Problem solving & decision making

Skills Improvement Program

Problem Solving

&

Decision Making

Table of contents

Introduction…………………………………………………………………2

What is Problem Solving………………………...………………………….3

Problem Solving Tools & Techniques…………………...………………….6

Decision making……………………………………………………………14

What is Time Management…………………...……………………………19

Summary and Conclusion………………………...………………………..21

References …………………………………………………………………22


Introduction

What is a problem? What is the problem that we should solve? How can we decide what action to take?

How can we do that in the right time? These are the key questions that this article answers.

This article offers information and tools about problem solving, decision making and time management.

In this section we’ll discuss why we choose this particular skill to discuss and how it is affecting our daily

lives.

Everyday we face lots of problems that vary from simple small problems to big and complex ones, some

problems don’t have a big effect if left unsolved and some does have a really big effect on us, this effect

can be negative or positive, depending on the situation.

We liked to discuss about this skill because, it is important for a businessman/women to handle the daily

problems in his/her work with proficiency, to know how to solve internal conflicts, know how to give

each problem the right amount of time, effort and resources needed for it to be solved, and what are the

consequences for an unsolved problem? Is the risk of leaving it unsolved tolerable? If not, can I minimize

the damage suffered? All these questions will come up when you follow the best technique of problem

solving and decision making. So what is the best technique? The answer to this is up to you, you choose

the technique that best suits the current problem, situation and surrounding environment.

After reading this article, you should have known how to identify the real problem, how to generate

alternatives to solve the problem, how to choose the best suited alternative for the situation and how to

monitor the decision after it is taken, through constant feedback and on the spot adjustment. Also you

should know how to solve problems single or with a group, how to handle and manage brainstorming

conversations, how to use the group power to gather information from lots of sources and perspectives

which will provide you with wider choice and information about the situation that you are facing.


What is Problem Solving?

Problems are only opportunities in work clothes. – Henry Kaiser (American industrialist)

Having good strong problem solving skills can make a huge difference to your career.

Problems are at the center of what many people do at work every day. Whether you're solving a problem

for a client (internal or external), supporting those who are solving problems, or discovering new

problems to solve, the problems you face can be large or small, simple or complex, and easy or difficult.

A fundamental part of every manager's role is finding ways to solve them. So, being a confident problem

solver is really important to your success. Much of that confidence comes from having a good process to

use when approaching a problem. With one, you can solve problems quickly and effectively. Without

one, your solutions may be ineffective, or you'll get stuck and do nothing, with sometimes painful

consequences.

There are four basic steps in solving a problem:

1. Defining the problem.

2. Generating alternatives.

3. Evaluating and selecting alternatives.

4. Implementing solutions.

This article focuses on helping you make a success of the first of these steps – Defining the problem. A

very significant part of this involves making sense of the complex situation in which the problem occurs,

so that you can pinpoint exactly what the problem is. Many of the tools in this section help you do just

that. We look at these, and then review some useful, well-established problem-solving frameworks.


Defining the Problem

The key to a good problem definition is ensuring that you deal with the real problem – not its symptoms.

For example, if performance in your department is substandard, you might think the problem is with the

individuals submitting work. However, if you look a bit deeper, the real issue might be a lack of training,

or an unreasonable workload.

Tools like 5 Whys , Appreciation and Root Cause Analysis help you ask the right questions, and work

through the layers of a problem to uncover what's really going on.

At this stage, it's also important to ensure that you look at the issue from a variety of perspectives. If you

commit yourself too early, you can end up with a problem statement that's really a solution instead. For

example, consider this problem statement: "We have to find a way of disciplining of people who do

substandard work." This doesn't allow you the opportunity of discovering the real reasons for under-

performance. The CATWOE checklist provides a powerful reminder to look at many elements that may

contribute to the problem, and to expand your thinking around it.

Understanding Complexity

When your problem is simple, the solution is usually obvious, and you don't need to follow the four steps

we outlined earlier. So it follows that when you're taking this more formal approach, your problem is

likely to be complex and difficult to understand, because there's a web of interrelated issues.

