My Problem Solving Method

The first stage in the problem solving process is identifying the problem.   Sometimes this stage is taken the most lightly and you have to return to this stage because it is difficult to find the true root cause of the issue.  It is important to identify problems to be able to have concrete objectives to measure. Once you have come up with possible solutions for the problems you should look at the outcomes of each solution.  Some solutions might have positives and negative results and you need to look at the various outcomes of each of these conditions.. 

1)  Identify the Problem
2) Come up with possible solutions
3) Revert to #1 if solutions are not substantial enough
4) Look at the possible outcomes of each solution
5) Analyze and study the outcome
6) Decide which solution best fits the problem identifed in #1

I choose this method because it is always important to keep in mind that Ideniftying your problem is your most important step.  If your team or you personally do not spend a lot of time identifying and working with the problem, it will hurt you throughout your problem solving process.  Identifying the problem is refered to very often throughout the problem solving steps. So you must get to the floor and see what actually is causing the problem.

Once you have applied corrective actions to the problem, you then should analyze and study the outcome.  This is the stage where youmight need to go back to the drawing board and make sure that you have collected adequate data, have a good understanding of the problem, and  their root causes.  After you have worked through the outcomes and find out what your best solution is, you then should decide, make the final improvements and institute the solution for sustainable change.

HH