People solving problems – techniques and benefits

iSQR has the tagline People Solving Problems because solving problems will transform your business. This post outlines a couple of techniques you can try and the benefits of problem solving to your business.

Problem Solving Techniques

The simplest problem-solving technique is PDCA. Plan – Do – Check- Act. The benefit here is about being deliberate about what you are changing – “Plan” before you “Do” and then “Check” to make sure that the action had the expected result. “Act” is then a decision around whether you make the change you made part of your standards or whether you go around the PDCA loop again trying another solution.

What’s important before starting the PDCA is making sure you understand the problem “understand before you make a plan”. 5 whys can be a great way to make sure you understand what the problem is you are trying to solve.

Building on the PDCA technique is the A3 problem solving process. The A3 process was developed by Toyota to support effective problem solving and importantly, foster learning and collaboration. A3 comes from the paper size that the problem solving technique is documented and shared on. It follows the plan-do-check-act process in a shareable easy to follow format.

For complex technical problems you could also look at DMAIC (Define Measure Analyse Improve Control), but for most problems PDCA and A3 problem solving is likely to be sufficient.

Benefits

Problem solving has the benefit of solving problems (well yeah….) but the benefits of problem solving are beyond just solving the immediate issue at hand. Solving problems can be a highly effective way of team building, creating positivity and confidence in the team. It creates greater understanding of processes through investigation and observation, deepening the team’s capability and knowledge.

Note: it’s a really good idea to document the processes found when following the problem solving process, such as a process map or SOPs. See here for an article on process management.

iSQR is passionate about problem solving, please get in touch if you wish to discuss problem solving at your business.