problem solving for success handbook

Problem Solving for Success Handbook Solve the Problem – Sustain the Solution – Celebrate Success

Problem Solving for Success Handbook Solve the Problem – Sustain the Solution – Celebrate Success

Rod Baxter

2015

Copyright © 2015 by Rod Baxter

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review or scholarly journal.

First Edition: 2015

ISBN 978-1-329-63420-6

Value Generation Partners, LLC 8083 San Vista Circle Naples, Florida 34109 [email protected]

www.valuegenerationpartners.com

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Contents Introduction: Problem Solving for Success .................................. 1Step One: State the Problem and Goal ....................................... 7

Develop Problem Definition and Statement ............................. 7Develop SMART Goal Definition and Statement ..................... 9

Step Two: Understand the Cause ............................................. 11Construct Current-State Process Flow Diagrams .................. 13Create Cause-and-Effect (C&E) Diagram .............................. 16Conduct 5 Why Root Cause Analysis .................................... 18

Step Three: Confirm the Cause ................................................. 21Step Four: Construct the Solution ............................................. 23

Develop List of Potential Solutions ........................................ 24Select Solution with Solution Selection Matrix ....................... 25Analyze Solution with Force Field Analysis ........................... 27Analyze Solution with FMEA .................................................. 29Pilot Test and Verify Solution ................................................. 32Define Future-State Process Flow Diagrams ........................ 33

Step Five: Execute the Solution ................................................ 35Step Six: Sustain the Solution ................................................... 37

Conduct Solution Training ..................................................... 37Define and Deploy Solution Sustainment Plan ...................... 39Conduct Solution Close and Hand-Off ................................... 42

Step Seven: Salute the Team ................................................... 43Rapid Problem Solving for Success .......................................... 45Supporting Tools and Techniques ............................................. 51

Affinity Diagram to Group Ideas ............................................. 51Brainstorming to Generate Ideas ........................................... 52Data Collection for Problem Solving ...................................... 54Decision Tree for Selecting among Alternatives .................... 57Fault Tree Analysis to Determine Root Cause ...................... 59Graphical Analysis for Problem Solving ................................. 63Impact/Effort for Selecting among Alternatives ...................... 66Mind Mapping to Generate and Analyze Ideas ...................... 69Multivoting for Reaching Group Consensus .......................... 71Nominal Group Technique to Generate/Rank Ideas .............. 72

Contents

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Pairwise Comparison to Prioritize Options ............................. 74SIPOC for Understanding Process Elements ........................ 76

Summary: Problem Solving for Success ................................... 79Index .......................................................................................... 81

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With the purchase of this book, you are eligible to receive a complementary MS Excel® file, which contains the templates referenced in these chapters.

To download your copy of the Problem Solving for Success Toolbox, enter into your web browser the URL below.

http://www.valuegenerationpartners.com/downloads.html

Then, please complete and submit the download form. Thank you.

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Introduction: Problem Solving for Success Former Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles, is credited with the quote, "The measure of success is not whether you have a tough problem to deal with, but whether it is the same problem you had last year." Problems, also known as opportunities, issues, failures, de-fects, etc., come in many shapes and sizes and exist in every business and industry with varying levels of impact and complexity. There are a variety of approaches, methodologies, and techniques to solve problems, including ISO Corrective Action, Ford 8D, A3 Think-ing PDCA, Kepner-Tregoe®, Shainin®, and Lean Six Sigma DMAIC, to list a few. A simple, efficient, and effective approach to problem solving is one of the most lacking and sought-after skills and compe-tencies in business and industry today. Businesses need and want a simple approach to problem solving, one with predictable and sus-tainable solutions. This simple seven-step, fact-based ap-proach, called Problem Solving for Success, may be ap-plied to any problem in any industry – healthcare, construc-tion, manufacturing, service, hospitality, non-profit, govern-ment, financial, etc. This guide to Prob-lem Solving for Success is designed for problem solvers of all levels, regardless of their role, business, and industry. It combines the best elements of some of the simplest to most complex problem-solving approaches and methodologies into the following seven steps: • State the Problem and Goal – define the problem and goal

statements that clearly and concisely represent the problem and intended outcome

Introduction: Problem Solving for Success

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• Understand the Cause – define the current-state process flow and determine with certainty the true root cause of the problem

• Confirm the Cause – verify and confirm root cause of problem • Construct the Solution – develop and select a solution, deter-

mine potential issues with the solution, pilot and verify the solution, and define the future-state process flow

• Execute the Solution – define and execute a solution implemen-tation plan

• Sustain the Solution – update processes, add controls, and train users

• Salute the Team – recognize the team and celebrate success Problem Solving for Success is documented, summarized, and re-ported using the Problem Solving for Success Summary Report, as described in the following process steps, flow diagram, and depicted in the template.

