visual of problem solving

Problem-Solving Flowchart: A Visual Method to Find Perfect Solutions

Lucid Content

Reading time: about 7 min

“People ask me questions Lost in confusion Well, I tell them there's no problem Only solutions” —John Lennon, “Watching the Wheels”

Despite John Lennon’s lyrics, nobody is free from problems, and that’s especially true in business. Chances are that you encounter some kind of problem at work nearly every day, and maybe you’ve had to “put out a fire” before lunchtime once or twice in your career.

But perhaps what Lennon’s saying is that, no matter what comes our way, we can find solutions. How do you approach problems? Do you have a process in place to ensure that you and your co-workers come to the right solution?

In this article, we will give you some tips on how to find solutions visually through a problem-solving flowchart and other methods.

What is visual problem-solving?

If you are a literal thinker, you may think that visual problem-solving is something that your ophthalmologist does when your vision is blurry. For the rest of us, visual problem-solving involves executing the following steps in a visual way:

• Define the problem.
• Brainstorm solutions.
• Pick a solution.
• Implement solutions.
• Review the results.

How to make your problem-solving process more visual

Words pack a lot of power and are very important to how we communicate on a daily basis. Using words alone, you can brainstorm, organize data, identify problems, and come up with possible solutions. The way you write your ideas may make sense to you, but it may not be as easy for other team members to follow.

When you use flowcharts, diagrams, mind maps, and other visuals, the information is easier to digest. Your eyes dart around the page quickly gathering information, more fully engaging your brain to find patterns and make sense of the data.

Identify the problem with mind maps

So you know there is a problem that needs to be solved. Do you know what that problem is? Is there only one problem? Is the problem sum total of a bunch of smaller problems?

You need to ask these kinds of questions to be sure that you are working on the root of the issue. You don’t want to spend too much time and energy solving the wrong problem.

To help you identify the problem, use a mind map. Mind maps can help you visually brainstorm and collect ideas without a strict organization or structure. A mind map more closely aligns with the way a lot of our brains work—participants can bounce from one thought to the next defining the relationships as they go.

Mind mapping to solve a problem includes, but is not limited to, these relatively easy steps:

• In the center of the page, add your main idea or concept (in this case, the problem).
• Branch out from the center with possible root causes of the issue. Connect each cause to the central idea.
• Branch out from each of the subtopics with examples or additional details about the possible cause. As you add more information, make sure you are keeping the most important ideas closer to the main idea in the center.
• Use different colors, diagrams, and shapes to organize the different levels of thought.

Alternatively, you could use mind maps to brainstorm solutions once you discover the root cause. Search through Lucidchart’s mind maps template library or add the mind map shape library to quickly start your own mind map.

Create a problem-solving flowchart

A mind map is generally a good tool for non-linear thinkers. However, if you are a linear thinker—a person who thinks in terms of step-by-step progression making a flowchart may work better for your problem-solving strategy. A flowchart is a graphical representation of a workflow or process with various shapes connected by arrows representing each step.

Whether you are trying to solve a simple or complex problem, the steps you take to solve that problem with a flowchart are easy and straightforward. Using boxes and other shapes to represent steps, you connect the shapes with arrows that will take you down different paths until you find the logical solution at the end.

Flowcharts or decision trees are best used to solve problems or answer questions that are likely to come up multiple times. For example, Yoder Lumber , a family-owned hardwood manufacturer, built decision trees in Lucidchart to demonstrate what employees should do in the case of an injury.

To start your problem-solving flowchart, follow these steps:

• Draw a starting shape to state your problem.
• Draw a decision shape where you can ask questions that will give you yes-or-no answers.
• Based on the yes-or-no answers, draw arrows connecting the possible paths you can take to work through the steps and individual processes.
• Continue following paths and asking questions until you reach a logical solution to the stated problem.
• Try the solution. If it works, you’re done. If it doesn’t work, review the flowchart to analyze what may have gone wrong and rework the flowchart until you find the solution that works.

If your problem involves a process or workflow , you can also use flowcharts to visualize the current state of your process to find the bottleneck or problem that’s costing your company time and money.

Lucidchart has a large library of flowchart templates to help you analyze, design, and document problem-solving processes or any other type of procedure you can think of.

Draw a cause-and-effect diagram

A cause-and-effect diagram is used to analyze the relationship between an event or problem and the reason it happened. There is not always just one underlying cause of a problem, so this visual method can help you think through different potential causes and pinpoint the actual cause of a stated problem.

Cause-and-effect diagrams, created by Kaoru Ishikawa, are also known as Ishikawa diagrams, fishbone diagrams , or herringbone diagrams (because they resemble a fishbone when completed). By organizing causes and effects into smaller categories, these diagrams can be used to examine why things went wrong or might go wrong.

To perform a cause-and-effect analysis, follow these steps.

1. Start with a problem statement.

The problem statement is usually placed in a box or another shape at the far right of your page. Draw a horizontal line, called a “spine” or “backbone,” along the center of the page pointing to your problem statement.

2. Add the categories that represent possible causes.

For example, the category “Materials” may contain causes such as “poor quality,” “too expensive,” and “low inventory.” Draw angled lines (or “bones”) that branch out from the spine to these categories.

3. Add causes to each category.

Draw as many branches as you need to brainstorm the causes that belong in each category.

Like all visuals and diagrams, a cause-and-effect diagram can be as simple or as complex as you need it to be to help you analyze operations and other factors to identify causes related to undesired effects.

Collaborate with Lucidchart

You may have superior problem-solving skills, but that does not mean that you have to solve problems alone. The visual strategies above can help you engage the rest of your team. The more involved the team is in the creation of your visual problem-solving narrative, the more willing they will be to take ownership of the process and the more invested they will be in its outcome.

In Lucidchart, you can simply share the documents with the team members you want to be involved in the problem-solving process. It doesn’t matter where these people are located because Lucidchart documents can be accessed at any time from anywhere in the world.

Whatever method you decide to use to solve problems, work with Lucidchart to create the documents you need. Sign up for a free account today and start diagramming in minutes.

Lucidchart, a cloud-based intelligent diagramming application, is a core component of Lucid Software's Visual Collaboration Suite. This intuitive, cloud-based solution empowers teams to collaborate in real-time to build flowcharts, mockups, UML diagrams, customer journey maps, and more. Lucidchart propels teams forward to build the future faster. Lucid is proud to serve top businesses around the world, including customers such as Google, GE, and NBC Universal, and 99% of the Fortune 500. Lucid partners with industry leaders, including Google, Atlassian, and Microsoft. Since its founding, Lucid has received numerous awards for its products, business, and workplace culture. For more information, visit lucidchart.com.

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Sometimes you're faced with challenges that traditional problem solving can't fix. Creative problem solving encourages you to find new, creative ways of thinking that can help you overcome the issue at hand more quickly.

Dialogue mapping is a facilitation technique used to visualize critical thinking as a group. Learn how you and your team can start dialogue mapping today to solve problems and bridge gaps in knowledge and understanding (plus get a free template!).

Bring your bright ideas to life.

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Visual Problem Solving with Mind Maps and Flowcharts

Updated on: 25 July 2023

Everyone has problems, and we spend most of our working lives solving them. For those who find this quite negative, problems can be also termed as Issues, Challenges or Opportunities.

Some people are especially gifted at problem-solving while others struggle. Some are only good at solving some types of problems, while some other are simply great at finding viable solutions for any problem. Society generally calls the latter, smart.

What if I was to tell you that there’s a simple way to solve any problem you may encounter. In fact, it can be regarded as the smart way to solve problems.

Before we get into it, let’s see how people really fail at solving problems.

Problem-Solving   Fails

You Solve the Wrong Problem

Well, if you don’t know what the problem area is and don’t understand it very well, you’ll probably solve a problem that actually doesn’t exist while the actual problem remains as it is.

You Solve It Half Way

Again, this happens if you don’t know what the full problem is. Identifying and understanding the problem is so important before you start.

You Solve it but New Problems Show Up

This is typical when you don’t know much about the background about the problem area. If you know nothing about computers and you try to fix a broken computer, you probably won’t get very far and will likely make it worse.

You Don’t Know How

Well, obviously if you are trying to solve a problem that you have no clue about, this is going to be hard. When that’s the case, get the help of an expert in the domain the problem you are trying to solve belong to.

How to Solve Any Problem

As it’s quite clear the first step to solving any problem is understanding it thoroughly. Apart from getting a domain expert involved, the best trick I can bring you in is to draw it out. If you are a visual person this is the first thing you should do.

Different kinds of problems require different diagrams, but mind maps and flowcharts are common solutions to most problems.

Thinking Around the Problem

To get a background idea on what the problem and problem area is, mind maps can help greatly. Start with the core idea and branch out as you think about various aspects of the problem.

A mind map is a good place to start visual problem solving ( click on image to create your own mind map )

After thinking about wide aspects of the problem, it’s best to document what the immediate context of the issue is.

To do this, a concept map helps. A concept map is a diagram where you use various shapes to show areas of the problem and how they are connected.

Breaking It Down

Any big problem can be broken into a series of smaller problems. These are usually connected so a flowchart helps . Break the problem into smaller steps with a flowchart.

If you are analyzing an existing solution and trying to optimize it, a flowchart makes perfect sense as it also does the ‘defining’ part of the problem as well.

Analyze your problem further with a flowchart

Once you have broken down the problem into smaller easily solvable problems in a flow chart, you can start creating another chart for the solution as well.

Getting Help

You should always get help if it’s available when you are solving any problem. A second opinion or a second pair of eyes can help a lot in getting the optimal solution.

Tools to Aid Visual Problem Solving

While there is a myriad of tools to help you draw things, Creately is definitely one of the easiest ways to visualize your problem.

We support mind maps, flowcharts, concept maps and 50+ other diagram types which you can use for visual problem-solving.

Our professionally designed templates and productivity features  help you just focus on the drawing as it’s really easy to draw a beautiful diagram in it.

It also comes with built-in real-time collaboration so it helps when you want to get someone else to collaborate on your problem.

Other choices for drawing diagrams to solve problems include Dia, Google Draw or even Microsoft office packages.

Join over thousands of organizations that use Creately to brainstorm, plan, analyze, and execute their projects successfully.

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What is a Problem-Solving Flowchart & How to Make One

By Danesh Ramuthi , Aug 10, 2023

Problem-Solving Flowcharts, contrary to what many believe aren’t just aesthetic wonders — they’re almost like magical blueprints for troubleshooting those pesky problems that many of us face.

Flowcharts take business challenges and turn them into a navigable pathway. In this post, I will guide you on key aspects of problem-solving flowcharts such as what it is, the advantages of problem-solving flowcharts, how to create one and more.

Besides, you’ll also discover how to create problem-solving flowcharts with the help of Venngage’s Flowchart Maker.

And for those of you thinking, “I’m no designer, how can I create one?” worry not! I’ve got you covered. Just hop on Venggage’s Flowchart Templates and you’ll be charting your way to problem-solving glory in no time.

Click to jump ahead:

What are problem-solving flowcharts?

When to use problem-solving flowcharts, what are the advantages of flowcharts in problem-solving, what are the 7 steps of problem-solving flowcharts.

• 5 different types of problem-solving flowcharts

Best practices for designing effective problem-solving flowcharts

How to make a flowchart using venngage , problem-solving flowcharts faqs.

