CRITICAL THINKING SERIES NO. 21 - SWOT ANALYSIS AND ECRS -

When practicing Critical Thinking, it’s always helpful to have a toolkit of brainstorming and problem-solving methods. Problem-solving isn’t a one-size-fits-all exercise. While there are enterprise level problem-solving methods, like 3X5Why, Kaizen, Lean-Action Workout, and 8D RCA, there’s also space for simpler, more tactical Critical Thinking methods. Sometimes you don’t need a machine gun to kill a fly. But too often I think we develop tunnel vision, applying a popular methodology for all applications. (“If all you have is a hammer – everything looks like a nail.”) So in this post I’m going to share a couple more Critical Thinking tools that can be quickly applied to simpler problems.

SWOT ANALYSIS

What is SWOT? (No, it’s not the sound from a flyswatter hitting a fly.) SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats, and is a strategic planning tool typically applied to business competition or project planning. The goal of SWOT Analysis is to identify the internal and external factors that are favorable and unfavorable towards achieving the objectives of the initiative or project. SWOT Analysis exercises generate meaningful dialogue and help guide the team to identify competitive advantages and mitigate threats.

The four features of SWOT are as follows:

-????? STRENGTHS – Characteristics of the initiative or project that provide an advantage over others

-????? ?WEAKNESSES – Characteristics that place the initiative or project at a disadvantage relative to others

-????? OPPORTUNITIES – Elements in the environment that the initiative or project could exploit to the team’s advantage

-????? THREATS – Elements in the environment that could cause problems or add risk to the initiative or project.

The three steps to complete an effective SWOT Analysis are:

1)??? COLLECT THE RIGHT STAKEHOLDERS – Key leaders, participants and decisions makers must be involved in this process. Don’t forget about GEMBA, and consider including secondary stakeholders to add additional perspectives to the exercise.

2)??? BRAINSTORM AND CAPTURE SWOT DATA – The team identities the information related to each of the four points. Raising ideas should be done first independently, and then collectively.

3)?? ANALYZE THE DATA – Collect all the information and reach agreement as to which factors should be represented in each of the main points. Then collect this data in the SWOT matrix template to use for decision guidance moving forward.

SWOT Analysis can be very effective either at the start of a project, or when considering a major change to a project or initiative. For more information on SWOT Analysis, see the link below. A special thanks to Ryan Jakobe for introducing me to this methodology.

ECRS

Another acronym tool! In this case, ECRS stands for Eliminate, Combine, Rearrange, and Simplify. This is a methodology used during Process Mapping and Value Stream mapping exercises to identify and eliminate waste in the process.

The four components of ECRS are as follows:

-????? ELIMINATE – Eliminate any unneeded steps or processes that don’t add value to the final product or service by removing them from the workflow.

-????? COMBINE – Combine tasks or steps where possible to eliminate redundancy or waste and streamline the process

-????? REARRANGE – Examine the order in which steps occur, and rearrange them in a more efficient order to minimize delays, handoffs, and bottlencks.

-????? SIMPLIFY – Reduce the complexity of tasks and processes to make them faster and less prone to errors.

Practicing ECRS provides benefits far beyond just efficiency gains.

1)??? Reduces operational costs by identifying and eliminating unneeded steps and processes.

2)??? Enhances employee productivity by simplifying tasks and making them easier and faster to perform, reducing worker fatigue and errors.

3)?? Drives a culture of continuous improvement, as employees are encouraged to examine work processes through ECRS, and suggest improvements.

4)?? Improved processes result in higher quality, less rework, and enhanced customer satisfaction.

ECRS is a simple yet flexible methodology applicable to any process or procedure where there are a series of tasks or steps to generate a product, service, or outcome. A special thanks to Diana Alvarado Percovich for sharing this methodology with me.