What is an engineer's approach to problem-solving? What are the best steps an engineer takes in solving a problem?

Electrical troubleshooting is a standard process of elimination by which one determines the root cause of an electrical problem. Electrical failure can be caused by something as simple as a tripped circuit breaker or something more complicated such as faulty or incorrect wiring that’s gone bad or even bad connections that have been aggravated by conditions in the environment, such as moisture.

There’s a lot involved in a home electrical wiring system, and chances are that you may ultimately need an electrician to resolve the issue. But if you want to try to find the source of the problem on your own, here are the top 10 electrical troubleshooting tips to follow. Keep in mind that when working with electricity, you always need to consider safety first. Be very careful that wires aren’t live before you come into contact with them.

1. Double check the device that’s not working. Before you go any further, be sure the device in question is turned on or the light bulb is working. You might also try plugging another working item into that particular outlet to see if the problem is that the device itself is broken.
2. Determine whether the problem is local or widespread. See if this problem exists in a localized area of your house or all over. House-wide electrical outages usually have to do with a problem your power company is having. You might also check to see if the issue exists within your neighbors’ homes as well.
3. Check your breakers and fuses. Sometimes the answer is as simple as a tripped circuit breaker or blown fuse. Circuit breakers are meant to be a safety feature, in that when a circuit is overloaded, it cuts off the power, preventing fire or severe electrical shock.
4. Use your electrical schematic drawings. These provide a map of all the electrical wiring in your home and how the circuits are divided. This will further help you to pinpoint the issue.
5. Shut down the problem circuit. Once you’ve determined the faulty circuit, shut it down if you haven’t already. This is an important safety precaution that needs to be taken. Once it’s shut down, label the circuit so that others will know you are working on it.
6. Locate the trigger. Once the circuit is down, inspect that area of your home to see if you can identify what triggered the breaker trip. How many things do you have plugged in on this circuit? Is something like a hairdryer triggering the overload? Space heaters are notorious in overheating a receptacle over time, leading to wiring problems.
7. Check the switch. Sometimes the problem can be due to a faulty switch. Check the switch with an OHM meter to rule out this possibility.
8. Inspect your connections. Making sure the power is off, be sure all the connections are well made. A loose connection can lead to problems, including shorts.
9. Look at your neutral wires. If a hot wire doesn’t test okay to a neutral wire, it can shut the circuit down. Be sure to check all neutral connections at the source and at any junction leading to the problem area.
10. When in doubt, call an electrician. Only troubleshoot to the extent you feel comfortable. Electricity is dangerous to work with, so don’t proceed if you’re unsure. Once you’ve determined the issue, an electrician may be needed anyhow to fix the problem.

i think to find solving the problem , we need to have fish diagram where used in problem solving.

fish diagram is like one of the fish. a person put the problem near the head

and all cause the issue in the bone body. the most obvious cause should be near the head.

to solve the issue we need to eliminate all possible cause starting with most obvious one.

1. Think first

2. Know the source of problem

3. Find a solution

4. And Solve the problem right away.

5. Next time be Pro Active, so it won't happen again.

Well, Engineering problem can solve by the Root Cause Analysis, and after root cause analysis we can use the fishbone technique to understand the problem.

Once reason of the problem defined and understand then alternate options can be analysed for the best answer.

1. Understand the purpose of the problem.

2. Collect the known information. Some of it might be discovered later to be unnecessary.

3. Determine what information you must find.

4. Simplify the problem only enough to allow the required information to be obtained. State any assumptions you make.

5. Draw a sketch and label any necessary variables.

6. Determine which of the fundamental principles are applicable.

7. Think about your proposed solution approach in general and consider other approaches before proceeding with the details.

8. Label each step of the solution process.

9. Solve the problem.

Problem Solving Steps:-

1- Define the Problem.

2- Generate the alternative Solution.

3- Evaluate and Select an Alternative

4- Implement and follow-up on solution.

*You have to make sure that you have a problem (identify the Problem)   . 

-If yes .(Celebrate )

1- What is the benefit to solve the problem ? Is it worth the required  time ,money and effort to solve it.

2- Do you have the fundamentals which is related to the problem to analyse it ? if not , Call some one can help  you out  !

 If yes, 

3- list all possible cause  Roots to the problem , Draw a sketch which show the relation between roots and give each root a rank based on importance (Keep in mind that some roots can't be fixed ) .

4- Study the roots ,then start elimination one by one based on it's rank .

5- Assume that you found the Root , then you passed % , how you will solve it ?

6- Can you solve this cause Root ?  if not , call an  expert to help you out !

If yes 

7- Study which is the best method to solve the problem (select Best tools for best results ).

8-If you solved it , Rate your case study (Percentage of the success ), then Deiced is it worthy the time and money you spend  ?  ,   

9- Write down all the case study and keep it in history file ,because history make future easier .

Then celebrate again that you solved problem ,which is a development for the company system and for your self.    

Today found a very useful article related to the above topic. 

Hope full to be a source of information for all and hence sharing the link.

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10408347308003631