• Final Thoughts

Problem-Solving Flowcharts is a graphical representation used to break down problem or process into smaller, manageable parts, identify the root causes and outline a step-by-step solution. 

It helps in visually organizing information and showing the relationships between various parts of the problem.

This type of flowcharts consists of different symbols and arrows, each representing different components or steps in the problem-solving process. 

By following the flow of the chart, individuals or teams can methodically approach problem, analyze different aspects of it and come to a well-informed solution.

Problem-Solving Flowcharts is a versatile tool that can be used in various scenarios. Here’s when to consider utilizing one:

• Complex Problems: When faced with a multifaceted issue that involves multiple steps or variables, flowcharts can help break down the complexity into digestible parts.
• Team Collaboration: If you’re working with a team and need a common understanding of problem and its potential solutions then a flowchart provides a visual that everyone can refer to.
• Analyzing Processes: In a situation where you need to understand a particular process, whether it’s within a project or a part of regular operations then mapping it out in a flowchart can offer clarity.
• Decision Making: When various paths or decisions might be taken, a flowchart can outline the potential outcomes of each aiding in making an informed choice.
• Training and Onboarding: Flowcharts can be used in training materials to help new employees understand complex processes or procedures which makes the learning curve smoother.
• Identifying Root Causes: If you’re looking to identify the underlying causes of problem then a flowchart can facilitate a systematic approach to reaching the root of the issue.

Related: How to Use Fishbone Diagrams to Solve Complex Problems

Problem-solving flowcharts can offer several benefits to the users who are looking to solve a particular problem. Few advantages of flowcharts in problem solving are: 

Visual Clarity

When you’re dealing with multifaceted problems or processes, words alone can make the situation seem even more tangled. Flowcharts distill these complexities into easily understandable visual elements. 

By mapping out each phase or component of problem, flowcharts offer a bird’s eye view enabling individuals to grasp the bigger picture and the finer details simultaneously.

Sequential Representation

Flowcharts excel in laying out the sequence of events or actions. By indicating a clear starting point and illustrating each subsequent step, they guide users through a process or solution path methodically. 

This linear representation ensures that no step is overlooked and each is executed in the right order.  

Collaboration

Problem-solving often requires team effort and flowcharts are instrumental in fostering collaborative environments. 

When a team is discussing potential solutions or trying to understand problem’s intricacies, a flowchart serves as a collective reference point. 

It aids in synchronizing everyone’s understanding, minimizing miscommunications and promoting constructive discussions. 

Read more about: Flowcharts Symbols and Meaning

1. Define the Problem  

Before anything else, it’s essential to articulate the problem or task you want to solve clearly and accurately. By understanding exactly what needs to be addressed you can ensure that subsequent steps align with the core issue.

2. Identify the Inputs and Outputs  

Determine what inputs (such as data, information or resources) will be required to solve the problem and what the desired outputs or outcomes are. Identifying these factors will guide you in structuring the steps needed to reach the end goal and ensure that all necessary resources are at hand.

3. Identify the Main Steps  

Break down the problem-solving process into its main steps or subtasks. This involves pinpointing the essential actions or stages necessary to reach the solution. Create a roadmap that helps in understanding how to approach the problem methodically.

4. Use Decision Symbols  

In problem-solving, decisions often lead to different paths or outcomes. Using standard symbols to represent these decision points in the flowcharts allows for a clear understanding of these critical junctures. It helps visually present various scenarios and their consequences.

5. Add Descriptions and Details  

A well-designed flowcharts is concise but clear in its labeling. Using arrows and short, descriptive phrases to explain what happens at each step or decision point ensures that the flowcharts communicates the process without unnecessary complexity. 

6. Revise and Refine  

Creating a flowcharts is not always a one-and-done process. It may require revisions to improve its clarity, accuracy or comprehensiveness. Necessary refinement ensures that the flowcharts precisely reflects the problem-solving process and is free from errors or ambiguities.

7. Use Flowchart Tool  

While it’s possible to draw a flowcharts manually, using a flowcharts tool like Venngage’s Flowchart Maker and Venngage’s Flowchart Templates can make the process more efficient and flexible. These tools come with pre-designed templates and intuitive interfaces that make it easy to create, modify and share flowcharts. 

5 different types of problem-solving flowcharts 

Let’s have a look at 5 most common types of flowcharts that individuals and organizations often use. 

1. Process Flowchart s

A process flowcharts is a visual representation of the sequence of steps and decisions involved in executing a particular process or procedure. 

It serves as a blueprint that showcases how different stages or functions are interconnected in a systematic flow and it highlights the direction of the process from its beginning to its end.

Process flowcharts are instrumental in training and onboarding, sales process , process optimization, documentation, recruitment and in any scenario where clear communication of a process is crucial.

2. Flowcharts Infographic 

A flowcharts infographic is a great way to showcase the process or a series of steps using a combination of graphics, icons, symbols and concise text. It aims to communicate complex information in a clear and easy-to-understand manner, making it a popular tool for conveying information, data and instructions in a visually engaging way.

For example, you can use this flowchart to illustrate a health insurance process that visually explains the steps involved from finding a provider to paying for your healthcare provider. 

3. Circular Flowcharts

A circular flowcharts is used to illustrate the flow of information, goods, services or money within a closed system or process. It gets its name from its circular shape, which emphasizes the continuous and cyclical nature of the flow. 

Circular flowcharts are widely used in various fields such as economics, business, engineering and process management to help visualize and understand complex systems.

In a circular flowcharts , elements are represented using various shapes and connected with arrows to indicate the direction of flow. The circular arrangement indicates that the process is ongoing and repeats itself over time.

4. Swimlane flowcharts

Swimlane flowcharts , also known as cross-functional flowcharts are a specific type of flowchart that organizes the process flow into lanes or “swimlanes.” 

Each lane represents a different participant or functional area involved in the process and the flowchart shows how activities or information move between these participants. 

Swimlane flowcharts are particularly useful for illustrating complex processes that involve multiple stakeholders or departments.

In a swimlane flowcharts, the process is divided horizontally into lanes and each lane is labeled with the name of the department, person or role responsible for that part of the process. Vertically, the flowchart displays the sequence of steps or actions taken in the process.

5. Decision Flowchart s

Decision flowcharts, also known as decision trees or flow diagrams are graphical representations that illustrate the process of making decisions or solving problems. 

They are widely used in various fields such as computer science, business mapping , engineering and problem-solving scenarios. 

Decision flowcharts help break down complex decision-making processes into simple, sequential steps, making it easier to understand and follow.

A decision tree is a specialized flowchart used to visually represent the process of decision-making. 

Businesses and other individuals can employ a decision tree analysis as a tool to aid in evaluating different options and the possible consequences associated with each choice.

Decision trees Infographics can be used to create a more nuanced type of flowchart that is more informative and visually appealing by combining a decision flowchart and the flowchart infographic. 

Decision flowcharts are valuable tools for visualizing decision-making processes, analyzing complex problems and communicating them effectively to others.

Designing effective problem-solving flowcharts involves careful consideration of various factors to ensure clarity, accuracy and usability. Here are some best practices to create efficient and useful problem-solving flowcharts:

• Understand the problem first & clearly define it
• Keep it simple
• Use standard & recognizable symbols
• Ensure that the flowchart follows a logical and sequential order
• Clearly label each decision point, action and outcome
• Verify the flowchart’s accuracy by testing it
• Clearly state the decision criteria that lead to different branches
• Provide context when the flowchart is part of a larger process or system
• Review and revise the flowchart

Creating problem-solving flowchart on Venngage is incredibly simple. All you have to do is:

• Start by Signing Up and Creating an Account with Venngage
• Choose a flowchart template that best suits your needs from our library.
• Start editing your flowchart by choosing the desired shapes, labels and colors.
• You can also enhance your flowchart by incorporating icons, illustrations or backgrounds all of which are readily available in our library.
• Once done, you will have 2 options to choose from, either sharing it online for free or downloading your flowchart to your desktop by subscribing to the Premium or Business Plan. 

Is flowchart the representation of problem solutions?

Flowcharts are not the representation of problem solutions per se; rather, they are a visual representation of processes, decision-making steps and actions taken to arrive at a solution to problem.

What are the 3 basic structures of flowcharts?

3 Basic Structures of Flowcharts are:

• Sequence: Simplify Complexity
• Selection (Decision): Embrace Choices
• Repetition (Loop): Emphasize Iteration

What are the elements of a good flowchart?

A good flowchart should exhibit clarity and simplicity, using consistent symbols and labels to depict a logical sequence of steps. It should be readable, with appropriate white space to avoid clutter while eliminating ambiguity through well-defined decision criteria and paths.

Can flowcharts be used for both simple and complex problem-solving?

Yes, flowcharts can be used for both simple and complex problem-solving scenarios. Flowcharts are versatile visual tools that can effectively represent various processes, decision-making steps and problem-solving approaches regardless of their complexity.

In both cases, flowcharts offer a systematic and visual means of organizing information, identifying potential problems and facilitating collaboration among team members.

Can problem-solving flowcharts be used in any industry or domain?

Problem-solving flowcharts can be used in virtually any industry or domain. The versatility and effectiveness of flowcharts make them applicable to a wide range of fields such as Business and Management, Software Development and IT, Healthcare, Education, Finance, Marketing & Sales and a lot more other industries. 

Final thoughts

Problem-solving flowcharts are a valuable and versatile tool that empowers individuals and teams to tackle complex problems with clarity and efficiency.

By visually representing the step-by-step process of identifying, analyzing and resolving issues, flowcharts serve as navigational guides simplifying intricate challenges into digestible parts.

With the aid of modern tools like Venngage’s Flowchart Maker and Venngage’s Flowchart Templates , designing impactful flowcharts becomes accessible to all while revolutionizing the way problems are approached and solved.

Mind Mapping Software Blog

Elevate your thinking and accelerate your results with visual thinking tools

Solve problems faster with these 9 visual thinking techniques

By Chuck Frey

Not surprisingly, visual thinking tools like mind maps and diagrams can help you cut your challenges down to size, achieve clarity and generate high-value solutions to them.

Here are 9 mind maps and diagrams that can help you creatively define and solve your most vexing problems:

Mind mapping software can help, because it acts like a prism, separating a major task or challenge into its component parts and enabling you to see the relationships between them, so you can more effectively develop creative solutions to address it. To subdivide the components of your task or challenge, ask yourself questions that begin with the famous “5 W’s”: who, what, when, where and why.

Fishbone diagram

Fishbone diagrams, also known as cause and effect or Ishikawa diagrams, are useful for determining the root cause of a problem or challenge. They are especially useful during the problem definition segment of brainstorming sessions, where they helps individuals and teams to deconstruct problems and challenges.

Force field analysis

A “force field analysis” is a little-known but powerful creative problem-solving technique that can help you to deconstruct your current challenge into its strengths and weaknesses in – and to focus on those that will help you ensure a successful outcome. Force field analysis gives you a visual way to better understand your challenges and visualize these forces at work, so you can brainstorm ways to minimize your weaknesses, build upon your strengths – or add new positive skills or conditions to better counterbalance your weaknesses.

Deconstruct your challenge into its attributes

One skill you ought to cultivate if you want to be more creative is deconstructing challenges and situations into their elements. In so doing, you will inevitably reveal the bits and pieces that may be turned to creative advantage. A mind map is the perfect medium for breaking bigger elements down into smaller ones – while also revealing the relationships between them.

