The American space agency, NASA, plus many other companies around the world have adopted a new way of thinking that teaches their employees how to problem solve and communicate like never before. NASA uses this method in all aspects of its mission, but the process was initially introduced through its ISO 9000 quality programme. The method, developed by Dean L. Gano, was developed for the nuclear power industry following the Three Mile Island incident in 1979. After years of studying and teaching problem solving, Gano devised a simple structured approach in 1990 that allows anyone with basic communications skills to find effective solutions to almost any kind of problem. Before we get into these simple tools, we first need to understand the common barriers to effective problem solving.
Effective problem solving means the prevention of the problem from occurring again.
This last distinction is necessary because we often implement solutions and never confirm their effectiveness. Then, when the problem occurs again in a slightly different form, we don't recognise our failure to prevent recurrence in the first place. None of these problems have a single right answer. Rather, they can have many answers - and they range from good, to better, to best. Furthermore, rule-based thinking prevents learning and creativity.