In the classic book, How to Solve It, written before modern computers existed, George Polya outlined the essence of problem solving.

1. Understand the problem (communication and analysis).

2. Plan a solution (modeling and software design)

3. Carry out the plan (code generation)

4. Examine the result for accuracy (testing and quality assurance).

In the context of computing technology, these common sense steps lead to a series of concrete steps relevant to the tools under study.