I'm one of the people that writes the applications (end-user) that automate the criminal justice system. My approach to solving the task at hand depends on many factors including the complexity of the problem, likelihood of affecting other parts of the program, and how fast it needs to be done.

If it's fairly simplistic, I won't waste any time trying to figure out the algorithm in my head before starting to hack out the code. I'll just let the solution come to me as I write it.

But I do often try to think out the problem beforehand. I jot things down on a notepad. Normally at the top of the page is "Problem: <description>", to remind me not to get to lost in the details and remember what I'm trying to solve. Then I write down the "Solution: <description>" detailing (well, ok, generalizing) the steps that need to be taken to solve the problem. For example, yesterday I worked on a problem where the solution was:

• Build the linked list
• Populate the linked list
• Colour in the calendar control with the results

If I'm at the point where I can generalize the steps that need to be taken to solve the problem, that's when I write my best code (that which fits well with the rest of the app).