1

Creative
Problem
Solving
Learning Objectives 2

When you have completed this module you will be able to define
the key concepts associated with Creative problem solving and
you will be able to:

 Identify the main obstacles that prevent problems from being

solved in the organization
 Understand the components required for successful problem
solving
 Understand the importance of proper problem solving activity
Learning Objectives 3

 Use problem solving techniques to improve

productivity and profitability

 Explain the benefits of having an effective and

proactive approach to solving problems
 4

Introduction
What is a Problem? 5

“A Problem is a Deviation from

Acceptable Performance”

There is a gap between what is actually happening

and what is supposed to be happening

Solving the problem will close the performance gap

Why Solve Problems? 6

In an organization where problems exist but remain

unsolved the following can occur:

 De-motivation of staff

 Loss of customers

 Waste of resources

 Reduction of profit

 Compromised growth / survival potential

Why Solve Problems? 7

Solving a problem usually removes an impediment

from work leading to:

 Increased Productivity

 Increased Enjoyment

 Less Stress

 Improved Quality

 Improved Efficiency
The Problem Solving Process 8

To succeed, the problem solving process must be

 Suitable for the organization

 Robust enough to survive

 Simple enough to be understood

 Implementable

 Seen to be effective and transparent

Problem Solving Journey 9

 There are 4 main phases in the problem solving

journey:
 Problem Identification
 Cause Identification
 Remedy identification
 Remedy implementation
 These can be further classified as:
 Diagnostic activities
 Remedial activities
Types of Problem 10

Problems can be broadly grouped into 3 categories:

 System problems

 People problems

 Process problems

Note: Each problem category has its own peculiarities which

must be taken into consideration when tackling them
People Problems 11

 May be difficult to resolve because

 People are not totally logical
 Emotions can play a part

 Psychological Influences
 Implicit personality theory
 Judging others by traits we find attractive in ourselves
 The Halo effect
 Initial judgment will affect all further interaction
 Stereotypes
 Judging individuals due to the group they belong to
Process Problems 12

These cover

 Mechanical
 Electrical
 Electronic
 Chemical
 Information

Note: These problems are usually logical but complex thereby

requiring a high level of technical knowledge
System Problems 13

Systems are in place to ensure that in the organization

 Everything Happens As It Should

 Every Time
 By Everybody

Note: Usually people are a key element of systems in the design

and implementation of the systems This adds another level of
complexity to system problems
 14

Requirements
Basic Requirements 15

People

Process

Resources
Basic Requirements 16

People who are

 Capable
 Trained
 Motivated
 Open
 Honest
 Imaginative
 Disciplined
Basic Requirements 17

Process that is

 Suitable
 Flexible
 Robust
 Accepted
 Transparent
 Fast
 Constantly Evolving
Basic Requirements 18

Resources that include

 People
 Information
 Finance
 Support
 Space to experiment
 Trust
Attitude 19

An effective problem solving attitude has the

following components:

 Optimism

 Persistence

 Basic Knowledge

 The correct approach

Responsibility 20

Responsibility for solving problems may lie

 With the individual who has ownership of a process or
product

 With a work team who operate a process

 With defined project teams who are assigned to work on a

particular issue

 With the organization that needs to meet its strategic

objectives
Responsibility 21

Problems will not be solved unless someone:

 Takes ownership of the problem

 Designs, accepts and works with a defined problem solving

process

 Designs and implements a quality solution

 Monitors the effect of the solution in terms of the overall

business process
Continuous Improvement 22

The Japanese concept of Kaizen has 5 basic rules for

solving problems to generate continuous improvement:

 When a problem occurs go to the site of the problem

 Check the site of the problems
 Take temporary countermeasures on the spot
 Find the root cause
 Standardize the process to prevent the problem from
happening again
 23

Problem
Solving
Techniques
Problem Solving Techniques 24

To solve a problem there are two main issues that

need to be clarified:

 Where exactly you are at the present moment

 Where exactly you want the problem solving

journey to bring you
Problem Solving Techniques 25

Brainstorming Team Purpose Analysis

TPN Analysis Ishikawa Chart

Matrix Analysis SWOT Analysis

Paired Comparisons The 5Ws

Cause & Effect

Problem Solving Techniques 26

Technique 1: Brainstorming
 Why use brainstorming:
 To create lists of problems
 Theories
 Ideas
 Solutions
 Causes
Main value of brainstorming is that it involves everyone and can
spark creativity
Problem Solving Techniques 27

Rules for brainstorming

 Have a strict rotation to involve everyone
 Allow people to pass their turn
 No discussion
 No criticism
 No evaluation
 Capture everything in a visible format
 Number the ideas as they emerge
 Go into a free flow mode towards the end
Problem Solving Techniques 28

