Tag Archives: Problem Solving Process

01-Structuring a problem, issue trees, problem statement, scoping

Some More Analysis Frameworks

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In our first semester we learned about issue trees in MP and event trees in DDA and how they help break-down problem statements into solvable nuggets. In addition to these trees, here are three more analytical frameworks to breakdown problems:

  • Means-ends networks: The initial problem statement is broken down by identifying all the obstacles that hinder reaching the goal. Then develop an action to get past this obstacle and in turn identify new obstacles that would thwart this plan. When all of these levels’ impediments are addressed, the overall problem statement should be solved.1
  • Objective hierarchy: Another hierarchical structure where a broad objective is developed out of the problem statement at the highest level. This objective is broken down into narrower objectives. As the objectives get narrower they take the form of actions, therefore they are called ‘means objectives’.2

Consequence tables: This structure is useful in comparing multiple options. List the multiple alternatives on one axis of the table and attributes to compare on the other axis. Give each alternative a rating for each attribute (the rating being relative to that of the other alternatives). Color coding the ratings based on different thresholds visually helps in comparing the alternatives.3

Looking back at our past two MP project I feel as though a means-end network would have been very beneficial (in addition to the issue trees we developed). There were several obstacles in both the Carlos Museum and Delta projects that needed to be sorted out and solved at a basic level.

Sources:

  1. http://www.bcp.psych.ualberta.ca/~mike/Pearl_Street/Dictionary/contents/M/meansends.html
  2. http://www.fs.fed.us/psw/topics/fire_science/craft/craft/Four_stages/Objectives/Objectives_hierarchy_tutorial.htm
  3. http://www.structureddecisionmaking.org/steps/step4consequences/consequences2/
05-Creating & constructing good solutions

So What? or “Appreciation” – Framework

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Hey all, I found some more information regarding the “so what?” framework if you all are interested. According to mindtools.com, the framework is actually called ‘Appreciation.’

  • Appreciation helps us uncover factors that we might have ordinarily missed
  • Originally developed by the military to help commanders gain a comprehensive understanding of any fact, problem or situation that it was faced with in battle
  • You use Appreciation by asking “So What” repeatedly. This helps you to extract all important information implied by a fact.
  • What are the implications of that fact?
  • Why is this fact important?
  • Word of caution: 
  • Can restrict you to one line of thinking. For instance, once you’ve answered your first “So what?” question, you might follow a single line of inquiry to its conclusion. To avoid this, repeat the appreciation process several times over to make sure that you’ve covered all bases. Alternatively, consider using other problem solving techniques in conjunction with this one to ensure a broad-based approach

http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMC_01.htm

05-Creating & constructing good solutions, creativity methods, stress-testing recommendations

Let the data speak for itself

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I’ve been interested in developing models and using data to drive business decisions, and so I was recently reading “Doing Data Science”, which is available at http://www.amazon.com/Doing-Data-Science-Straight-Frontline/dp/1449358659/.  The book contains a fair bit of math, which might make it seem a bit daunting, but I believe it’s worth the read since the authors offer some interesting insights into how to incorporate data analysis and modelling into solving business problems.   There are two sections in particular that I found useful.  The first is on exploratory data analysis, which is the process by which you start to construct a solution to your problem.  As the author states, “Exploratory data analysis (EDA) is often relegated to chapter 1 (by which we mean the ‘easiest’ and lowest level) of standard introductory statistics textbooks and then forgotten about for the rest of the book… But EDA is a critical part of the data science process…”  One of the challenges for me, especially when facing a (messy) business problem, is figuring out what is relevant to the issue, and so I think the framework laid out in this book for doing EDA gives me a good structure for how to approach this step.  This involves both asking what information might be available to help me develop correlations between with the desired business result as well as strategies for teasing out those correlations.  Related to this is the chapter on extracting meaning from data, where the author effectively makes the point that just asking more questions and getting more information doesn’t necessarily lead to a better outcome/model if the data you are gathering is not relevant to the problem at hand.

The book also includes a number of useful vignettes about the real-life application (and misapplication) of data-driven business decisions.  For instance, here is an example from IBM where they wanted to find potential customers for their online business service:

At IBM, the target was to predict companies that would be willing to buy “websphere” solutions.  The data was transaction data and crawled potential company websites.  The winning model showed that if the term “websphere” appeared on the company’s website, then it was a great candidate for the product.  What happened?  Remember, when considering a potential customer, by definition that company wouldn’t have bought websphere yet (otherwise IBM wouldn’t be trying to sell to it); therefore no potential customer would have websphere on its site, so it’s not a predictor at all…  Doing simple sanity checking to make sure things are what you think they are can sometimes get you much further in the end…

01-Structuring a problem, 05-Creating & constructing good solutions, creativity methods

The Art and Science of Problem Solving in Any Business

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Many of you have been encountering any type of problems to solve for your workplace. I have been dealing with different types of problems over last 15 years, mostly should provide engineering solution to clients. As one of team members or project lead to work together with other colleagues to confront complex issues, I should sometimes develop the solid and comprehensive methodology to overcome internal conflicts. In order to do that, I should have adapted particular skills and processes to achieve team objective, valued business and engineering solution to clients.

