network problem solving techniques

Basic Network Troubleshooting: A Complete Guide

The basics of network troubleshooting have not changed much over the years. When you’re network troubleshooting, a lot can be required to solve the problem. You could be solving many different issues across several different systems on your complex, hybrid network infrastructure. A network observability solution can help speed up and simplify the process.

The Network is the Key

“The network is down!” — I’m sure you heard that before.

Despite your best efforts as a network engineer, network failures happen, and you have to fix them. Hopefully, you’ve implemented a network observability platform in advance, so you should be collecting a wealth of information about your network, making troubleshooting easier.

But what happens when it’s time to activate troubleshooting mode?

In this post, I’m going to talk about the steps to troubleshoot your network. And then I’ll provide some best practices, as well as provide examples of troubleshooting with Kentik’s network observability solutions.

What is Network Troubleshooting?

Network troubleshooting is the process of solving problems that are occurring on your network, using a methodical approach. A simple definition for what can often be a hard task!

When users complain, whether they’re internal or external to your organization — or ideally, before they do — you need to figure out what the cause of their problem is. The goal is to troubleshoot and fix whatever issue underlies the problems.

Troubleshooting requires taking a methodical approach to resolving the issue as quickly as possible. Unfortunately for you, the user doesn’t care what your service-level objective for fixing the problem is. In today’s “gotta have it fast” culture, more often than not, you need to fix it now — or revenue is affected.

Let’s get into some ways you can troubleshoot your network and reduce your mean time to repair (MTTR).

Basic Network Troubleshooting Processes

Identify the problem.

When you’re troubleshooting network issues , complexity and interdependency make it complex to track down the problem. You could be solving many different issues across several different networks and planes (underlay and overlay) in a complex, hybrid network infrastructure.

The first thing you want to do is identify the problem you’re dealing with. Here are some typical network-related problems:

• A configuration change broke something . On a network, configuration settings are constantly changing. Unfortunately, configuration change accidents can happen that bring down parts of the network.
• Interface dropping packets . Interface issues caused by misconfigurations, errors, or queue limits lead to network traffic failing to reach its destination. Packets simply get dropped.
• Physics limitations on connectivity . Sometimes, your connections don’t have enough bandwidth. Or the latency is too much between source and destination. These lead to network congestion, slowness, or timeouts.
• Problems in the cloud . Intra- or inter-cloud connectivity problems can have their own unique set of causes and challenges. Often driven by someone else’s congestion, oversubscription, or software failures.

Find Your Network Troubleshooting Tools

Fixing these kinds of troubleshooting problems needs more than identification. To paraphrase French biologist Louis Pasteur — where observation is concerned, chance favors only the prepared mind.

No network engineer can troubleshoot without being prepared with their tools and telemetry. So once you’ve identified that there is a problem, it’s time to use your network troubleshooting tools.

Ideally, you have tools and telemetry in advance, so your network observability toolchain is using AI to automatically identify problems and linking you to a jumping off point so you can drive down both MTTK (Mean Time to Know) and either MTTR (Mean Time to Repair) or MTTI (Mean Time to Innocence).

Here are a few examples of basic network troubleshooting tools:

• Tracert/ Trace Route
• Ipconfig/ ifconfig
• Pathping/MTR

The First Step — Ping Affected Systems

When your network is down, slow, or suffers from some other problem, your first job is to send packets across the network to validate the complaint. Send these pings using the Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) or TCP to one or any of the network devices you believe to be involved.

The ping tool is a utility that’s available on practically every system, be it a desktop, server, router, or switch.

There’s a sports analogy that says “the most important ability is availability” for systems. If you can’t reach it, it’s not available to your users.

Sending some ICMP packets across the network, especially from your users’ side, will help answer that question, if your platform isn’t presenting the path to you automatically. In some cases if ICMP is filtered, you can usually switch to TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) and use tcping, telnet, or another TCP-based method to check for reachability.

Get the Path with Traceroute

If you’re not getting any ping responses, you need to find out where the ping is stopping. You can use another ICMP-based tool to help, and that’s traceroute.

Your ping could be getting stopped because ICMP isn’t allowed on your network or by a specific device. If that’s the case, you should consider TCP Traceroute on Linux, which switches to TCP packets.

From traceroute, since you will see the path of IP-enabled devices your packets take, you will also see where the packets stop and get dropped. Once you have that, you can further investigate why this packet loss is happening. Could it be a misconfiguration issue such as a misconfiguration of IP addresses or subnet mask? A misapplied access list?

Test Your Network with Synthetic Monitoring

Tool such as Kentik Synthetic Monitoring enable you to continuously test network performance (via ICMP, TCP, HTTP, and other tests) so you can uncover and solve network issues before they impact customer experience. Ping and traceroute tests performed continuously with public and/or private agents generate key metrics (latency, jitter, and loss) that are evaluated for network health and performance.

To get ahead of the game, Kentik also allows you to set up autonomous tests, so there’s already test history to your top services and destinations. You can also run these continuously (every second, like the ping command default) for high resolution.

Device Commands and Database Logs

Now that you’ve identified the network device or group of devices that could be the culprit, log into those devices and take a look. Run commands based on your device’s network operating system to see some of the configuration.

Take a look at the running configuration to see what interfaces are configured to get to the destination. You can take a look at system logs that the device has kept for any routing or forwarding errors. You can also look at antivirus logs on the destination systems that could be blocking access.

At this point, you may find yourself unable to get enough detail about the problem. Command line tools are telling you how things should work. What if everything’s working the way it should? What now? Or you might be getting overwhelmed by the amount of log data.

Device Configuration Changes

Many network outages relate to changes that humans made! Another key step on the troubleshooting path is to see if anything changed at about the same time as issues started.

This information can be found in logs of AAA (Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting) events from your devices. Ideally stored centrally, but often also visible by examining the on-device event log history.

Packets and Flows

The old saying about packet captures is that packets don’t lie! That’s also true for flow data, which summarizes packets.

Both packets and flows provide information about the source and destination IP addresses, ports, and protocols.

When getting flow data, you’re not as in the weeds as during a packet capture, but it’s good enough for most operational troubleshooting. Whether it’s with NetFlow, sFlow, or IPFIX , you’ll be able to see who’s talking to whom and how with flow data going to a flow collector for analysis.

Capturing packet data is truly getting into the weeds of troubleshooting your network. If it’s unclear from flow, and often if it’s a router or other system bug, you may need to go to the packets.

Unless you have expensive collection infrastructure, it’s also often more time consuming for you than any of the other tools above. Whether it’s tcpdump, Wireshark, or SPAN port, you’ll be able to get needle-in-the-haystack data with packet captures.

One great middle ground is augmented flow data, which captures many of the elements of packets. This can be great if you can get performance data, but not all network devices can watch performance and embed in flow — in fact, the higher speed the device, the less likely it is to support this kind of enhancement.

Collecting and analyzing packets and flows is where you start to venture into the next step. You’re using a mix of utility tools (tcpdump) and software (Wireshark, flow collector). If you’re expecting to keep a low MTTR, you need to move up the stack to software systems.

Up the Stack

If you can’t find issues using these tools and techniques at the network level, you may need to peek up the stack because it could be an application, compute, or storage issue. We’ll cover more on this cross-stack debugging in a future troubleshooting overview.

Kentik Network Observability

Of course, network performance monitoring (NPM) and network observability solutions such as Kentik can greatly help avoid network downtime, detect network performance issues before they critically impact end-users, and track down the root cause of network problems

In today’s complex and rapidly changing network environments, it’s essential to go beyond reactive troubleshooting and embrace a proactive approach to maintaining your network. Network monitoring and proactive troubleshooting can help identify potential issues early on and prevent them from escalating into more severe problems that impact end users or cause downtime.

Kentik’s Network Observability solutions, including the Network Explorer and Data Explorer, can be invaluable tools in implementing proactive troubleshooting strategies. By providing real-time and historical network telemetry data and easy-to-use visualization and analysis tools, Kentik enables you to stay ahead of potential network issues and maintain high-performing, reliable, and secure network infrastructure.

Network Explorer Solution

Kentik Network Explorer provides an overview of the network with organized, pre-built views of activity and utilization, a Network Map, and other ways to browse your network, including the devices, peers, and interesting patterns that Kentik finds in the traffic.

To make NetOps teams more efficient, Kentik provides troubleshooting and capacity management workflows. These are some of the most basic tasks required to operate today’s complex networks, which span data center, WAN, LAN, hybrid and multi-cloud infrastructures.

The Network Explorer combines flow, routing, performance, and device metrics to build the map and let you easily navigate. And everything is linked to Data Explorer if you need to really turn the query knobs to zoom way in.

Data Explorer Solution

If you can’t find the obvious issue with something unreachable or down, it’s key to look beyond the high level and into the details of your network.

Kentik Data Explorer provides a fast, network-centric, easy-to-use interface to query real-time and historic network telemetry data. Select from dozens of dimensions or metrics, 13 different visualizations and any data sources. Set time ranges and search 45 days or more of retained data. Query results within seconds for most searches.

This lets you see traffic, routing, performance, and device metrics in total, by device, region, customer, application, or any combination of dimensions and filters that you need to zoom in and find underlying issues.

Kentik’s Data Explorer provides graphs or table views of network telemetry useful for all types of troubleshooting tasks.

Software Tools Help Facilitate Network Troubleshooting

Marc Andreessen of Netscape fame once said that, “software is eating the world.” But software has made things a lot easier when it comes to network troubleshooting. It has taken over from the manual tools run from a terminal or network device.

There are software tools that ping not just to one device but multiple devices simultaneously for availability and path. Many are flow and packet data stores with software agents sending network data. All this is done and put on a nice dashboard for you. Network troubleshooting is still hard, but software makes it easier.

However, in this cloud-native and multi-cloud infrastructure era, some software makes it easier than others. For that, you need to move beyond traditional monitoring software because it’s not enough anymore. You need to move to observability software.

With software tools like products from Kentik, you can use the devices to send data to observe the state of your network instead of pulling it from the network.

Network Troubleshooting Best Practices

Whether you’re using network observability tools, or have a network small enough where the other tools are sufficient, here are some best practices you should consider.

Develop a Checklist

You should develop a checklist of steps like what I’ve outlined above when troubleshooting.

In his book The Checklist Manifesto , Dr. Atul Gawande discusses how checklists are used by surgeons, pilots, and other high-stress professionals to help them avoid mistakes. Having a checklist to ensure that you go through your troubleshooting steps promptly and correctly can save your users big headaches. And save you some aggravation.

Over time, this checklist will likely become second nature, and having and following it ensures you’re always on top of your game.

Ready Your Software Tools

You want to have already picked the network troubleshooting tools you need to troubleshoot a network problem before you get an emergency call. That isn’t the time to research the best software tool to use. By then, it’s too late.

If you run into a network troubleshooting problem that took longer than you hoped with one tool, research other tools for the next time. But do this before the next big problem comes along.

Get Documentation

It’s tough to jump on a network troubleshooting call and not know much about the network you’re going to, well, troubleshoot. IT organizations are notorious for not having enough documentation. At times, you know it’s because there aren’t enough of you to go around.

But you have to do what you can. Over time, you should compile what you learn about the network. Document it yourself if you have to, but have some information. Identify who owns what and what is where. Otherwise, you could spend lots of troubleshooting time asking basic questions.

Prepare Your Telemetry

In addition to having the software to move with speed, you’ll need to be already sending, saving, and ideally detecting anomalies over your network telemetry. For more details on network telemetry, see our blog posts “The Network Also Needs to be Observable” and “Part 2: Network Telemetry Sources” .

Follow the OSI

If you closely follow the toolset above, you may have noticed that I’m moving up the stack with each tool.

In some ways, I’m following the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) stack. When troubleshooting, you want to start at the physical layer and work your way up. If you start by looking at the application, you’ll be masking potential physical connection problems such as interface errors or routing issues happening at layer 3. Or any forwarding problems at layer 2.

So follow the stack, and it won’t steer you wrong.