The good news is that there are numerous tools you can use to make sense of this tangled mess! Many of

these help you create a clear visual representation of the situation, so that you can better understand

what's going on.

Affinity Diagrams are great for organizing many different pieces of information into common themes,

and for discovering relationships between these.

Another popular tool is the Cause-and-Effect Diagram. To generate viable solutions, you must have a

solid understanding of what's causing the problem. Using our example of substandard work, Cause-and-

Effect diagrams would highlight that a lack of training could contribute to the problem, and they could

also highlight possible causes such as work overload and problems with technology.

When your problem occurs within a business process, creating a Flow Chart or a System’s Diagram will

help you see how various activities and inputs fit together. This will often help you identify a missing

element or bottleneck that's causing your problem.


Quite often, what may seem to be a single problem turns out to be a whole series of problems. Going back

to our example, substandard work could be caused by insufficient skills, but excessive workloads could

also be contributing, as could excessively short lead times and poor motivation. The Drill Down

technique will help you split your problem into smaller parts, each of which can then be solved

appropriately.

Problem-Solving Processes

The four-step approach to solving problems that we mentioned at the beginning of this article will serve

you well in many situations. However, for a more comprehensive process, you can use Simplex,

Appreciative Inquiry or Soft Systems Methodology (SSM). These provide detailed steps that you can use

to solve a problem effectively.

Simplex involves an eight-stage process: problem finding, fact finding, defining the problem, idea

finding, selecting and evaluating, planning, selling the idea, and acting. These steps build upon the basic

process described earlier, and they create a cycle of problem finding and solving that will continually

improve your organization.

Appreciative Inquiry takes a uniquely positive approach by helping you solve problems by examining

what's working well in the areas surrounding them.

Soft Systems Methodology is designed to help you understand complex problems so that you can start

the process of solving them. It uses four stages to help you uncover more details about what's creating the

problem, and then define actions that will improve the situation.

Key Points

Using established tools and techniques will help you improve your approach to solving the problems that

your team and your organization face. You'll be more successful at solving problems and, because of this,

more successful at what you do. What's more, you'll begin to build a reputation as someone who can

handle tough situations, in a wise and positive way.


Problem Solving Tools & Techniques

1. The 5 whys

About the Tool

Sakichi Toyoda, one of the fathers of the Japanese industrial revolution, developed the 5 Whys technique

in the 1930s. He was an industrialist, inventor and founder of Toyota Industries. His technique became

popular in the 1970s and Toyota still uses it to solve problems today.

Toyota has a "go and see" philosophy. This means that its decision making is based upon an in-depth

understanding of the processes and conditions on the shop floor, rather than reflecting what someone in a

boardroom thinks might be happening.

The 5 Whys technique is true to this tradition, and it is most effective when the answers come from

people who have hands-on experience of the process being examined. It is remarkably simple: when a

problem occurs, you uncover its nature and source by asking "why" no fewer than five times. Here it is in

action:

Problem: Your client is refusing to pay for the leaflets you printed for them.

1. Why? The delivery was late, so the leaflets couldn't be used.

2. Why? The job took longer than we anticipated.

3. Why? We ran out of printer ink.

4. Why? The ink was all used up on a big, last-minute order.

5. Why? We didn't have enough in stock, and we couldn't order it in quickly enough.

Counter-measure: We need to find a supplier who can deliver ink at very short notice.

When to Use the 5 Whys

You can use the 5 Whys in troubleshooting, quality improvement and problem solving, but it is best for

simple or moderately difficult problems.

For more complex or critical problems, it can lead you to pursue a single track of enquiry when there

could be multiple causes. Here, a wider-ranging method such as Cause and Effect Analysis may be more

effective.

This simple technique, however, can often quickly direct you to the root of the problem. So, whenever a

system or process isn't working properly, give it a try before you embark on a more in-depth approach.

