Problem Identification consists of: Clearly identifying the root cause of a problem. Developing a detailed problem statement that includes the problem’s effect on the assignment. and finally selecting a solution with the least amount of risk to rectify the problem
Problem Identification as part of Total Quality Management
If you are required to produce defect-free products and services on time for your customers then you will have to ensure that the Assignment team get serious about problem prevention and cure.
Similarly, if your assignment is helping clients identify the causes and potential solutions for their particular problems, then an appreciation of problem-solving techniques will soon pay.
Cost of Quality
The costs can be described as:
- Prevention Costs: What it costs to prevent mistakes e.g. Implementation Team Focus Workshops, Quality Circles, StructuredWalkthroughs, Standards and structured methods, Training courses.
- Appraisal Costs: Mistake hunting before the system is accepted, -Testing, Walkthroughs, Inspections and Reviews
- Failure Costs: Where too much of the Problem Management function effort is focused – largely because the developers did not get it right first time, – Rework, Maintenance and overtime.
Loss of Business is often the result!
Problem and Quality Issues
There are a number of issues which you might consider:
- monitor the amount re-work carried out to eliminate it or at least significantly reduce it.
- get quality on the agenda alongside time and cost.
- challenge the prevailing notion that errors are inevitable.
- take positive action (through problem-solving and preventive action planning) to prevent errors occurring.
Whilst your present quality mechanisms may not be well placed to address these issues, you should still insist that a proper Quality Management process is used in an Assignment.
At the very least the process should encourage clients to increase their spend on preventative measures thereby saving a proportionately greater amount of appraisal and failure.
Summary
The Quality Management System covers all those activities of an Assignment, which are directly concerned with preventing errors, checking quality, and correcting errors. Note: See also the Chapters on Managing Quality and Quality Management Systems.
Problem Identification and Problem Solving
Causal Analysis Tools and Preventive Action Planning.
The Problem
When the system does not perform to expectation then it may have a problem. Problems come in all shapes and sizes if the problem will prevent the solution you are proposing being used properly, then it needs to be solved.
If the effects of the problem are severe and corrective action is not immediately possible then you may need to implement an interim action. However do make sure it doesn’t become permanent.
The cost of solving problems
Often staff complain about the considerable time they spend solving problems.
A significant part of these costs is spent on “fixing” the problem with interim or adaptive actions. Such actions may temporarily buy time, however, they are usually very costly in the long term. It is far more cost-effective to cure the problem.
This means that you will need to identify the cause of the problem and take actions to correct a cause. The process of doing this is known as Causal Analysis (also known as Problem Analysis). Clearly tools and techniques which help identify the cause and reduce these costs will benefit any Consultancy Assignment.
Infrastructure Requirement
There are five infrastructure requirements for Problem Management function initiated problem-solving. There are five key factors each of which leads to more effective problem solving and resolution. These are:
- People: The best people to solve a problem are those who are most closely related to the area giving the problem (Six sigma experts, Lean practitioners, Application Users and Application Developers etc). However, you are there to facilitate.
- Skills: You will need to ensure people use common processes and skills in order to solve the problems.
- Time: As problem-solving activities are part of most consultants responsibilities, the time taken to solve problems must be allocated and accounted for.
- Venue: For complex problems we suggest that you use a “quiet room”; this should be large enough to run a brainstorming session.
- Management: The processes and needed to ensure a successful implementation of a tested solution; e.g. for an IT environment you need:Problem Management, Availability Management, Configuration Management Quality Management,Change Management.
Prioritisation and Causal Analysis Tools and Techniques
The remainder of this section covers the prioritisation tools of Criteria Analysis, Priority Inventory Tool and Pareto Analysis and the Causal Analysis techniques.
In addition, there are other techniques such as Listening, Brainstorming, Fishbones, Problem Determination Scripts, Quality Circles, Preventative Action Planning and 4*2 Questions.
Depending on the complexity of the situations handled you can choose one or many of the tools.”
Prioritisation Tools
Criteria (Situation) Analysis
This process will help you prioritise the problems to work with, you will need to:
- Create a list of measurement criteria e.g. Have l authority/Responsibility for this problem: How much influence do I have (High Medium or low): Where on the SLUG bar does it fit (Seriousness, Length of time needed to work on, Urgency, Growth- if I do nothing will it go away).
- Put the problems on the criteria grid. Choose the most pressing one. This can be put through the
problem-solving tools (Brainstorm, Fishbone 4’2 etc)
Priority Inventory Tool
This is a useful tool when the situation facing the Problem Management function is especially complex, or there is no easy quantitative approach, and it is difficult to rely on gut feel and there are many people involved.