Technique 2: TPN analysis

 This technique allows one to look at problems form

the perspective of which ones you can actually do
something about

 The focus is therefore on the span of control

 There is a need for realism to be applied

Problem Solving Techniques 29

TPN Analysis - the method

 Take the numbered list from the brainstorming
session
 For each item on the list, decide whether your span
of control over it is
 T - Total
 P- Partial
 N - None
Note: This forces the group to look only at the problems where
they can have an impact
Problem Solving Techniques 30

Technique 3 - Matrix Analysis

 Take the issues that have emerged from the TPN analysis
where you have decided that you have Total control
 Analyze them against two criteria such as
 Impact on Productivity
 Ease of implementation
 Place them on a matrix constructed with the criteria as
the axes
 Identify the key priority issues according to the criteria
chosen
Matrix Analysis 31

Easy

First problems to
be addressed

Hard
Low High
Impact
Problem Solving Techniques 32

Problem Solving Technique 4: Paired Comparisons

 Take the high priority issues and list them on a table
 Select a criterion to judge all issues against
 Compare each issue with every other issue in a
sequence of pairs and select the most important one
in terms of the criterion chosen
 Count the number of times that each issue was
dominant
 Identify the issue that has the highest count
Problem Solving Techniques 33

Paired comparisons - comments

 The structure of the table has to be correct to make sure
that the pairs are correct
 Selection of the right criterion is vital as it will decide
which issue is dominant and must be tackled first
 Counting the dominants correctly is central to the
success of the technique
 When in a team situation ensure that everyone has the
issues presented on the table in identical order
otherwise the comparisons are not identical
Problem Solving Techniques 34

Team Purpose Analysis

 Establish or clarify the team mission
 Perform detailed activity analysis on the problem to be
tackled
 Identify the key skills required
 Perform an workload management analysis
 Set up an effective communication process
 Set up performance metrics for the problem solving
activity
 Schedule effectively
Problem Solving Techniques 35

Outcomes from the Team Analysis

 Focus

 Prioritization

 Resourcing

 Organization
 36

Facts & Figures

Dealing With Information 37

Gathering Facts
 Clearly identify facts from opinions

 Use effective measurement systems that are understood by

the operators

 Treat estimates with suspicion

 Record facts accurately and maintain them in a secure place

for reference
Dealing With Information 38

Basic parts of a measuring system

 The operator

 The measurement instrument

 The procedure for taking the measurement

 A means of recording the measurement accurately

and securely
Dealing With Information 39

Presenting facts is part of the problem solving activity, so

they must be presented:

 Accurately

 On time

 Visibly

 Logically

 Understandably
Data Capture 40

The Measles Chart

 Construct a diagram of the process , system or
product where the problem arises
 Mark on the diagram the location of each problem
as it arises
 Analyze the diagram to see where marks are
clustered as these clearly identify the problem areas
 Use the analysis to guide the problem solving
activities
The Measles Chart 41

The location of problems

reported on workstations
are marked with a star

The measles chart clearly

shows that the majority are
with the floppy drive
 42

Causes &
Symptoms
Symptoms and causes 43

 Symptoms are usually the visible manifestation of

the problem

 Because they are visible they can attract attention

 Effort is often spent eradicating symptoms of a

problem

 However the unseen parts of the problem - the root

cause, is the part that needs attention
Problem Solving Techniques 44

Problem Solving Technique 5: The Ishikawa chart

 This is also known as the Fishbone chart
 The problem is looked at from the point of
identifying possible causes of the problem in 5
areas:
 Man
 Machine
 Method
 Material
 Environment
Ishikawa Chart 45

Man Method

Problem

Materials Machine

Environment
Problem Solving Techniques 46

Problem Solving Technique 6: SWOT analysis

After establishing the root cause of the problem, an analysis is
made of the
 Strengths
 That can be brought to bear on the problem
 Weaknesses
 That will exist if the problem is not fixed
 Opportunities
 That will arise when the problem is fixed
 Threats
 That will appear or increase if the problem is not fixed
SWOT Analysis 47

Strengths Weaknesses

Opportunities Threats
Problem Solving Techniques 48

Problem Solving Technique 7: The 5 Ws

 This is a simple technique that allows one to dig
into the problem by asking
 What
 Where
 When
 Who
 Why
One can also ask how?
Problem Solving Techniques 49

Problem Solving Technique 8: The 5 Whys

This is another simple technique which allows the team to
strip away layers from the problem and tackle root cause

