"We need to first define the problem. Albert Einstein once said: “If I had an hour to save the world I would spend 59 minutes defining the problem and one minute finding solutions” And I find in most organizations people are running around spending sixty minutes finding solutions to problems that don’t matter." — Stephen Shapiro
The problem statement is a clear and concise statement that describes the symptoms of the problem to be addressed. Defining the problem statement provides three benefits for the team:
- creates a sense of ownership for the team
- focuses the team on an accepted problem
- describes the symptoms in measurable terms
- Define the problem - In the problem statement, team members define the problem in specific terms. They present facts such as the product type and the error made.
- Identify where the problem is appearing - Identifying where the problem is appearing, or manifesting, as specifically as possible helps the team focus its improvement efforts.
- Describe the size of the problem - The size of the problem is described in measurable terms.
- Describe the impact the problem is having on the organization - The description of the problem's impact on the organization should be as specific as possible.
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Very interesting quote. I'm afraid that I'd need more than a minute even with the best problem statement but I'm not Einstein. We definitely need to spend more time defining the problems before trying to solve them. Most skip the P of PDCA and go straight to Do.....
ReplyDeleteHere's a post to that point: http://wp.me/pZiRD-pG
Tim,
ReplyDeletegreat blog, which I always try and catch. This one in particular reminded me of a quote I first came across some 19 years ago completing my thesis.
"When you see a situation clearly, I have found, the decision is clear and easy. The facts make the decision for you." Harold S. Geneen, chairman of ITT.
It's a quote lifted from a Journal of Systems Management article from 1990, entitled
"...But first, understand the problem."
At the time (1993) I was casting around for Problem Identification techniques and investigating Kepner Tregoe, Cause and Effect, Russell Ackoff, Kotters Organisational Dynamics, 5 WHYs etc.
All the above have helped me to define different problems and have their more suitable environments.
I often find businesses are reluctant to invest in skilling people to "see" the problem or they've heard of "low-hanging fruit" and want to get at them instead of defining what their own problems might be.
Thanks for writing the blog, look forward to many more.