Preparedness and Network Troubleshooting

And there it is. When the network is down, troubleshooting can be a daunting task, especially in today’s hybrid infrastructure environments .

But if you follow the steps I’ve outlined, you can make things easier on yourself. Create your network troubleshooting checklist, decide on your toolset, and get ready. If it’s not down now, the network will likely be down later today.

Now that you know this about network troubleshooting, you’ll be ready when the network issues affect traffic in the middle of the night. You won’t like it; nobody likes those 1:00 A.M. calls. But you’ll be prepared.

Explore more from Kentik

• Multi-Cloud Observability
• Network Monitoring System (NMS)
• SD-WAN Monitoring
• Network Security and Compliance
• Synthetic Monitoring
• Peering and Interconnection
• Subscriber Intelligence
• Network Telemetry
• Universal Data Explorer
• Observability Data Pipeline
• Integrations
• Kentik Data Engine
• Reduce Cloud Spend
• Migrate To and From Any Cloud
• Improve Cloud Performance
• Optimize Enterprise WAN
• Network Performance Monitoring
• Deliver Exceptional Digital Experiences
• Detect and Mitigate DDoS
• Harden Zero-Trust Cloud Network Policy
• Investigate Security Incidents
• Visualize All Cloud and Network Traffic
• Troubleshoot Any Network
• Understand Internet Performance
• Consolidate Legacy Tools
• Optimize Peering and Transit
• Plan Network Capacity
• Google Cloud

New and Notable

• NMS Migration Guide
• Answer Any Question About Your Network
• Box Achieves Google Cloud Migration Success with Kentik
• Case Studies
• Resource Library
• Telemetry Now Podcast
• Kentik Network Analysis Center
• Product Updates
• Documentation
• Plans and Pricing
• Kentik Slack Community
• Privacy Policy
• Terms of Use

• Skip to content
• Skip to search
• Skip to footer

What Is Network Troubleshooting?

Network troubleshooting is the act of discovering and correcting problems with connectivity, performance, security, and other aspects of networks.

• See how it works (1:14)
• Explore Cisco Catalyst Center

Contact Cisco

• Get a call from Sales

Call Sales:

• 1-800-553-6387
• US/CAN | 5am-5pm PT
• Product / Technical Support
• Training & Certification

What's the value of network troubleshooting?

Fast, effective network troubleshooting is a cornerstone of business resilience. Today's networks perform more mission-critical business tasks than ever. Without robust troubleshooting and speedy resolution of issues, networks can suffer costly downtime.

The cost of downtime includes reduced productivity and the economic impacts of disrupted or underperforming services, data breaches, and malware. These consequences can result in steep costs and cause long-lasting damage to brands.

How do organizations handle troubleshooting?

Of course, troubleshooting isn't just about resetting user passwords or restarting devices. Especially in large organizations, it's about a set of procedures, practices, and tools used to process numerous requests by a complex mix of users and dispersed network assets and infrastructure.

Typically, a large organization has an entire team devoted to network troubleshooting. The team's engineers address problems at various levels: Tier 1 for basic issues such as password resets, Tier 2 for issues that can't be resolved by Tier 1, and Tier 3 for mission-critical issues.

Frequently, Tier 1 troubleshooting is outsourced. An escalation framework is used to route requests efficiently and make sure that upper-level engineers are tasked appropriately.

In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and automation have been used to bridge skills gaps. These technologies offer guided remediation tools that empower Tier 1 engineers to solve complex network problems more rapidly.

Many organizations have separate network troubleshooting tools, but the addition of these tools may require training and management by IT departments. More commonly, network troubleshooting is embedded in a network management system (NMS).

How do NMSs relate to troubleshooting?

In large organizations, network troubleshooting teams are not simply waiting for users to report issues.

An NMS monitors networks continuously. It sends status updates—and alerts, when needed—on network key performance indicators (KPIs) such as connection speed, bandwidth, latency, users, and access.

The NMS performs monitoring by querying the various parts and nodes of the network to update status, at an interval determined by the IT team. Newer network elements, however, use telemetry to transmit their KPIs automatically.

An essential part of network troubleshooting is tracking and collecting data on network events. A system of IT service management (ITSM) tickets is used for this process. The data aggregated from the tickets can provide insights to identify problem areas and guide network optimization and upgrades.

Network events

An occurrence that triggers a network troubleshooting process is called an event. Some common events are described below.

Connection failures

Such events could be caused by cables and plugs that aren't connected properly.

Security lapses

These events could involve anything from a full-blown malware attack to an unapproved user's being able to connect to Wi-Fi.

KPIs missed

KPIs, when they're well-calibrated, can provide early warnings of network issues before they affect users.

Application failures

For locally hosted applications, a failure could mean an update that wasn't installed or the presence of an obsolete device.

Policy failures

Network performance can suffer when network policies, such as those for security, traffic management, and access control, inadvertently contradict each other.

Endpoint issues

Issues with endpoint connectivity, for example, could be caused by endpoints' lack of proximity to network routers, network interference problems, or issues with a remote worker's local network.

Troubleshooting processes

Once alerts or requests have been received and basic problems such as hardware connections and user connectivity have been ruled out, network troubleshooting typically involves one or more of the following steps.

IP-configuration checks

Problems with IP addresses cause many network issues. Often, assigning a new IP address can resolve an issue if a previous address was incorrect.

Ping and tracert testing

If the IP address is correct, the network issue may be upstream of a modem. To diagnose the problem further, IT teams can use the ping utility or the tracert command to test connections with remote servers and return information about the signal path.

A DNS check will determine whether there's a problem with a server to which networks are trying to connect. When an IT team performs a DNS check and receives results such as "Request timed out" or "No response from server," the problem might originate in the DNS server for the destination.

Service provider checks

Outages do occur, even with major cloud providers and cloud-based services. Providers' status pages report outages that might be affecting network performance.

Virus and malware checks

Viruses and other malware can affect network performance, and often they're not easy to detect. IT teams should use security tools to see whether new attacks have been flagged.

Database logs

Databases that are full or overtaxed can slow performance across the network. A fresh review of database logs will show whether this is the case. 

Command-line tools

The most common command-line tools are ipconfig and nslookup. Numerous others—such as iptables, netstat, tcpdump, route, arp, and dig—can also help identify network issues.

Test environments 

For cases that are especially challenging or that involve sensitive or restricted data, IT teams may need to construct test environments, where they can re-create problems and test solutions.

Troubleshooting software features

Engineers benefit from a network troubleshooting interface that provides a global view of an entire network as well as a view into specific KPIs. As networks become more complex and dispersed, the design and ease of use of this interface become even more important.

Customizable views

The ability to filter network data by location, department, device, or network improves the early stages of diagnosing network problems.

Cross-domain visibility

The idea of viewing the network as a series of interconnected domains is becoming obsolete. The typical enterprise network includes not just local-area networks (LANs) connected to the internet, but also remotely hosted databases, applications, and data processing. Up-to-date troubleshooting tools are designed to manage these new, more complex networks.

Related products and solutions

• Network Analytics
• Evolution of Network Monitoring
• Network monitoring and troubleshooting user guide
• Meraki Insight Introduction
• Cisco Intent Based Networking (IBN)

You may also like…

• What Is AI (Artificial Intelligence) in Networking?
• What Is Endpoint Analytics?
• What Is Network Monitoring?
• What Is Networking Software?
• What Is Zero-Trust Networking?
• What Is AIOps?

• Network Diagnostics and Troubleshooting

The Best Network Troubleshooting & Diagnostics Tools

Network troubleshooting and diagnostic tools help network administrators and technicians identify and resolve issues.

These tools are designed to analyze network performance, identify problems, and provide insights into the functioning of the network.

Network analysis can show you the leading causes of network problems such as; slow speeds, network connection problems, packet loss on overloaded network devices or missing information in your routing table and other system databases.

Here’s our list of the best network diagnostic tools and troubleshooting software:

• Datadog Network Performance Monitoring EDITOR’S CHOICE A cloud-based network monitoring and management service that includes autodiscovery, topology mapping, performance alerts, and troubleshooting tools Start a 15-day free trial .
• SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (FREE TRIAL) An essential system security and administration tool that automatically checks on device settings. The NCM will gather all device configurations, allow the creation of standard settings, and ensure that any unauthorized changes are immediately rolled back. Start a 30-day free trial .
• N-able N-sight (FREE TRIAL) A remote monitoring and management tool that enables central IT departments to manage networks on several remote sites. Get access to a 30-day free trial .
• ManageEngine OpManager Plus (FREE TRIAL) This bundle of seven ManageEngine tools provides full network monitoring and analysis capabilities. Installs on Windows Server and Linux. Start a 30-day free trial .
• Site24x7 Network Monitoring (FREE TRIAL) A cloud-based service that monitors network devices, tracks traffic patterns, provides capacity planning support, and offers troubleshooting tools. Start a 30-day free trial .
• Paessler Network Troubleshooting with PRTG Infrastructure management system that includes port monitoring.
• Ping Simple command-line utility that checks on the speed of connections.
• Tracert Free command-line utility that lists the probable hops to a network or internet destination address.
• Ipconfig This command-line tool reports the IPv4 and IPv6 addresses, subnets, and default gateways for all network adapters on a PC.
• Netstat This tool displays active connections on your computer.
• Nslookup Available for Windows, Unix, Linux, and Mac OS, this tool gives you DNS server diagnostics.
• Uptrends Uptime Monitor A free online tool that will make repeated checks on the availability of a website.
• Sysinternals Set of Microsoft tools for Windows that help troubleshoot and configure Active Directory.
• Wireshark Free packet sniffer that will help you analyze traffic flows.
• Nmap Network security and monitoring tool that needs a companion utility, Zenmap, as a user interface.

The best network diagnostics tools & troubleshooting software

When curating this list, we considered the reliability of the tool in use in diverse situations, ease of setting up and use, documentation and support, and how up to date the diagnostic software is kept.

Our methodology for selecting a network diagnostic tool

We reviewed the market for network diagnostic tools and analyzed the options based on the following criteria:

• A package of several useful tools accessible through a single interface
• Methods to reconcile addressing issues with DHCP and DNS servers
• Connection testing systems
• A system of alerts that allow technicians to get on with other tasks if not notified of problems
• Automated system sweeps or useful tests that can be launched on a schedule
• A free tool or a trial period for risk-free assessment
• Value for money from paid tools and worthwhile functions from free tools

Five of the tools in our list ( ping , tracert , ipconfig , netstat , & nslookup ) can be executed directly from a Windows command prompt (cmd.exe) without installing any additional programs for advanced troubleshooting. The rest of the network analysis tools can be used alone or in combination for network discovery.

1. Datadog Network Performance Monitoring (FREE TRIAL)

Datadog is a cloud-based monitoring system for IT resources that is available as a menu of modules. The base package of the service is an Infrastructure module that covers network monitoring. However, this service can be enhanced by adding on the Network Performance Monitoring module.

Key Features:

• Network Traffic Monitor: Measures throughput per link
• Connection Testing: On the network and across the Internet
• Live Traffic Flow: Visualizes speed per link
• Bottleneck Identification: Spots traffic chokepoints
• Protocol Analysis: Identifies the top talkers

Why do we recommend it?

Datadog Network Performance Monitoring is a SaaS package that provides device discovery, network mapping, and traffic analysis. This tool can be slotted together with a Network Device Monitoring service to get full, automated network monitoring. Infrastructure and application monitoring tools on the platform provide the opportunity to create a full-stack monitoring system.

The Network Performance Monitoring module of Datadog adds on analytical functions to the Infrastructure package and includes capacity planning and troubleshooting utilities. While the Infrastructure module looks at device statuses, the Network Performance Monitoring service examines traffic flows .

The Datadog system uses agent software on-site, but all processing and data storage is implemented on the Datadog server. Systems administrators access the Network Performance Monitoring console through any browser in order to see live statistics on current traffic flows on the network. Given that the service is based in the cloud, it can easily monitor remote networks, just as long as that network has the agent module installed on it.

