My first step towards creating a solution is to gain a thorough understanding of your problem domain. I start out with several general questions:
* Who does the problem affect?
* How does it affect them?
* What are the relationships between the various groups affected by the problem?
* How do they interact with one another?
* What are the business parameters that have pushed this problem to the fore?
* What's the driving force behind the current initiative to solve this problem?
* What technical capabilities and resources are available that can be utilized?

Once I have a general understanding of your problem, I drill down into the details.