The simplicity of the 5 Whys tool gives it great flexibility, too, and it combines well with other methods

and techniques. It is often associated with lean manufacturing (also part of the Toyota Production


System), where it is used to identify and eliminate wasteful practices. It is also used in the analysis phase

of the Six Sigma quality improvement methodology.

How to Use the 5 Whys

The 5 Whys is a simple, practical tool that is very easy to use. When a problem arises, simply keep asking

the question "why" until you reach the underlying source of the problem, and until a robust counter-

measure becomes apparent.

Note:

The 5 Whys uses "counter-measures," rather than solutions. A counter-measure is an action or set of

actions that seeks to prevent the problem arising again, while a solution just seeks to deal with the

situation. As such, counter-measures are more robust, and are more likely to prevent the problem from

recurring.

Each time you ask "why," look for an answer that is grounded in fact: it must be an account of things that

have actually happened – not events that might have happened. This prevents the 5 Whys becoming just a

process of deductive reasoning, which can generate a number of possible causes and, sometimes, create

more confusion.

Keep asking "why" until you feel confident that you have identified the root cause and can go no further.

At this point, an appropriate counter-measure should become evident. If you're not sure whether you have

uncovered the real root cause, consider using a more in-depth problem-solving technique like Root Cause

Analysis .

Key Points

The 5 Whys strategy is an easy to use, effective tool for uncovering the root of a problem. You can use it

in troubleshooting, problem solving and quality improvement initiatives.

Start with a problem and ask "why" it is occurring. Make sure that your answer is grounded in fact, and

then ask "why" again. Continue the process until you reach the root cause of the problem, and you can

identify a counter-measure that prevents it recurring.

Bear in mind that this questioning process is best suited to simple to moderately-difficult problems.

Complex problems may benefit from a more detailed approach (although using 5 Whys will still give you

useful insights.)


2. Cause and Effect analysis

About the Tool

Cause and Effect Analysis was devised by Professor Kaoru Ishikawa, a pioneer of quality management, in

the 1960s. The technique was then published in his 1990 book, "Introduction to Quality Control."

The diagrams that you create with are known as Ishikawa Diagrams or Fishbone Diagrams (because a

completed diagram can look like the skeleton of a fish).

Cause and Effect Analysis was originally developed as a quality control tool, but you can use the

technique just as well in other ways. For instance, you can use it to:

Discover the root cause of a problem.

Uncover bottlenecks in your processes.

Identify where and why a process isn't working.

How to Use the Tool

Follow these steps to solve a problem with Cause and Effect Analysis:

Step 1: Identify the Problem

First, write down the exact problem you face. Where appropriate, identify who is involved, what the

problem is, and when and where it occurs.

Then, write the problem in a box on the left-hand side of a large sheet of paper, and draw a line across the

paper horizontally from the box. This arrangement, looking like the head and spine of a fish, gives you

space to develop ideas.

Example:

In this simple example, a manager is having problems with an uncooperative branch office.

Tip 1:

It's important to define your problem correctly. CATWOE can help you do this – this asks you to look at

the problem from the perspective of Customers, Actors in the process, the Transformation process, the

overall World view, the process Owner, and Environmental constraints.

By considering all of these, you can develop a comprehensive understanding of the problem.

http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/Cause-Effect-Diagram-Example-1.htm


Step 2: Work Out the Major Factors Involved

Next, identify the factors that may be part of the problem. These may be systems, equipment, materials,

external forces, people involved with the problem, and so on.

Try to draw out as many of these as possible. As a starting point, you can use models such as

the McKinsey 7S Framework (which offers you Strategy, Structure, Systems, Shared values, Skills,

Style and Staff as factors that you can consider) or the 4Ps of Marketing (which offers Product, Place,

Price, and Promotion as possible factors). Brainstorm any other factors that may affect the situation.

Then draw a line off the "spine" of the diagram for each factor, and label each line.

Example:

The manager identifies the following factors, and adds these to his diagram:

Site.

Task.

People.

Equipment.

Control.