25 creative lenses for problem solving

To help us solve our biggest challenges, my friend Stephen Shapiro has written a marvelous book called Invisible Solutions. It outlines 25 mental filters or “lenses” that can help us systematically frame our problems, challenges and opportunities and release our best thinking. I’ve created a mind map that lists each of them, along with questions to help you think creatively about them.

Board of directors

Have you ever been stumped by a creative challenge? It seems like your muse has flown away. Your creative well is dry. Maybe you just need to whack yourself upside the head, figuratively speaking. Maybe you just need to look at your challenge from a new, creative perspective. This technique gives you permission to REALLY throw off your creative blinders and create a “board” of remarkable thinkers to help you whack YOUR thinking!

Ultimate SCAMPER map

During the last several decades, one of the most widely used and successful brainstorming techniques has been SCAMPER. Its name is a mnemonic for Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify/Magnify/Minify, Put to other uses, Eliminate and Reverse/Rearrange. The reason it is so popular is because it forces you to look at challenges or problems from a variety of creative perspectives. I’ve adapted it into a mind map – with over 200 creative prompts to jump-start your thinking in new directions!

5-step CPS process

A popular perception about creativity is that it’s random and uncontrollable. Terms like “a flash of insight,” “a bolt from the blue” and the iconic “A-ha!” support this notion. Writers and artists speak of a fickle creative “muse” that ebbs and flows unpredictably. A more reliable way to be consistently creative is to adopt a proven process for ideation and creative problem-solving, like this proven 5-step process – which I adapted into a mind map.

Personal problem-solving template

This mind map template contains 8 thought-provoking questions that you can use to help you with personal problem-solving – better defining problems and then brainstorming solutions for them. These questions have a lot of value for personal problem solving. And the mind map format is perfect for divergent thinking.

What problems will you solve?

Armed with this toolkit of visual creative problem-solving techniques, what challenges will you tackle?

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6 simple steps to visual problem solving.

Oct 30, 2018 | Productivity , Project management , Remote Work , Strategy , Thinking tools

Chances are, you’d describe yourself as a visual thinker. Scientific studies reveal between 65% and 80% of people fit this category. Visual thinking likely played a big role in our evolution; the ability to see a threat and react to it ensured our survival. Communicating ideas visually significantly improves effectiveness. A 1986 study from the University of Michigan showed that presentations using visuals were 43% more persuasive.  [source: http://misrc.umn.edu/workingpapers/fullpapers/1986/8611.pdf ] Visual tools help us think more creatively and efficiently, especially when grappling with complex problems or pondering big decisions. Involving your team members or colleagues will create a larger pool of ideas to help solve your challenge. The more ideas you incorporate from people who understand the problem and its complexity, the more options you will have to solve it. Here at Cardsmith, we focus on visual problem solving every day. We’ve found that six simple steps can take you from struggle to success.

Here’s how to amp up your visual problem solving:

1: start with a clear objective..

Before brainstorming, you’ll want to set up the problem you’re aiming to solve. Try posing it as a question. For instance, “How can we increase our sales?” Or you might ask, “80% of our sales come from one large customer. How can we reduce the risk this poses to our business?”

2: Dump out all the Legos ®.

Get all the ideas out on the table. This is where you express as many ideas as possible in a rapid flow without judging, structuring or organizing them. You don’t want to disrupt the free flow of ideas. Even the crazy ones count, and the ones that don’t seem to fit into any particular category. These ideas may be symptoms of the problem or related thoughts, fears and hopes. Don’t worry if your thoughts are long or complex, and don’t try to edit them. Whatever is in your mind, dump it out! Once you write all these things down, your mind can relax. Move on when you feel like all participants’ brains are empty. Read more about “Dumping out the Legos” .

3: Create right-sized information chunks.

When working with cards at this point, make each one discrete and stick to single sentences. Avoid using the word “and” because that will introduce too many ideas at once. A card in Cardsmith or 2” x 2” sticky notes have the perfect amount of space to enforce this rule. These constraints also help you be concise and clear about each thought. If you have longer ideas from the previous step, this is the time to edit those down to make them shorter and more focused. Here are some examples of information chunks, right-sized by using Cardsmith cards.

Figure 1. Cardsmith Cards with information “chunks”.

4: Remember that problem solving is a creative act.

Be intentional about whether you are in the divergent or convergent phase of the creative process. These are phases of Design Thinking, the cognitive process from which design concepts emerge. A divergent phase is when you are looking for more: lots of thoughts, many ideas, etc. “Dump out the Legos” is the perfect example of a divergent activity. At some point, you’ll want to transition from divergent to convergent thinking. Convergent means using criteria to sort, group or organize the ideas. It’s making decisions that focus on fewer, rather than many. When you transition to the divergent phase, create a new framing question or objective, then repeat the process.

Figure 2. Example of divergent and convergent phases in Design Thinking.

5: Get clear on the problem before proceeding to solutions.

This concept is related to #4 but worth calling out as its own step. Often we think we understand the problem at hand and jump into problem-solving mode prematurely. First, spend a moment getting clear about the exact problem, and consider if it is the most important problem to solve. You will be more effective in the long run. Ask yourself questions like, “Are we jumping into solution space too quickly?” “Do we truly understand the problem?” “Is this the most important problem to solve now?” If you are not 100% certain, use step #1 to brainstorm all the possible problems. Try constraining the brainstorm to one area. For example, if you know you are having problems with sales, brainstorm to understand all the symptoms of the sales problem before moving on to seek a solution. Here’s a hypothetical brainstorm around this question:

Figure 3. Problem Brainstorm in Cardsmith.

6: Select the right visual tool

Think about the type of question being asked. Would a tree, map or list best suit your problem-solving process? There are many options for mapping diagrams such as mind maps, fishbone diagrams, and affinity diagrams. We will discuss these options more in another post, but for now let’s focus on the affinity diagram. This is a great visual tool to use immediately after dumping out the Legos. Affinity diagramming is simply a way to group like with like. Cardsmith makes it easy to drag your ideas into clusters. If you are working in a team, doing this together yields benefits beyond the creation of the diagram itself, as you will discuss in detail why certain cards belong together with others. This will reveal hidden assumptions useful to downstream decision processes.   Here is an affinity diagram example, based on the above problem brainstorm:  

Figure 4. Affinity Diagram in Cardsmith.

Try out visual problem solving to improve your own life!

Now that you know the 6 steps, try this challenge to become more experienced in creative visual problem solving:

• Create a Cardsmith board called “Life Problems”. Find a quiet time and place to reflect on all your dissatisfactions with your life. Add the first card to the board and title it something like, “What things in my life are less than ideal?”
• Take a moment to thank your mind for all the problems and complaints it tracks on your behalf. Tell your mind it’s okay to think these things, and now is a chance to get free from such a heavy burden, by putting everything on the board.
• Then just start dumping out all of the Legos. Write down any thought that comes, whether negative or positive. You have just practiced steps #1 through #4!
• Now create an affinity diagram by grouping related cards together. You’ll likely start to see themes or areas of your life that you’d like to improve. I did this myself and while I came up with 27 things that I’m not happy about, when I created the affinity diagram I realized there were only three unique areas that I’d like to improve. Most of the cards are under health and fitness, so wellness activities are clearly worth pursuing!

What will you tackle next?

Now that you know the six simple steps, what problem shall we solve next? Tell us how you’ve used this process—and Cardsmith cards—to solve complex problems in your own work or life.

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Visual problem-solving: The secret sauce of successful teams

Reading time: about 7 min

• Strategic planning

Our brains process visual cues faster and more easily than written or verbal cues. That’s why many of us rely on landmarks to help us navigate around town and why outdoor advertising is heavy on images and light on text.

Because images can often convey meaning more effectively than words, implementing visuals into your problem-solving will help your team easily find solutions faster.

What is visual problem-solving?

Visual problem-solving includes using visual aids like flowcharts, maps, diagrams, and sticky notes in your problem-solving process. 

Visual problem-solving helps you to:

• Understand the problem : Visuals reveal the way that different elements relate to each other, offering enhanced clarity.
• Simplify the problem : Visuals help identify past patterns in your work, allowing you to apply previous solutions to current issues. Visuals can also break down complex elements into smaller, more manageable pieces.

Your exact visual problem-solving process might vary, but it will likely include the following basic steps:

• Identify and understand the problem
• Gather information that pertains to the problem
• Brainstorm and identify missing pieces
• Select the best solution
• Develop a plan and implement the solution
• Review the results and revise as necessary

How can you make problem-solving more visual?

Let’s break down the steps mentioned above to further explore how visuals can take your team to the next level of problem-solving.

Step 1: Identify and understand the problem

There are several different visual tools you can use that will help you identify and better understand the problem at hand. Here are just a couple of suggestions.

A mind map is a visual tool that closely aligns with how our brains work. You start with a central idea and then bounce from one thought to the next in a non-linear fashion while identifying relationships as you go.

Steps for identifying a problem with a mind map might include:

• In the center of a page, digital canvas, or whiteboard, write the problem you’re dealing with.
• Surrounding your central idea, add what you think might be possible causes of the problem. Connect these ideas back to your initial problem with lines or arrows.
• Continue to branch out from each of the ideas circling your central problem. Add examples, details, and any information that will help you to further identify the root problem and its causes. Be sure to show connections between ideas while keeping the most important ideas closest to the center.
• Use different colors, diagrams, and shapes to organize the different levels of thought—anything that makes sense to you and helps you identify the most pertinent information.

Mind maps have an endless number of uses. Students can utilize mind maps to brainstorm essay topics, creatives can implement mind maps into their workflow to collect strategy ideas, and management teams can use mind maps to illustrate potential effects of  company-wide initiatives.

Cause-and-effect diagrams

To draw a cause-and-effect diagram :

• In a box at the right side of a canvas or whiteboard, write your main issue or problem.
• Draw a horizontal line from the left edge of the box. This line is known as the spine.
• From the spine, draw angled branches that represent a potential cause of the main problem. Each branch can also have sub-branches that contain information that relate to the stated cause.

By analyzing the relationships between your potential causes, you can more easily pinpoint (and solve) the core problem.

Step 2: Gather information that pertains to the problem

Gather information from surveys, website statistics, and so on. Then examine this feedback through pie charts, graphs, sticky notes, and more. By presenting the information visually, you’ll be able to analyze it more efficiently.

Step 3: Brainstorm and identify missing pieces

When brainstorming, encourage quantity over quality. As they say, no ideas are bad ideas when brainstorming. Reinforcing this attitude will empower your team to think quickly, creatively, and collaboratively. It will also provide a platform for everyone to feel comfortable sharing ideas. 

Unsurprisingly, this step also generally becomes more effective when visual diagrams are implemented. As previously mentioned, mind maps in particular are great tools to use in a brainstorming session . 

Step 4: Select the best solution

You should have a board or canvas full of ideas now. Next, you’ll need to eliminate any proposed solutions that seem less feasible or effective than the others. Once you’re left with plausible ideas, analyze and discuss the potential outcomes of each to determine which one might work best to solve your problem.

You’ll often find that there isn’t just one obvious fix to your problem. You might need to combine several ideas into a solution that will best suit your needs.

