Problem-Solving Model | BPI Consulting - SPC for Excel

Problem Solving Model · Step 1: Define the Problem. · Step 2: Measure the Problem. · Step 3: Set the Goal. · Step 4: Determine Root Causes. · Step 5: Select Best ... Problem-SolvingModel PurposeoftheModel PhilosophyofProblemSolving Problem-SolvingModel Fun:TheBookworm QuickLinks ThisnewsletterintroducestheProblemSolvingModel.Thisisaten-stepmodeltoguideyou(andyourteam)throughastructuredproblemsolvingprocess.Alltoooften,peoplejumpfromaproblemtoasolution.Anditisoftenasolutionthatisshort-livedorcreatesnumerousotherproblemswithintheorganization.TheProblemSolvingModelprovidesyouaroadmaptocontinuousimprovement. PurposeoftheModel Asitsnameimplies,thismodelistheroadmaptofollowtosolveproblems.Whatmakessomethingaproblem? a)Whentheprocessisn'tdoingwhatitissupposedtoandpeopledon'tknowwhy.b)Whenthingskeepgoingwrongnomatterhowhardeveryonetries.c)Wheneveryonebelievesthatthereisaproblemtosolve. Thefirststepinthemodelistodefinetheproblem;itdoesnotmatterifitislateshipments,stockouts,computerdowntime,typos,lostmessages,oranagreedupon"redbead"thateveryonekeepsrunninginto.Beforeyoucansolvetheproblem,youmusttrulyunderstandwhatitis.Thismeansbrainstormingabouttheprocess,usingaParetoDiagramtoprioritizepotentialobstaclesandcreatingaprocessflowdiagramofwhatiscurrentlygoingon.Afteryouhavetheproblemdefined,themodelleadsyouthroughanalyzingdatayougatherabouttheprocess,determiningtherootcauseoftheproblem,andidentifyingpossiblesolutionstotheproblem.Solutionstotheproblemwilleitherbechangestotheprocesswhicheliminatespecialcausesofvariationorchangeswhichreducecommoncausevariation.Afterthebestsolutionisimplemented,themodelleadstheteamtomonitortheimpactofitsrevisionstomakesurethattheproblemistrulysolved. Theproblem-solvingmodel,introducedbelow,incorporatesaneffectivesetofskillsintoastep-by-stepprocess.Themodelcombinestheuseofstatisticaltools,suchascontrolchartsandprocessflowdiagrams,withgroupproblem-solvingskills,suchasbrainstormingandconsensusdecision-making.Thestatisticaltoolshelpusmakedata-baseddecisionsatvariouspointsthroughoutthemodel.Thegroupproblem-solvingskillshelpusdrawonthebenefitsofworkingasateam.   PhilosophyofProblemSolving Beforewebeginadiscussionaboutthestepsoftheproblem-solvingmodel,weshouldtalkalittleaboutthephilosophythatgoodproblemsolvershaveaboutproblems.Hereareanumberofideasthatarepartofthephilosophy. Problemsolvingshouldoccuratalllevelsoftheorganization.Ateverylevel,fromtoptobottom,problemsoccur.Everyoneisanexpertintheproblemsthatoccurinhisorherownareaandshouldaddresstheseproblems.Problemsolvingisapartofeveryone'sjob. Allproblemsshouldnotbeaddressedwiththesameapproach.Therearesomeproblemsthatareeasilyandsuitablytackledalone.Notalldecisionsneedtobemadebyteamsnordoallproblemsneedtobesolvedbygroups.However,groupsofpeoplehelptobreakmentalsets(i.e.,figuringoutnewwaysofdoingthings).Inaddition,peoplearemorecommittedtofiguringoutandimplementingasolutiontoaproblemiftheyareinvolvedintheproblemsolving. Problemsarenormal.Problemsoccurineveryorganization.Inexcellentcompaniespeopleconstantlyworkonsolvingproblemsastheyoccur.Problemsareopportunitiestomakethingsbetterandshouldbeviewedassuch. Behardontheproblemandsoftonthepeopleinvolved.Whenworkingonaproblem,weshouldfocusonsolvingtheproblem,notonwhosefaulttheproblemis.Weshouldavoidpersonalizingtheproblemandblamingothers. Peopleshouldaddresstheproblemsintheirownareas.Everyonehasproblemsassociatedwiththeirworkarea,andtheyshouldtakeownershipfortryingtosolvetheseproblemsinsteadofwaitingfortheirsupervisorsoranotherteamtotellthemwhattodo.   