Step 1: The Problem Statement

Step 1. Validate the Problem Statement

Q.N.I. managers and team leaders first stated the problem: "Our Maintenance Department needs more planning experience, so their jobs meet the time and scope." This led them to prescribe a solution (training classes) for the problem's symptoms (job failures) without really understanding the root causes. I call these "solution-ights." Solution-ights happens frequently, as any job who has elicited requirements knows. In Q.N.I.'s situation, it posed two big two 'dangers.

1.??????The prescribed solution may be the wrong one, based on an incomplete understanding of the problems. Without understanding the root causes of why planned jobs failed, there was a very real danger of implementing a solution that did not solve the problem. That is a recipe for client/sponsor dissatisfaction. As James T. Brown (2008) says, "Treating symptoms is dangerous business because it means the problem hasn't gone away; the root cause will continue to grow and ultimately create more symptoms that need to be cured".

2.??????As quality pioneer W. Edwards Deming pointed out, most quality problems are system problems that individuals cannot solve alone. Therefore, just giving individuals new skills via training may completely ignore vital system problems.

Thus, before doing anything else, validate that the problem statement is correct. A few hours here can save untold grief later.

In Q.N.I.'s case, asking key people why different processes had been unsuccessful quickly revealed that there were deeper and systemic problems than merely a lack of education in the best practices and different systems. Therefore, the management team agreed to participate in a root cause assessment before continuing further into the solution space.

#changemangement #Riskmanagement Maintenance and Reliability Institute