How can you use evidence to anticipate problems?

3 Analyze evidence

The third step is to analyze the evidence you have gathered, and assess its quality, relevance, and validity. You should check the source, date, method, bias, and accuracy of the evidence, and compare and contrast it with other evidence. You should also look for patterns, trends, gaps, or inconsistencies in the evidence, and identify any assumptions, limitations, or uncertainties. For example, if you are planning a marketing campaign, you might want to analyze the evidence for its timeliness, representativeness, completeness, and applicability to your target audience, market, and goals.

4 Generate solutions

The fourth step is to use the evidence to generate possible solutions to the problem, or ways to achieve the goals. You should use the evidence to support, justify, or explain your solutions, and show how they address the problem or meet the criteria. You should also consider the pros and cons, costs and benefits, and feasibility and effectiveness of each solution. For example, if you are planning a marketing campaign, you might want to use the evidence to propose different strategies, channels, messages, or budgets for your campaign, and how they would impact your sales, customer retention, or brand awareness.

5 Anticipate problems

The fifth step is to use the evidence to anticipate problems that might occur with your solutions, or challenges that might affect your problem or goals. You should use the evidence to predict, estimate, or simulate the possible outcomes, impacts, or risks of your solutions, and how they might vary depending on different factors, scenarios, or assumptions. You should also use the evidence to identify any gaps, weaknesses, or uncertainties in your solutions, and how they might be resolved, mitigated, or prevented. For example, if you are planning a marketing campaign, you might want to use the evidence to anticipate the problems that might arise from customer feedback, competitor reactions, market changes, or technical issues, and how they might affect your campaign performance, results, or reputation.

6 Evaluate solutions

The final step is to use the evidence to evaluate your solutions, and choose the best one for your problem or goals. You should use the evidence to compare and rank your solutions based on their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, and how they align with your problem definition and criteria. You should also use the evidence to test, validate, or refine your solutions, and monitor and measure their outcomes, impacts, or risks. For example, if you are planning a marketing campaign, you might want to use the evidence to evaluate your solutions based on their return on investment, customer satisfaction, or brand loyalty, and how they can be improved, optimized, or adjusted.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?