The service doesn’t just display live network traffic data. It also stores that information for analysis . Administrators can trace the journey of a packet, view conversations between endpoints, segment traffic statistics per application or per origin or source, and identify the major bandwidth hogs on the network. The service can unify both onsite, cloud-based, and remote networks to give a complete picture of all network traffic generated by the business. The tool includes live network maps with traffic flows shown on them and it is also possible to see overloaded links or bottlenecks.

Who is it recommended for?

Datadog Network Monitoring is reasonably priced and so accessible to any business. The service is charged for by subscription and there is no setup fee. Charges are levied per host, so even the smallest business will be able to afford this package.

• Network-Wide Performance Tracking: Live throughput volumes
• Equipment Assessments: Examine load balancer and firewall performance
• Services Tracking: Assess DNS accuracy and availability
• Time-Series Traffic Throughput Graphs: Identify the causes of traffic surges
• Automated Monitoring: Alerts for delivery delays
• Doesn’t Include Discovery: Requires a subscription to Datadog Infrastructure

Datadog has a single plan level for its Network Performance Monitoring module. Charges are levied per host per month with a discount for paying annually in advance. The service is available for a 15-day free trial .

EDITOR'S CHOICE

Datadog Network Performance Monitoring is our top pick for a network diagnostic and troubleshooting tool because it includes a lot of automated activity tracking that takes care of performance analysis for you. The system maps all devices and shows live statuses in the topology layout so you can instantly see where problems are arising. A system of alerts also draws your attention to problematic devices and cuts down the time it would otherwise take you to work out why the network is not operating at peak performance.

Download: Get 15-day FREE Trial

Official Site: www.datadoghq.com/free-datadog-trial/

OS: Cloud-based

2. SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (FREE TRIAL)

The SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager offers the opportunity to automate system troubleshooting and problem resolution. Busy systems managers often overlook the settings of network devices. The network could be performing badly because you don’t have all of the settings of your devices coordinated. The Network Configuration Manager saves you time by seeking out all devices, the network device health, importing their settings into a central manager, and allowing you to create a standard configuration for each device type and make .

• Network Discovery: Access network devices
• Device Protection: Extracts configuration image
• Archiving: Stores configurations
• Device Security Monitoring: Checks for unauthorized configuration changes

SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager scans a network and identifies all devices. It then enables the network manager to create a standard setup for each type of device and then roll that out. Those authorized configurations are stored by the Network Configuration Manager and then the tool performs constant checks on devices. If any changes occur to settings, the system automatically restores the standard configuration by applying the stored image.

The configuration manager rolls out the standard configurations that you write into the central dashboard. This standardization should fix a lot of the problems that you experience on your network because it will wipe out inappropriate settings for network devices, such as routers and switches that might be slowing down data transfers. Once the standard configurations have been stored, they can only be changed through the password-protected dashboard of the Network Configuration Manager.

This system configuration troubleshooter is an important security tool. Unauthorized intruders can be traced or blocked through the network devices of the network , so altering settings is a common intrusion strategy. The Network Configuration Manager constantly monitors the configurations of all network devices and automatically restores the authorized settings, stored as images, should any change be detected.

SolarWinds produces a range of IT whole infrastructure monitoring and network management tools, and many of these are created on a common platform, called Orion. This makes it possible for the independent tools to interact, and the Network Configuration Manager is one of these Orion-based utilities. The central network monitoring tool in the suite is the Network Performance Monitor and this is usually the lead utility in any monitoring system, which is complemented by the Network Configuration Manager. However, SolarWinds NCM can also be used as a standalone tool.

This is an on-premises package for Windows Server. There isn’t a scaled down version for small businesses. So, the Network Configuration Manager would be suitable for larger businesses.

• Blocks Hackers: A security service to block network device tampering
• Switch Management: Allows all configurations to be standardized
• Physical Intrusion Detection: Scans for all devices, spotting rogue equipment
• Uptime Monitoring: Continuous network device availability tests
• Runs on Windows Server: No Linux version

The Network Configuration Manager is a paid tool. However, SolarWinds makes it available on a 30-day free trial .

SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager Start 30-day FREE Trial

The Network Configuration Manager is also part of a super-bundle offered by SolarWinds, called the Network Automation Manager . It includes all of the provider’s network monitoring and management tools. The other modules in the bundle are Network Performance Monitor, Netflow Traffic Analyzer, User Device Tracker, VoIP & Network Quality Manager, IP Address Manager, and SolarWinds High Availability. All of these systems appear in a single console that runs on Windows Server . SolarWinds provides a 30-day free trial of this package.

SolarWinds Network Administration Manager Start a 30-day FREE Trial

3. N-able N-sight (FREE TRIAL)

N-able N-sight is a cloud-based remote monitoring and management software package. As this system monitors the network, it also stores metrics for analysis. Having access to all aspects of a system, including endpoints and servers, N-able has many channels of data for diagnostics and troubleshooting.

• An RMM Package: Monitoring and system management features
• Automated Network Monitoring: Reduces technician wage bill
• Full Stack Observability: Networks, servers, and software
• Unattended Monitoring: Alerts for performance problems

N-able N-sight is a cloud-based service that provides remote monitoring systems for networks, servers, and applications. This service includes a troubleshooting guide that identifies security problems and other issues with networks, endpoints, and software.

Among the benefits offered by N-able N-sight is a service called LOGICcards . This is a data source for a wide range of diagnostic projects. The main value of these feeds lies in security. However, they also give insights into how to improve efficiency and avoid system management mistakes.

LOGICcards gathers data from 5,000,000 endpoints on 4,000,000 networks. Comparing the data extracted from these studies, the LOGICcard system analyzes a network and is able to point out factors and settings that are missing from that system, compared to the organization of the majority of other networks.

Another LOGICcard service is a feed of warnings to look out for, such as patches that cause problems and should be held off or new internet-based scams. A guidance aspect to this service also identifies errors to avoid in network configuration and tips on how to optimize bandwidth usage. Furthermore, the topics covered by a LOGICcard feed adapt according to your responses to past advice.

The dashboard for N-able N-sight is resident on the cloud. It doesn’t require any special equipment to use the service – any standard web browser will do and there is also a N-able N-sight mobile app available.

The N-able brand produces tools for managed service providers (MSPs). The company has two remote monitoring and management (RMM) tools and N-able is one of those. N-able is marketed as a suitable package for small and mid-sized MSPs.

• SNMP-Based System: Network device discovery and constant performance monitoring
• Multi-Tenanted Architecture: Designed for use by managed service providers
• Technician Efficiency Optimization: Task automation scripts
• Support Request Management: Includes a Help Desk ticketing system
• Device Management Shortfall: No network configuration management

N-able N-sight is a subscription service. This is a great attraction for startups because there are no upfront costs for getting set up. There are no setup fees and there is no need to fork out for a software package Instead, the subscribing company pays a little each month. Interested potential customers can access a 30-day free trial of N-able N-sight.

N-able N-sight Start 30-day FREE Trial

4. ManageEngine OpManager Plus (FREE TRIAL)

ManageEngine OpManager Plus gives you all the tools you need to monitor networks and servers. These tasks are complex and could involve tracking the statuses of containers, virtualization, file storage servers, firewalls, and IP address-related issues. OpManager Plus takes care of all of those tasks and also adds on an application performance monitor to provide the full stack of IT services.

• Self Setup: Network discovery
• SNMP-Based System: Device monitoring
• Flow Protocols: Traffic analysis

ManageEngine OpManager Plus combines automated monitoring for networks and servers. The tool is also a good choice for its VM monitoring capabilities. Troubleshooting tools in the software include troubleshooting tools, such as NetFlow and other packet data extraction protocols.

The OpManager Plus system gives you the tools to scrutinize and manage network devices. The system automatically detects all devices connected to the network, logs them, and then maps the network . The system then provides constant performance monitoring through SNMP .

You also get a bandwidth analyzer with this bundle. You can see live throughput statistics per link and get the system to assess utilization of full capacity. Performance thresholds will generate alerts if tripped. You can channel these through email, SMS, or a service desk ticketing system. The package lets you run tests to ensure constant system availability.

Device management services include an IP address manager that integrates a DHCP and DNS server. You also get a switch port mapper so that you can see exactly how many ports are occupied on each device. A configuration manager lets you standardize the settings of all of your devices, restoring stored configurations automatically in the case of unauthorized tampering.

There are five editions for OpManager Plus and these include a Free edition. This monitors networks with only three devices, which could only be for the very smallest businesses. Large organizations and multi-site businesses would benefit from the OpManager Plus system. There is also an edition built for MSPs.

• System Information Management: Log collection and analysis
• Network Device Protection: Includes network configuration management
• Network Address Management: IP address management and port scanning
• Very Large System: Includes many non-network management systems, such as application monitoring

The software for ManageEngine OpManager Plus installs on Windows Server or Linux . The bundle offers a lot of services and so you will spend a lot of time learning all of its functions. You can perform that investigation for free with a 30-day free trial .

ManageEngine OpManager Plus Start a 30-day FREE Trial

See also: Network Configuration & Backup Tools

5. Site24x7 Network Monitoring (FREE TRIAL)

Site24x7 Network Monitoring discovers all of the devices on a network, creates a hardware inventory, and draws up a network topology map. The package implements continuous device performance monitoring and also records traffic patterns to guard against system overloads.

• SNMP-Based System: Network discovery
• Automated System Documentation: Inventory and mapping
• Netflow Protocols: Traffic analysis

Site24x7 Network Monitoring uses the Simple Network Management Protocol to identify all devices and create a map. The inventory and map help with troubleshooting but the package goes further, offering alerts when problems are detected, allowing time to fix problems and identifying where the issue lies. The bundle also provides Ping and Traceroute utilities to test connections.

The device agents scan each switch and router and raise alarms when faults are discovered. These alarms get translated into alerts in the Site24x7 dashboard. A traffic monitoring unit in the Site24x7 package will also generate alerts if traffic volumes rise close to the full capacity of a switch interface. The Site24x7 system can be set up to forward alerts as notifications to technicians by SMS, voice call, email, or Slack message.

The alerts of the Site24x7 Network Monitoring service provide immediate root cause analysis if network problems arise, so many times, there won’t be any need for troubleshooting. However, the package also includes Ping and Traceroute utilities.

Site24x7 offers SaaS packages and all of them include the network monitoring system. You can’t subscribe to just the Network Monitoring unit by itself. Other utilities in the plans include server and application monitoring systems and also network configuration management and log management.

The Site24x7 platform is accessible for any size of business. Plans are offered in a base package with capacity expansions available. The based package is sized and priced to be suitable for small businesses but the expansion upgrades make it suitable for larger companies as well.

• Automated Status Tracking: Constant SNMP-based device monitoring
• Bandwidth Analysis: Traffic  flow protocols
• Device Protection: Network configuration management
• Deceptively Low Prices: Base packages are suitable for small businesses and larger companies have to pay for capacity expansions

The Site24x7 plans offer different capacities of each module but all editions include all of the modules on the platform. There is even a plan for use by managed service providers. You can experience Site24x7 with a 30-day free trial .

Site24x7 Network Monitoring Start a 30-day FREE Trial

6. Paessler Network Troubleshooting with PRTG

Paessler’s PRTG is a complete monitoring system. It can help you with troubleshooting because it can diagnose network issues right down the protocol stack and identify the root of the problem. Port monitoring is one of the network diagnostics techniques that you can use with this tool.

• Flexible Package: Buyer decides which services to activate
• SNMP-Based Monitoring: Automated device status detection
• Traffic Flow Protocols: Bandwidth monitoring

Paessler PRTG is a very large package of monitors that include network, server, and application monitors and has sensors for network troubleshooting including Ping implementations and a TraceRoute facility.

The PRTG system includes two port monitoring sensors . One homes in on a specified port on a particular device, the other will check a range of port numbers. This tool only monitors TCP ports. The port range sensor has one extra feature that the single port sensor does not have. You can set it to check the port with TLS protection. Both sensors report on the response time of the port and whether it is open or closed.

