Creative Problem Solving is a proven method for approaching a problem or a challenge in an imaginative and innovative way.  It’s a tool that helps people re-define the problems they face, come up with breakthrough ideas and then take action on these new ideas.

Alex Osborn and Sidney Parnes conducted extensive research on the steps that are involved when people solve problems, the result of which is the following 6 steps that are broken down into 3 stages:

Explore the challenge: OF – Objective Finding FF – Fact Finding PF – Problem Finding Generate Ideas: IF - Idea Finding Prepare for Action: SF – Solution Finding AF – Acceptance Finding

At the same time that CPS is a structured process, it’s also a very flexible one.  When you begin to use and internalize the CPS process, you find that it's cyclical.  You begin to see how to move from step to step, and how to jump back and forth between steps.  When using CPS becomes part of your own way of thinking and working, you can use one step at a time, as you need it, when you need it.  Once you understand the fundamentals of CPS, you can adapt this process to every situation you encounter, thereby realizing its power.