ProblemSolvingModel TheProblem-SolvingModelisshownhere.Itisusedwhenaprojectteamissolvingabasicproblem.Thesetenstepsareeffectivewithmostoftheproblemstheteamwillencounter.Eachstepisdiscussedhere,andendproductsforstepcompletionarespecifiedascheckpointsforteamprogress. Step1:DefinetheProblem. Step1isacriticalstep;itdeterminestheoverallfocusoftheproject.Inthisstep,theteamdefinestheproblemasconcretelyandspecificallyaspossible.FiveSPCtoolsarehelpfulindefiningtheproblem:brainstormingtheproblem'scharacteristics,creatinganaffinitydiagram,usingaParetochart,creatinganinitialProcessFlowDiagramofthepresentprocess,andControlChartdata.Theprocessflowdiagram(PFD)willhelptheteamidentify"starttofinish"howthepresentprocessnormallyworks.OftenthePFDcandramaticallyhelpdefinetheproblem.Aftertheproblemiswelldefined,Step2helpstheteammeasuretheextentoftheproblem. EndProduct=Acleardefinitionoftheproblemtobestudied,includingmeasurableevidencethattheproblemexists. Step2:MeasuretheProblem. Baselinedataarecollectedonthepresentprocessiftheydonotalreadyexist.Thispermitsmeasurementofthecurrentlevelofperformancesofuturegainscanbesubsequentlymeasured.Theteamneedstomakeadecisiononhowtocollectthepresentbaselinedata.Ingeneral,ifdataarecollecteddaily,thetimeperiodshouldbeamonth.Thiswayastandardcontrolchartcanbeused.Ifdataarecollectedweeklyoronceamonth,baselinedatawillhaveonlythreeorfourpoints.Datacollectedlessthanonceamonthareoflimiteduse;insuchcases,historicaldata,ifavailable,shouldbeused.Atthisstage,theteammusthavemeasurableevidencethattheproblemexists.Opinionsandanecdotesareasoundplacetostart,buteventuallythereneedstobeconcreteproofthattherereallyisaproblem. EndProduct=Agraphorchartwithpresentbaselineorhistoricaldataonhowtheprocessworks;acollectionofthepresentjobinstructions,jobdescriptions,andSOPs/JWIs(standardoperatingproceduresandjobworkinstructions). Step3:SettheGoal. Goalsprovidevisionanddirectionandhelptheteammakechoicesandknowwhichpathtotake.Besuretostateyourgoal(s)intermsthataremeasurable.Thisway,theteamcanevaluateitsprogresstowardthegoal.Astheteamimaginesthegoal,itwillidentifybenefitsofachievingthesolutiontotheproblem.Thisinspiresahighercommitmentandsupportfromall. EndProduct=Agoalstatementthatincludesthewhat,when,where,why,whoandhowoftheidealsolvedproblemsituation. Step4:DetermineRootCauses. InStep4theteamstudieswhytheprocessisworkingthewayitis.IfacontrolchartwasdevelopedinStep2,determinewhethertheprocessis"incontrol"or"outofcontrol."Iftheprocessis"outofcontrol,"theteamshouldpinpointthespecialcausesandmovetoStep5.Iftheprocessis"incontrol,"theteamwillneedtousetoolssuchascauseandeffectanalysis(fishbones),scatterplotsandexperimentaldesignformatstoidentifyrootcausescurrentlyinthesystemproducingcommoncausevariation. EndProduct=Alistofmostprobablerootcausesoftheproblem(commonandspecialcausevariation);selectionbyteamoftheprimaryrootcauseoftheproblemtobeeliminated. Step5:SelectBestStrategy. ThepurposeofStep5istoselectthestrategythatbestsolvestheproblem.FromthelistofcausesgeneratedinStep4,theteamshouldbrainstormandstrategicallyplansolutionstrategies.Fishbonediagramsandbenchmarkingcanbehelpfulforthisstep.Thentheteammustreachconsensusonthebestpossiblestrategytosolvetheproblem.Thisstrategyshouldhavethehighestlikelihoodofsuccess. EndProduct=Awelldefinedstrategytosolvetheproblemisselected. Step6:ImplementStrategy. AnActionPlanisdevelopedbyteam.Thisincludeswhowilldowhatbywhentoimplementthesolution.TheteamseestoitthattheActionPlandevelopediscarriedoutanddocumented. EndProduct=TheActionPlanisimplemented. Step7:EvaluateResults. InStep7theteamevaluateshoweffectivethesolutionhasbeen.Datamustbecollectedtodetermineiftheimplementedstrategydid,infact,improvetheprocessbeingstudied.Performancemustbeclearlymeasuredandevaluated.Theteamneedstomonitorcontrolchartdatawhereappropriateandassessimprovement;theprocessflowdiagramshouldbecheckedforappropriateSOPsandJWIs.Additionalfeedbackstrategiessuchashistograms,processFMEAs,customersurveysandinformalpollsmayalsoproveuseful.Whatarethe"customer"reactions(internalcustomerfeedback)?Whathasproducedmeasurableresults?Whatharddataareavailable?Dopeopleperceiveanimprovement?Howhaveresultsmatchedcustomerneeds?Iftheprocessdidnotimprove,theteamneedstodiscoverifthewrongrootcause(s)wasidentifiedorifthewrongsolutionwasutilized.Ineithercase,returntothestepsabove,beginningwithStep4.Iftheprocessimproves,buttheresultsaredisappointing,theremaybeotherrootcausesaffectingtheprocess.Again,returntoStep4tofurtherexamineadditionalrootcauses.Whentheproblemissolved(i.e.the"loopclosed"),theteamproceedstoStep8. EndProduct=Theproblemissolved;resultsoftheimprovementaremeasured. Step8:ImplementAppropriateChangesintheProcess. Step8developsanongoingprocesstoassurethatthegainsstayinplaceforthelongterm.Sometimesaproblemissolvedandthenlaterresurfaces.Thishappenswhenasolutionisdetermined,butasystemorprocesstokeeptheproblemsolvedhasnotbeensuccessfullyadopted.Permanentchangesneedtobeimplemented.Thismeansrevisingtheexistingprocedures.Thenewimprovedprocesswillneedtobetrackedovertime;theprocessmustbecheckedfrequentlytomaintainimprovement.Thisalsohelpseveryonetostayawareofopportunitiestocontinuouslyimprovetheprocesswheretheproblemoccurred. EndProduct=Apermanentchangeintheprocess,QualityImprovement,andpeople"closesttothejob"monitoringthechange. Step9:ContinuousImprovement. Thisstepisstayingcommittedtocontinuousimprovementintermsofthismodel-toremainactivelyalerttothewaystheimprovedprocesscanbemadeevenbetter.Thisstepisaconsciousdecisiontoallowotherstoinnovateandtopointout"redbeads"intheprocesswhichtheteamhasworkedhardtoimprove.Allinvolved,particularlythoseclosesttothejob,needtobeencouragedtogiveconstructivefeedbackandadjustments.Internalauditswillmonitorsomeprocessestoensureeffectiveness. EndProduct=Commitmenttocontinuousimprovement. Step10:Celebrate. Thislaststepincludesarecognitioncelebrationandthedisbandingoftheteam.Alwaystaketimeforthismaintenancefunction;peoplehaveachievedanimportantgoal.Theyhaveearnedthismomentofrecognitionandclosure. EndProduct=Closurefortheteammembers;disbandingoftheteam. Fun:TheBookworm Creativityisalsotheabilitytolookatthesamethingaseveryoneelse,buttoseesomethingdifferent.Let'stakethechallengeofthe"lifeofabookworm." Eachofthefourvolumesinthepicturehasthesamenumberofpagesandthewidthfromthefirsttothelastpageofeachvolumeistwoinches.Eachvolumehastwocoversandeachcoverisone-sixthofaninchthick. Ourmicroscopicbookwormwashatchedonpageoneofvolumeone.Duringhislifeheateastraightholeacrossthebottomofthevolumes.Heateallthewaytothelastpageofvolumefour.Thebookwormateinastraightline,withoutzigzagging.ThevolumesareinEnglishandareright-sideuponabookcaseshelf. Challenge:howmanyinchesdidthebookwormtravelduringhislifetime?____________ Wewillgivetheanswerinnextmonth'snewsletter.   QuickLinks SPCforExcelSoftware Visitourhomepage SPCTraining SPCConsulting OrderingInformation Thankssomuchforreadingourpublication.Wehopeyoufinditinformativeanduseful.Happychartingandmaythedataalwayssupportyourposition. Sincerely, Dr.BillMcNeeseBPIConsulting,LLC ConnectwithUs      SPCforExcel Buy Now TryFree ProcessImprovement SPCKnowledgeBase SignupforourFREEmonthlypublicationfeaturingSPCtechniquesandotherstatisticaltopics. 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