A good way to do this is to review the literature and databases available online. In situations where the focus of the problem seems to be on the external environment, we can conduct market research. Going back to our problem of declining revenue, we could ask a sample of people who bought our competitor's improved product why they bought it and not ours. This will almost always lead to new insights into the problem and its possible solutions. We should also survey others who may have encountered similar problems.
Resident experts are another source of background information.
One of the hidden perils of jumping to a solution is that it will cloud the perception of the very facts that are truly germane to the problem. When we jump to solutions, we run the risk of coming up with a fine solution that has nothing to do with the problem at hand. To do a good job at background analysis, we must put a hold on all solutions until we have determined what the problem is, when it started, and how serious it is. The second pitfall usually appears later in the analysis process. Don't accept such comments without further investigation.