This paper describes the preliminary stages in physics problem solving related to the use of external representation. This empirical study was carried out using phenomenographic approach to analize data from individual thinking-aloud and interview 8 senior high school students and 7 physics teachers. The result of this study is a set of outcome space that describes the teachers’ and students’ preliminary stages in solving a physics problem. The outcome space includes three categories, i.e: the Constructing Diagram: Lead to Successful Solution; Constructing Diagram: Lead to Unsuccessful Solution: and No Diagram: Lead to Unsuccessful Solution. Linkage of student-teacher pairs in the same school is found on the pattern of the preliminary stages of their problem solving.