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Simple & Pragmatic Problem Solving
#28Chapter 5: Individual Creative Option Generation• Individual Creative Optionslogical Thinkingindividual and group Mode1-2 hours(Average)

Analysis of Past Solutions

From the book "Advanced Problem-Solving Toolbox: 115 Creative Plays" | Compiled & Edited by: Mojtaba Goudarzi, Open translation: Mehrshid Goudarzi
Executive Synopsis & Core Logic:

Autopsies of historical records of previous successful and unsuccessful efforts by other cities or companies to prevent reinventing the wheel.

Operational Parameters & Specifications

Category
Individual Creative Options
Dominant Thinking
logical
Participation
individual and group
Estimated TimeAverage
1-2 hours
Medium
Input Format
Documentation and empirical records
Output Format
Idea generation
Key Application
Solving urban management challenges, macro policies, and costly investment decisions.
Core Differentiator:

Focusing on why past solutions failed and succeeded and reverse engineering historical experiences for today's conditions.

Quick Field Example:

Solving the traffic crisis of a metropolis by examining the experiences of highway construction, even and odd, and traffic planning in the world's leading cities.

Operational Benefits & Implementation Risks

Advantages & Value Creation:

Huge financial savings, avoiding repeating past mistakes, fast access to tried and tested models.

Risks & Potential Trade-offs:

Risk of blind copying regardless of contextual differences and local conditions.

Real-World Organizational & Industry Scenarios

Urban management and traffic: designing urban transportation systems based on the experiences of Tokyo, London or Bogota.
Marketing and Product Development: Analyzing the failure of past similar projects in the company and fixing their errors.
Enterprise crisis management: using past protocols in the face of a server outage or public relations crisis.

Strategic Rationale & Why to Apply

1Avoid repeating costly mistakes: learn from past failures without paying the heavy price again.
2Inspired by recorded victories: building on the achievements of predecessors rather than starting from scratch.
3Understanding the evolution of the times: Assessing what factors previously hindered the success of a good idea and whether they have now been removed.
4Accelerating strategic plan development: access to evaluated frameworks in the shortest time.

Conceptual Framework & Book Method Description

In the "Analysis of Past Solutions" technique, we believe that the past is the best teacher.

Instead of guessing, we open the archive of the company's past projects and the experiences of the world's leading players. By examining the strengths, weaknesses and dead ends of the previous solutions, we design a modern and refined version that fits the current conditions.

Step-by-Step Real-World Implementation Scenario

Scenario: curbing chronic traffic congestion in the city center by analyzing historical solutions
1
Step 1: Documenting the past experiences and solutions of the cityExamining 3 solutions implemented in the last decade: 1) Street widening (failure due to induced demand) 2) Even and odd traffic plan (failure due to bypassing license plates) 3) Increasing traffic lights (failure due to frequent stops).
2
Step 2: Analyzing the reasons for the failure of previous measuresRealizing that street widening only brought more cars to the city center without increasing the attractiveness of public transportation.
3
Step 3: Search for successful models of leading citiesAnalysis of London's Congestion Charge model and Bogota's Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system.
4
Step 4: Localize and combine the best solutionsDesigning a hybrid package: allocating revenues from smart tolls entering the city center to modernize the bus fleet and create dedicated bike lanes.
5
Step 5: Implementation and continuous monitoring of the results25% reduction in the volume of traffic in the city center in the first 6 months with public acceptance due to the obvious improvement of the bus fleet.

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Previous Play (#27)
Analogies and Metaphors
Next Play (#29)
Association
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