PRTG includes network traffic analysis tools to help you troubleshoot delivery speeds. The tool includes a range of traffic monitoring techniques including route tracing to a destination with Traceroute and a Ping sweep , which will give you the response times to each node on your network. A packet-sniffing utility can tell you which applications and endpoints are producing excessive traffic and you can query the health of the network devices to see which are congested to the point of queuing.

Paessler built a tool that covers servers and applications as well as network statuses, port response times, and services to monitor all conditions that can cause software performance issues. If you’ve got VMs on your network, PRTG can sort through their underlying connections, services, servers, and operating software. That monitoring is constant, so you will be able to trace back through events to spot the source of any performance issues.

PRTG is a flexible package. All customers get the same software bundle containing thousands of monitoring tools, which are called “sensors.” Each buyer decides how many sensors to turn on and the price for the package is levied as an allowance of sensors. This is a good package for large businesses and small companies can use the system for free if they only turn on 100 sensors.

• Free for Small Businesses: No charge for 100 sensors
• System Documentation: Network discovery inventory creation, and mapping
• Uptime Monitoring: Device availability checks
• Device Protection Shortfall: No network configuration management

Paessler delivers PRTG as a cloud service or you can install the diagnostic software on your premises. The tool installs on Windows Server environments. You can use the system for free for up to 100 sensors.

Ping is the ideal command to use when you need to confirm network connectivity, at the IP level, between two hosts, or to confirm the TCP/IP stack is working on your local machine. A successful ping confirms network connectivity between the two hosts and it also gives reports on packet loss.

• Availability Monitoring: Connectivity test
• Connection Quality: Jitter indicators
• Connection Speed: Roundtrip time

Ping is built into every operating system and it is the basis of many of the network monitoring and troubleshooting systems on this list. The utility can tell you the time a packet takes to get to a specific destination across a network or across the internet. It will also give you information on jitter and packet loss.

Using Ping with Examples

Below is an example of a successful run of the ping command to the “google.com” remote host.

In addition to confirming IP connectivity to “google.com”, these results confirm that we are able to properly resolve domain names (i.e. DNS is working on the local machine).

That Loss figure that you see in the last line of the ping output is the number of lost packets followed by the packet loss rate in brackets.

A few pro-tips for working with the ping command for advanced troubleshooting:

• Use ping –t to ping a host continuously. For example:

would continue to ping google.com until the ping was interrupted. Press control-c (the “CTRL” and “C” keys) to end a continuous ping.

• If you cannot ping domain names like google.com, but you can ping IP addresses on the Internet like 8.8.8.8 (Google’s DNS servers), you may have a DNS-related problem.
• If you cannot ping IP addresses on the Internet like 8.8.8.8, but you can ping hosts on your Local Area Network (LAN), you may have a problem with your default gateway.
• You can use “ping localhost”, “ping::1”, or “ping 127.0.0.1” to test the TCP/IP stack on your local machine. “localhost” is a name that resolves to one of the loopback addresses of a local machine, “::1” is an IPv6 loopback address, and “127.0.0.1” is an IPv4 loopback address.

Ping is a part of every network engineer’s toolkit. It is free to use and provides quick answers.

• Familiar to Many: Commonly-used network tester
• Cost Saver: Free to use
• Variants Available:  Provide repeated tests or range tests
• Basic Display: A command line tool without graphics

Tracert is similar to ping, except it leverages Time To Live (TTL) values to show how many “hops” there are between two hosts. This makes it a helpful tool in determining where a network connectivity breakdown is occurring. Basically, tracert helps you understand if the router or network that is down between your computer and a remote host is one you control or not.

• Traceroute: Implemented as the tracert command
• Path Tests: Exploits the Border Gateway Protocol
• Local and Global Tests: Network or internet testing

Tracert is the Command Prompt implementation of TraceRoute and it provides a list of nodes across the internet to a given destination. While this can’t tell you the exact path that previous transmissions have taken, it follows the path that routing algorithms currently use to reach a destination and shows the transmission times to each node.

Using tracert with examples

Again using google.com as an example, we can see there were 10 hops between our PC and google.com.

TraceRoute is available on all operating systems. While it is implemented by the tracert command on Windows, it is called traceroute on Linux, macOS, and Unix. The tool is free to use and accessible to all network managers.

• End-to-End Testing: Checks a path to a given destination
• Connection Speed: Shows transmission time to each node
• Spots Rerouting: Identifies problematic devices
• Doesn’t Repeat History: Can’t guarantee to exactly trace a previously used path

9. Ipconfig

Determining the IP settings on your computer is an essential part of network troubleshooting. The ipconfig command helps you do just that. Entering ipconfig at a command prompt will return IPv4 and IPv6 addresses, subnets, and default gateways for all network adapters on a PC. This can help determine if your computer has the right IP configuration. Additionally, ipconfig can be used to change or update selected IP settings.

• Quick Command: Show interface settings
• Network Addressing: DHCP controls
• Service Tests: DNS management

Ipconfig is another widely-used free command line utility for troubleshooting networks. The tool shows the addressing information for each network interface on the computer. It will also show the gateway address and the address for the network’s DHCP and DNS servers.

Pro-tips for working with ipconfig:

• If ipconfig returns an IP address that starts with 169.254 (e.g. 169.254.0.5), your PC is likely configured for DHCP but was unable to receive an IP address from a DHCP server.
• Use ipconfig /all to get the full TCP/IP configuration information for all network adapters and interfaces.
• Use ipconfig /release to release the current DHCP assigned network parameters.
• Use ipconfig /renew to renew the current DHCP assigned network parameters.
• Use ipconfig /flushdns to clear the DNS cache when troubleshooting name resolution issues.

Ipconfig is free to use and already installed on your computer. On Linux, macOS, and Unix, it is called ifconfig.

• No Cost: A free utility to show and update IP addresses
• Basic Controls: Can reset address allocations
• Service Verification: Checks on DNS records
• Basic Display: No graphical interface

10. Netstat

Netstat allows you to display active connections on your local machine. This can be helpful when determining why users are unable to connect to a given application on a server or to determine what connections are made to remote hosts from a computer. Entering netstat at the command prompt will display all active TCP connections. Adding parameters to the netstat command will extend or alter the functionality.

• Transmission Control: Port statuses
• Path Analysis: IP routing table
• Dual Stack: IPv4 and IPv6

Netstat lists all the connections that are currently live on the computer on which the command is run. The output show every TCP and UDP port that is currently active, even though the connection might be in a closed state.

netstat commands & example

Here are a few helpful netstat commands and what they do:

• netstat –a displays all active TCP connections and the TCP and UDP ports a computer is listening on.
• netstat –n displays all active TCP connections just like the netstat command, but it does not attempt to translate addresses or port numbers to names and just displays the numerical values.
• netstat –o displays all active TCP connections and includes the process ID (PID) for the process using each connection.

You can combine different parameters to extend the functionality of netstat. For example,

would display all active TCP connections and the TCP and UDP ports a computer is listening on, use numerical values, and report the PID associated with the connections.

Every network administrator will probably use this tool at some point in time. The tool is free to use and it is built into the operating system for Windows, Linux, macOS, and Unix.

• No Cost: Free utility
• Command Line Options: Filterable results
• Constant Monitoring: Can run continuously
• Command Line Tool: No graphical interface

11. Nslookup

nslookup is a useful command-line utility that enables DNS troubleshooting and diagnostics. Nslookup is available on Windows and *nix operating systems. There are a variety of use cases for this flexible utility and it can be run in interactive mode or by entering commands directly at the command prompt.

To help you get started, we’ll review some nslookup commands that are helpful in three of the most common use cases: finding an IP address based on a domain name, finding a domain name based on an IP address, and looking up email servers for a domain.

• Service Testing: Queries DNS records
• Basic Display: Command line tool
• No Cost: Free to use

Nslookup is a command for DNS checks – the name is short for “name server lookup.” With this tool, you can identify the mapping between hostnames and IP addresses on a local network. By entering a remote IP address or Web domain, you can see details from the global DNS service.

Below are examples of how to do each from a Windows command prompt.

Finding an IP address based on a domain name with nslookup:

The output above shows us that the DNS server used on our local machine was ns2.dns.mydns.net and since ns2.dns.mydns.net is not an authoritative name server on Google’s domain, we get a “Non-authoritative answer”. If we wanted to specify a different DNS server in our query, we simply add the DNS server’s domain name or IP address after the command, like this (using the 1.1.1.1 DNS server from CloudFlare ).

Finding a domain name based on an IP address with nslookup

Finding a domain name based on an IP address is similar to the previous process, you simply use an IP address instead of the domain name after the “nslookup” command. For example to find out what the fully-qualified domain name (FQDN) for the IP address 8.8.8.8 is we would use the command below:

Based on the output, we can see that the FQDN associated with 8.8.8.8 is “google-public-dns-a.google.com” which makes sense given 8.8.8.8 is one of the two popular public DNS servers available from Google .

Looking up email servers for a domain with nslookup

Sometimes you may need to determine what email servers are available on a domain. To do that, we simply need to specify that we are looking for MX records using the –ty switch. In the example below, we’ll check what mail servers are returned for gmail.com:

Here, five mail servers were returned along with an MX preference value. The lower the MX preference value, the higher the priority of that server (i.e. those servers should be used first).

Network managers would use nslookup to ensure that the local DNS server is working and also to test for DNS entry errors for Wen properties. The free tool is built into the operating system for Windows, Linux, macOS, and Unix.

• Domain Name Resolution: Shows the domain name for an IP address
• Run for Research: Interactive mode
• Network and Internet: Local or Web domains
• Limited Functionality: Not a full system monitoring package

12. Uptrends Uptime Monitor

Uptrends offers a menu of website monitoring and testing services from its cloud platform. The Uptrends Uptime Monitor is a free service that can be accessed at the Uptrends website.

The free Uptime Monitor offers a choice of locations from which your site can be tested. It is possible to opt for tests to be run from all of the locations that Uptrends offers.

• Great for Small Businesses: Free on-demand website test
• Multiple Launch Sites: Tests from 40 locations
• Extensive Service: 233 servers around the globe

Uptrends Uptime Monitor is a testing service for internet connections. It specifically takes a Web domain as input, so its checks also extend to DNS testing. You can use this tool for free for on-demand availability tests, which can be launched from a long list of locations. You can get the tests to run recursively every minute if you sign up for a paid account.

The free tool is an on-demand testing system and will give you the status of your site from many locations at that moment. It is possible to remind yourself to rerun the test and keep hitting the button. However, it is more practical to get the Uptrends service to repeat its tests automatically.

Uptrends provides automated testing that will launch every minute. The automated service is not free. You can leave that tool to make constant checks on your site’s availability – it will send you an alert if it encounters problems.

If you run a website, you will need to know if it is available, so it is worth going for the paid account. This will notify you if the site goes offline. The tests launch from different locations around the globe, which is a necessary service for websites that use caching servers for delivery speed optimization or content delivery networks.

• Quick Uptime Check: Free single launch test
• Long-Term Uptime Monitoring: Paid repetitive availability tests
• Automated Reporting: Alerts for failed tests
• Reporting Limits: Doesn’t provide page load speeds

The paid packages of Uptrends include internal server monitoring as well as uptime tests. You also get real user monitoring that tracks the responses of your site and its services to visitors. The system is offered in five plans: Starter , Premium , Professiona l, Business , and Enterprise . Each higher plan has more features. You can try all of the features of Uptrends on a 30-day free trial .

13. Sysinternals

The Sysinternals networking utilities suite from Microsoft offers advanced network diagnostic and troubleshooting tools to Windows administrators that require advanced network diagnostic and troubleshooting tools. The Sysinternals utilities include tools that can help troubleshoot and configure Active Directory (AD), like AD Explorer and AD Insight .

