The first step in the problem solving process is the ‘diagnosis’ – process step. One
starts typically with the tools from the category ‘define the situation’, followed by
‘information gathering’ tools in order to investigate and search for information (see
figure 19 and table 2). Sometimes, in addition, creativity tools come into play to
promote the ‘outside the box thinking’ and a ‘bigger picture’ view of the situation
in order to have a better understanding of the root causes to the problem.