Problem Solving Technique: 4 Steps to Improve Your Processes

Problem Solving Technique: 4 Steps to Improve Your Processes

This tool contains a useful problem solving technique to help you improve your business processes. Critical examination is a structured questioning process which uses Kipling’s six honest serving men: what, why, when, how, where and who. (see Best Management Tools Ever? A Good Question for more on the importance of asking the right questions.

The questions in this tool are designed to help you examine your business processes, and to help identify possible improvements.

This problem solving technique is part of our comprehensive Seven Step Problem Solving process, and guides you from an assessment of the current situation to challenging why it is done that way, through to option generation and selecting appropriate solutions.

If you are not clear which of your business processes to start with, you may want to look at our article about the underrated Problem Solving Skill of finding the right problems to solve. This will help you focus on the processes where solving them will create your greatest opportunities.

First flow-chart the process you wish to improve. Then apply the systematic, structured, questioning technique, detailed below. Think about the task yourself, then involve any team members. Encourage creativity but ensure each step is taken in a thorough and disciplined manner.

The Critical Examination Technique

Read the questions in this problem solving technique then follow these 4 steps:
Answer the questions in the first column. These summarize the present process method, asking: what; how; when; where; and who.
Challenge each of your answers by asking "why?"
Use column three to help you generate a range of improvement options.
Use column four to help you decide on the best option.

Adapted from Michael Tucker's Successful Process Management in a Week

Tips To Implement The Critical Examination Technique

To make improvements to a process, work with the team responsible for that process.

Use step 1 to:

identify the purpose of the process;
explore what customers and stakeholders expect the process to deliver.

Use step 2 to:

analyse how the process works, and its resource requirements;

explore ways of measuring its efficiency and effectiveness.

Use step 3 to:

examine ways to improve the process;
assess the implications and consequences of these improvements.

To help the group creativity and to focus on the opportunities that solving this problem might create consider using the management tips in 5 Questions to Transform Problem Solving

Use step 4 to:

decide on the best option, given available resources.

A final tip:

Look for the small changes to the process which could have a big impact on the process as a whole.

Ask the question: “What small change would significantly improve the process?”

If you want to read more management tips for problem solving our Seven Step Problem Solving Process is a good place to start.

Click on this link to download our free, problem solving management tool:Problem Solving Technique: 4 Steps to Improve Your Processes

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