Problem Solving Flashcards
Skills to Find Appropriate Solutions and Identify New Opportunities
Ability to Define a Problem
Cause-Effect Analysis
What-If Analysis
Tree Diagram
Scatter Diagram
5 Whys
Flowcharting
Brainstorming
Skills to Find Appropriate Solutions and Identify New Opportunities:
It requires understanding the situation and the various contributing factors and to write down the problem statement clearly
Ability to Define a Problem
Skills to Find Appropriate Solutions and Identify New Opportunities:
It enables us to understand the possible causes of an effect / outcome / problem
Cause - Effect Analysis
Cause - Effect Analysis Possible Causes
Manpower
Material
Machine
Method
Environment
Skills to Find Appropriate Solutions and Identify New Opportunities:
Involved scenario building
Used for risk assessment
Enables creative thinking
Allows you to reframe the problem using “what if” questions
What-If Analysis
Skills to Find Appropriate Solutions and Identify New Opportunities:
Depicts the hierarchy of tasks and subtasks needed to complete an objective
Allows us to see all the possible outcomes of an event and trace the source
Tree Diagram
Skills to Find Appropriate Solutions and Identify New Opportunities:
The simplest method to study the correlation between two variables
The values for each pair of a variable are plotted on a graph thereby obtaining as many points as the number of observations
The degree of correlation is determined by examining the scatter of several points
The distribution of the points across the chart determines how closely the variables are related to one another
Scatter Diagram
Skills to Find Appropriate Solutions and Identify New Opportunities:
The process of asking ‘why’ five times to eliminate symptoms and get to the cause of the problem
The 5 Whys
Skills to Find Appropriate Solutions and Identify New Opportunities:
A process of connecting the various activity steps so as to determine the source of the problem
Flowcharting
Skills to Find Appropriate Solutions and Identify New Opportunities:
A method of looking for out-of-the-box solutions for finding solution pathways
Brainstorming
Skills to Generate Alternative Solutions
Brainstorming
Creating Hybrids
Risk Analysis
Skills to Generate Alternative Solutions:
A group creativity technique to generate a list of ideas spontaneously for a specific problem
Brainstorming
Skills to Generate Alternative Solutions:
Combining ideas or solutions from various sources to address a single problem
Creating Hybrids
Skills to Generate Alternative Solutions:
Reviewing the issue and posing “what if” questions to come up with solutions
Risk Analysis
Evaluate Alternative Solutions
Benchmarking
Comparison
Survey
Evaluate Alternative Solutions:
The process of examining and understanding how operations are conducted in one organisation against certain other organisations to learn and take advantage of the best operations for breakthrough performances.
Benchmarking
Evaluate Alternative Solutions:
The process of examining the similarities and differences to make an informed choice
Comparison
Evaluate Alternative Solutions:
It entails researching a sample of individual units from a population along with the gathered data to produce insights (correlations) to support decision-making
Survey
Data analysis methods
Statistical analysis
Pattern recognition
Affinity diagram
Trend / Performance analysis
SWOT analysis
Cause-effect analysis
Force field analysis
Cost-benefit analysis
BCG analysis
Relationship analysis
Ratio analysis
Judging (based on predetermined of requirements)
Types of analysis
Statistical Analysis
SWOT Analysis
Affinity Diagram
Trend Analysis
Cost-Benefit Analysis
Types of analysis:
Used to identify patters in business performance KPI (where reliable quantitative data is available)
This can be overlaid with qualitative findings to reveal the problem’s root cause of causes
Statistical Analysis
Types of analysis:
The subject understudy is seperated into Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats
Focused actions can be taken to eliminate weaknesses, capitalising on the opportunities and using the strengths to overcome the threats
SWOT Analysis
Types of analysis:
Group numerous concepts into their inherent relationships
Used to sort similar subjects into groups to examine the seriousness and determine priority
Affinity Diagram
Types of analysis:
Uses past results to forecast future outcomes
Achieved by tracking variances in performance
Trend Analysis
Types of analysis:
A systematic approach to estimating the strength and weaknesses of alternatives that satisfy transactions, activities or functional requirements for a business
Cost-Benefit Analysis
Information synthesis skills
System Thinking
Pareto Principle
Strategic Formulation
Tree Diagram
Quality Function Deployment (QFD)
Information synthesis skills:
A management discipline that concerns an understanding of a system by examining the linkages and interactions between the components that comprise the entirety of that defined system
System Thinking
Information synthesis skills:
It states that for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes
Pareto Principle
Information synthesis skills:
The process of choosing the most appropriate course of action for the realisation of organisational goals and objectives and thereby achieving the organisational vision
Strategic Formulation
Information synthesis skills:
It allows us to see all the possible outcomes of an event and calculate their probability
Tree Diagram
Information synthesis skills:
A structured approach to defining customer needs or requirements and translating them into specific plans to produce products to meet those needs
Quality Function Deployment (QFD)
Skills to infer insights and form decisions
Correlation Analysis
Decision Matrix Analysis
Cost-Benefit Analysis
Cost of Poor Quality
Risk Analysis
BCG Analysis
Critical Path Analysis or Program Evaluation & Review Technique (PERT)
Skills to infer insights and form decisions:
The process of studying the strength of that relationship with available statistical data
Correlation Analysis
Skills to infer insights and form decisions:
A useful technique for making a choise when many factors must be balanced
Decision Matrix Analysis
Skills to infer insights and form decisions:
A form of matrix analysis that compares the cost againts the benefits to recommend solutions
Cost-Benefit Analysis
Skills to infer insights and form decisions:
An analysis of the various factors contributed to poor quality in products, processes or services and makes recommended solutions
Cost of Poor Quality
Skills to infer insights and form decisions:
A technique used to identify and assess factors that may jeopardise the success of a project or achieving a goal
Risk Analysis
Skills to infer insights and form decisions:
A chart that was created to analyse business units, to allocate resources and is used as an analytical tool in brand marketing, product management, strategic management and portfolio analysis
BCG Analysis
Skills to infer insights and form decisions:
Powerful Tools that help you to schedule and manage complex projects
Critical Path Analysis or Program Evaluation & Review Technique (PERT)
