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Friend, M., & Cook, L. (2014). Interactions: Collaboration skills for school professionals. New York: Longman, Chapter 5.

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Once the implementation process is complete, it is time to evaluate the results of the solution. First and foremost, teams should determine if the goal has been reached. Second, they should evaluate the group members' satisfaction with the solution and its results. The evaluation will spur different courses of action, depending on the success of the solution.

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Once team members select the most appropriate solution for the problem, it is time to put their resources together to implement the solution. Friend and Cook, 2014, list several finalizing implementation plans: making detailed arrangement, setting up criteria for success, and scheduling time for evaluation of outcomes. During implementation, it is important to continue to rely on your team for success, "During implementation, you rely on the commitment and expertise of those in your problem-solving setting," (Friend and Cook, 2014, p. 124).

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After evaluating potential solutions, groups will select the most appropriate solution to the problem. Several factors play into the selection of the solution: intrusiveness, feasibility, and personal preference. Personal preference is dependent on the group members, especially those who will implement the solution.

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The ideas generated are then evaluated to determine which solutions to implement. Friend and Cook, 2014, suggest two problem solving steps. The first is determining the positives and negatives of each potential solution created. The second is outlining the process required to implement each potential solution.

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"The purpose of the second major step of problem solving is to stimulate the creation of the maximum number of potential solutions by the widest range of participants," (Friend & Cook, 2014, p. 117). Participants may work to generate solutions through two activities--brainstorming and brainwriting. Brainstorming involves considering and naming ideas within a group discussion, where other participants are doing the same. Members feed off of the ideas of others to reach new solutions. Brainwriting involves individual contemplation of possible solutions that are added to and enhanced and group members view one another's lists.

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Identifying a problem is the most crucial step in the problem solving process, and the success of the problem solving process depends on this step. According to Friend and Cook, 2014, well-identified problems are characterized by an identifiable difference between the current and desired situation, a shared perception among participants of the problem's existence, an agreement of the factors that indicate the discrepancy, and a statement that offers many kinds of solutions. Additionally, Friend and Cook, 2014, offer five suggestions for identifying the problem: consider problems as having divergent and convergent properties, describe the problem accurately, support the problem with multiple sources of evidence, allow adequate time for identification, and monitor the problem-solving situation.

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This clip offers an overview of the problem solving process. It defines the steps a bit differently than Cook and Friend, but the concepts remain consistent. The video, however, groups evaluation and selection of the solution together, where Friend and Cook make these components two separate steps in the group problem solving process.

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An animated version explaining a version of the five step problem solving process, based on the scientific method.-- Created using PowToon -- Free sign up at http://www.powtoon.com/youtube/ -- Create animated videos and animated presentations for free.