Figure 2 – Cause and Effect Analysis Example Step 2

http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/Cause-Effect-Diagram-Example-2.htm


Step 3: Identify Possible Causes

Now, for each of the factors you considered in step 2, brainstorm possible causes of the problem that may

be related to the factor.

Show these possible causes as shorter lines coming off the "bones" of the diagram. Where a cause is large

or complex, then it may be best to break it down into sub-causes. Show these as lines coming off each

cause line.

Step 4: Analyze Your Diagram

By this stage you should have a diagram showing all of the possible causes of the problem that you can

think of.

Depending on the complexity and importance of the problem, you can now investigate the most likely

causes further. This may involve setting up investigations, carrying out surveys, and so on. These will be

designed to test which of these possible causes is actually contributing to the problem.

Tip:

A useful way to use Cause and Effect Analysis with a team is to write all of the possible causes of the

problem down on sticky notes. You can then group similar ones together on the diagram.

This approach is sometimes called CEDAC (Cause and Effect Diagram with Additional Cards) and was

developed by Dr. Ryuji Fukuda, a Japanese expert on continuous improvement.

Key Points

Professor Kaoru Ishikawa created Cause and Effect Analysis in the 1960s. The technique uses a diagram-

based approach for thinking through all of the possible causes of a problem. This helps you to carry out a

thorough analysis of the situation.

There are four steps to using the tool.

1. Identify the problem.

2. Work out the major factors involved.

3. Identify possible causes.

4. Analyze your diagram.

You'll find this method is particularly useful when you're trying to solve complicated problems.


3. CATWOE

CATWOE was defined by Peter Checkland as a part of his Soft Systems Methodology (SSM). It is a

simple checklist for thinking. It is one of the generic techniques that Business Analyst use to identify the

what the business is trying to achieve, what are the problem areas and how is the solution going to affect

the business and people involved in it.

Let us again take the example of Automation of Leave approval Process to better understand this analysis.

There are six elements of CATWOE:

1. Clients

Customers or clients are stakeholders who are the users of the system or process. These are the people

who’ll benefit of suffer due to the change in the system/process. The first step in a CATWOE analysis is

to identifying such customers and understanding how the process or system affects them.

Few Helpful Questions would be:

Who is on the receiving end?

What problem do they have now?

How will they react to what you are proposing?

Who are the winners and losers?

In the above mentioned example, employees are at the receiving end. Due to the present manual system,

they are facing the problem of long processing time for application and tedious job of tracking their

application. There could be mixed reaction from the employees on this change. The people familiar with

the computer technology may be happy but the senior citizens who are not comfortable with computers

might resist the change.

2. Actors

These are the people involved in the implementation of the changes in the system/changes.


Who are the actors who will 'do the doing', carrying out your solution?

What is the impact on them?

How might they react?

In our case these would be the development team from the IT dept. and the HR department.


3. Transformation

These are the changes that the system or process brings about. A CATWOE analysis requires listing the

inputs and the nature of change inputs undergo to become outputs.


What is the process for transforming inputs into outputs?

What are the inputs? Where do they come from?

What are the outputs? Where do they go to?

What are all the steps in between?

The transformation in our example would be from manual paper work to online application.

4. Weltanschauung

Weltanschauung, also known as “Worldview” is the big picture and the wider impact of the transformed

system/process. The system/process is analyzed to come up with the positive and negative impact on the

overall business. This is the most crucial step in CATWOE analysis as different stake holders have

different approaches to the same issue. The primary difference in the CATWOE analysis prepared by

each stakeholder lies in Weltanschauung, and the purpose of a CATWOE analysis is to make explicit

such different worldviews.


What is the bigger picture into which the situation fits?

What is the real problem you are working on?

What is the wider impact of any solution?

The overall impact of automation of Leave approval Process would be increased efficiency of the HR

department and all employees as the time duration of the whole leave approval process reduces.


5. Owner

These are the Decision makers who have the authority to make the changes, stop the project, or decide on

whether to go ahead with the change.


