Problem solving is the systematic process of identifying, analyzing, and resolving challenges through structured frameworks and creative thinking techniques. It spans from tactical troubleshooting to strategic decision-making and applies across business, engineering, operations, and personal contexts. The key distinction: effective problem solving addresses root causes, not symptoms, using a combination of analytical rigor, creative exploration, and validated decision criteria. Whether dissecting failures through root cause analysis or forecasting scenarios for strategic planning, mastering problem solving means choosing the right tool for the challenge at hand—and knowing when to pivot between analytical depth and creative breadth.
What This Cheat Sheet Covers
This topic spans 10 focused tables and 65 indexed concepts, 64 flashcards, 3 practice tests with 85 questions. Below is a complete table-by-table outline of this topic, spanning foundational concepts through advanced details.
A jump-to index of every table row in this cheat sheet.
An interactive map of every table and concept in this topic.
Table 1: Root Cause Analysis Techniques
Fixing a symptom feels productive but lets the real problem come back, so these methods are built to drill past the surface to the cause underneath. The 5 Whys handles simple chains, a fishbone diagram opens up every possible category at once, and Pareto analysis tells you which few causes are worth your effort. Each one is a different lens on the same goal: treating the disease, not just the fever.
| Method | Example | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|
Problem: Server crashed. Why? Memory exceeded. Why? Memory leak. Why? Unclosed connections. Why? No connection pooling. Why? Legacy code never updated. | • Iterative questioning technique that asks "why?" repeatedly (typically 5 times, though the real count depends on the problem) to drill down from symptom to underlying cause • simple but effective for straightforward issues, though complex failures often have more than one contributing cause. | ||
Categories: People, Process, Equipment, Materials, Environment, Management → branches showing potential causes leading to "Effect: Late deliveries" | • Visual diagram organizing potential causes into 6 starter categories (6M: Man, Machine, Method, Material, Measurement, Mother Nature) that teams are meant to rename or adapt to fit their own process • excellent for brainstorming all possibilities before narrowing focus; the finished diagram lists candidate causes, it does not by itself confirm which one is the true root cause. | ||
Bar chart shows 3 defect types cause 80% of failures; focus fixes on those 3. | • Identifies the vital few causes responsible for the majority of effects, a rule of thumb pattern seen in real data rather than an exact 80/20 math split • prioritizes effort on high-impact issues rather than spreading resources thin. | ||
IS: Affects Product A, started Tuesday. IS NOT: Doesn't affect Product B, not Monday. | • Structured side by side comparison of what IS the problem versus what IS NOT, across dimensions like what, where, when, and who, to isolate the one distinction that points to the root cause • highly systematic and data-driven. | ||
Top event: System failure → AND/OR gates → Component failures, human errors, environmental factors | • Uses Boolean logic gates such as AND and OR to map how combinations of lower-level failures lead to a top-level event, unlike a fishbone diagram, which only sorts possible causes into categories • useful for complex systems with multiple failure paths and dependencies; recognized by OSHA as an acceptable method for process hazard analysis. | ||
Compare "before defect" vs "after defect" states → identify what changed (new supplier, new process, new operator) | • Looks backward at what changed before an adverse event appeared, comparing it to a prior problem free state • effective when issues arise suddenly after a period of stable operation, unlike FMEA, which looks forward to prevent failures before they occur. | ||
Hazard: chemical spill → Barriers: containment, PPE, training → Identify which barriers failed or were missing | • Also called Hazard-Barrier-Target analysis; maps the barriers (controls, safeguards) between a hazard and a target, then identifies which barrier failed or was missing • common in safety and risk management. |