One simple exercise developed by Tom Wujec, a pioneer in business visualization, asks you to take two to three minutes to draw your process for making toast . This helps emphasize both how different people think, as well as how many approaches there are to solving a problem. 

An exercise like this encourages collaboration and provides your team with applied practice in brainstorming and identifying the best ideas.

Step 5: Develop a plan and implement the solution

To implement a solution, you need to develop a plan—even just a simple one. A plan ensures that your team understands the path to success and knows what actionable steps to take next.

Flowcharts are effective visual aids in plan creation because they typically represent a more linear set of sequences. Using specific shapes and connectors to represent steps and decision paths, it’s easy for people to understand a process flow from start to finish. For example, use a flowchart template to help new hires understand the organization of a company or to illustrate the steps of a work task, like using the copy machine or replacing the printer ink. Or, use flowcharts on a marketing team to visually prepare for a product rollout or an upcoming campaign.

After implementing the solution, share the flowchart so everyone has access to the step-by-step plan. This helps your team members understand their role in the overall solution process.

Step 6: Review the results and revise as necessary

You may have fixed your problem, but that doesn’t mean you’re completely finished with the problem-solving process. Continue to monitor the implementation of your solution and analyze its results. That way, you can revise the process if necessary to increase effectiveness.

Flowcharts can be useful in this step, as well, to preemptively identify issues and process bottlenecks, anticipating and mitigating potential problems before they even occur.

Things to avoid with visual problem-solving

Cut down on inefficiency and wasted time by avoiding these common problem-solving mistakes:

• Not having a well-defined problem : Avoid trying to tackle too much at once. Break your problem down into smaller pieces and work your way up to the bigger problems.
• Giving up if your solution doesn’t work : Sometimes a clear answer is difficult to find, but exhaust all potential resources before throwing in the towel.
• Experiencing new problems when an initial solution is implemented : Don’t expect all issues to be solved right away. Ensure you’ve analyzed every facet of a possible solution in order to avoid future problems down the road. 
• Failing to create an action plan : Without a strategic action plan, your team will struggle to align and act. Make sure to include a testing period within your plan. 

As you get more comfortable using charts, diagrams, and other visuals, you’ll find that it’s easier for team members to quickly align and process important information. Potential problems will be easier to spot and data will make more sense.

Supercharge your problem-solving with a virtual whiteboard like Lucidspark. Lucidspark’s  visual collaboration tools bring the whole team together no matter where they are located, keep ideas organized, and empower you to take action on the best ideas.

Take your problem-solving to the next level with Lucidspark.

About Lucidspark

Lucidspark, a cloud-based virtual whiteboard, is a core component of Lucid Software's Visual Collaboration Suite. This cutting-edge digital canvas brings teams together to brainstorm, collaborate, and consolidate collective thinking into actionable next steps—all in real time. Lucid is proud to serve top businesses around the world, including customers such as Google, GE, and NBC Universal, and 99% of the Fortune 500. Lucid partners with industry leaders, including Google, Atlassian, and Microsoft. Since its founding, Lucid has received numerous awards for its products, business, and workplace culture. For more information, visit lucidspark.com.

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Visual problem solving with flowcharts and mind maps

What’s life without problems? Probably a little boring, if we’re being honest. If everything were perfect all the time, there would be no challenges, and things would get pretty monotonous. This is a rather optimistic view on what many believe to be an aggravating part of life. No matter how you feel about problems, one thing is true: problems are inevitable . You can’t always control how many problems you encounter in your life, but you can learn better ways to solve them. So, what can we do for those really complex issues that aren’t easily solved? Visual problem solving is the perfect way to see solutions and break down complex issues.

Make your own flowchart with Gleek .

What is visual problem solving?

Visual problem solving is the process of using aids like charts or diagrams to display all the aspects of a problem in order to find viable solutions. When problem solving, sometimes it’s hard to see what’s causing the problem, or other relationships and correlations that are affecting whatever it is you’re working on. Two common methods for problem solving include mind maps and flowcharts . A mind map is a non-linear diagram, used for making new ideas or breaking down complex issues. A flowchart is a linear diagram, used for making action plans and describing processes.

5 steps to solve problems

Identify the true problem

Maybe you know what the issue is in clear terms, or perhaps it’s still a little confusing. A good way to get a concrete vision of the problem you need to solve is to pose it as a question, or a short statement. You might come up with something like ‘our sales have dropped’, or, as a question ‘what can we do to increase sales?’.

Get information

Now that you have a clear objective to solve, the next step is to gather all the relevant information that pertains to the issue. This can look like statistics, comments from customers, employee feedback, and more. Once you’ve collected the data, you’ll need to analyze it from all angles to get a clear view on the topic.

Brainstorming session

Get any and all potential solution ideas out on the table. Doesn’t matter how silly an idea seems, just put anything that comes to mind on the drawing board. This is where your visual aids will really come in handy, especially mind maps. You might need more than one chart, depending on how complicated the issue is.

Choose the best idea(s)

Whether on your own or with a team, you’ll have to eliminate the potential solutions that just won’t work. To find the solution that’ll work best, it’s good to analyze it in the same way you did the problem – by looking at potential outcomes, and all facets involved.

Make an action plan

So you think you’ve found the perfect solution! Now what? If your problem is complicated, usually the solution will be too. Here is where another visual aid, like a flowchart, will be helpful. Map out the specific steps you need in order to implement your solution. Then, it’s time to put your plan into action.

These are just the basic steps you can use to start problem solving. You may find that other actions are needed during your own journey.

Common mistakes when problem solving

Mistakes? We all make them from time to time. Here are some common mistakes we are prone to when trying to fix problems.

Undefined problem – When identifying the problem, it’s possible that the problem is too big, multi-faceted, or too complex to tackle all at once. A way to avoid this is to break the problem down into chunks, following common themes.

More problems arise – This isn’t always a direct result of anything we do, but it can happen nonetheless. The best way to deal with more problems that arise when you’re trying to solve the original one is to think of the possible things that could go wrong during the solution stage. When you’re prepared for any situation, you’ll rarely have any setbacks.

No action plan – Finding a way to solve your problem doesn’t mean that the planning is over. On the contrary, you need to create a strategy to properly execute your solution so you won’t end up with a half-solved problem and even more issues than you started with.

When to use flowcharts

One way to chart your problems and progress is through flowcharts. For those who like to think in a step-by-step or linear fashion, flowcharts are the best way to visualize things. Let’s have a look at some situations that are best suited to flowcharts.

Big problems – Flowcharts can help break down a large problem or solution into specific steps or stages from start to finish.

Decision trees – This type of flowchart is helpful when diagramming actions that will happen as a result of other actions, whether they be in a software system or actions taken by people.

Cause and effect – Similar to a decision tree, a cause and effect flowchart is where you can analyze the potential results of various actions, past or present.

Check out our 20 flowchart templates that you can also easily edit !

When to use mind maps

Mind maps are great for brainstorming sessions, and non-linear problem solving. Here are some situations that are best visualized through a mind map.

Finding the problem – So, what is the problem exactly? Sometimes it’s hard to see. Making a mind map offers you the opportunity to see all the moving parts involved with a situation, and how they relate to one another, and can help you suss out the true problem.

Core and branching ideas – You start with a core idea, such as ‘online sales’, then add related ideas or issues branching off from that, like maybe ‘ad revenue’, or ‘social media campaigns’. Then those ideas can have their own branches. This is an easy way to analyze all aspects of a problem.

Source: Problem Solving with Mind Maps (Tutorial)

Looking to create your own flowchart? Gleek has the solution for you. With Gleek, you can create your own flowcharts using a text-based command center, without ever using your mouse. Not only can you create flowcharts, you can create many other UML-based diagrams that will wow your colleagues and bring new life to your presentations. Get started for free today .

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Nine essential problem solving tools: The ultimate guide to finding a solution

October 26, 2023 by MindManager Blog

Problem solving may unfold differently depending on the industry, or even the department you work in. However, most agree that before you can fix any issue, you need to be clear on what it is, why it’s happening, and what your ideal long-term solution will achieve.

Understanding both the nature and the cause of a problem is the only way to figure out which actions will help you resolve it.

Given that most problem-solving processes are part inspiration and part perspiration, you’ll be more successful if you can reach for a problem solving tool that facilitates collaboration, encourages creative thinking, and makes it easier to implement the fix you devise.

The problem solving tools include three unique categories: problem solving diagrams, problem solving mind maps, and problem solving software solutions.

They include:

• Fishbone diagrams
• Strategy maps
• Mental maps
• Concept maps
• Layered process audit software
• Charting software
• MindManager

In this article, we’ve put together a roundup of versatile problem solving tools and software to help you and your team map out and repair workplace issues as efficiently as possible.

Let’s get started!

Problem solving diagrams

Mapping your way out of a problem is the simplest way to see where you are, and where you need to end up.

Not only do visual problem maps let you plot the most efficient route from Point A (dysfunctional situation) to Point B (flawless process), problem mapping diagrams make it easier to see:

• The root cause of a dilemma.
• The steps, resources, and personnel associated with each possible solution.
• The least time-consuming, most cost-effective options.

A visual problem solving process help to solidify understanding. Furthermore, it’s a great way for you and your team to transform abstract ideas into a practical, reconstructive plan.

Here are three examples of common problem mapping diagrams you can try with your team:

1. Fishbone diagrams

Fishbone diagrams are a common problem solving tool so-named because, once complete, they resemble the skeleton of a fish.

With the possible root causes of an issue (the ribs) branching off from either side of a spine line attached to the head (the problem), dynamic fishbone diagrams let you:

• Lay out a related set of possible reasons for an existing problem
• Investigate each possibility by breaking it out into sub-causes
• See how contributing factors relate to one another

Fishbone diagrams are also known as cause and effect or Ishikawa diagrams.

2. Flowcharts

A flowchart is an easy-to-understand diagram with a variety of applications. But you can use it to outline and examine how the steps of a flawed process connect.

Made up of a few simple symbols linked with arrows indicating workflow direction, flowcharts clearly illustrate what happens at each stage of a process – and how each event impacts other events and decisions.

3. Strategy maps

Frequently used as a strategic planning tool, strategy maps also work well as problem mapping diagrams. Based on a hierarchal system, thoughts and ideas can be arranged on a single page to flesh out a potential resolution.

Once you’ve got a few tactics you feel are worth exploring as possible ways to overcome a challenge, a strategy map will help you establish the best route to your problem-solving goal.

Problem solving mind maps

Problem solving mind maps are especially valuable in visualization. Because they facilitate the brainstorming process that plays a key role in both root cause analysis and the identification of potential solutions, they help make problems more solvable.

Mind maps are diagrams that represent your thinking. Since many people struggle taking or working with hand-written or typed notes, mind maps were designed to let you lay out and structure your thoughts visually so you can play with ideas, concepts, and solutions the same way your brain does.

By starting with a single notion that branches out into greater detail, problem solving mind maps make it easy to:

• Explain unfamiliar problems or processes in less time
• Share and elaborate on novel ideas
• Achieve better group comprehension that can lead to more effective solutions

Mind maps are a valuable problem solving tool because they’re geared toward bringing out the flexible thinking that creative solutions require. Here are three types of problem solving mind maps you can use to facilitate the brainstorming process.

4. Mental maps

A mental map helps you get your thoughts about what might be causing a workplace issue out of your head and onto a shared digital space.