• Handy Tools: A suite of utilities
• Connectivity Tests: PowerShell Ping
• Web Research: Whois lookup

Sysinternals is a large package of useful system management utilities for Windows. This is a useful free bundle of tools that are versions of systems that you can get elsewhere, such as Ping and Whois. However, it’s nice to have a package that has all of these tools in one place.

Other tools can help measure network performance ( PsPing ), scan file shares ( ShareEnum ), list or run processes remotely ( PsTools ), and more. If you only require one or a few of the Sysinternals utilities, you can install them separately as opposed to downloading the entire Sysinternals Suite.

Systems administrators will like this package, not just network managers because the bundle includes some nice utilities for managing Active Directory as well as tools to troubleshoot networks.

• No Cost: A free package of system administration tools
• Access Rights Management: Utilities for Active Directory queries
• System Performance: Process examiner
• Not a Full Network Monitoring Package: Only one network troubleshooting tool

14. Wireshark

Wireshark is a protocol analyzer and one of the go-to networking tools for organizations of all sizes when network issues need to be troubleshot with a high level of granularity.

The benefit of using Wireshark to analyze network traffic is that you will be able to view the raw network packets, and this will often allow you to identify the root cause of an issue. This can be especially helpful in situations where it is unclear which application is not doing what it is supposed to or when you try to reverse engineer the functionality of a poorly-documented program.

• Traffic Analysis: Packet capture
• Data Selection: Filtering and query language
• Easy to Read: Color-coded packet display

Wireshark is an iconic packet sniffer and analyzer. Any network engineering course includes a section on the use of Wireshark. This system includes its own filter language that can be applied to packet collection to reduce the large volume of data that it extracts. The same filter language can be applied to search through packet data.

The tradeoff here is that you will have a lot of data to parse through, so some technical knowledge may be required to drill down and identify the important information.

You can download Wireshark for free here .

On Windows operating systems, link-layer packet captures with WireShark are often made possible using Winpcap (either Winpcap or Npcap is required). In addition to enabling WireShark on Windows, Winpcap can enable the powerful Windump command line utility which is Windows answer to the popular tcpdump program found on many *nix operating systems. For a deeper dive on Winpcap, Windump, and tcpdump, check out our recent article on packet sniffers and network analyzers and download the tcpdump cheat sheet .

Wireshark is an excellent tool for processing packet data. However, it’s analytical features are limited. There are a number of other tools that work well with Wireshark to create an even better data analysis system. The data search system Elasticsearch is free to use and it comes with complementary modules for logfile management and data display. Together this suite is called the Elastic Stack .

The illustration below shows how the Elastic Stack can be used with Wireshark to create an improved data analysis system from components that cost nothing.

Although this setup looks complicated, all of the tools shown in this diagram are designed to work together and the Elasticsearch website includes guides on how to put this system together.

Any network manager that doesn’t already know about Wireshark should download it and learn it because this is an essential tool and experience in using it is career-enhancing. The tool is available for Windows, macOS, Linux, and Unix.

• Multiple OSs: Available for Windows, macOS, and Linux
• Two-Way Tracing: Can trace a conversation
• Use with Caution: Can generate very large files

Nmap is a popular security auditing and network exploration tool released under a custom open source license based on GPLv2. While the most popular use cases for nmap are security scans and penetration testing, it can prove quite helpful as a network troubleshooting tool as well.

• Research Tool: Network discovery
• Identification: Endpoint fingerprinting
• Security Monitor: Port scanning

Nmap is another classic that has a long history and so has a lot of fans. It is known to be used by hackers as well as network managers to explore a network and discover all devices. The tool is a command line utility and is a little difficult to use. Get the GUI Zenmap add-on to see a graphical network map.

For example, if you are dealing with an unfamiliar app and want to find out what services are running and which ports are open, nmap can help. Nmap itself uses a command-line interface (CLI), but that doesn’t mean you are out of luck if you prefer a graphical user interface (GUI). Zenmap is the official nmap GUI and is a good way for beginners to start working with nmap.

Nmap doesn’t just map a network, it also performs monitoring. It can be a good tool for checking on all devices, spotting rogue devices, and identifying those that are offline. The tool is free to use. However, getting the free PRTG gives you a much better discovery and mapping service than Zenmap and Nmap offer.

• Network Management Service: Useful for security auditing
• Issue Investigations: Network probing and troubleshooting
• Service Verification: DNS searching
• Command Line Tool: Needs Zenmap for a graphical display

For more on Zenmap and a deeper dive on nmap, check out our Best Free Port Checkers article.

Choosing a network diagnostics & troubleshooting tool

The tools we discussed here are great to have in your network troubleshooting toolbox and we recommend giving some of them a try the next time you find yourself dealing with a head-scratching network troubleshooting scenario. Did you try out our Editor’s choice – SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager ? Did we leave any of your favorite network troubleshooting tools out, or do you have questions about the tools we mentioned here? Let us know in the comments section below.

Related post: PingPlotter Alternatives

Network Diagnostics & Troubleshooting FAQs

What are the six steps of the troubleshooting process.

Follow a formalized routine when troubleshooting networks:

• Identify the problem.
• Make an educated guess of the possible cause of the problem.
• Explore the system to check whether your idea is valid.
• Identify system elements in error; plan and implement remediation steps.
• Check that the solution worked and change procedures to prevent the problem from happening again.
• Document the problem, the solution, and recommendations for procedural change.

Steps 2 and 3 might need to be carried out recursively until you hit the problem. The documentation step is ongoing throughout the troubleshooting process with note-taking to contribute to an accurate record once the entire process is complete.

What causes intermittent network connection issues?

There are many possible causes for intermittent network connection issues:

• Unreliable power source
• Environmental interference
• Queueing on a network device
• A network device overloaded
• A faulty network device
• IP address renewal
• IP address duplication
• DNS server errors
• Firewall software hanging
• Network software jamming
• Hacker attack
• Automatic update of firmware taking a device offline
• Interruption of external networks, e.g., the internet
• Loose cable plug in an endpoint or network device
• Damaged network cable
• Loose wiring
• Multiple domain server clashes
• Lack of storage space on devices for traffic processing or logging
• Security software blocking activity

Which utility or LAN command do you feel was the most useful for network troubleshooting?

Ping and Traceroute are the two LAN commands most often used for network troubleshooting. Ping shows whether an endpoint is contactable. Traceroute shows the most likely path to that endpoint. These two commonly used network utilities are usually integrated into most network monitors.

What are the most common issues that affect network performance and reliability?

The most common issues that affect network performance are:

• Power source problems
• Network device faults
• Network cable faults
• Defective cable connectors
• System overloading
• QoS prioritization
• Incompatible network settings on different devices
• Addressing issues
• Security software
• Hacker or intruder activity

2 Comments Leave a comment

I know this was written a few months ago, but what do you think of PingPlotter Pro? Why did it not make the list of best network troubleshooting software?

Just curious . . .

Hi Ben, Thanks for the reply. The simple answer is: I’ve never used PingPlotter Pro. Topically, it looks like a useful monitoring tool that can also have some troubleshooting benefits. What use cases do you think it is best for?

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

SolarWinds Top 5 Essential IT Tools

Manage and monitor your network in one simple bundle.

• Help desk ticketing and asset management software
• Remote support and systems management solution
• Network configuration and automation software
• Safe file transfer management solution
• Network management and troubleshooting software

DOWNLOAD FREE TRIAL

Fully functional for 14 days

Learn Creative Problem Solving Techniques to Stimulate Innovation in Your Organization

By Kate Eby | October 20, 2017 (updated August 27, 2021)

• Share on Facebook
• Share on LinkedIn

Link copied

In today’s competitive business landscape, organizations need processes in place to make strong, well-informed, and innovative decisions. Problem solving - in particular creative problem solving (CPS) - is a key skill in learning how to accurately identify problems and their causes, generate potential solutions, and evaluate all the possibilities to arrive at a strong corrective course of action. Every team in any organization, regardless of department or industry, needs to be effective, creative, and quick when solving problems. 

In this article, we’ll discuss traditional and creative problem solving, and define the steps, best practices, and common barriers associated. After that, we’ll provide helpful methods and tools to identify the cause(s) of problematic situations, so you can get to the root of the issue and start to generate solutions. Then, we offer nearly 20 creative problem solving techniques to implement at your organization, or even in your personal life. Along the way, experts weigh in on the importance of problem solving, and offer tips and tricks. 

What Is Problem Solving and Decision Making?

Problem solving is the process of working through every aspect of an issue or challenge to reach a solution. Decision making is choosing one of multiple proposed solutions  — therefore, this process also includes defining and evaluating all potential options. Decision making is often one step of the problem solving process, but the two concepts are distinct. 

Collective problem solving is problem solving that includes many different parties and bridges the knowledge of different groups. Collective problem solving is common in business problem solving because workplace decisions typically affect more than one person. 

Problem solving, especially in business, is a complicated science. Not only are business conflicts multifaceted, but they often involve different personalities, levels of authority, and group dynamics. In recent years, however, there has been a rise in psychology-driven problem solving techniques, especially for the workplace. In fact, the psychology of how people solve problems is now studied formally in academic disciplines such as psychology and cognitive science.

Joe Carella is the Assistant Dean for Executive Education at the University of Arizona . Joe has over 20 years of experience in helping executives and corporations in managing change and developing successful business strategies. His doctoral research and executive education engagements have seen him focus on corporate strategy, decision making and business performance with a variety of corporate clients including Hershey’s, Chevron, Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, Intel, DP World, Essilor, BBVA Compass Bank.

He explains some of the basic psychology behind problem solving: “When our brain is engaged in the process of solving problems, it is engaged in a series of steps where it processes and organizes the information it receives while developing new knowledge it uses in future steps. Creativity is embedded in this process by incorporating diverse inputs and/or new ways of organizing the information received.”

Laura MacLeod is a Professor of Social Group Work at City University of New York, and the creator of From The Inside Out Project® , a program that coaches managers in team leadership for a variety of workplaces. She has a background in social work and over two decades of experience as a union worker, and currently leads talks on conflict resolution, problem solving, and listening skills at conferences across the country. 

MacLeod thinks of problem solving as an integral practice of successful organizations. “Problem solving is a collaborative process — all voices are heard and connected, and resolution is reached by the group,” she says. “Problems and conflicts occur in all groups and teams in the workplace, but if leaders involve everyone in working through, they will foster cohesion, engagement, and buy in. Everybody wins.”

10 tips that will make you more productive.

Uncover the top three factors that are killing your productivity and 10 tips to help you overcome them.

Download the free e-book to overcome my productivity killers

Project Management Guide

Your one-stop shop for everything project management

Ready to get more out of your project management efforts? Visit our comprehensive project management guide for tips, best practices, and free resources to manage your work more effectively.

View the guide

What Is the First Step in Solving a Problem?

Although problem solving techniques vary procedurally, experts agree that the first step in solving a problem is defining the problem. Without a clear articulation of the problem at stake, it is impossible to analyze all the key factors and actors, generate possible solutions, and then evaluate them to pick the best option. 

Dr. Elliott Jaffa is a behavioral and management psychologist with over 25 years of problem solving training and management experience. “Start with defining the problem you want to solve,” he says, “And then define where you want to be, what you want to come away with.” He emphasizes these are the first steps in creating an actionable, clear solution. 

Bryan Mattimore is Co-Founder of Growth Engine, an 18-year old innovation agency based in Norwalk, CT. Bryan has facilitated over 1,000 ideation sessions and managed over 200 successful innovation projects leading to over $3 billion in new sales. His newest book is 21 Days to a Big Idea . When asked about the first critical component to successful problem solving, Mattimore says, “Defining the challenge correctly, or ‘solving the right problem’ … The three creative techniques we use to help our clients ‘identify the right problem to be solved’ are questioning assumptions, 20 questions, and problem redefinition. A good example of this was a new product challenge from a client to help them ‘invent a new iron. We got them to redefine the challenge as first: a) inventing new anti-wrinkle devices, and then b) inventing new garment care devices.”

What Are Problem Solving Skills?

