Problem solving is a skill that comes naturally to some people. Others have to acquire it through hard work and practice. In any case, the skill, once developed well, can help you in all areas of life.
Having solved technical problems for my clients for over 10 years, I believe I’m in a position to offer some tips on the same.
Lesson #1: There’s not just one way to solve a problem. I remember during my time in college, I often tried to ‘remember’ how to solve a given problem. That was the incorrect approach.
Even if you find a solution in a guidebook, try solving it in a different way. Even if you don’t succeed, you’ll become familiar with a number of other problem solving techniques and concepts that you had never paid attention to.
Lesson #2: Look out for the root cause. Each problem has a fundamental cause. I often tell my IT support team to not just look out for the solution but the turn of events that possibly lead to backup failure, operating system crash, network connectivity issues etc.
Do not expect to arrive at the solution in the first ago especially if it’s mathematics. You’ll have to think hard in the beginning before you can get anywhere near to the basics.
Lesson #3: After having headed managed IT support teams for years, I realized that a proactive approach worked the best. Identify a set of problems that you know are likely to come around and tease your clients first. Then, keep them from happening.
In academics, you cannot possibly do that but the takeaway for you is that you too can identify specific topics in various areas such as trigonometry, calculus or anything else that leave you with no choice but some cramming and pre-planned problem solving strategies.
This post is written by Apixel IT Support – and IT Service Company with over 5 years of experience in asset management. Through its consultancy service in Singapore, it has helped a number of organizations to update their asset management and integrate it with sophisticated IT Support.