 Ask why the problem occurred

 Get an answer and ask why it is so
 Do this 5 times

This method begins to give robust information beyond the

third Why
 Problem Solving Techniques 50

Problem Solving Technique 9: Cause & Effect Analysis

 Identify all possible causes of the problem

 Write them on Post-it stickers
 Begin to analyze and cluster the potential causes
 Analyze for root cause
 Test the reality of each cause

Benefits are:
 Focus is on the cause
 Different perspectives emerge from the team
 Allows linkages to be established
 51

Solutions
Getting to the Solution 52

The Logical Approach

 This uses the Principle of Cause & Effect

 Stage 1 - Gather all relevant information

 Stage 2 - Review the information and develop a

hypothesis regarding the problem and the solution

 Stage 3 - Test the Hypothesis

 Stage 4 - Eliminate the cause

Getting to the Solution 53

Developing A Solution

 Sufficiency

 Acceptance of something which is not the best

available solution for the problem

 Normally focuses on removal of symptoms and

not root cause

 Short term response

Getting to the Solution 54

Developing The Solution

 Problem solving loop

 Usually associated with a lack of knowledge of the

situation

 Facts are distorted to fit in with old / known solutions to

similar problems

 Same solutions are used continuously

 Problems will multiply

Getting to the Solution 55

Defining a Quality Solution

 The problem must not recur

 The solution cannot have an negative knock-on

effects

 The solution must be appropriately implemented

 The resources required to implement the solution

must be kept to a minimum
Solution Effect 56

 You want to design and implement a solution that

will be a quality solution This technique assists
you in achieving that goal
 List the proposed solutions

 Analyze them in relation to the circumstances

 Take criteria that have an impact on the acceptability of

the solution such as cost, speed, effect on the market

 Select the best solution from the analysis

Solution Effect 57

When looking at the solution it is important to identify the

issues which are:
 The big drivers
 The main reasons for implementing the solution
 The small drivers
 The minor reasons for implementing the solution
 The big resistors
 The main reasons that will block the implementation
 The small resistors
 The minor reasons that will block the implementation
Devise counter measures to overcome the resistors
 58

Benchmarking
&
PDCA
Benchmarking 59

 Reason for using benchmarking is to measure the

 Organization
 Team
 Department
 Process

Against a ‘best in class’ practitioner

Benchmarking 60

Bench-marking will allow you to solve problems

through learning from others
 7 step process for effective bench-marking
 Plan - decide what you are going to benchmark
 Research - identify a bench-mark source
 Observe - visit the bench-mark provider
 Analyze - look at the information gathered to generate the best
solution to your problem
 Adapt - modify the approach to suit your own needs
 Improve - try to get a result that is better than the bench-mark
level
 Integrate - build the solution into your process or system
PDCA in Problem Solving 61

 Once the solution has been identified then the implementation

must be planned

 Metrics to determine the extent of the success or failure of the

solution need to be set

 A suitable measurement system needs to be set up

 Analysis of the metrics needs to be established

 If the metric show a failure then action needs to be taken to

realign the effort
PDCA in Problem Solving 62

 This process can be managed through the Plan, Do,

Check, Act cycle

 Plan
 Plan the implementation and define the metrics
 Do
 Start the implementation process
 Check
 Check the implementation results against target
 Act
 If the implementation results are off target then act so as to realign the
effort
PDCA in Problem Solving 63

Plan

Act Do

Check
 64

Why Problem
Solving Fails!
Why Problem Solving Fails 65

 Problem solving activities can fail because of

Poor Problem
Solving Skills

Lack of
Focus

Lack of
Resources

Non-Implementable
Solutions
Why Problem Solving Fails 66

Poor Problem Solving skills

 Due to lack of training

 Capability of the personnel involved even afer

training

 No emphasis put on problem solving as a critical

business skill in the organization
Why Problem Solving Fails 67

Lack of Focus

 Insufficient focus on the problem at hand leading

to non-completion

 Too many problems being tackled at once

 Activity centered on problems that affect non-

critical business areas, thereby devaluing the
problem solving activity
Why Problem Solving Fails 68

Lack of Resources

 Information not available or accessible

 No personnel released to work on problem solving
teams
 Little or no co-operation
 No support from senior levels
Why Problem Solving Fails 69

Non-implementable solutions

 Solutions are not implementable due to

 Resistance to change
 Cost
 Political issues
 Capability of personnel
 Time requirements
 Wrong solutions generated
Summary 70

 Solving problems is part of normal work

 Solving problems delivers benefits to the individual,

team and organization

 There are simple techniques for problem solving

 The effectiveness of the techniques is dependent upon

the quality of the information available
Summary 71

 Causes not symptoms should be removed

 Quality solutions need to be designed

 Implementation of solutions needs to be planned

and their success checked

 Continuous improvement is dependent in many

cases on robust problem solving methodologies