Simplex Process
Most people spend too much time solving problems and not enough time finding them. The most creative act is not generating ideas — it's noticing the right problems to solve.
The Basadur Simplex Process is a rigorous 8-step creative problem-solving cycle that begins where most frameworks don't — with proactive problem finding. Developed by Michael Basadur at Procter & Gamble and refined at McMaster University, it pairs divergent and convergent thinking at every step to produce concrete outputs at each stage: from a vague 'fuzzy situation' all the way to an implemented, stakeholder-accepted solution. Unlike generic brainstorming, Simplex treats problem formulation as serious intellectual work before any solution generation begins.
“Our product team keeps shipping features but customer adoption is terrible. We've tried user interviews, redesigned onboarding twice, and nothing…”
Find the right problem first, then solve it — eight steps from fuzzy to fixed
The Simplex Process is an 8-step cyclical wheel organized into three macro-phases, each step using a paired diverge-then-converge structure. Phase 1 (Problem Formulation) begins with Problem Finding — proactively sensing fuzzy situations before they become crises — followed by Fact Finding to gather relevant information, and Problem Definition to craft a 'How Might We…?' springboard statement that opens solution space. Phase 2 (Solution Formulation) uses Idea Finding to generate creative options without judgment, then Evaluate & Select to assess ideas against user-defined criteria. Phase 3 (Solution Implementation) produces an Action Plan with concrete tasks and timelines, a Gaining Acceptance strategy that anticipates stakeholder resistance before execution, and Taking Action — which naturally surfaces new problems and restarts the cycle. A validated thinking-style instrument, the Basadur Profile, identifies whether individuals lean toward Generator, Conceptualizer, Optimizer, or Implementor modes across the wheel.
Most teams jump straight to solutions before they've properly defined the problem — or they're solving a symptom while the real issue festers underneath. Generic brainstorming produces long lists of ideas that go nowhere because no one asked the right question first. The Simplex Process attacks this root cause: the fuzzy front end, where most innovation efforts quietly collapse before they even begin.
By walking every step of the Simplex cycle — from sensing a fuzzy situation to executing a stakeholder-accepted plan — you'll stop solving the wrong problems faster and start delivering solutions that stick because the right people helped shape them.
- A fuzzy situation, nagging challenge, or half-formed opportunity you can't quite articulate
- Relevant facts, observations, and feelings about the situation — even incomplete or contradictory ones
- Criteria you actually care about when evaluating potential solutions
- Knowledge of the stakeholders who will need to support or approve the solution
- A crisp 'How Might We…?' springboard statement that reframes your problem at the right level of abstraction
- A structured idea list evaluated against your own criteria — not just the loudest idea in the room
- A concrete action plan with tasks, owners, timelines, and success metrics
- A stakeholder acceptance strategy that anticipates resistance before it derails implementation
Watch the methodology work.
Three specimens from a single real session: the same situation, unaided and calibrated, the full transcript, and the skill answering live in the channel where the work happens.
“Your team is in its fifth meeting about a feature with 12% adoption. Someone wants another round of user interviews. Someone else is convinced it's an onboarding problem. A third person thinks it's a marketing message issue. You're debating solutions with no agreed-upon problem statement, and the next sprint starts in two days.”
“You've completed Simplex's Problem Formulation phase. The whole team owns a single 'How Might We' springboard statement. You have an idea shortlist evaluated against explicit criteria — not whoever spoke loudest. You know which three stakeholders need to approve the top idea and what each one's objections will be. The next sprint has a concrete first action, not another brainstorm.”
The same skill, where the work happens.
No new app to learn. The methodology runs over the WhatsApp Business API, so the answer lands as a reply in the thread you’re already in — same rigour, zero context-switch.
What it does, specifically.
Each capability is a distinct move drawn straight from the source methodology — not a generic assistant guessing.
Fuzzy Front End Navigation
Most problem-solving methods start too late — with a problem already declared. Simplex starts earlier, in the 'fuzzy front end' where you sense that something is wrong but can't fully articulate it yet. This capability helps you generate a rich list of potential problem areas before committing to any single definition, using Basadur's divergent Problem Finding techniques to surface hidden challenges.
How Might We Statement Crafting
The single most powerful output of Simplex's Problem Formulation phase is a well-formed 'How Might We…?' question at the right level of abstraction. Too narrow and it locks in a predetermined solution; too broad and it generates unusable ideas. This capability uses Basadur's laddering and springboard techniques to find the precise framing that opens a rich solution space.
Diverge-Converge Facilitation
Every one of Simplex's 8 steps follows the same micro-pattern: first diverge (generate without judgment), then converge (select with criteria). This capability enforces that structure throughout the session, preventing premature closure during generation phases and ensuring rigorous, criteria-based selection afterward. Users who mix these modes often mistake the first plausible idea for the best one.
Thinking Style Calibration
Basadur's research identified four natural thinking styles corresponding to positions on the Simplex wheel: Generators (problem sensing and finding), Conceptualizers (abstract idea generation), Optimizers (evaluation and refinement), and Implementors (action-taking and execution). Understanding your dominant style — and your team's gaps — lets you direct attention to the steps where you're naturally weakest, not just where you're most comfortable.
Stakeholder Acceptance Mapping
Implementation fails not because the idea was wrong, but because the people who needed to say yes never did. Simplex dedicates an entire step — Step 7, Gaining Acceptance — to identifying key stakeholders, anticipating their specific objections, and designing persuasion strategies before execution begins. This turns stakeholder management from an afterthought into a designed creative activity.
Graded before it shipped.
Every skill is scored against independent scenarios for methodology fidelity before it goes live — not vibes, a rubric.
How Might We Springboard Statement
A precisely crafted 'How Might We…?' question at the right level of abstraction, including the reframing rationale, alternative framings considered and rejected, and notes on why this level of scope was chosen. The team's shared problem definition.
Idea Evaluation Matrix
A structured grid mapping generated ideas against user-defined selection criteria — speed, feasibility, impact, stakeholder support — with convergent scoring that surfaces the most promising option rather than the most vocal one.
Stakeholder Acceptance Plan
A named-stakeholder map with anticipated objections and tailored persuasion strategies for each key influencer, completed before execution begins. Designed to prevent the implementation derailment that kills most good solutions.
Simplex Session Summary
A structured record of all divergent outputs and convergent decisions from each completed phase — fuzzy problem lists, HMW statement, selected ideas, action commitments, and next steps — usable as a team communication artifact or handoff document.
Grounded in the original work.
Every answer traces back to a real source and the practitioner who wrote it — not a secondhand summary. Here is the source of record.
Min (Michael) Basadur
Min (Michael) Basadur is the creator of the Simplex creative problem-solving system, developed during his tenure leading innovation at Procter & Gamble and refined over decades as Professor Emeritus at McMaster University's DeGroote School of Business. His methodology has been deployed in corporate innovation programs at P&G, Toyota, and Frito-Lay, and he developed the Basadur Profile — a validated psychometric instrument for assessing creative thinking styles — used in organizational development programs worldwide.
The Power of Innovation (1995); Simplex: A Flight to Creativity (1994)
Creator of Simplex CPS; former innovation leader at Procter & Gamble; Professor Emeritus, McMaster University DeGroote School of Business; developer of the Basadur Profile validated psychometric assessment.
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