Because mental maps mirror the way our brains take in and analyze new information, using them to describe your theories visually will help you and your team work through and test those thought models.

5. Idea maps

Idea maps let you take advantage of a wide assortment of colors and images to lay down and organize your scattered thought process. Idea maps are ideal brainstorming tools because they allow you to present and explore ideas about the best way to solve a problem collaboratively, and with a shared sense of enthusiasm for outside-the-box thinking.

6. Concept maps

Concept maps are one of the best ways to shape your thoughts around a potential solution because they let you create interlinked, visual representations of intricate concepts.

By laying out your suggested problem-solving process digitally – and using lines to form and define relationship connections – your group will be able to see how each piece of the solution puzzle connects with another.

Problem solving software solutions

Problem solving software is the best way to take advantage of multiple problem solving tools in one platform. While some software programs are geared toward specific industries or processes – like manufacturing or customer relationship management, for example – others, like MindManager , are purpose-built to work across multiple trades, departments, and teams.

Here are three problem-solving software examples.

7. Layered process audit software

Layered process audits (LPAs) help companies oversee production processes and keep an eye on the cost and quality of the goods they create. Dedicated LPA software makes problem solving easier for manufacturers because it helps them see where costly leaks are occurring and allows all levels of management to get involved in repairing those leaks.

8. Charting software

Charting software comes in all shapes and sizes to fit a variety of business sectors. Pareto charts, for example, combine bar charts with line graphs so companies can compare different problems or contributing factors to determine their frequency, cost, and significance. Charting software is often used in marketing, where a variety of bar charts and X-Y axis diagrams make it possible to display and examine competitor profiles, customer segmentation, and sales trends.

9. MindManager

No matter where you work, or what your problem-solving role looks like, MindManager is a problem solving software that will make your team more productive in figuring out why a process, plan, or project isn’t working the way it should.

Once you know why an obstruction, shortfall, or difficulty exists, you can use MindManager’s wide range of brainstorming and problem mapping diagrams to:

• Find the most promising way to correct the situation
• Activate your chosen solution, and
• Conduct regular checks to make sure your repair work is sustainable

MindManager is the ultimate problem solving software.

Not only is it versatile enough to use as your go-to system for puzzling out all types of workplace problems, MindManager’s built-in forecasting tools, timeline charts, and warning indicators let you plan, implement, and monitor your solutions.

By allowing your group to work together more effectively to break down problems, uncover solutions, and rebuild processes and workflows, MindManager’s versatile collection of problem solving tools will help make everyone on your team a more efficient problem solver.

Download a free trial today to get started!

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MindManager® helps individuals, teams, and enterprises bring greater clarity and structure to plans, projects, and processes. It provides visual productivity tools and mind mapping software to help take you and your organization to where you want to be.

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Visual problem solving.

Tom Wujec is a Fellow at Autodesk, the world’s leader in 2D & 3D design software.  He has brought several software applications to market, including SketchBook Pro, PortfolioWall, and Maya which won an Academy Award for its contribution to the film industry.  Given Tom’s expertise with technology and software, some might find it surprising to learn that he is also a pioneer in the use of simple, interactive visuals to help teams solve problems.  Using images, sketches, and animations, Tom and his team make complex ideas understandable by making them visible and tangible.

So why should Tom’s work at Autodesk be of interest to you?  As I have written before, neuroscientists have discovered that we don’t actually “see the world as it is.”  Rather, our brain filters the information it receives based on past experiences to create the view of the world we have around us.  As Tom describes it, our brains conduct a “visual interrogation” of everything we see by asking a series of questions and creating a mental model based upon the answers.  The depth and variety of questions our brains ask (where, how, location, number, why, color, when, shape, size, what) is dictated by the richness of the images it encounters.  The richer and more diverse the images, the more of the brain’s three primary regions are utilized in processing the image to create meaning.

Since one of our goals as leaders is to improve the effectiveness of our organizational problem solving, Tom’s work provides us with a couple of interesting lessons:

First, make problem solving more visual.  Rather than merely using data points and words to describe, analyze and solve problems, use images.  Images help the brain clarify ideas, identify underlying patterns of logic, and create meaning.  As opposed to numbers and words, a good visual invites the eyes to dart around and engage the entire brain to create a visual logic and make sense of the information to which it is being exposed.  The more fully the brain is engaged in the act of analyzing and creating meaning, the richer the outcome of the problem solving activities will be.

Second, make your problem solving more interactive.  The act of creating a visual narrative of the problem solving process is critical to the team’s ownership of the problem as well as their engagement in finding a solution.  The more the team creates the visual logic used to tell the story of the problem and what caused it, the more vested they will be in the outcome.

Creating a culture of continuous improvement requires both engaging people in the process of identifying and solving problems as well as providing them with the tools to do so.  Most traditional approaches to problem solving fail to inspire people and generate creative solutions.  They lack both a visual component to kick the entire brain into action as well as a sufficient level of interactivity to create ownership between the team and the problem.  By challenging teams to use images to identify underlying patterns and create meaning, you just might be surprised at the improvement in both the quality of thought as well as improvement ideas.

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Understanding and Developing Visual-Spatial Intelligence

How good are you at puzzles?

Dr. Amy Marschall is an autistic clinical psychologist with ADHD, working with children and adolescents who also identify with these neurotypes among others. She is certified in TF-CBT and telemental health.

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

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• A Note on Intelligence Testing

Examples of Visual-Spatial Intelligence

Assessing visual-spatial intelligence, developing visual-spatial intelligence, exercising your visual-spatial intelligence muscles.

While the field of psychology has struggled for decades to come to an agreement on a comprehensive definition of “ intelligence ,” it is generally recognized that people have varying innate abilities when it comes to acquiring certain skills and knowledge.

Visual-spatial intelligence is one such set of skills that includes the ability to perceive, hold, manipulate, and problem-solve from visual information. When you put together a puzzle, you use visual-spatial skills to identify which pieces have similar colors that go near each other or similar shapes that will fit together.

The concept of visual-spatial intelligence is part of Howard Gardner ’s theory of multiple intelligences, which posits that there are multiple ways for someone to be “intelligent” and that different intelligences come with different strengths. Gardner believed that a singular theory of intelligence drastically overlooked many people’s skills.

Dr. Richard Kraft, Ph.D. and professor of cognitive psychology at Otterbein University, says that “Visual-spatial intelligence is our ability to think about the world in three dimensions. We use visual-spatial intelligence to find our way around and to manipulate mental images of objects and the spaces these objects are in. People with strong visual-spatial intelligence have a good sense of direction, and they know how parts fit together into a whole (like assembling furniture from IKEA).”

According to Dr. Kraft, “We can be accomplished at writing and talking (linguistic intelligence) but have a poor sense of direction (visual-spatial intelligence).” (He may have been talking about the author of this article.)

Learn more about the skills involved in visual-spatial intelligence, how to assess your own visual-spatial abilities, and tips for honing your visual-spatial skills.

First, a Note on Intelligence Testing

Much early research on the concept of intelligence was conducted by white supremacists aiming to develop measures that could “prove” white superiority, and modern intelligence tests continue to uphold oppressive standards by exhibiting ongoing racial bias.

Additionally, the concept of “intelligence” has been used to justify involuntary sterilization of thousands of people on the grounds that they had “inferior” genetics and should not be permitted to reproduce.

Although people have varying levels of skill in different areas, and those who struggle in some areas might need support in order to live their best lives, using concepts like intelligence to decide who is “worthy” to reproduce is eugenicist and harmful.

As such, discussions of the concept of “intelligence” should include acknowledgement of the racist and ableist roots of intelligence testing, and future research must consciously work to undo the harm caused by the field. With this in mind, it can still be beneficial on a personal level to understand individual strengths and knowledge, as well as developing skills.

According to Dr. Kraft, people who have strong visual-spatial intelligence “have a good sense of direction. They can solve puzzles more easily than other people, especially something like the Rubik’s Cube. They can walk into a house and imagine what it would look like after knocking out a wall. Understanding architecture and choreography and film directing comes easily to people with strong visual-spatial intelligence .”

On the other hand, those who struggle with visual-spatial abilities “often get lost, even in familiar spaces, even in buildings they’ve visited many times. They generally have a poor sense of direction and have difficulty thinking in three dimensions.”

When you problem-solve with visual information, put together pieces of a puzzle, or visualize something, you are tapping into your visual-spatial intelligence.

The Wechsler intelligence scales , including the Wechsler Intelligence System for Children, Fifth Edition, and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scales, Fourth Edition , have Visual-Spatial Index scores which purport to indicate an individual’s visual-spatial intelligence.

Although these tests have the bias issues noted earlier in this article, they can serve as a starting point for assessing one’s ability to manipulate visual information. According to Dr. Kraft, “Standardized assessment usually takes the form of answering questions about drawings of abstract three-dimensional objects. Tests ask what an object or shape will look like if manipulated in some way—often after three-dimensional rotation.”

Dr. Kraft says that it is possible to self-evaluate your visual-spatial skills. You can practice visualizing and manipulating information in your head, or you can see how you perform on visual puzzles and even time yourself as you attempt these problems.

He also recommends finding a quick online test that you can use to assess your visual-spatial intelligence. While online tests cannot definitively determine an individual’s cognitive abilities, they can be a fun starting point to getting to know your own strengths a bit better.

There is disagreement in the field of psychology regarding individuals’ abilities to develop or increase intelligence. Our intellectual abilities are influenced by both genetics and environment . Some types of intelligence are considered dynamic, or changing; for instance, our verbal abilities tend to improve with education. Others are considered static, or fixed. As such, it may be difficult or impossible to change your visual-spatial intelligence even if you can work to build certain skills.

Dr. Kraft stated: “We probably cannot increase our raw visual-spatial intelligence, but we do learn to compensate.” He shared himself as an example: “As it happens, my visual spatial intelligence isn’t strong, and I have difficulty finding my way around. GPS has largely removed that problem.”

Those with weaker visual-spatial intelligence might also compensate because they are stronger in another intelligence. Per Dr. Kraft, someone who struggles with visual-spatial tasks but is good at memorization might be able to remember landmarks or other cues to help them with their sense of direction. Additionally, they can ask for help, such as having a friend go with them to new locations to ensure they do not get lost.

Although we may not be able to significantly change our intelligence, there are activities we can do to maximize our potential. We can also use these activities to mitigate cognitive decline as we age.

Skills that require using your visual-spatial intelligence include:

• Solving a Rubik’s Cube
• Completing mazes
• Putting puzzles together
• Reading maps

These activities can both demonstrate your visual-spatial intelligence and allow you to flex your visual-spatial muscles and strengthen your skills in this area. These kinds of brain exercises can strengthen your skills and help you with your sense of direction, problem-solving, and mentally manipulating visual information.

Visual-spatial intelligence is only one of many potential strengths an individual can possess. You can use the activities described here to try and strengthen your visual-spatial abilities. Remember that there is more than one set of skills that goes into being “intelligent,” and struggling in one or many areas is not a personal failing.

Gardner H. Intelligence Reframed: Multiple Intelligences for the 21st Century. New York: Basic Books; 1999.

Croizet JC.  The Racism of Intelligence: How Mental Testing Practices Have Constituted an Institutionalized Form of Group Domination . Oxford University Press; 2012.

