Creative Problem Solving
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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
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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
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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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