Have you heard of the 8 Step Problem Solving Process? Many companies use this and you can use it for personal situations as well. (I actually have designed a similar program that I share with my students and clients in my workshops). I don't like the word "problem" and don't believe we have problems; we only have "situations", but for now we'll use the word for now.
Here is a real life situation by one of my students at the job. Know that A&W is copywritten and does not necessarily endorse any of this but hopefully there is something here that you can learn from this article.
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We have regular meeting at the A&W and are always working on something that needs to be addressed. Such as taking orders in three locations and everyone understand their role in the process. We have an order counter, drive-through, and a drive-in. So, it can get confusing for some as to where an order needs to go and watching all three locations.
Understanding the Charge- I think this is an important step in the problem solving process. If someone does not understand the charge, they will not advance properly on any of the other steps. In step one, we failed to have a deadline for the changes and we did not talk about resources available. It is easy to get caught up in the nature of the problem, each person’s stake and who is involved that the last two get over looked.
Phrasing the Question- The wording shaped the outcome and reflected what was important. I think the wording was clear but yet I think some extra wording was used to take away the punch as to not be the heavy at the meeting.
Fact-finding- We examined the background and the possible outcomes. As for the current state of the problem we should have asked about possible solutions and if there was anything we should have been aware of that could help resolve the problems.
Establishing Criteria for a Solution- This step was skipped. We did do one by looking into what resources were necessary to implement the solution to the problem.
Generating Alternative Solutions- We are always brainstorming however; I could implement the idea of stream ideas. It is interesting how one word phrases lead to other ideas.
Testing Each Alternative Solution against the Criteria- When you are pressed for time or feel the first solution is going to work it is easy to skip over doing more research and comparing.
Formulating a Solution- The solution was clearly stated. If it is not clearly stated in can lead to misunderstandings.
Presenting the Solution- The solution was precise and clearly stated. Just like a lengthy speech, a lengthy document can get boring to read. Need to be careful not to lose your audience’s attention.
The 8 Step Process really lays out a good process to build from. I will definitely apply the parts of the steps I did not before the next time I am working on a group project. Finding and working with alternative solutions were not always fully used or examined so, I will definitely have to give that more attention.
Good job Andrea.
Make it a great day!
Ter Scott!