Ajitha Reddy, The Eugenic Origins of IQ Testing: Implications for Post-Atkins Litigation, 57 DePaul L. Rev. 667 (2008) Available at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/law-review/vol57/iss3/5 

Buschkuehl, M., & Jaeggi, S. M. (2010). Improving intelligence: A literature review. Swiss medical weekly, 140(1920), 266-272.

By Amy Marschall, PsyD Dr. Amy Marschall is an autistic clinical psychologist with ADHD, working with children and adolescents who also identify with these neurotypes among others. She is certified in TF-CBT and telemental health.

• Featured Experts
• Perspectives

Singularity

Dan Roam believes we are all capable of using visual thinking to solve complex problems. His first book, The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas With Pictures , helped ignite a movement of visual innovators and problem solvers. Since then, Dan has written four more books about visual thinking and even launched an online “napkin academy” to help unlock all of our potential to give visual form to ideas.

We spoke with Dan about why visual thinking is such a powerful and underutilized practice for strategy and innovation .

Lisa Kay Solomon: A lot of people confuse visual thinking with drawing. Can you tell us what you mean by visual thinking?

Dan Roam : Visual thinking is intentionally using our visual system—our eyes, our optic nerve, our mind’s eye, our visual neocortex, this incredible machine that we have in our heads—to help us discover ideas that would’ve been invisible if we were just talking about them.

We can also use that system to help us draw out very simple little shapes that help us understand and clarify what we’re seeing in our mind.

And then the beauty of it is, after we’ve discovered these new ideas and drawn pictures of them, we can show the pictures to someone else and, essentially, guarantee they’re seeing the same thing we are. It’s phenomenal.

LKS: Why is visual thinking so important for problem solving and strategy?

DR: These days everything is complicated. Visual thinking allows us to break complex challenges apart into smaller pictures until we see the problem. Looking at the underlying shapes and pieces that make up really complex problems, we find things are not as scary and complicated as they first seemed. Visual thinking helps you get to the essence of a problem.

We’re not going to make complicated things simple, but we can make complicated things clear. And when they’re clear, we can solve them.

LKS: Why is it so important for leaders and innovators to use visual thinking?

DR: Today, the battle is for attention. We’re all so overwhelmed, whether it’s online, in a meeting room, or making a pitch.

The person who draws the picture will get more influence.

There are few things that give you more authority today than being the person who goes up to the whiteboard or flip chart with pen in hand and says, “Wait a minute. We know we’ve got this challenge. Let me draw out what the elements of it are.” Magic is going to happen.

You will find you’ve got the people in the room’s attention now. It’s a form of ‘cognitive ownership’…If I am the person who has the pen, and I’m drawing, I own your attention, pretty much until the moment I stop.

LKS: I went to business school many years ago and spent a lot of time studying numbers and spreadsheets. I did not spend any time learning how to draw out my ideas. Why isn’t this being taught more?

DR:  There are many reasons why visual thinking isn’t taught more. Although most of us drew all the time when we were children, we pretty much had it beaten out of us by second grade because someone said, “That’s a terrible drawing. Dogs don’t look anything like that. I hate that. That’s ugly. You’re a terrible drawer.” At which point, we never drew again. Or someone would say, “You’re so good at that. You should go into art.”

No one ever says, “You’re so good at drawing. You should go into business.”

So, we get off the path.

As we grow up, somehow we get the idea there’s something patronizing or childish about the visual side of something. So, going into a business meeting as a leader, we would never want to do any of that childish stuff.

That is hogwash. Not only is it hogwash, it’s crazy thinking!

Some of my favorite business leaders and remarkable innovators are prolific visual thinkers. People like Steve Jobs, Charles Schwab, Marc Benioff, and Angela Ahrendts. These are business leaders. They drew all of the time.

LKS: What advice would you give to leaders who are eager to make their teams more innovative using visual thinking?

DR: Often when I work with business people they say, “Dan, I really love working visually. But in reality, I do most of my thinking typing emails to my team.” Now, typing an email is fine. It’s a good thinking process, but the trouble is, on the other side, it’s unlikely anybody’s going to really read it.

And then they say to me, “So, I would love to use visuals but they take too long to put together.” And I say, “Well, it’s really simple. How valuable is your idea? Isn’t it worth a little more time to figure out a visual way to work on it, knowing the value on the other side is ten times what you put in?”

You can write all the emails you want and send them out. But it’s going to be a battle of inches, trying to move people ahead.

If you take a little more time and give people the support and incentive to get comfortable with and master visual tools—the result will be magnificent.People will be drawn into problem solving and innovation will happen.

Stock media provided by Sean Prior / Pond5

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Visual Problem Solving

Visual problem-solving is a method where an individual or team uses visual tools such as charts, indicators, diagrams, infographics, and pictures as an integrated part of the problem-solving process to both understand and generate solutions to given problems.

Visual problem-solving has several characteristics, including simplifying complex issues and lends itself to use in business when practised correctly. It has key dependencies, such as access to information.

Problem-solving is a key skill, whether in business or one’s personal life. Selecting and utilizing an appropriate and effective method to support the problem solver is essential.

Visual problem-solving provides a toolset that extends beyond the traditional methods of solutionizing and can help accelerate the process.

In today’s article, we’ll be covering visual problem-solving we’ll be looking to cover:

What is visual problem solving

Visual problem solving and the problem-solving process, visual management as a problem-solving aid..

• Why use visual problem skills

Information and Visual problem solving

Visual problem-solving skills, problem-solving in a visual domain.

• Benefits of visual problem solving

Issues with visual problem solving

Problem-solving is a required skill, whether in business or our personal lives.

Problem-solving involves taking a particular situation where the status is worse than planned and returning it to the state it should be (or improving it).  

We are faced with issues and problems daily, problems that require investigation and resolution, some more important than others, some with higher impacts than others.

To solve problems effectively, we require systems and processes that help support both understanding the issue and root causes, together with developing viable solutions.

In business, assessing, diagnosing and resolving problems is a key enabler of competitiveness.

The types of problems that a business might experience are varied and potentially complex; they might include the following:

• A downturn in customer perception of your business, 
• Rapidly increasing costs
• Reduced output vs plan
• Absenteeism and reduced staffing levels
• Safety issues
• Decreasing quality of products
• New entrants into the market that take market share
• System Security

There are a variety of problem-solving methods that we can deploy. Of key importance is that they are the:

Visual problem-solving has several characteristics that lend it to being deployed:

• It uses imagery/tools to simplify complexity.
• Imagery can be used in any stage of the problem-solving process.
• It can be used by an individual or group.
• It is more appropriate for some types of problems than others.
• It’s a learned skill that a user can become more proficient in through repetition and practice (where visualization used is consistent)
• In some industries, visualization is integrated into the process.

But what do we mean when we use the term visual? What we mean is an artefact, a visual representation relating to the problem being experienced, this could be varied, and examples include: 

• An infographic
• A process map or workflow
• A graphical alert on a computer system
• A whiteboard

We can use a mix of these in a number of ways at each stage of the problem-solving process, for example:

What is the problem? – Graphs, Traffic lights, alerts/icons, RAG Status

What is the impact? – Charts/Graphs

Where is the problem happening? – Maps, Venn diagrams, charts

Why is the problem happening? – Flowcharts, Process maps, diagrams, pictures

When did the problem occur? – Timelines, flowcharts

What is the solution? – Whiteboards, process maps, flow charts, graphs

What is the outcome? – Graphs, charts, icons

Visuals help us present the problem, highlight relationships between influences and articulate why things are happening.

They are effective because the brain sees the images and then translates them within the context of what’s being described enabling us to assimilate complex information at pace.

Visual Problem-solving can be used as a stand-alone methodology or in combination with other methods.

Certain visuals may be better suited to solving particular problems than others.

So, how might we utilize visual problem-solving? Let’s use the example of increased costs.

In this example, we might be faced with numerous methods. We are likely to also be faced with moderate to large sizes of data that will require investigation if we are to ascertain the root cause and deploy appropriate mitigation.

We are faced with two methods:

• Manually analyzing large volumes of data from our financial system.
• Summarising views (perhaps multiple) of financial data, representing costs using visuals which may help Pareto expenditure and help point at root causes

Manually analysing large amounts of information/data is clearly complex and time-consuming.

In this example, a simple Pareto chart of expenditure helps us understand part of the cause, but we then need to dig deeper to get to the root cause.

We can see that the organization buys the same raw material from several suppliers, one of which has increased its price.

In this simple process, we have simplified a complex problem through the use of visual tools (graphs and charts) that we have used to interpret the situation and develop potential solutions.

Importantly, despite using a potentially effective solution, we still need to understand the context of the problem with some knowledge of the business and its activities.

Problem-solving requires a series of steps to be executed in order to understand events leading to current status and develop interventions to correct them.

While there are several variations, most problem-solving is built around some common steps.

• Define the Problem
• Define the goal
• Identify the Root Cause
• Develop & execute an action plan
• Evaluate the Results.

We could look to implement some of these steps into our management review processes so we can apply review and corrective actions as a matter of course, but can we learn anything from industry on how we can apply visual problem-solving more tightly into our processes?

A further example of how visual problem-solving is used, this time in real-time, is in the role of the air traffic controller.

Air traffic controllers utilize inputs from visual displays (be that from radar, positioning, route overlays etc.)and direct interface with pilots. 

These data-driven interfaces not only provide information on the status of air traffic but provide real-time information, which can be interpreted, allowing air traffic controllers to assess problems as they arise and make rapid decisions to remedy the situation.

Clearly, air traffic controllers require a significant deal of domain knowledge (they are, after all, securing people’s lives). This is a further example of how training can help develop people’s ability to interpret simple, contextual information in problem-solving.

Air Traffic control, as you’d expect, is highly complex. How might we utilize these methods in a simpler situation?

The most obvious is that we can apply visual management in the workplace, which can present real-time (or near real-time) information as problems emerge to drive decision-making.  

Let’s consider a modern manufacturing facility with day boards. Shadow boards, alerts and a variety of data displays all of these provide inputs to make real-time decisions in order to drive output to the required standard.

Such systems can be simple, however, in more complex situations, data can appear from various diverse systems, and there is a clear dependency on clean data in order to enable correct decisions.

With some thought, methods such as these can be applied across business functions. 

Ultimately, however the problem is visually presented, there is a requirement for the individual or team to mentally assess and resolve it, especially where the problems have high levels of complexity.  

So tools to support reasoning only help in the process of understanding and determining route cause and possible corrective action; they do not remove the requirement for a level of reasoning completely.

Indeed, without the proper context, incorrect mitigation may be deployed, which might cause further issues.

Implementation of corrective action also requires a degree of planning and execution that probably benefits from other appropriate tools.

Why use visual problem solving

As we discussed in our introduction, problem-solving is one of the more common skills that you’ll utilize in life and business and being adept at analyzing situations that have deviated from the state they should be to one that is underperforming and then developing a logical resolution is a common feature of most day to day’s life.

Given that there are numerous problem-solving skills, why should you use visual problems solving? 

That is probably an inappropriate question, and you should ask yourself which problem-solving technique suits the situation you find yourself in.

Visual problem-solving does have some specific characteristics, such as:

• It can facilitate rapid decision-making based on the interpretation of visual indicators.
• It can simplify complex situations.
• Inputs/Events can be displayed in numerous ways and tuned to specific audiences.
• If a business adopts common ways of displaying information, then users can be trained easily and can become more proficient through further exposure to methodology.