Problem Solving for Success Process:

1. A problem, issue, failure, or opportunity is deter-mined to exist and requires action; initiate the seven-step process by completing the top portion of the Problem Solving for Success Summary Report

2. Define and document problem and SMART goal statements on the Problem Solving for Success Summary Report using the tools and techniques described in Step One: State the Problem and Goal

3. Define and document the root-cause statement on the Problem Solving for Success Summary Report using the tools and tech-niques described in Step Two: Understand the Cause

4. Define and document the root-cause verification statement on the Problem Solving for Success Summary Report using the tools and techniques described in Step Three: Confirm the Cause

5. Define and document the solution selection statement on the Problem Solving for Success Summary Report using the tools and techniques described in Step Four: Construct the Solution


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6. Define and document the solution implementation statement on the Problem Solving for Success Summary Report using the tools and techniques described in Step Five: Execute the Solution

7. Define and document the solution sustainment statement on the Problem Solving for Success Summary Report using the tools and techniques described in Step Six: Sustain the Solution

8. Define and document a statement of team recognition and cele-bration of success on the Problem Solving for Success Summary Report using the tools and techniques described in Step Seven: Salute the Team

Employing the seven-step process of Problem Solving for Success will result in a solution that solves the problem and sustains the re-sults. The ensuing sections and chapters provide detail and information necessary to apply the seven-step Problem Solving for Success approach to every problem of any size and complexity for every industry and business.


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Based on the complexity, time restrictions, resource availability, or-ganizational goals and needs, etc., Problem Solving for Success may be conducted with one of two approaches. Problem solving may be conducted as a project-oriented approach as described in the seven-step Problem Solving for Success process sections of this handbook. Or, problem solving may be conducted in a condensed, event-based approach, as described in the Rapid Problem Solving for Success section toward the back of the handbook.

The facilitator and team may use the following Problem Solving for Success Checklist to manage and track tasks and activities neces-sary to successfully complete the Problem Solving for Success process. It is divided by the seven problem-solving steps with key activities listed for each step. The facilitator and team may include additional key activities, as identified, and may choose to change the current activities from required to not required. The date each activity is completed is added to the checklist with any additional comments, as necessary.


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Key to Problem Solving for Success is timely, concise, and appropri-ate communication. George Bernard Shaw was quoted as saying, "The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place." As you execute the seven-step problem solving approach, you must ensure that in each step careful consideration is given to the impact on the many and various stakeholders and how that impact is communicated.

Benefits of timely and concise communication include:

• Facilitates securing support for the problem-solving initiative • Clarification of roles and responsibilities • Status of the problem-solving initiative • Updates on issues, risks, and changes • Updates on activities, implementation plans, and training plans We wish you much success in your pursuit of Problem Solving for Success, thereby generating greater organizational value!

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Index 5

5 Why Root-Cause Analysis, v, 12, 17,

18, 19, 47, 59, 62

A

A3 Thinking Lean Thinking, 1

Action Plan, 28, 29, 48, 54, 60, 62 Affinity Diagram, 23, 24, 51, 52,

54 Analyze, v, 27, 29, 59, 62, 69

B

Blended learning, 37 Block Diagrams, 14, 33, 77 Brainstorming, 16, 17, 18, 23, 24,

51, 52, 53, 54, 67, 69, 71, 72, 73

C

C&E Cause-and-Effect Diagram,

Fishbone Diagram, Ishikawa Diagram, 12, 16, 17, 47, 52, 57, 62

Cause-and-Effect Matrix X-Y Matrix, 59

Celebrate, i, iii, 2, 80 Checklist, 4, 10 Concise, 5, 43, 80 Continuous Improvement, 26, 32,