Who is the real owner or owners of the process or situation you are changing?

Can they help you or stop you?

What would cause them to get in your way?

What would lead them to help you?

In our example the process owner would be the Head HR.

6. Environmental constraints

These are the external constraints and limitation affecting the success of the solution. These can be ethical

limits, regulations, financial constraints, resource limitations, limitations of project scope, limits set by

terms of reference and others.

Few helpful questions would be:

What are the broader constraints that act on the situation and your ideas?

What are the ethical limits, the laws, financial constraints, limited resources, regulations, and so

on?

How might these constrain your solution? How can you get around them?

Leave Policies of the organization, integration with third party system, specified time limit can be some of

the limitation in our example.


How to Make Decisions

All of us have to make decisions every day.

Some decisions are relatively straightforward and simple: Is this report ready to send to my boss now?

Others are quite complex: Which of these candidates should I select for the job?

Simple decisions usually need a simple decision-making process. But difficult decisions typically involve

issues like these:

Uncertainty – Many facts may not be known.

Complexity – You have to consider many interrelated factors.

High-risk consequences – The impact of the decision may be significant.

Alternatives – Each has its own set of uncertainties and consequences.

Interpersonal issues – It can be difficult to predict how other people will react.

With these difficulties in mind, the best way to make a complex decision is to use an effective process.

Clear processes usually lead to consistent, high-quality results, and they can improve the quality of almost

everything we do. In this article, we outline a process that will help improve the quality of your decisions.

A Systematic Approach to Decision Making

A logical and systematic decision-making process helps you address the critical elements that result in a

good decision. By taking an organized approach, you're less likely to miss important factors, and you can

build on the approach to make your decisions better and better.

There are six steps to making an effective decision:

1. Create a constructive environment.

2. Generate good alternatives.

3. Explore these alternatives.

4. Choose the best alternative.

5. Check your decision.

6. Communicate your decision, and take action.


Step 1: Create a constructive environment To create a constructive environment for successful decision making, make sure you do the following:

Establish the objective – Define what you want to achieve.

Agree on the process – Know how the final decision will be made, including whether it will be

an individual or a team-based decision.

Involve the right people – Analyzing the stakeholders is important in making an effective

decision, and you'll want to ensure that you've consulted stakeholders appropriately even if you're

making an individual decision. Where a group process is appropriate, the decision-making group

– typically a team of five to seven people – should have a good representation of stakeholders.

Allow opinions to be heard – Encourage participants to contribute to the discussions, debates,

and analysis without any fear of rejection from the group. This is one of the best ways to avoid

groupthink. The Stepladder Technique is a useful method for gradually introducing more and

more people to the group discussion, and making sure everyone is heard. Also, recognize that the

objective is to make the best decision under the circumstances: it's not a game in which people are

competing to have their own preferred alternatives adopted.

Make sure you're asking the right question – Ask yourself whether this is really the true issue.

The 5 Whys technique is a classic tool that helps you identify the real underlying problem that

you face.

Use creativity tools from the start – The basis of creativity is thinking from a different

perspective. Do this when you first set out the problem, and then continue it while generating

alternatives.

Step 2: Generate Good Alternatives This step is still critical to making an effective decision. The more good options you consider the more

comprehensive your final decision will be.

When you generate alternatives, you force yourself to dig deeper, and look at the problem from different

angles. If you use the mindset: “there must be other solutions out there.” You’re more likely to make the

best decision possible. If you don't have reasonable alternatives, then there's really not much of a decision

to make!

Here's a summary of some of the key tools and techniques to help you and your team develop good

alternatives.


Generating Ideas

Brainstorming is probably the most popular method of generating ideas.

Another approach, Reverse Brainstorming, works similarly. However, it starts by asking people

to brainstorm how to achieve the opposite outcome from the one wanted, and then reversing these

actions.

The Charette Procedure is a systematic process for gathering and developing ideas from very

many stakeholders.

Use the Crawford Slip Writing Technique to generate ideas from a large number of people.