To understand the necessary skills in problem solving, you should first understand the types of thinking often associated with strong decision making. Most problem solving techniques look for a balance between the following binaries:

• Convergent vs. Divergent Thinking: Convergent thinking is bringing together disparate information or ideas to determine a single best answer or solution. This thinking style values logic, speed, and accuracy, and leaves no chance for ambiguity. Divergent thinking is focused on generating new ideas to identify and evaluate multiple possible solutions, often uniting ideas in unexpected combinations. Divergent thinking is characterized by creativity, complexity, curiosity, flexibility, originality, and risk-taking.
• Pragmatics vs. Semantics: Pragmatics refer to the logic of the problem at hand, and semantics is how you interpret the problem to solve it. Both are important to yield the best possible solution.
• Mathematical vs. Personal Problem Solving: Mathematical problem solving involves logic (usually leading to a single correct answer), and is useful for problems that involve numbers or require an objective, clear-cut solution. However, many workplace problems also require personal problem solving, which includes interpersonal, collaborative, and emotional intuition and skills. 

The following basic methods are fundamental problem solving concepts. Implement them to help balance the above thinking models.

• Reproductive Thinking: Reproductive thinking uses past experience to solve a problem. However, be careful not to rely too heavily on past solutions, and to evaluate current problems individually, with their own factors and parameters. 
• Idea Generation: The process of generating many possible courses of action to identify a solution. This is most commonly a team exercise because putting everyone’s ideas on the table will yield the greatest number of potential solutions. 

However, many of the most critical problem solving skills are “soft” skills: personal and interpersonal understanding, intuitiveness, and strong listening. 

Mattimore expands on this idea: “The seven key skills to be an effective creative problem solver that I detail in my book Idea Stormers: How to Lead and Inspire Creative Breakthroughs are: 1) curiosity 2) openness 3) a willingness to embrace ambiguity 4) the ability to identify and transfer principles across categories and disciplines 5) the desire to search for integrity in ideas, 6) the ability to trust and exercise “knowingness” and 7) the ability to envision new worlds (think Dr. Seuss, Star Wars, Hunger Games, Harry Potter, etc.).”

“As an individual contributor to problem solving it is important to exercise our curiosity, questioning, and visioning abilities,” advises Carella. “As a facilitator it is essential to allow for diverse ideas to emerge, be able to synthesize and ‘translate’ other people’s thinking, and build an extensive network of available resources.”

MacLeod says the following interpersonal skills are necessary to effectively facilitate group problem solving: “The abilities to invite participation (hear all voices, encourage silent members), not take sides, manage dynamics between the monopolizer, the scapegoat, and the bully, and deal with conflict (not avoiding it or shutting down).” 

Furthermore, Jaffa explains that the skills of a strong problem solver aren’t measurable. The best way to become a creative problem solver, he says, is to do regular creative exercises that keep you sharp and force you to think outside the box. Carella echoes this sentiment: “Neuroscience tells us that creativity comes from creating novel neural paths. Allow a few minutes each day to exercise your brain with novel techniques and brain ‘tricks’ – read something new, drive to work via a different route, count backwards, smell a new fragrance, etc.”

What Is Creative Problem Solving? History, Evolution, and Core Principles

Creative problem solving (CPS) is a method of problem solving in which you approach a problem or challenge in an imaginative, innovative way. The goal of CPS is to come up with innovative solutions, make a decision, and take action quickly. Sidney Parnes and Alex Osborn are credited with developing the creative problem solving process in the 1950s. The concept was further studied and developed at SUNY Buffalo State and the Creative Education Foundation. 

The core principles of CPS include the following:

• Balance divergent and convergent thinking
• Ask problems as questions
• Defer or suspend judgement
• Focus on “Yes, and…” rather than “No, but…”

According to Carella, “Creative problem solving is the mental process used for generating innovative and imaginative ideas as a solution to a problem or a challenge. Creative problem solving techniques can be pursued by individuals or groups.”

When asked to define CPS, Jaffa explains that it is, by nature, difficult to create boundaries for. “Creative problem solving is not cut and dry,” he says, “If you ask 100 different people the definition of creative problem solving, you’ll get 100 different responses - it’s a non-entity.”

Business presents a unique need for creative problem solving. Especially in today’s competitive landscape, organizations need to iterate quickly, innovate with intention, and constantly be at the cutting-edge of creativity and new ideas to succeed. Developing CPS skills among your workforce not only enables you to make faster, stronger in-the-moment decisions, but also inspires a culture of collaborative work and knowledge sharing. When people work together to generate multiple novel ideas and evaluate solutions, they are also more likely to arrive at an effective decision, which will improve business processes and reduce waste over time. In fact, CPS is so important that some companies now list creative problem solving skills as a job criteria.

MacLeod reiterates the vitality of creative problem solving in the workplace. “Problem solving is crucial for all groups and teams,” she says. “Leaders need to know how to guide the process, hear all voices and involve all members - it’s not easy.”

“This mental process [of CPS] is especially helpful in work environments where individuals and teams continuously struggle with new problems and challenges posed by their continuously changing environment,” adds Carella. 

Problem Solving Best Practices

By nature, creative problem solving does not have a clear-cut set of do’s and don’ts. Rather, creating a culture of strong creative problem solvers requires flexibility, adaptation, and interpersonal skills. However, there are a several best practices that you should incorporate:

• Use a Systematic Approach: Regardless of the technique you use, choose a systematic method that satisfies your workplace conditions and constraints (time, resources, budget, etc.). Although you want to preserve creativity and openness to new ideas, maintaining a structured approach to the process will help you stay organized and focused. 
• View Problems as Opportunities: Rather than focusing on the negatives or giving up when you encounter barriers, treat problems as opportunities to enact positive change on the situation. In fact, some experts even recommend defining problems as opportunities, to remain proactive and positive.
• Change Perspective: Remember that there are multiple ways to solve any problem. If you feel stuck, changing perspective can help generate fresh ideas. A perspective change might entail seeking advice of a mentor or expert, understanding the context of a situation, or taking a break and returning to the problem later. “A sterile or familiar environment can stifle new thinking and new perspectives,” says Carella. “Make sure you get out to draw inspiration from spaces and people out of your usual reach.”
• Break Down Silos: To invite the greatest possible number of perspectives to any problem, encourage teams to work cross-departmentally. This not only combines diverse expertise, but also creates a more trusting and collaborative environment, which is essential to effective CPS. According to Carella, “Big challenges are always best tackled by a group of people rather than left to a single individual. Make sure you create a space where the team can concentrate and convene.”
• Employ Strong Leadership or a Facilitator: Some companies choose to hire an external facilitator that teaches problem solving techniques, best practices, and practicums to stimulate creative problem solving. But, internal managers and staff can also oversee these activities. Regardless of whether the facilitator is internal or external, choose a strong leader who will value others’ ideas and make space for creative solutions.  Mattimore has specific advice regarding the role of a facilitator: “When facilitating, get the group to name a promising idea (it will crystalize the idea and make it more memorable), and facilitate deeper rather than broader. Push for not only ideas, but how an idea might specifically work, some of its possible benefits, who and when would be interested in an idea, etc. This fleshing-out process with a group will generate fewer ideas, but at the end of the day will yield more useful concepts that might be profitably pursued.” Additionally, Carella says that “Executives and managers don’t necessarily have to be creative problem solvers, but need to make sure that their teams are equipped with the right tools and resources to make this happen. Also they need to be able to foster an environment where failing fast is accepted and celebrated.”
• Evaluate Your Current Processes: This practice can help you unlock bottlenecks, and also identify gaps in your data and information management, both of which are common roots of business problems.

MacLeod offers the following additional advice, “Always get the facts. Don’t jump too quickly to a solution – working through [problems] takes time and patience.”

Mattimore also stresses that how you introduce creative problem solving is important. “Do not start by introducing a new company-wide innovation process,” he says. “Instead, encourage smaller teams to pursue specific creative projects, and then build a process from the ground up by emulating these smaller teams’ successful approaches. We say: ‘You don’t innovate by changing the culture, you change the culture by innovating.’”

Barriers to Effective Problem Solving

Learning how to effectively solve problems is difficult and takes time and continual adaptation. There are several common barriers to successful CPS, including:

• Confirmation Bias: The tendency to only search for or interpret information that confirms a person’s existing ideas. People misinterpret or disregard data that doesn’t align with their beliefs.
• Mental Set: People’s inclination to solve problems using the same tactics they have used to solve problems in the past. While this can sometimes be a useful strategy (see Analogical Thinking in a later section), it often limits inventiveness and creativity.
• Functional Fixedness: This is another form of narrow thinking, where people become “stuck” thinking in a certain way and are unable to be flexible or change perspective.
• Unnecessary Constraints: When people are overwhelmed with a problem, they can invent and impose additional limits on solution avenues. To avoid doing this, maintain a structured, level-headed approach to evaluating causes, effects, and potential solutions.
• Groupthink: Be wary of the tendency for group members to agree with each other — this might be out of conflict avoidance, path of least resistance, or fear of speaking up. While this agreeableness might make meetings run smoothly, it can actually stunt creativity and idea generation, therefore limiting the success of your chosen solution.
• Irrelevant Information: The tendency to pile on multiple problems and factors that may not even be related to the challenge at hand. This can cloud the team’s ability to find direct, targeted solutions.
• Paradigm Blindness: This is found in people who are unwilling to adapt or change their worldview, outlook on a particular problem, or typical way of processing information. This can erode the effectiveness of problem solving techniques because they are not aware of the narrowness of their thinking, and therefore cannot think or act outside of their comfort zone.

According to Jaffa, the primary barrier of effective problem solving is rigidity. “The most common things people say are, ‘We’ve never done it before,’ or ‘We’ve always done it this way.’” While these feelings are natural, Jaffa explains that this rigid thinking actually precludes teams from identifying creative, inventive solutions that result in the greatest benefit.

“The biggest barrier to creative problem solving is a lack of awareness – and commitment to – training employees in state-of-the-art creative problem-solving techniques,” Mattimore explains. “We teach our clients how to use ideation techniques (as many as two-dozen different creative thinking techniques) to help them generate more and better ideas. Ideation techniques use specific and customized stimuli, or ‘thought triggers’ to inspire new thinking and new ideas.” 

MacLeod adds that ineffective or rushed leadership is another common culprit. “We're always in a rush to fix quickly,” she says. “Sometimes leaders just solve problems themselves, making unilateral decisions to save time. But the investment is well worth it — leaders will have less on their plates if they can teach and eventually trust the team to resolve. Teams feel empowered and engagement and investment increases.”

Strategies for Problem Cause Identification

As discussed, most experts agree that the first and most crucial step in problem solving is defining the problem. Once you’ve done this, however, it may not be appropriate to move straight to the solution phase. Rather, it is often helpful to identify the cause(s) of the problem: This will better inform your solution planning and execution, and help ensure that you don’t fall victim to the same challenges in the future. 

Below are some of the most common strategies for identifying the cause of a problem:

• Root Cause Analysis: This method helps identify the most critical cause of a problem. A factor is considered a root cause if removing it prevents the problem from recurring. Performing a root cause analysis is a 12 step process that includes: define the problem, gather data on the factors contributing to the problem, group the factors based on shared characteristics, and create a cause-and-effect timeline to determine the root cause. After that, you identify and evaluate corrective actions to eliminate the root cause.

‌ Download Fishbone Diagram Template - Excel

Download 5 Whys Template   Excel  |  Word  |  PDF   

Problem Solving Techniques and Strategies

In this section, we’ll explain several traditional and creative problem solving methods that you can use to identify challenges, create actionable goals, and resolve problems as they arise. Although there is often procedural and objective crossover among techniques, they are grouped by theme so you can identify which method works best for your organization.

Divergent Creative Problem Solving Techniques

Brainstorming: One of the most common methods of divergent thinking, brainstorming works best in an open group setting where everyone is encouraged to share their creative ideas. The goal is to generate as many ideas as possible – you analyze, critique, and evaluate the ideas only after the brainstorming session is complete. To learn more specific brainstorming techniques, read this article . 

