Problem Solving and Decision Making

Create Action Plan 

• What needs to be done? 

• Who will do it? 

• What resources will we need? 

• How much time will it take – Set a deadline 

• What checkpoints and milestones should be established? 

• How will we measure results? 

Implementing a Change 

• Figuring out what you are going to do 

• We have completed this in steps 1–7 

• Doing it! 

• Reacting to what happened and gaining feedback 

• We will look at this in step 9 

Influencing 

• Productive 

• Efficient 

• Profitable 

Measuring Performance 

• Quantitative: KPIs, Costs, Deadlines, Specific achievements and improvement made 

• Qualitative: Feedback, The problem‑solving process, The solution, Personal performance 

• What type of measurement is most important to you at work? 

Feasibility 

• The possibility that something can be made, done, or achieved, or is reasonable – Cambridge English Dictionary 

Decision‑Making Factors 

• Risk, Cost, Time, Impact, User friendly, Sustainability, Environmental impact, Customer satisfaction 

BRAIN netting 

• What are the pros of the idea 

• What are the cons of the idea 

• What are the other options we have 

• What is your gut feeling 

• What would happen if we did nothing 

SWOT analysis 

• Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats 

Evaluate Feasibility 

• Were the root causes correctly identified? 

• Does the solution address the root cause? 

• Have constraints been considered? 

• Have possible obstacles been evaluated? 

• Were criteria for selecting a solution used? 

• Was the impact on the customer considered? 

• Were alternative solutions reviewed? 

• Has long‑term impact been considered? 

• Has the solution eliminated the problem and root causes? 

Decision Making 

• Decision making is not about whether to take a risk or not. 

• It is about how to take reasonable risks and evaluate impact. 

Identify Possible Solutions 

• Get as many options as possible 

• No judgement 

• Use divergent thinking 

• Get input from everyone 

Brainstorming or Mindmapping 

• No criticism or debate 

• Stick to divergent thinking 

• Quantity over quality 

• Freewheel 

• Mutate and Combine 

The Disney Creative Strategy 

• Dreamer: What is possible? 

• Realist: How can we achieve that? 

• Cynic: What could go wrong with this? 

Scamper 

• Substitute 

• Combine 

• Adapt 

• Modify 

• Put to another use 

• Eliminate 

• Reverse 

An Analysis Toolkit 

• Five W’s and One H 

• Force Field Analysis 

• The Five Why’s 

• Ishikawa Fishbone Diagram 

Five W’s and One H 

• What? Why? Where? Who? When? How? 

Force Field Analysis 

• List forces for and against change 

• Score each force 1–5 

• What do we know now? 

• Where should our focus be? 

The Five Why’s 

• Patient late caused delay 

• Long wait for trolley 

• Replacement trolley had to be found 

• Original trolley rail broken 

• Not regularly checked for wear 

Ishikawa Fishbone Diagram 

• People, Methods, Machines, Measurement, Environment, Materials 

The 9 Step Problem Solving Process 

• Identify and define 

• Gather information 

• Analyse root cause 

• Identify possible solutions 

• Evaluate solutions 

• Select a solution 

• Develop an action plan 

• Implement the solution 

• Check performance and feedback 

Identifying the Problem 

• What already does/does not work 

• Desired outcome 

• Scope/time/resources 

• Avoid giving solutions yet 

What information do you need? 

• People 

• Environment 

• Procedures 

• Equipment 

Where to find information 

• Conduct interviews 

• Identify and study statistics 

• Send questionnaires 

• Conduct technical experiments 

• Observe processes 

• Create focus groups 

Symptoms v Cause 

• Symptoms above surface, root causes below surface