A challenge needs different ways of thinking: opening possibilities, analysing them, and questioning the frame from which they are viewed. Switching modes deliberately avoids choosing the first idea or collecting proposals without acting.

• Divergent: produces quantity and variety; at Lumen, options about order, language, help, or information.
• Convergent: compares options against value, effort, risk, and learning.
• Lateral: questions assumptions; “What if setup allowed only two decisions?” can reveal what is essential.
• Analytical: looks for causes, dependencies, and evidence, preventing a clever idea from addressing the wrong cause.

Analyse what is known, diverge, use lateral thinking if ideas are repetitive, and converge to choose a test.

Write six ideas in six minutes, group them into three categories, and choose one alternative to explore. Add: “What if we reversed the main condition?”

If people do not read instructions, categories may be format, timing, and interaction. One option is one instruction per step. The lateral question is: “What if instructions appeared only when needed?”

• Evaluating while still diverging.
• Treating a lateral provocation as the final solution.
• Skipping analysis.

Divergent thinking opens options, convergent thinking prioritises them, lateral thinking challenges assumptions, and analytical thinking supplies evidence. We now identify barriers that can block these modes.