46 Control, 29, 40, 63 Correlation, 65 CTC

Critical-to-Customer, 76, 77

D

Data Collection Plan, 54, 56

Define, v, 2, 3, 7, 10, 12, 23, 28, 33, 35, 37, 39, 41, 43, 48, 49, 52, 59, 77

Deployment Flowchart Swimlane Map, 14, 15, 34

Detection, 11, 15, 31, 32 DMAIC, 1

E

eLearning, 37, 38 Expected, 24, 57, 58, 59, 61, 76,

77 Experimental, 54

F

Facilitation, 29, 46, 53, 73 Fault Tree Analysis (FTA), 17, 47,

59, 60, 62 Fishbone Diagram, 16 Flowcharts, 14, 33 FMEA

Failure Modes and Effects Analysis, v, 23, 29, 30, 32, 48, 57, 62

Force Field Analysis, v, 27, 28 FTA

Fault Tree Analysis, 59, 60

H

Histogram, 64 Historical, 54

I

Impact/Effort Analysis, 25, 66, 67 Impact/Effort Matrix, v, 25, 48, 66,

67, 68 Improve, 9 Input/Output Process Map, 14, 33 Instructor-led, 37 Interval, 55 Ishikawa Diagram, 16

Index

82

K

Kaoru Ishikawa, 16, 63

L

Lean Six Sigma LSS, 1

M

Mind Mapping, 23, 24, 69, 70 Mitigate, 28, 30, 55 Monitor, 36 Murphy’s Law, 29

N

NASA, 29 National Aeronautics and

Space Administration, 25, 29 NGT

Nominal Group Technique, 72 Nominal, v, 24, 55, 72, 73 Nominal Group Technique (NGT),

23, 24, 73 NVA

Non-Value Added, 13

O

Observational, 54 Occurrence, 15, 31, 32 Ordinal, 55

P

Pairwise Comparison, 74 Pareto, 64 PDCA

PDSA, 1 Peter Drucker, 9 Problem Solving for Success, i, iii,

v, vi, vii, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12, 21, 23, 24, 35, 37, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 54, 63, 79, 80

Process, 2, 3, 4, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 42, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 51, 54, 56, 57, 61, 63, 64, 66, 67, 70, 71, 72, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79

Purpose, 43, 46

R

Rapid Problem Solving for Success, v, 4, 45, 50

Report, 2, 3, 7, 12, 21, 23, 35, 37, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49

Requirements, 25, 30, 32, 40, 62, 75

Retrospective, 54 Root Cause, v, 12, 15, 17, 18, 19,

47, 59, 62 RPN

Risk Priority Number, 32

S

Safety, 48 Salute, v, 2, 3, 37, 43, 49, 80 Scatter Diagram, 65 Schedule, 35, 36, 48, 49, 72 Scope, 9, 47 Severity, 31, 32 Shainin, 1 SIPOC, vi, 76, 77, 78 Six Sigma, 1 SMART, v, 2, 7, 9, 10, 42, 46, 47,

59 SME

Subject Matter Expert, 28, 30, 67, 77

Solution, i, iii, v, 2, 3, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 29, 32, 33, 35, 36, 37, 39, 41, 42, 48, 49, 58, 79

Solution Implementation Plan, 35 Solution Sustainment Plan, v, 39,

41 Solution-Selection Matrix, 26, 54

Index

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Step Five Execute the Solution, v, 3, 23,

24, 35, 48, 49 Step Four

Construct the Solution, v, 2, 21, 23, 24, 48

Step One State the Problem and Goal, v,

2, 7, 47 Step Seven

Salute the Team, v, 3, 37, 43, 49

Step Six Sustain the Solution, v, 3, 35,

37, 49 Step Three

Confirm the Cause, v, 2, 13, 21, 48

Step Two

Understand the Cause, v, 2, 7, 11, 21, 24, 33, 47, 62

Stratification, 56, 66 Sustain, i, iii, v, 2, 3, 35, 37, 49,

79 Sustainment, v, 39, 41 Swimlane

Deployment Flowchart, 14, 15, 34

T

Toolbox, 63 Training Plan, 5, 38, 80

V

VA Value Added, 13

Values, 24, 58, 59, 68 Virtual, 37

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