Solving the wrong problem is ineffectual. Diving straight into designing the solution doesn’t have a high success rate, and it will wear you down.
Rich picturing is an efficient alternative.
When understanding a business challenge, or an operational issue, or a system problem, you can rich picture it.
Find the things that your stakeholders are concerned about and struggle with. The people, the views, the structures, the processes, the cultures, the impressions … and sketch it out, brain dump down all the relevant knotted components within. Then see the shopping list of parts that you need to dig into deeper.
You can do the same thing when you analyse your product, your way of working, or your next project. Find the essential elements (the situations) that matter to the organisation and to your stakeholders, and thread them together in a holistic way.