Utilizing common methods of presenting information is something to explore further.  

There are ways that businesses can use common methods of displaying information throughout the business; this can help not only with interpretation but allow everyone within the business to participate by using a common set of indicators.

I personally believe that in utilizing visual-problem solving methods, barriers can be broken down through simplification, allowing for teams to collaborate on the process, in particular, the ability to outsource elements to 3rd parties (sometimes in real-time).  

Once the indicators have been established together with rules around interpretation and prioritization, then it becomes easy to share information.

A key dependency of visual problem-solving is information. Information that can be summarised and visually presented (You can’t chart information if you don’t have the data to begin).

Successful results clearly require not only on presentation but the robustness of the data.

It goes without saying that many organizations find obtaining clean and reliable information for decision-making challenging.

Once they have it choosing an appropriate way of displaying it is another challenge!

Businesses and individuals should consider the use of visual problem-solving carefully if they are likely to face major challenges in obtaining data/information that will be used in the process.

Challenges might include

• Data can’t be obtained
• The data is not clean and has errors
• Disparate data sets cannot be related in a way to make visual problem-solving viable
• Low levels of understanding of what the data represents.
• Incorrect visual methods are used and do not simplify the process.

Problem-solving as a process is still universal and relies on the traditional well-established step-by-step process.

Utilizing visual problem-solving does not replace problem-solving skills per se but does necessitate several skills that, whilst not necessarily unique, are worth bearing in mind.

These skills include:

• Ability to follow a standard step-by-step process
• Ability to select data and appropriate visual indicators that support the methodology
• Ability to Interpret indicators
• Ability to prioritize actions based on indicators (and triage where necessary)
• Ability to analyze data sets (sometimes disconnected data sets)
• Ability to select appropriate graphical representations for use in problem-solving 
• Ability to model what-if scenarios

Visual Problem solving does assume reliance on information, and while there is no implied link between data analysis and presentation, for many, they will be involved in both ends of the process, both gathering data and presenting it in a format that can be used in a problem-solving situation.

In many professions, individuals assess complex situations and make decisions on the basis of visualizations in the workplace.

We have already discussed air traffic controllers who make decisions based on complex graphical representations of real-time air traffic situations.

Other professions who are required to solve complex problems through visualization include doctors, scientists, soldiers etc.

All will utilize technology to capture and present information using visual stimuli to differentiate performance or situations that are to expectations vs those that aren’t; many may have workflows built around situations that don’t meet expectations allowing users to resolve in real-time.

The complexity of these graphical tools varies, but nevertheless, the process is based on problem-solving principles; the individual is required to read the information being presented, interpret it and consider various decision routes and their outcomes ahead of deciding on an appropriate course of action.

As we see more automation in industry, the ability to incorporate visual problem-solving directly into working routines is becoming more common.

Unsurprisingly as individual expertise grows, the ability to more rapidly choose an outcome and a successful outcome increases. 

Benefits of visual problem-solving.

Visual problem-solving can offer many benefits that, include:

• Simplification of the problem-solving process
• Simplication of complex situations
• Rapid resolution of problems (through simplification)
• Use of indicators (colour, shapes etc.) that help triage situations
• Facilitate the wider organization taking part in problem-solving activities
• Can enable outsourcing of optimization activities

As we’ve discussed, there are several issues that you’ll want to explore:

• Reliance on data being accurate
• Visualization does not remove the need for contextual understanding
• Visual tools do not mitigate the need for an effective problem-solving process.
• Likely to require a level of user skill
• Setting up infrastructure for real-time visual problem-solving can take time and cost.

Visual problem-solving offers a part of the problem-solving toolkit (rather than replacing it completely).

The use of Visual Problem-solving shows that given the right situation, businesses have an effective route when solving problems, particularly complex situations which require detailed analysis and summarisation.

The use of visual indicators to help simplify and triage situations can improve the performance of the problem-solving process where it is practical (when considering the dependencies of the method).

There are further advantages that can be obtained when this methodology is built into working processes allowing operators to capture and resolve issues in real time, mitigating the impacts that problems may deliver.

Does your business utilize visual problem-solving? What’s your experience been? Have you seen advantages? As ever, we’d love your contribution to the discussion. You can reach us on Twitter or via the comments section below.

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The 10 Best Problem-Solving Software to Use in 2024

Engineering Team

February 14, 2024

Do you want a solution to help your teams work well together, reduce friction, and speed up productivity?

The best problem-solving software has all the answers for you. Problem-solving software helps find bottlenecks, simplify workflows, and automate tasks to improve efficiency. The result? Communication is easy, and your team enjoys a collaborative work environment.

Problem-solving software gives you the right visualization tools and techniques to better articulate your ideas and concepts.

That’s not all; it also automates repetitive tasks while your team focuses on brainstorming and ideating. 

In this article, we’ll cover the best problem-solving software and highlight its various features, limitations, customer ratings, and pricing details to help you make an informed decision. 

What Should You Look For In Problem-Solving Software? 

1. clickup , 2. omnex systems , 5. meistertask, 6. teamwork, 10. airtable .

Businesses encounter many challenges, from operational inefficiencies and customer complaints to financial discrepancies. 

As your team slowly navigates through these issues, having problem-solving software with the right features will reduce the hassle. Before investing in one, consider some of these following factors:

• User-friendly interface: The software should have an intuitive and easy-to-use interface to minimize the learning curve for users
• Versatility: Look for software that addresses various problem types and complexities. It should be adaptable to different industries and scenarios
• Mind maps and Visualization features: Get yourself problem-solving software solutions that offers mind maps and other visual tricks. It must be a digital canvas for your team to brainstorm ideas, connect the dots, and execute strategies
• AI assistant: If your team is stuck with repetitive mundane tasks, then it’s time you let AI take over. With the right problem-solving tool comes in-built AI that handles  everyday tasks, leaving your team to focus on the important stuff
• Automation capabilities:  Look for problem-solving process that’s all about automation. This way, you ensure efficiency and effectiveness without the grunt work
• Goal tracking: Your efforts improve when you optimize your tracking process. You need goal monitoring and tracking features to ensure you are on track 
• Cost-effectiveness: Look for the features that various plans offer and compare them to choose an option that provides maximum features while the benefits justify the cost 

The 10 Best Problem Solving Software In 2024

While you have many options, select the one with the right features that suit your needs . 

Check out our list of the ten best problem-solving tools to ensure you have the features to solve complex issues effectively: 

Henry Ford once said that success takes care of itself if everyone moves forward together. ClickUp problem-solving software helps you succeed by ensuring all your team members are always on the same page. 

With its live collaboration, you can see if your teammates are looking at or editing documents. Also, edit documents together in real-time. Moreover, any changes on any device are updated instantly, so nobody falls behind. 

The whiteboard feature is super helpful in getting your team together for brainstorming and ideating. As problem-solving involves generating and evaluating multiple ideas, the whiteboard helps write, modify, and build ideas together. 

Now that you have brainstormed on core problems, you must establish a clear visual reference point for ongoing analysis. That’s where the ClickUp mind maps feature stands out. Create a hierarchical structure, with the main problem at the center and subtopics branching out.

Since these maps have interconnections, it is easy to visualize connections between different elements. This feature effectively identifies possible cause-and-effect relationships in a problem.

ClickUp best features 

• Documentation: Address and solve problems by storing and accessing project-related documents in ClickUp Docs
• Mind maps : Identify critical connections, uncover insights, and implement creative approaches by visually mapping relationships between concepts and information with ClickUp Mind Maps
• Task prioritization: Make problem-solving easier for your software developers—sort tasks by urgency. This helps your team focus on the most crucial aspects, making problem resolution more efficient 
• Virtual whiteboards: Enhance collaborative problem-solving and critical thinking through ClickUp Whiteboards . Brainstorm, visualize ideas, and collectively work towards solutions in an interactive setting 
• Goal monitoring: Set and monitor business metrics to address challenges, track progress, and ensure the software development team remains aligned with objectives 
• Custom access rights: Customizing access rights ensures that the right individuals have the necessary permissions to contribute to problem resolution 
• ClickUp AI: Use ClickUp AI to automate repetitive tasks, analyze data for insights, and enhance productivity in tackling complex problems 

ClickUp limitations 

• Learning curve is involved in fully grasping all features and capabilities

ClickUp pricing

• Free Forever Plan 
• Unlimited Plan: $7 per month per user
• Business Plan : $12 per month per user
• Business Plus Plan : $19 per month per user
• Enterprise Plan : custom pricing 
• ClickUp AI: $5 per Workspace on all paid plans

ClickUp ratings and reviews

• G2: 4.7/5 (2,000+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.7/5 (2,000+ reviews)

Omnex’s problem-solving software has many helpful features to track, manage, and solve problems quickly. It’s a one-stop shop for dealing with internal and external issues. 

The platform is also customer-centric, which responds to customers in their preferred formats. This ensures a tailored and user-friendly experience, further enhancing problem resolution through seamless interaction with stakeholders. 

Omnex best features 

• Define timelines and metrics for problem resolution 
• Leverage several problem-solving tools, such as 5Why, Is/Is Not, etc
• Respond to customers in various formats, including 8D, 7D, and PRR

Omnex limitations

• Initiating projects involves many steps
• Temporary delays may occur

Omnex pricing 

• Omnex has custom pricing plans 

Hive is another excellent platform to instruct your teams better while solving complex challenges and enhancing their problem-solving skills. It’s highly interactive and lets all your team members view what’s happening and express their opinions simultaneously. 

Collaborative work management helps you solve issues effectively. Hive is your virtual file cabinet where sharing documents with different teams and collaboratively working becomes more accessible. 

Hive best features

• User-friendly interface ensures seamless navigation
• Gantt view helps in mapping out project timelines
• Project hierarchies allow for easy task execution
• Kanban view allows you to understand progress better

Hive limitations 

• Being a relatively new tool, it needs frequent updates and additional features
• There are occasional bugs that slow down processes
• Locating notes from tasks and meetings is time-consuming
• Auto-generated reports are not always accurate
• Apart from ticketing, the platform needs some intuitive features

Hive pricing 

• Teams: $12 per month per user
• Enterprise: custom plans

Hive customer ratings

• G2: 4.6/5 (480+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.5/5 (190+ reviews)

Asana is a popular problem-solving tool that speeds up decision-making . It improves project management , and its many integrations are useful. The well-organized project documents make it easy to find what you need quickly.

It’s excellent for managing many small projects and suitable for teams without complex workflows or collaboration features.

Asana best features 

• The rules and workflow feature helps automate repeating activities
• Customizable workflows help teams adapt the tool to their unique needs
• For easy understanding, organize tasks as a list, calendar, timeline, Gantt chart, or Kanban board
• Integrate with popular tools and apps such as Google Drive, Dropbox, Slack, Zoom, Microsoft, etc. 

Asana limitations

• Inefficient for handling larger projects with sub-projects and multiple workstreams
• Limited capability to measure project deviations from original plans
• Lack of comprehensive workflows and customizable animations, a feature some competitors offer
• Pricing is less favorable for smaller teams; advanced features like custom fields, portfolios, and timeline views are only available in premium plans

Asana pricing 

• Personal (free)
• Starter: $10.99 per month per user
• Advanced: $24.99 per month per user 

Asana customer ratings 

• G2: 4.3/5 (9,520+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.5/5 (12,290+ reviews) 

Mesitertask is one of those problem-solving tools that offers strong kanban boards. These boards visualize the workflow and make it easier to identify bottlenecks and trace issues back to their source. Such visualizing features are similar to the ones found in the best root cause analysis tools . 