I am always seeking and researching for tips and techniques for problem solving – from structuring problems to delivering solutions. I found two short articles which I think useful to share with my MP cohort.

The first article is “Art and Science of Problem Solving in Any Business” and second one is “the most 4 effective ways leaders solve problems” Two authors made two valid points for problem solving skills. The first is “People & Management” and second is “Strategy and Opportunities”.  The People & Management is that a great many problems are actually due to policies and processes being reinterpreted by management as they’re being implemented, which in turn causes confusion about how and when things are supposed to be done. The Strategy and Opportunities is that  defining the problem, as well as in dealing with it in such a way that you not only resolve the immediate issue but use the opportunity to improve your business as strategy. They are very simple and straight-forward thoughts. But, I have overlooked them in the process of establishing the project team and scope as well as delivering final solution to management team.

The Art and Science of Problem Solving in Any Business

The 4 most effective ways leaders solve problems

 

01-Structuring a problem, 05-Creating & constructing good solutions, 06-Building a case, evaluating evidence, issue trees, problem statement, scoping, stakeholder analysis

The Top-Down Approach to Critical Thinking

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In this article, which I found on Business Insider, the author discusses how to be a more effective critical thinker and problem solver. He speaks about how after obtaining a position as a strategy consultant after his MBA, he struggled to solve problems quickly and effectively for clients. A mentor then coached him to “START WITH THE ANSWERS.” This advice that was very foreign to the author at the time. He struggled with this concept but his mentor taught him how to start with the basic structure of a problem they were trying to solve and then develop some hypotheses around that problem based on any given knowledge or prior experience. Then they would put the hypotheses down into a structured diagram with answers that tie to the logic of the problem they were trying to solve. The mentor noted that once they knew the structure of the problem and the possible solutions, they could plan the data that proves or disproves their theories.

This immediately made me think of Issue Trees; a concept I struggled with when first presented to us by Professor Noonan in fall semester. I felt that I could not come up with possible solutions before knowing all of the facts or researching all of the relevant information I needed to try to find the solution. But the mentor in this article also makes a good point that the key to this top-down approach to critical thinking is to not be married to the original answer but by having an original hypothesis or hypotheses, one can begin to focus the data that one collects regarding the solution, as well as begin to socialize the “answers” to illicit feedback and reactions, which can help to hone in on a real and viable solution.

 

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/the-better-way-to-solve-problems-in-business-2010-7#ixzz37IYQ5WMo

 

05-Creating & constructing good solutions

The Treasure Map — A path to finding ‘business gold’: solutions

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One of my two selected topics focuses on solutions.

Treasure Map, Chart your path
A Treasure Map of Solutions

In my preliminary research, I ran across an article in Business Insider, “Nine Steps to Effective Business Problem Solving” by Martin Zwilling. As Zwilling writes, managing any company is all about problem solving. Every employee at every level of the company is constantly evaluating issues and scenarios, coming up with solutions, and implementing them to benefit the company and customers. However, just because everyone participates in the decision making process does not mean everyone has a natural proclivity at finding the best solution for the problem.

In my case, I struggle with ‘solving’ an issue before the person presenting the problem has finished speaking. I need to develop a method where I can process the problem, understand the underlying issues, and identify a couple possible solutions before I jump to a single answer.

Based on Brian Tracy’s “The Power of Self-Discipline,” Zwilling defines the decision making process in his words:

  1. Take the time to define the problem clearly.
  2. Pursue alternate paths on “facts of life” and opportunities.
  3. Challenge the definition from all angles.
  4. lteratively question the cause of the problem.
  5. Identify multiple possible solutions.
  6. Prioritize potential solutions.
  7. Make a decision.
  8. Assign responsibility.
  9. Set a measure for the solution.

Looking at Zwilling’s descriptions of each separate step and my weaknesses, the areas I can most improve when finding a solution are: pausing to understand the problem (no jumping to conclusions!), defining the root cause of the problem, prioritizing potential solutions, and measuring the solution.

These are the four pieces of the decision making process I will research and share in subsequent blog posts. Four pieces that I will use to create my own map of finding ‘golden’ solutions to problems.

Along with further research of the topic, I will be putting my research into practice while at work. My first practice is recognizing when I need to make a decision and simply taking a step back to fully absorb the situation and context of the problem without jumping to conclusions. Look for a story on how I handle this test at work in a subsequent post.