Mind Mapping: This is a visual thinking tool where you graphically depict concepts and their relation to one another. You can use mind mapping to structure the information you have, analyze and synthesize it, and generate solutions and new ideas from there. The goal of a mind map is to simplify complicated problems so you can more clearly identify solutions.

Appreciative Inquiry (AI): The basic assumption of AI is that “an organization is a mystery to be embraced.” Using this principle, AI takes a positive, inquisitive approach to identifying the problem, analyzing the causes, and presenting possible solutions. The five principles of AI emphasize dialogue, deliberate language and outlook, and social bonding. 

Lateral Thinking: This is an indirect problem solving approach centered on the momentum of idea generation. As opposed to critical thinking, where people value ideas based on their truth and the absence of errors, lateral thinking values the “movement value” of new ideas: This means that you reward team members for producing a large volume of new ideas rapidly. With this approach, you’ll generate many new ideas before approving or rejecting any.

Problem Solving Techniques to Change Perspective

Constructive Controversy: This is a structured approach to group decision making to preserve critical thinking and disagreement while maintaining order. After defining the problem and presenting multiple courses of action, the group divides into small advocacy teams who research, analyze, and refute a particular option. Once each advocacy team has presented its best-case scenario, the group has a discussion (advocacy teams still defend their presented idea). Arguing and playing devil’s advocate is encouraged to reach an understanding of the pros and cons of each option. Next, advocacy teams abandon their cause and evaluate the options openly until they reach a consensus. All team members formally commit to the decision, regardless of whether they advocated for it at the beginning. You can learn more about the goals and steps in constructive controversy here . 

Carella is a fan of this approach. “Create constructive controversy by having two teams argue the pros and cons of a certain idea,” he says. “It forces unconscious biases to surface and gives space for new ideas to formulate.”

Abstraction: In this method, you apply the problem to a fictional model of the current situation. Mapping an issue to an abstract situation can shed extraneous or irrelevant factors, and reveal places where you are overlooking obvious solutions or becoming bogged down by circumstances. 

Analogical Thinking: Also called analogical reasoning , this method relies on an analogy: using information from one problem to solve another problem (these separate problems are called domains). It can be difficult for teams to create analogies among unrelated problems, but it is a strong technique to help you identify repeated issues, zoom out and change perspective, and prevent the problems from occurring in the future. .

CATWOE: This framework ensures that you evaluate the perspectives of those whom your decision will impact. The factors and questions to consider include (which combine to make the acronym CATWOE):

• Customers: Who is on the receiving end of your decisions? What problem do they currently have, and how will they react to your proposed solution?
• Actors: Who is acting to bring your solution to fruition? How will they respond and be affected by your decision?
• Transformation Process: What processes will you employ to transform your current situation and meet your goals? What are the inputs and outputs?
• World View: What is the larger context of your proposed solution? What is the larger, big-picture problem you are addressing?
• Owner: Who actually owns the process? How might they influence your proposed solution (positively or negatively), and how can you influence them to help you?
• Environmental Constraints: What are the limits (environmental, resource- and budget-wise, ethical, legal, etc.) on your ideas? How will you revise or work around these constraints?

Complex Problem Solving

Soft Systems Methodology (SSM): For extremely complex problems, SSM can help you identify how factors interact, and determine the best course of action. SSM was borne out of organizational process modeling and general systems theory, which hold that everything is part of a greater, interconnected system: This idea works well for “hard” problems (where logic and a single correct answer are prioritized), and less so for “soft” problems (i.e., human problems where factors such as personality, emotions, and hierarchy come into play). Therefore, SSM defines a seven step process for problem solving: 

• Begin with the problem or problematic situation 
• Express the problem or situation and build a rich picture of the themes of the problem 
• Identify the root causes of the problem (most commonly with CATWOE)
• Build conceptual models of human activity surrounding the problem or situation
• Compare models with real-world happenings
• Identify changes to the situation that are both feasible and desirable
• Take action to implement changes and improve the problematic situation

SSM can be used for any complex soft problem, and is also a useful tool in change management . 

Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA): This method helps teams anticipate potential problems and take steps to mitigate them. Use FMEA when you are designing (redesigning) a complex function, process, product, or service. First, identify the failure modes, which are the possible ways that a project could fail. Then, perform an effects analysis to understand the consequences of each of the potential downfalls. This exercise is useful for internalizing the severity of each potential failure and its effects so you can make adjustments or safeties in your plan. 

‌ Download FMEA Template  

Problem Solving Based on Data or Logic (Heuristic Methods)

TRIZ: A Russian-developed problem solving technique that values logic, analysis, and forecasting over intuition or soft reasoning. TRIZ (translated to “theory of inventive problem solving” or TIPS in English) is a systematic approach to defining and identifying an inventive solution to difficult problems. The method offers several strategies for arriving at an inventive solution, including a contradictions matrix to assess trade-offs among solutions, a Su-Field analysis which uses formulas to describe a system by its structure, and ARIZ (algorithm of inventive problem solving) which uses algorithms to find inventive solutions. 

Inductive Reasoning: A logical method that uses evidence to conclude that a certain answer is probable (this is opposed to deductive reasoning, where the answer is assumed to be true). Inductive reasoning uses a limited number of observations to make useful, logical conclusions (for example, the Scientific Method is an extreme example of inductive reasoning). However, this method doesn’t always map well to human problems in the workplace — in these instances, managers should employ intuitive inductive reasoning , which allows for more automatic, implicit conclusions so that work can progress. This, of course, retains the principle that these intuitive conclusions are not necessarily the one and only correct answer. 

Process-Oriented Problem Solving Methods

Plan Do Check Act (PDCA): This is an iterative management technique used to ensure continual improvement of products or processes. First, teams plan (establish objectives to meet desired end results), then do (implement the plan, new processes, or produce the output), then check (compare expected with actual results), and finally act (define how the organization will act in the future, based on the performance and knowledge gained in the previous three steps). 

Means-End Analysis (MEA): The MEA strategy is to reduce the difference between the current (problematic) state and the goal state. To do so, teams compile information on the multiple factors that contribute to the disparity between the current and goal states. Then they try to change or eliminate the factors one by one, beginning with the factor responsible for the greatest difference in current and goal state. By systematically tackling the multiple factors that cause disparity between the problem and desired outcome, teams can better focus energy and control each step of the process. 

Hurson’s Productive Thinking Model: This technique was developed by Tim Hurson, and is detailed in his 2007 book Think Better: An Innovator’s Guide to Productive Thinking . The model outlines six steps that are meant to give structure while maintaining creativity and critical thinking: 1) Ask “What is going on?” 2) Ask “What is success?” 3) Ask “What is the question?” 4) Generate answers 5) Forge the solution 6) Align resources. 

Control Influence Accept (CIA): The basic premise of CIA is that how you respond to problems determines how successful you will be in overcoming them. Therefore, this model is both a problem solving technique and stress-management tool that ensures you aren’t responding to problems in a reactive and unproductive way. The steps in CIA include:

• Control: Identify the aspects of the problem that are within your control.
• Influence: Identify the aspects of the problem that you cannot control, but that you can influence.
• Accept: Identify the aspects of the problem that you can neither control nor influence, and react based on this composite information. 

GROW Model: This is a straightforward problem solving method for goal setting that clearly defines your goals and current situation, and then asks you to define the potential solutions and be realistic about your chosen course of action. The steps break down as follows:

• Goal: What do you want?
• Reality: Where are you now?
• Options: What could you do?
• Will: What will you do?

OODA Loop: This acronym stands for observe, orient, decide, and act. This approach is a decision-making cycle that values agility and flexibility over raw human force. It is framed as a loop because of the understanding that any team will continually encounter problems or opponents to success and have to overcome them.

There are also many un-named creative problem solving techniques that follow a sequenced series of steps. While the exact steps vary slightly, they all follow a similar trajectory and aim to accomplish similar goals of problem, cause, and goal identification, idea generation, and active solution implementation.

MacLeod offers her own problem solving procedure, which echoes the above steps:

“1. Recognize the Problem: State what you see. Sometimes the problem is covert. 2. Identify: Get the facts — What exactly happened? What is the issue? 3. and 4. Explore and Connect: Dig deeper and encourage group members to relate their similar experiences. Now you're getting more into the feelings and background [of the situation], not just the facts.  5. Possible Solutions: Consider and brainstorm ideas for resolution. 6. Implement: Choose a solution and try it out — this could be role play and/or a discussion of how the solution would be put in place.  7. Evaluate: Revisit to see if the solution was successful or not.”

Many of these problem solving techniques can be used in concert with one another, or multiple can be appropriate for any given problem. It’s less about facilitating a perfect CPS session, and more about encouraging team members to continually think outside the box and push beyond personal boundaries that inhibit their innovative thinking. So, try out several methods, find those that resonate best with your team, and continue adopting new techniques and adapting your processes along the way. 

Improve Problem Solving with Work Management in Smartsheet

Empower your people to go above and beyond with a flexible platform designed to match the needs of your team — and adapt as those needs change. 

The Smartsheet platform makes it easy to plan, capture, manage, and report on work from anywhere, helping your team be more effective and get more done. Report on key metrics and get real-time visibility into work as it happens with roll-up reports, dashboards, and automated workflows built to keep your team connected and informed. 

When teams have clarity into the work getting done, there’s no telling how much more they can accomplish in the same amount of time.  Try Smartsheet for free, today.

Discover why over 90% of Fortune 100 companies trust Smartsheet to get work done.

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

Design your next session with SessionLab

Join the 150,000+ facilitators 
using SessionLab.

Recommended Articles

A step-by-step guide to planning a workshop, how to create an unforgettable training session in 8 simple steps, 47 useful online tools for workshop planning and meeting facilitation.

Effective problem solving is all about using the right process and following a plan tailored to the issue at hand. Recognizing your team or organization has an issue isn’t enough to come up with effective problem solving strategies. 

To truly understand a problem and develop appropriate solutions, you will want to follow a solid process, follow the necessary problem solving steps, and bring all of your problem solving skills to the table.  

We’ll first guide you through the seven step problem solving process you and your team can use to effectively solve complex business challenges. We’ll also look at what problem solving strategies you can employ with your team when looking for a way to approach the process. We’ll then discuss the problem solving skills you need to be more effective at solving problems, complete with an activity from the SessionLab library you can use to develop that skill in your team.

Let’s get to it! 

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!

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Going from a mere idea to a workshop that delivers results for your clients can feel like a daunting task. In this piece, we will shine a light on all the work behind the scenes and help you learn how to plan a workshop from start to finish. On a good day, facilitation can feel like effortless magic, but that is mostly the result of backstage work, foresight, and a lot of careful planning. Read on to learn a step-by-step approach to breaking the process of planning a workshop into small, manageable chunks.  The flow starts with the first meeting with a client to define the purposes of a workshop.…

How does learning work? A clever 9-year-old once told me: “I know I am learning something new when I am surprised.” The science of adult learning tells us that, in order to learn new skills (which, unsurprisingly, is harder for adults to do than kids) grown-ups need to first get into a specific headspace.  In a business, this approach is often employed in a training session where employees learn new skills or work on professional development. But how do you ensure your training is effective? In this guide, we'll explore how to create an effective training session plan and run engaging training sessions. As team leader, project manager, or consultant,…

Effective online tools are a necessity for smooth and engaging virtual workshops and meetings. But how do you choose the right ones? Do you sometimes feel that the good old pen and paper or MS Office toolkit and email leaves you struggling to stay on top of managing and delivering your workshop? Fortunately, there are plenty of online tools to make your life easier when you need to facilitate a meeting and lead workshops. In this post, we’ll share our favorite online tools you can use to make your job as a facilitator easier. In fact, there are plenty of free online workshop tools and meeting facilitation software you can…

Design your next workshop with SessionLab

Join the 150,000 facilitators using SessionLab

Sign up for free

Application of Network Analysis in Understanding Collaborative Problem-Solving Processes and Skills CPS SNA

• https://www.infoagepub.com/products/Innovative-Psychometric-Modeling-and-Methods

26 Expert-Backed Problem Solving Examples – Interview Answers

Published: February 13, 2023

Interview Questions and Answers

Actionable advice from real experts:

Biron Clark

Former Recruiter

Contributor

Dr. Kyle Elliott

Career Coach

Hayley Jukes

Editor-in-Chief

Biron Clark , Former Recruiter

Kyle Elliott , Career Coach

Hayley Jukes , Editor

As a recruiter , I know employers like to hire people who can solve problems and work well under pressure.

