You know that you are having problems, you would like to understand why and solve them. But instead, do you loop them around in your head without knowing what to think of them? Here are a few tips for analysing a problem methodically.

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The intent of problem solving

The first key to starting problem solving is to remember the intention: Apprenticeship ! I am doing a problem solving to identify what was The factor that caused the error to be committed. I then clarify at what level I am digging the learning: me, my team, the process? Depending on the size of the problem, the context, the motivation, I choose, for example, to focus on what I can learn personally in the event of the problem. Without dwelling on the other dysfunctions over which I have no control.

This has the immediate effect of being in a more relaxed state of mind constructive and proactive. I see my environment as a constraint that I deal with, rather than something that I experience.

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The definition of the problem

Formulating my problem is not that easy. What is it that really bothers me in this situation? What is me Motivate to think about it ? I rely on different types of problems: customer feedback, quality discrepancies, delays,...

And already, it is not easy to formulate it without providing solutions or without joining several problems at the same time. The idea here is to Untangling the symptoms, consequences, and the REAL problem.

So as not to go into generalities and get away from my concrete problem, I focus on A specific fact to derive local improvement. I may study generalizations later, studying the impact my learning could have in other situations. For example: “Last Monday, I cancelled an appointment with my manager”

If several problems are superimposed, I choose only one, the most important in my opinion. Again, several themes help me to prioritize: safety, quality then lead time,...

To give myself a boost of motivation and realize how much I want to understand what happened unexpectedly, I remember the impacts Or the risks that this problem has caused.

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The dream situation

Okay, something went wrong, but what? I rely on the Standard situation to understand where someone has taken the wrong path.

Based on an ideal situation, a theory allows me to then formalize my apprenticeships. Without this, I am less effective in updating my knowledge and my ideas since I don't explain them!

When I look at a leadtime problem, I am interested in a timelines. When looking at a quality issue, I focus on the deliverables and the Definition of a good deliverable at each stage of the flow.

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The causes that caused the problem

Now that I visualize where the hiccups appeared, I am thinking to understand wherefore they appeared. What made me, in a given situation, make a decision that I thought was best with the information, the context, the mental models that I had and that was actually not the right one?

They are only hypotheses, insights that are always driven by intention: what can I learn from them? What preconceived ideas can I update?

There are often several moments, several bad decisions made. Depending on the intention I want to put into my problem solving, I dig One, several, the first or the one that motivates me the most.

I usually make accompany, for this delicate phase, from someone who helps me Take a step back, to understand the situation and to question myself. Otherwise I may be biased, because I fall back into my false ideas or I subconsciously bypass causes that are difficult to identify.

When I come across a cause that creates a Click, where I say to myself “but that's for sure!” It's bingo, I have my apprenticeship! Well, I can continue to search, there may be several.

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Actions that will improve my future

Thanks to the causes, I know where to intervene. To protect myself right away, I am taking a short-term action: ITurn off the fire. Moreover, most of the time I have already taken this action before asking myself about the problem. However, thanks to better understanding what caused the problem, I identified other actions that needed to be taken quickly.

To continue learning and building myself, I am also thinking about a long term action. What can I learn from the root cause of my problem and what actions do I want to take to correct it? If I identify a clear action that I want to do, I clarify when I do it, and qWhat do I expect exactly? It also allows Compare the result that we hoped for to reality and to readjust our causes or actions and to continue learning.

Depending on the impact and risks, I may very well choose not to take long-term action. If none of my ideas are motivating me, learning itself and updating my knowledge is already a good thing. What I have learned will give me attention to my next decision-making and make my subconscious work.

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Observed results

After doing the actions, I summarize the results that I got. That I have them Planned or not. It is also always motivating to see the side effects and how we have benefited from working on this problem resolution.

If after analyzing your results, you realize that your actions or causes were not the right ones, start a new problem solving and look for what you need to learn. The best is to start from a new page, to keep a history and reformulate the problem, because it has changed!

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People with whom to share my learning

If the results are satisfactory, I want to share it with others. For theThe people on my team are progressing and so that my team is more efficient. It also makes it possible to go further in learning for two reasons. On the one hand, other people may have comments, Any advice to give me. On the other hand, the people I have learned something from will identify me as competent in the subject and will come back to me with new problems that will make me think and learn again. The circle is virtuous.

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To conclude

By respecting these key points, you will get enlightening learnings and you will gradually become better versions of yourself. You can share them with your teams, explaining to them where they come from and they will follow you in your crazy ideas for change. You will also build a robust theory, pressed on The experience, which you will be able to transmit clearly.

Of course, you will always encounter problems, they will change constantly, but at least you won't be afraid of them anymore!

If you want more habit ideas that will make you learn things every day, I invite you to read this item.

I would be happy to help you with your first problem resolutions, contact me so that we can build them together.

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