIVITIES AND EXERCISE FILES

QUIZZES AND TESTING

 

Welcome to the Creative Problem Solving workshop. In the past few decades, psychologists and business people alike have discovered that successful problem solvers tend to use the same type of process to identify and implement the solutions to their problems. This process works for any kind of problem, large or small.
This workshop will give participants an overview of the entire creative problem solving process, as well as key problem solving tools that they can use every day.



Workshop Objectives

Research has consistently demonstrated that when clear goals are associated with learning that the learning occurs more easily and rapidly. With that in mind, let’s review our goals for today.

By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

Understand problems and the creative problem solving process

Identify types of information to gather and key questions to ask in problem solving

Identify the importance of defining a problem correctly

Identify and use four different problem definition tools

Write concrete problem statements

Use basic brainstorming tools to generate ideas for solutions

Use idea generating tools, such as affinity diagrams, word chaining, the box method, the six thinking hats, and the blink method

Evaluate potential solutions against criteria, including cost/benefit analysis and group voting

Perform a final analysis to select a solution

Understand the roles that fact and intuition play in selecting a solution

Understand the need to refine the shortlist and re-refine it

Understand how to identify the tasks and resources necessary to implement solutions

Evaluate and adapt solutions to reality

Follow up with solution implementation to celebrate successes and identify improvements

 

CREATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING OUTLINE:

Module One: Getting Started
  • Icebreaker
  • Housekeeping Items
  • The Parking Lot
  • Workshop Objectives
Module Two: The Problem Solving Method
  • What is a Problem?
  • What is Creative Problem Solving?
  • What are the Steps in the Creative Solving Process?
Module Three: Information Gathering
  • Understanding Types of Information
  • Identifying Key Questions
  • Methods of Gathering Information
Module Four: Problem Definition
  • Defining the Problem
  • Determining Where the Problem Originated
  • Defining the Present State and the Desired State
  • Stating and Restating the Problem
  • Analyzing the Problem
  • Writing the Problem Statement
Module Five: Preparing for Brainstorming
  • Identifying Mental Blocks
  • Removing Mental Blocks
  • Stimulating Creativity
Module Six: Generating Solutions (I)
  • Brainstorming Basics
  • Brainwriting and Mind Mapping
  • Duncker Diagrams
 Module Seven: Generating Solutions (II)
  • The Morphological Matrix
  • The Six Thinking Hats
  • The Blink Method
Module Eight: Analyzing Solutions
  • Developing Criteria
  • Analyzing Wants and Needs
  • Using Cost/Benefit Analysis
Module Nine: Selecting a Solution
  • Doing a Final Analysis
  • Paired Comparison Analysis
  • Analyzing Potential Problems
Module Ten: Planning Your Next Steps
  • Identifying Tasks
  • Identifying Resources
  • Implementing, Evaluating, and Adapting
Module Eleven: Recording Lessons Learned
  • Planning the Follow-Up Meeting
  • Celebrating Successes
  • Identifying Improvements
Module Twelve: Wrapping Up
  • Words from the Wise
  • Review of Parking Lot
  • Lessons Learned
  • Completion of Action Plans and Evaluations