 A job rarely goes 100% according to plan, so hiring managers are more likely to hire you if you seem like you can handle unexpected challenges while staying calm and logical.

But how do they measure this?

Hiring managers will ask you interview questions about your problem-solving skills, and they might also look for examples of problem-solving on your resume and cover letter. 

In this article, I’m going to share a list of problem-solving examples and sample interview answers to questions like, “Give an example of a time you used logic to solve a problem?” and “Describe a time when you had to solve a problem without managerial input. How did you handle it, and what was the result?”

• Problem-solving involves identifying, prioritizing, analyzing, and solving problems using a variety of skills like critical thinking, creativity, decision making, and communication.
• Describe the Situation, Task, Action, and Result ( STAR method ) when discussing your problem-solving experiences.
• Tailor your interview answer with the specific skills and qualifications outlined in the job description.
• Provide numerical data or metrics to demonstrate the tangible impact of your problem-solving efforts.

What are Problem Solving Skills? 

Problem-solving is the ability to identify a problem, prioritize based on gravity and urgency, analyze the root cause, gather relevant information, develop and evaluate viable solutions, decide on the most effective and logical solution, and plan and execute implementation. 

Problem-solving encompasses other skills that can be showcased in an interview response and your resume. Problem-solving skills examples include:

• Critical thinking
• Analytical skills
• Decision making
• Research skills
• Technical skills
• Communication skills
• Adaptability and flexibility

Why is Problem Solving Important in the Workplace?

Problem-solving is essential in the workplace because it directly impacts productivity and efficiency. Whenever you encounter a problem, tackling it head-on prevents minor issues from escalating into bigger ones that could disrupt the entire workflow. 

Beyond maintaining smooth operations, your ability to solve problems fosters innovation. It encourages you to think creatively, finding better ways to achieve goals, which keeps the business competitive and pushes the boundaries of what you can achieve. 

Effective problem-solving also contributes to a healthier work environment; it reduces stress by providing clear strategies for overcoming obstacles and builds confidence within teams. 

Examples of Problem-Solving in the Workplace

• Correcting a mistake at work, whether it was made by you or someone else
• Overcoming a delay at work through problem solving and communication
• Resolving an issue with a difficult or upset customer
• Overcoming issues related to a limited budget, and still delivering good work through the use of creative problem solving
• Overcoming a scheduling/staffing shortage in the department to still deliver excellent work
• Troubleshooting and resolving technical issues
• Handling and resolving a conflict with a coworker
• Solving any problems related to money, customer billing, accounting and bookkeeping, etc.
• Taking initiative when another team member overlooked or missed something important
• Taking initiative to meet with your superior to discuss a problem before it became potentially worse
• Solving a safety issue at work or reporting the issue to those who could solve it
• Using problem solving abilities to reduce/eliminate a company expense
• Finding a way to make the company more profitable through new service or product offerings, new pricing ideas, promotion and sale ideas, etc.
• Changing how a process, team, or task is organized to make it more efficient
• Using creative thinking to come up with a solution that the company hasn’t used before
• Performing research to collect data and information to find a new solution to a problem
• Boosting a company or team’s performance by improving some aspect of communication among employees
• Finding a new piece of data that can guide a company’s decisions or strategy better in a certain area

Problem-Solving Examples for Recent Grads/Entry-Level Job Seekers

• Coordinating work between team members in a class project
• Reassigning a missing team member’s work to other group members in a class project
• Adjusting your workflow on a project to accommodate a tight deadline
• Speaking to your professor to get help when you were struggling or unsure about a project
• Asking classmates, peers, or professors for help in an area of struggle
• Talking to your academic advisor to brainstorm solutions to a problem you were facing
• Researching solutions to an academic problem online, via Google or other methods
• Using problem solving and creative thinking to obtain an internship or other work opportunity during school after struggling at first

How To Answer “Tell Us About a Problem You Solved”

When you answer interview questions about problem-solving scenarios, or if you decide to demonstrate your problem-solving skills in a cover letter (which is a good idea any time the job description mentions problem-solving as a necessary skill), I recommend using the STAR method.

STAR stands for:

It’s a simple way of walking the listener or reader through the story in a way that will make sense to them. 

Start by briefly describing the general situation and the task at hand. After this, describe the course of action you chose and why. Ideally, show that you evaluated all the information you could given the time you had, and made a decision based on logic and fact. Finally, describe the positive result you achieved.

Note: Our sample answers below are structured following the STAR formula. Be sure to check them out!

EXPERT ADVICE

Dr. Kyle Elliott , MPA, CHES Tech & Interview Career Coach caffeinatedkyle.com

How can I communicate complex problem-solving experiences clearly and succinctly?

Before answering any interview question, it’s important to understand why the interviewer is asking the question in the first place.

When it comes to questions about your complex problem-solving experiences, for example, the interviewer likely wants to know about your leadership acumen, collaboration abilities, and communication skills, not the problem itself.

Therefore, your answer should be focused on highlighting how you excelled in each of these areas, not diving into the weeds of the problem itself, which is a common mistake less-experienced interviewees often make.

Tailoring Your Answer Based on the Skills Mentioned in the Job Description

As a recruiter, one of the top tips I can give you when responding to the prompt “Tell us about a problem you solved,” is to tailor your answer to the specific skills and qualifications outlined in the job description. 

Once you’ve pinpointed the skills and key competencies the employer is seeking, craft your response to highlight experiences where you successfully utilized or developed those particular abilities. 

For instance, if the job requires strong leadership skills, focus on a problem-solving scenario where you took charge and effectively guided a team toward resolution. 

By aligning your answer with the desired skills outlined in the job description, you demonstrate your suitability for the role and show the employer that you understand their needs.

Amanda Augustine expands on this by saying:

“Showcase the specific skills you used to solve the problem. Did it require critical thinking, analytical abilities, or strong collaboration? Highlight the relevant skills the employer is seeking.”  

Interview Answers to “Tell Me About a Time You Solved a Problem”

Now, let’s look at some sample interview answers to, “Give me an example of a time you used logic to solve a problem,” or “Tell me about a time you solved a problem,” since you’re likely to hear different versions of this interview question in all sorts of industries.

The example interview responses are structured using the STAR method and are categorized into the top 5 key problem-solving skills recruiters look for in a candidate.

1. Analytical Thinking

Situation: In my previous role as a data analyst , our team encountered a significant drop in website traffic.

Task: I was tasked with identifying the root cause of the decrease.

Action: I conducted a thorough analysis of website metrics, including traffic sources, user demographics, and page performance. Through my analysis, I discovered a technical issue with our website’s loading speed, causing users to bounce. 

Result: By optimizing server response time, compressing images, and minimizing redirects, we saw a 20% increase in traffic within two weeks.

2. Critical Thinking

Situation: During a project deadline crunch, our team encountered a major technical issue that threatened to derail our progress.

Task: My task was to assess the situation and devise a solution quickly.

Action: I immediately convened a meeting with the team to brainstorm potential solutions. Instead of panicking, I encouraged everyone to think outside the box and consider unconventional approaches. We analyzed the problem from different angles and weighed the pros and cons of each solution.

Result: By devising a workaround solution, we were able to meet the project deadline, avoiding potential delays that could have cost the company $100,000 in penalties for missing contractual obligations.

3. Decision Making

Situation: As a project manager , I was faced with a dilemma when two key team members had conflicting opinions on the project direction.

Task: My task was to make a decisive choice that would align with the project goals and maintain team cohesion.

Action: I scheduled a meeting with both team members to understand their perspectives in detail. I listened actively, asked probing questions, and encouraged open dialogue. After carefully weighing the pros and cons of each approach, I made a decision that incorporated elements from both viewpoints.

Result: The decision I made not only resolved the immediate conflict but also led to a stronger sense of collaboration within the team. By valuing input from all team members and making a well-informed decision, we were able to achieve our project objectives efficiently.

4. Communication (Teamwork)

Situation: During a cross-functional project, miscommunication between departments was causing delays and misunderstandings.

Task: My task was to improve communication channels and foster better teamwork among team members.

Action: I initiated regular cross-departmental meetings to ensure that everyone was on the same page regarding project goals and timelines. I also implemented a centralized communication platform where team members could share updates, ask questions, and collaborate more effectively.

Result: Streamlining workflows and improving communication channels led to a 30% reduction in project completion time, saving the company $25,000 in operational costs.

5. Persistence 

Situation: During a challenging sales quarter, I encountered numerous rejections and setbacks while trying to close a major client deal.

Task: My task was to persistently pursue the client and overcome obstacles to secure the deal.

Action: I maintained regular communication with the client, addressing their concerns and demonstrating the value proposition of our product. Despite facing multiple rejections, I remained persistent and resilient, adjusting my approach based on feedback and market dynamics.

Result: After months of perseverance, I successfully closed the deal with the client. By closing the major client deal, I exceeded quarterly sales targets by 25%, resulting in a revenue increase of $250,000 for the company.

Tips to Improve Your Problem-Solving Skills

Throughout your career, being able to showcase and effectively communicate your problem-solving skills gives you more leverage in achieving better jobs and earning more money .

So to improve your problem-solving skills, I recommend always analyzing a problem and situation before acting.

 When discussing problem-solving with employers, you never want to sound like you rush or make impulsive decisions. They want to see fact-based or data-based decisions when you solve problems.

Don’t just say you’re good at solving problems. Show it with specifics. How much did you boost efficiency? Did you save the company money? Adding numbers can really make your achievements stand out.

To get better at solving problems, analyze the outcomes of past solutions you came up with. You can recognize what works and what doesn’t.

Think about how you can improve researching and analyzing a situation, how you can get better at communicating, and deciding on the right people in the organization to talk to and “pull in” to help you if needed, etc.

Finally, practice staying calm even in stressful situations. Take a few minutes to walk outside if needed. Step away from your phone and computer to clear your head. A work problem is rarely so urgent that you cannot take five minutes to think (with the possible exception of safety problems), and you’ll get better outcomes if you solve problems by acting logically instead of rushing to react in a panic.

You can use all of the ideas above to describe your problem-solving skills when asked interview questions about the topic. If you say that you do the things above, employers will be impressed when they assess your problem-solving ability.

More Interview Resources

• 3 Answers to “How Do You Handle Stress?”
• How to Answer “How Do You Handle Conflict?” (Interview Question)
• Sample Answers to “Tell Me About a Time You Failed”

About the Author

Biron Clark is a former executive recruiter who has worked individually with hundreds of job seekers, reviewed thousands of resumes and LinkedIn profiles, and recruited for top venture-backed startups and Fortune 500 companies. He has been advising job seekers since 2012 to think differently in their job search and land high-paying, competitive positions. Follow on Twitter and LinkedIn .

Read more articles by Biron Clark

About the Contributor

Kyle Elliott , career coach and mental health advocate, transforms his side hustle into a notable practice, aiding Silicon Valley professionals in maximizing potential. Follow Kyle on LinkedIn .

About the Editor

Hayley Jukes is the Editor-in-Chief at CareerSidekick with five years of experience creating engaging articles, books, and transcripts for diverse platforms and audiences.

Continue Reading

12 Expert-Approved Responses to ‘What Makes You Unique?’ in Job Interviews

15 most common pharmacist interview questions and answers, 15 most common paralegal interview questions and answers, top 30+ funny interview questions and answers, 60 hardest interview questions and answers, 100+ best ice breaker questions to ask candidates, top 20 situational interview questions (& sample answers), 15 most common physical therapist interview questions and answers.