This is an extremely effective way to make sure that everyone's ideas are heard and given equal

weight, irrespective of the person's position or power within the organization.

Considering Different Perspectives

The Reframing Matrix uses 4 Ps (product, planning, potential, and people) as the basis for

gathering different perspectives. You can also ask outsiders to join the discussion, or ask existing

participants to adopt different functional perspectives (for example, have a marketing person

speak from the viewpoint of a financial manager).

If you have very few options, or an unsatisfactory alternative, use a Concept Fan Technique to

take a step back from the problem, and approach it from a wider perspective. This often helps

when the people involved in the decision are too close to the problem.

Appreciative Inquiry forces you to look at the problem based on what's ‘going right,' rather than

what's ‘going wrong.'

Organizing Ideas

This is especially helpful when you have a large number of ideas. Sometimes separate ideas can be

combined into one comprehensive alternative.

Use Affinity Diagrams to organize ideas into common themes and groupings.

Step 3: Explore the Alternatives When you're satisfied that you have a good selection of realistic alternatives, then you'll need to evaluate

the feasibility, risks, and implications of each choice. Here, we discuss some of the most popular and

effective analytical tools.

Risk

In decision making, there's usually some degree of uncertainty, which inevitably leads to risk. By

evaluating the risk involved with various options, you can determine whether the risk is manageable.


Risk Analysis helps you look at risks objectively. It uses a structured approach for assessing

threats, and for evaluating the probability of events occurring – and what they might cost to

manage.

Implications

Another way to look at your options is by considering the potential consequences of each.

Six Thinking Hats helps you evaluate the consequences of a decision by looking at the

alternatives from six different perspectives.

Impact Analysis is a useful technique for brainstorming the ‘unexpected' consequences that may

arise from a decision.

Validation

Determine if resources are adequate, if the solution matches your objectives, and if the decision is likely

to work in the long term.

Starbursting helps you think about the questions you should ask to evaluate an alternative

properly.

To assess pros and cons of each option, use Force Field Analysis, or use the Plus-Minus-

Interesting approach.

Cost-Benefit Analysis looks at the financial feasibility of an alternative.

Step 4: Choose the Best Alternative After you have evaluated the alternatives, the next step is to choose between them. The choice may be

obvious. However, if it isn't, these tools will help:

Decision Matrix Analysis, also known as a decision matrix, is a key tool for this type of

evaluation. It's invaluable because it helps you bring disparate factors into your decision-making

process in a reliable and rigorous way.

Use Paired Comparison Analysis to determine the relative importance of various factors. This

helps you compare unlike factors, and decide which ones should carry the most weight in your

decision.

Decision Trees are also useful in choosing between options. These help you lay out the different

options open to you, and bring the likelihood of project success or failure into the decision

making process.

For group decisions, there are some excellent evaluation methods available.

When decision criteria are subjective and it's critical that you gain consensus, you can use techniques

like Multi-Voting. These methods help a group agree on priorities, for example, so that they can assign

resources and funds.


The Delphi Technique uses multiple cycles of anonymous written discussion and argument, managed by

a facilitator. Participants in the process do not meet, and sometimes they don't even know who else is

involved. The facilitator controls the process, and manages the flow and organization of information. This

is useful where you need to bring the opinions of many different experts into the decision-making

process. It's particularly useful where some of these experts don't get on!

Step 5: Check Your Decision With all of the effort and hard work that goes into evaluating alternatives, and deciding the best way

forward, it's easy to forget to ‘sense check' your decisions. This is where you look at the decision you're

about to make dispassionately, to make sure that your process has been thorough, and to ensure that

common errors haven't crept into the decision-making process. After all, we can all now see the

catastrophic consequences that over-confidence, groupthink, and other decision-making errors have

wrought on the world economy.

The first part of this is an intuitive step, which involves quietly and methodically testing the assumptions

and the decisions you've made against your own experience, and thoroughly reviewing and exploring any

doubts you might have.

