Creative Problem Solving

1
Learning Objectives

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

2
Learning Objectives

• Use problem solving techniques to

improve productivity and profitability

• Explain the benefits of having an

effective and proactive approach to
solving problems

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What is a Problem?

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

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Why Solve Problems?
• 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

5
Why Solve Problems?
• Solving a problem usually removes an
impediment from work leading to:
– Increased productivity

– Increased enjoyment

– Less stress

– Improved quality

– Improved efficiency

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The Problem Solving Process

• 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

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Problem Solving Journey

• 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

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Types of Problem

• Problems can be broadly grouped

into 3 categories:
– System problems
– People problems
– Process problems

• Each problem category has its own

peculiarities which must be taken into
consideration when tackling them

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People Problems

• 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

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Process Problems
• These cover
– Mechanical
– Electrical
– Electronic
– Chemical
– Information

• These problems are usually logical but complex

thereby requiring a high level of technical
knowledge
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System Problems

• Systems are in place to ensure that in

the organization
– everything happens as it should
– every time
– by everybody

• 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
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Requirements

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Basic Requirements

• People who are

– Capable
– Trained
– Motivated
– Open
– Honest
– Imaginative
– Disciplined

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Basic Requirements

• Process that is
– Suitable
– Flexible
– Robust
– Accepted
– Transparent
– Fast
– Constantly evolving

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Basic Requirements

• Resources that include

– People
– Information
– Finance
– Support
– Space to experiment
– Trust

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Attitude

• An effective problem solving attitude

has the following components:
– Optimism

– Persistence

– Basic Knowledge

– The correct approach

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Responsibility
• 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
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Continuous Improvement

• 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

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Problem Solving Techniques

Brainstorming Team Purpose Analysis

TPN Analysis Ishikawa Chart

Matrix Analysis SWOT Analysis

Paired Comparisons The 5Ws

Cause & Effect

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Problem Solving Techniques

• 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

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Problem Solving Techniques

• 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
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Problem Solving Techniques

• 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

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Problem Solving Techniques

• 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

This forces the group to look only at the problems where

they can have an impact

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Problem Solving Techniques

• 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
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Matrix Analysis

Easy

First problems to
be addressed

Hard
Low High
Impact
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Problem Solving Techniques

• 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

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Problem Solving Techniques

• 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

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Problem Solving Techniques

• 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

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Problem Solving Techniques
• Outcomes from the Team Analysis

– Focus

– Prioritization

– Resourcing

– Organization

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Ishikawa Chart

Man Method

Problem

Materials Machine

Environment

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Problem Solving Techniques

• 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

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SWOT Analysis

Strengths Weaknesses

Opportunities Threats

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Problem Solving Techniques

• 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?

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Problem Solving Techniques

• 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

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Problem Solving Techniques
• 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

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Getting to the Solution

• 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

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Benchmarking & PDCA

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Benchmarking

• Reason for using benchmarking is to

measure the
– Organization
– Team
– Department
– Process

Against a ‘best in class’ practitioner

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Benchmarking

• 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

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PDCA in Problem Solving
• 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
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PDCA in Problem Solving

• 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

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PDCA in Problem Solving

Plan

Act Do

Check
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Why Problem Solving Fails!

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Why Problem Solving Fails

• Problem solving activities can fail because of

Poor Problem
Solving Skills
Lack of
Focus
Lack of
Resources
Non-Implementable
Solutions

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Summary

• 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
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Summary
• 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
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