A customizable drag-and-drop feature further allows users to rearrange and prioritize tasks easily. Therefore, your team members will easily play around the field and segregate tasks effectively. 

Meistertask best features 

• Gain a visual representation of task timelines with a timeline view
• Streamline processes with automated workflows
• Easily categorize and prioritize tasks within sections 
• Monitor and analyze time spent on tasks for valuable insights

Meistertask limitations 

• Unnecessary negative space impacts task visibility
• Limited report and analytics features, not accessible offline
• Confusing registration process

Meistertask pricing

• Basic (free)
• Pro: $6.50 per month per user 
• Business: $12 per month per user 
• Enterprise: custom pricing 

Meister task ratings and reviews 

• G2: 4.6/5 (170+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.7/5 (1130+ reviews) 

Teamwork is another viable problem-solving software dealing with operational challenges. It provides a clear overview of task assignments, project profitability, and other essential details. 

When combined with effective brainstorming techniques , such a clear division of work will help you solve complex issues faster. 

Teamwork features 

• Get four distinct project views, including List, Table, Boards, and Gantt
• Efficient task management simplifies the process of creating and assigning tasks to users, enhancing team collaboration  
• The time tracking feature helps determine billable hours, aiding in project budgeting and resource allocation
• Standard communication features, such as commenting and mentioning coworkers, are seamlessly integrated, promoting practical collaboration 

Teamwork limitations 

• You need to subscribe to premium plans to unlock advanced features
• The user interface is intricate and poses a challenge for some users
• Certain features, like the reminder function, do not operate on mobile apps
• Continuous email notifications have the potential to disrupt focus, as not all updates or status changes are crucial

Teamwork Pricing 

• Free Forever
• Starter: $5.99 per month per user 
• Deliver: $9.99 per month per user
• Grow: $19.99 per month per user 
• Scale: custom pricing 

Teamwork Customer Ratings 

• G2: 4.4/5 (1,070+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.5/5 (830+ reviews)

Trello is another good option if you are searching for efficient problem-solving software. With powerful task management tools, it ensures you handle your issues efficiently. 

However, Trello’s communication and collaboration tools are not up to the mark compared to other problem-solving tools. Also, it relies heavily on integrations to do the heavy lifting.

Trello Features 

• Streamline your workflow effortlessly by arranging tasks with a simple drag-and-drop interface
• The project map feature gives a complete overview to help you visualize tasks, dependencies, and progress at a glance
• Focus on what matters the most and prioritize tasks effectively with its intuitive tools 
• Stay on top of your responsibilities with dynamic to-do lists

Trello Limitations 

• The free version imposes limitations on file attachments, a lack of advanced integrations, and automation
• Manually arranging Trello cards one by one is a time-consuming task
• There is a lack of functionality for creating a comprehensive dashboard or Gantt chart to provide a clear overview
• The absence of restrictions on card movement poses a security risk, with anyone accessing and potentially disrupting the board
• Trello becomes less practical when the board becomes densely populated with cards

Trello pricing 

• Standard: $5 per month per user 
• Premium: $10 per month per user 
• Enterprise: $17.50 per month per user 

Trello customer ratings 

• G2: 4.4/5 (13,000+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.5/5 (23,000+ reviews)

Wrike is one of the preferred project management collaboration tools that help businesses of all sizes. With preconfigured templates for tasks, workflows, and communication, it takes the burden off your shoulders. 

It also has a user-friendly dashboard with enterprise-grade tools to manage recurring and one-time projects. 

Wrike best features 

• Planning tools to outline tasks, set deadlines, and allocate resources
• A clear visual overview helps in identifying potential challenges
• Detailed reports to analyze project performance
• Helps efficiently address issues by prioritizing tasks

Wrike limitations 

• There are no options to view projects on the Kanban board (only tasks)
• Basic project management features are missing, such as time breaks for a task
• Pricing remains on the higher end

Wrike pricing 

• Professional variant: $9.80 per month per user 
• Business variant: $24.80 per month per user 

Wrike customer ratings 

• G2: 4.2/5 (3500+ reviews) 
• Capterra: 4.3/5 (2540+ reviews) 

Monday is a cloud-based open platform, allowing businesses to collaborate better on projects. Explore many pre-built templates or create one from scratch depending on what you need. 

Monday best features

• Streamline workflows by making bulk changes efficiently
• Plan and organize tasks effectively with powerful scheduling tools
• Keep a detailed record of project activities, providing transparency and aiding in tracking progress, which is critical for troubleshooting and resolving issues
• Gain valuable insights through customizable views and comprehensive reporting, facilitating data-driven decision-making

Monday limitations 

• There is a minimum team size of three required for paid plans 
• The free trial lasts only for 14 days
• Advanced features like time tracking are only available in premium plans 

Monday pricing 

• Basic: $8 per month per user 
• Standard: $10 per month per user 
• Pro: $16 per month per user 
• Enterprise: custom pricing

Monday customer ratings

• G2: 4.7/5 (9,570+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.6/5 (4,430+ reviews)

Airtable is a cloud-based collaboration platform that combines the simplicity of a spreadsheet with the complexity of a relational database.

It allows users to create and manage databases, spreadsheets, and other types of structured data in a flexible and user-friendly way. With its user-friendly interface,  you will quickly organize and track crucial information for problem-solving. 

Airtable best features

• Supports real-time collaboration 
• Attach files, images, and other multimedia directly to records
• Highlight and format cells based on specific conditions with conditional formatting
• Use pre-built templates for different use cases 

Airtable limitations

• While the interface is user-friendly, users unfamiliar with databases may find it initially complex
• For extremely large datasets or complex relationships, Airtable may face performance challenges
• As a cloud-based platform, it relies on an internet connection, and lack of connectivity may hinder problem-solving efforts

Airtable pricing 

• Team: $20 per month per user
• Business: $45 per month per user 

Airtable customer ratings

• G2: 4.6/5 (2,180+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.7/5 (1920+ reviews)

Solve Problems to Drive Successful Business Outcomes

It is best to invest in problem-solving software to ensure that problems do not bog down your team and that you have the tools to solve and focus on strategic work. Our list of the ten best problem-solving software should help you find the right fit for your organization. 

Thousands of businesses of all sizes choose ClickUp. With ClickUp, you get different tools to map your project, divide tasks, view the interdependence of tasks, allocate resources, and resolve bugs on time. Whether improving team productivity or identifying and squashing bugs, ClickUp does it all!  

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Resolve problems, permanently

A visual workspace for collaborative problem solving and root cause analysis with AI-powered recommendations. Empower your teams to be more effective and efficient in resolving problems and prevent their recurrence.

ProSolvr RCA Fishbone Templates & Blogs

AI-driven visual analysis

Transforming your problem resolution

Structured Investigations

Accelerate your problem resolution with the power of visual collaboration

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Jumpstart investigations and resolve issues efficiently using pre-built templates

AI-based Recommendations

Built-in Recommendation Engine analyzes and provides data-driven insights for new problems from AI-based symptom matching

AI-powered Root Cause Analysis

Our patented technology – Investigation Maps with data-driven insights – provides a structured visual workspace for efficient root cause analysis and effective problem resolution.

How you can benefit

Efficiently resolve all problems

Reduce Resolution Times

Business-critical problems cause revenue loss and reputational damage. We reduce average resolution times for complex problems by up to 50%.

Enhance Reliability

Identify true root causes and avoid repeated issues through in-depth RCA. ProSolvr improves the reliability of your systems and services.

Easy Knowledge Reuse

Reduce duplication of work, easily reuse expert knowledge within and outside your team through solution and cause recommendations.

Efficient Collaboration

Boost shared understanding through visual tools. Reduce the burden of out-of-context linear textual communication like notes and emails.

Effortless Problem Solving

Complex problems distract from your regular business operations and functions. We reduce your problem solving effort by upto 30%.

Increase Team Productivity

ProSolvr helps to upskill newer team members, helping them accomplish more in less time and with much less training.

Use it for any type of problem solving

Complex cross-functional problems, distributed teams, problem analysis and rca of aircraft incidents.

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Investigate defects or failures of products

Analyze malfunctions and failures in medical devices.

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In-depth analysis of problems in financial systems

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"Knowledge Visualization and Effective Incident Management"

There is an urgent need of such a VISUAL tool in the area of Problem solving, Knowledge analysis and Incident management. This innovative tool serves a greater purpose.

Phaniendra Somraj

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"ProSolvr revolutionizes problem management"

ProSolvr revolutionizes problem management with real-time visualization, AI recommendations, and simplified reporting, making it essential for efficient process improvement. This tool can be used in many different industries and truly enforces the collaboration and knowledge sharing between teams members. I do recommend this innovative tool.

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"It provides a clear visualization of Incidents"

It provides a clear visualization of your Incidents that allows management to understand and fix processes in realtime. Very good login and onboarding process. The process flow was really good as the associations are tracked well. Autogenerating sample problems is a good features to have a template from which we can start building. Audit Data and History gives a very good feature for the Incident Managers to track changes clearly.

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“ProSolvr is just brilliant! It solves the pain points of my IT Ops Team.”

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"ProSolvr reduces the friction of collaboration and the burden of discovering relevant knowledge to a fraction of original."

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"This product is awesome, today all of this is done in plain text and it is very inefficient."

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Stanford PhD, Founder & CEO

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Visual Problem Maps

In ProSolvr we have taken the basic Fishbone root cause analysis technique and transformed it into ‘Problem Maps’...

Effective Root Cause Analysis

Do you have operational or technical problems that linger? Thought you had squashed it last time, only to have the multi-headed monster come back?...

Enhancing Reliability

ProSolvr enables efficient collaborative resolution of problems and incidents. Our intelligent workspace with visual problem maps...

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Scaling Ratios on the Double Number Line

Using addition and subtraction to make 10, scaling ratios in the ratio table, adding integers – adding a negative, multiplying and dividing negative numbers, latest videos, real world integer multiplication, visualizing area of a rectangle, more exponential growth patterns, visualizing powers through exponential growth patterns, multiplying negative integers through, subtracting negative numbers, real world integer subtraction, visualizing the area of a parallelogram formula, visualizing the area of a triangle formula, subtract fractions by finding the range of a dataset, add and subtract fractions through data literacy, using distributive property for 2-digit multiplication, exploring multiplication properties through doubling and halving, scaling ratios to solve proportions, fractions, percent and relative frequency, constructing linear equations from a graph with rise over run, growing geometric patterns, using the graph of a linear relationship to make predictions, visual patterns, adding, subtracting and multiplying fractions and decimals using the money model, adding fractions and decimals using the money model, visualizing measures of central tendency on the number line, building flexibility with magnitude of number using number lines, scaling ratios as a composed unit with tape diagrams, visualizing the volume of a cylinder, revealing equivalent ratios by scaling in tandem, where does the area of a circle formula come from, how to find the circumference of a circle using pi, π, partitive division of whole numbers revealing a fractional quotient, area of composite figures with non-standard units, multiplicative comparison with volume.

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Visual literacy : a conceptual approach to graphic problem solving

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