A second part involves using a technique like Blindspot Analysis to review whether common decision-

making problems like over-confidence, escalating commitment, or groupthink may have undermined the

decision-making process.

A third part involves using a technique like the Ladder of Inference to check through the logical

structure of the decision with a view to ensuring that a well-founded and consistent decision emerges at

the end of the decision-making process.

Step 6: Communicate Your Decision, and Move to Action! Once you've made your decision, it's important to explain it to those affected by it, and involved in

implementing it. Talk about why you chose the alternative you did. The more information you provide

about risks and projected benefits, the more likely people are to support the decision.

Key Points An organized and systematic decision-making process usually leads to better decisions. Without a well-

defined process, you risk making decisions that are based on insufficient information and analysis. Many

variables affect the final impact of your decision. However, if you establish strong foundations for

decision making, generate good alternatives, evaluate these alternatives rigorously, and then check your

decision-making process, you will improve the quality of your decisions.


What is time management?

It seems that there is never enough time in the day. But, since we all get the same 24 hours, why is it that

some people achieve so much more with their time than others? The answer lies in good time

management.

The highest achievers manage their time exceptionally well. By using the time-management techniques in

this section, you can improve your ability to function more effectively – even when time is tight and

pressures are high.

Good time management requires an important shift in focus from activities to results: being busy isn’t

the same as being effective. (Ironically, the opposite is often closer to the truth.)

Spending your day in a frenzy of activity often achieves less, because you’re dividing your attention

between so many different tasks. Good time management lets you work smarter – not harder – so you get

more done in less time.

What is “Time Management?”

“Time management” refers to the way that you organize and plan how long you spend on specific

activities.

It may seem counter-intuitive to dedicate precious time to learning about time management, instead of

using it to get on with your work, but the benefits are enormous:

Greater productivity and efficiency.

A better professional reputation.

Less stress.

Increased opportunities for advancement.

Greater opportunities to achieve important life and career goals.


Failing to manage your time effectively can have some very undesirable consequences:

Missed deadlines.

Inefficient work flow.

Poor work quality.

A poor professional reputation and a stalled career.

Higher stress levels.

Spending a little time learning about time-management techniques will have huge benefits now – and

throughout your career.

Key Points

Time management is the process of organizing and planning how much time you spend on specific

activities. Invest some time in our comprehensive collection of time management articles to learn about

managing your own time more efficiently, and save yourself time in the future.


Summary & Conclusion

After you finish reading this article, you should be able to see problems from another point of view, from

a more analytical point of view. Also you are now able to differentiate between symptoms and real causes

of the problem, through a scientific way of defining the “right” problem, using the best tool for it.

On the other hand, for generating ideas and alternatives to solve this problem, you should be able to know

how to set a constructive environment for a productive thinking. Because, real managers deal with limited

resources and the most important of them are time and effort, which should be invested wisely.

As we discussed before, when dealing with a group of people, one should know how to benefit from each

and every mind, through organizing and team building, like that, you can avoid chaos, few participations

and opportunity cost.

Then, you should analyze each idea, in terms of risk assessment, implication analysis and validation of

the idea. What are the threats associated with this idea? What are the probabilities of success or failure?

What is the worst case scenario of applying this idea? Is this idea “worth it”?

After filtering the ideas, we come with 1,2 or more ideas on hand, if the decision is still hard between

them, we use decision tools and techniques such as voting, decision trees or paired comparison.

Finally, after deciding which idea will be implemented, one should revise and test the idea for any errors

or unexpected results that may occur, after that, the idea should be put in action and being communicated

to all the users. That is not the end of it! Frequent monitoring and on the spot corrective actions will make

your decision work in the right direction through control.


References

http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMC_00.htm


http://bpmgeek.com/blog/what-catwoe-analysis

http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTED_00.htm

http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newHTE_00.htm



http://bpmgeek.com/blog/what-catwoe-analysis

http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTED_00.htm

http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newHTE_00.htm

Problem solving & decision making

Self Improvement

Transcript of Problem solving & decision making