First attempt at solving a problem

Question

Say you have a problem to solve. It might be a complex one with lots of scenarios to be considered. For simplicity you start by only considering the simplest scenarios that comes to mind and make a solution based on that. You're aware that this solution won't work all the time and the idea is to address further problems as they arise, but this first solution might also be good enough.

Is there a commonly used word to describe this kind of solution?

Example:
Let's find the X solution and go on from there!

Some ideas are "naive" and "trivial" but I get the feeling they have a negative connotation. The word I'm looking for should indicate an intentional simplicity with the understanding that it might not be the final solution.

Update: I see my question was a bit unspecific. The problem was meant to be a design problem for a feature to be created. This x solution might need to be modified but might also be enough.

Many answers are about unexpected problem. Although they are not what I need I'm still learning a lot from them.

Answer 1

It's a noun, but can probably be used attributively in most cases: stopgap.

stopgap NOUN

A temporary way of dealing with a problem or satisfying a need.

‘transplants are only a stopgap until more sophisticated alternatives can work’

{ODO}

Answer 2

A provisional solution is current usage.

• provisional (adjective) - serving for the time being, existing or accepted for the present time but likely to be changed - MW

1."...welcomes the fact that the Agri-Fish Council meeting on 14 November 2011 resulted in a provisional solution for maintaining the food aid programme."

2."The lesson to be learnt from London's case is, therefore, never to let a provisional solution become a permanent one."

3."But it can be that recourse to the reasonable only gives a provisional solution, waiting for the elaboration of new legal construction which would be more satisfying."

4. "interpretation is very good provided it is just taken as a provisional solution, useful until the true, final, solution is found."

Not a better choice than "provisional", A temporary solution also comes to mind.

• temporary (adjective) lasting, used, serving, or enjoyed for a limited time. - TFD

Answer 3

I’d use the term tentative:

​(of a plan or idea) not certain or agreed, or (of a suggestion or action) said or done in a careful but uncertain way because you do not know if you are right:

• I have tentative plans to take a trip to Seattle in July.

(Cambridge Dictionary)

Answer 4

I'd call it a hack (or a hacky solution, as an adjective):

A temporary, jury-rigged solution, especially in the fields of computer programming and engineering: the technical equivalent of chewing gum and duct tape.
_{Urban Dictionary}

Answer 5

I’d call it a ‘temporary fix’. This means, the solution fixes the problem for the time being, but you know you’ll need to sort it out properly at a later date.

Example: ‘as a temporary fix I stuck chewing gum in the hole in my bike tyre, just to get me home...’

Answer 6

I think you can't really go wrong with simple i.e. easily understood or done

or basic i.e. forming an essential foundation or starting point

But then I love plain language.

Based on your comment -

This x solution might need to be modified but might also be enough.

In computing, and idiomatically, this is kind of approach is often referred to as Brute Force i.e. Trying the easiest thing first, if it doesn't work you try the next, and so on.

For example a brute force search is...

a very general problem-solving technique that consists of systematically enumerating all possible candidates for the solution and checking whether each candidate satisfies the problem's statement.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brute-force_search

Answer 7

Rudimentary?

Defn: Involving or limited to basic principles / relating to an immature, undeveloped, or basic form.

'Let's find the rudimentary solution and go on from there!'

Answer 8

Can I suggest: 'Bodge'

Some definitions have it as just doing something badly, but some mention temporary repair, like this one from Wiktionary:

(Britain) To do a clumsy or inelegant job, usually as a temporary repair; mend, patch up, repair.

Certainly, that is the sense I have always had of it.

Answer 9

A first attempt and temporary way to solve an issue without really fixing it permanently may be called a "workaround".

Answer 10

One term that might describe this approach in certain circumstances is iterative development.

One definition of this from Primer on DevOps roles and responsibilities is:

Iterative development is a way of breaking down the software development of a large application into smaller chunks. In iterative development, feature code is designed, developed and tested in repeated cycles. With each iteration, additional features can be designed, developed and tested until there is a fully functional software application ready to be deployed to customers.

This definition suggests that each iteration only adds features. However in the usage with which I am familiar, there is the idea of error correction at each iteration, and this is consistent with the usage given in the Wikipedia entry, illustrated by the diagram below.