Then you may find it worthwhile getting people together to identify common priorities.
This can be done using a Priority Inventory Tool:
- Draw a scaled vertical axis 0-100.
- Ask the people concerned for their estimate over where the problem or concern should fit.
- Create a scattergram for each problem or concern.
- Against a horizontal line associated with the problem giving you most concern, identify the factors preventing the improvement and the factors encouraging the improvement. Prioritise those factors and then: Accelerate the positive factors and eliminate the negative factors.
Pareto Analysis
The Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto developed the 80/20 principle, typical findings include:
- 80% of complaints come from 20% of users.
- 80% of the errors come from 20% of the programs.
- 80% of Problem Management function effort is spent on 20% of the problems.
The 80/20 rule is soon “proven by reviewing the Problem Management function fault log: you may well find that 80% of the problem resolution costs come from 20% of the problems. A Pareto Analysis can be used to identify the vital few and useful many causes of problems, Pareto Analysis will certainly help you to focus effort onto the problem areas that are costing the Problem Management function – and the Company – the most.
The end result of a Pareto Analysis is a bar chart, showing classification of problems in descending order from left to right.
The five-step Pareto Process is as follows:
- Identify the applications or systems within which problems fall.
- Establish how often they occur.
- Calculate the cost.
- Sort the results into descending percentages.
- Resolve the most costly problems.
Causal Analysis Techniques
Listening
Most simple problems will be solved by simply talking and listening. It is sensible to build your personal network of “useful contacts”
Brain-storming
Very often the best solution to a problem is the most innovative. In order to generate innovative solutions – or identify likely causes – you may find it worthwhile setting up a short brainstorming session. See the section on Creative Thinking
Cause and Effect (“Ishikawa”, “Fishbone”) diagram.
A cause is a condition or action that happens “prior to or during the process. An effect is the result of a process.
- Write down a problem statement, then draw a box around it and a horizontal arrow pointing to it.
- Add four or five major sources of the problem above and below and connected to the horizontal arrow.
- Through discussion, brainstorming and mind mapping, identify specific causes and group by category. Use WHY, WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, and HOW.
- If all fails ask using these guides form “What a Great Idea” by Chic Thompson
Ask “Why” a problem is occurring and then ask “Why” four more times.
For example…
- Why has the machine stopped? A fuse blew because of an overload
- Why was there an overload? There wasn’t enough lubrication for the bearings
- Why wasn’t there enough lubrication? The pump wasn’t pumping enough
- Why wasn’t lubricant being pumped? The pump shalt was vibrating as a result of abrasion
- Why was there abrasion?There was no filter, allowing chips of material into the pump
Installation of a filter solves the problem.
Problem Determination Scripts
For common situations, you may find it worthwhile creating a “Problem Determination Script”. The script can help in two ways:
- Determine the problem.
- Solve the problem.
Many Assignments can benefit from a standard series of questions, you could adopt the SPIR approach (see Obtaining Information Data Collection) to help you
Four by two-question process
This process – as originated by Kepner and Tregoe, DPI and others, uses a series of questions which will help you isolate likely causes. It can be used on its own, or in conjunction with the other techniques already outlined. The process consists of six steps:
- Identify: Some obstacle is interfering with attaining some goal. A deviation has occurred in the expected performance, In order to correct a deviation, you need to find the cause. This means that you need to ‘describe the problem’.
- Describe: To describe a problem you need to look at it in four ways
WHAT identifies the problem.
WHERE specifies the location.
WHEN specifies the period of time the problem is occurring.
HOW MUCH describes its size.
Ask the same questions to specify what the problem is not, this will help you focus on the real problem – so that you can Analyse. - Analyse: Compare the problem area to the non-problem area. Look for new and additional information, comparing for differences. Focus further by asking:
What is distinctive between what the problem is and what it is not?
What is distinctive between where the problem is and where it is not?
What is distinctive between when the problem is seen and when it is not? - Consider: Consider each possible cause and check it against your four
descriptions
If a possible cause cannot explain both sides of the description, then it is not likely to be the real cause.
The most probable cause will be the one that best explains both sides with fewest assumptions. - Act and Implement the Solution: To address a problem, you can take three different types of action.
Interim Action, Adaptive Action, Corrective Action: Ideally you go for the Corrective Action in order to eliminate the problem as this is aimed at the cause of the problem. - Confirm: Ensure that all processes associated with the problem have been activated.