I had a very interesting discussion today about the generic process for getting things done.  At a very high level, all objectives are problems to be solved.

Philosophically, whether you are performing a service, investing, building products, communicating or any  other action focused on achieving a goal,  the outcome solves the problem that motivated the action in the first place.

So conceptually we are all problem solvers.

Basic Methodology

Step one is to gather information.  What do we know about the problem.  This is basic data gathering that enables us to formulate what we are going to do (our objective) to solve the problem.

This step in standard project methodology is the initiation phase.

Step two is to solution development.  What actions are we going to take to solvethe problem.  This step includes data analysis, feasibility, resource and scheduling.

This is the planning phase.

Step Three is executing the plan from the previous step.  This is the build phase where the work is undertaken  to develop/ produce whatever is needed to actually solve the problem.  This includes intangible solutions, like a service or intellectual property development.

In project methodology this is the execution phase.

The final step is completion.  That is releasing the solution so it is put in practice and the problem is solved.

This is known as the closing phase in project methodology.

Not neccessarily a project

Although I have made references to project methodology this generic problem solving process can be personalized effort, operational or any other underlying drive.  It might not be projectized but the methodology described is an orderly way to increase the probability that the problem will be solved, i.e., the goal achieved.