Productive Thinking Model

Method to find creative solutions to well defined problems. Ask yourself these questions...

1. Ask "What's going on?"

Understand the problem better...

What's the problem exactly?
What's the impact of this problem?
What do I already know? What information do I have?
Who is involved in this?
What's the vision of the future when this problem is solved?(Target Future)

2. Ask "What's success?"

Use the DRIVE framework to come up with success criteria:

What will the solution do?
What are the restrictions? What must it not do?
What resources can we invest in this?
What values should the solution have?
What are the essential outcomes?

3. Ask "What's the question?" (Catalytic questions)

Use the information you've gathered in the previous steps. Phrases like "How might we...?" or "How can I...?" will help you formulate the questions that must be answered to achieve your vision (the Target Future).

Generate answers

Brainstorm as many answers to the catalytic questions as you can.

Forge the solution

Choose the best solution before developing it further. Take your list from the previous step and evaluate each idea/solution against the success criteria. Think What could make it better? How can you make it fit the success criteria more?

Align resources

Which actions and resources are necessary to make this happen?
Who are responsible for it – in whole as well as each part of the solution?