Creativity & Growth Mindset

By the end, the learner can

• Novel diagnostic sequencing: develops customized troubleshooting workflows for atypical network failure signatures not covered by existing runbooks
• Infrastructure innovation proposal: designs IT architecture options that solve business problems in non-obvious ways by combining available technology components creatively
• Process redesign: reimagines departmental workflows by challenging inherited assumptions about how systems support, development, and operations should be structured

Session plan

1. 10 minHow these are scoredWhere this shows up: technology teams and corporate it environments, working with managers, technical teams, users. Conditions to expect: analytical, system-dependent, problem-solving intensive. Entry roles this maps to: Computer Systems Analysts, Computer Systems Engineers/Architects, Computer User Support Specialists.
   • designs IT architecture options that solve business problems in non-obvious ways by combining available technology components creatively
   From Computer and Information Systems Managers (11-3021.00)
2. 5 minSituationsWork the task on your own first. Support is available, but ask for it out loud so the group hears what got you stuck.
   • Tools in play: Development environment software, Data base user interface and query software, Web platform development software.
3. 10 minWhere the group splitCompare answers before the debrief. Where the room split is the useful part — the split usually marks a real judgment call rather than a knowledge gap.
   • Where did two people read the same situation differently, and what did each notice?
   • Which answer would survive a supervisor asking "why did you do it that way?"
4. 10 minThe pattern behind the answersClose the loop: what changed between the first attempt and the last, and what would have to be true for creativity to hold up on a bad day.