Below, please find some key areas that you might reflect on when

you are evaluating your current problem solving approach

 Actions: What steps do you take?

 Stakeholders (a person with an interest or concern in a
topic): Whom do you involve?
 Approach: How do you adjust for different sorts of problems?
 Toolkit: Which resources do you use?
 Strengths: What do you do well?
 Opportunities: How might you improve?

Lesson 19 of 39

The Problem Statement

Worksheet
Getting crystal clear on your problem
Getting the problem question right is just one aspect of robust problem
definition. You can use another tool—a Problem Statement Worksheet
—to help ensure you're thinking through the most important
elements of a problem.
Video transcript
Explore the Problem Statement Worksheet
Let’s take a closer look
A primary tool for defining a problem is the Problem Statement
Worksheet, which you can find within the Problem Solving section of the
Forward Learning Workbook. This tool will give you and your team a
deeper understanding of the problem by helping you reflect on and talk
about the problem, people involved, and scope. This awareness
often generates great ideas that can be used to help you solve the
problem. Post a copy of the Problem Statement Worksheet in your office
and refer to it frequently to stay focused on the right problem—even
when you don't have a lot of time.
Click each section to learn more about the Problem Statement Worksheet.
Problem question (the basic question to be
resolved)
Context
Think about the situation for the problem you’re facing. Will any internal
or external situations affect how you solve the problem? What potential
complications should you consider? You may need to look into historical or
current industry trends, the availability of finances, or skill gaps on your
team.
Constraints within solution space
While the scope is the space of your solution or what areas your problem
covers, constraints include what can or cannot happen within that space.
Criteria for success
What must happen for the solution to be successful? What could happen
to cause the solution to fail? Consider when the solution will be released,
how people will know there has been improvement, mindset shifts, and
what success looks like for key people involved in your problem solving.
Criteria should be SMART so you can judge whether the final solution
satisfies your key people.
Stakeholders
List all the major players for your solution. Consider all decision makers
who could support—or prevent you from working on—your solution. Also
include internal or external parties who might change how your solution is
rolled out.

Scope of solution space

What will and will not be considered in your solution? The scope should be
broad enough so that you consider all possible solutions yet be narrow
enough to maintain focus and keep your thinking manageable.
Key sources of insight
These are where you will turn for information. What resources can you use
to simplify your team’s effort and avoid repeating work that is already
being done?

Using the Problem Statement Worksheet on the job

A mental checklist
It might feel overwhelming to think about all aspects of the Problem
Statement Worksheet, especially when you have little time. But with some
practice, you can learn to use it in most situations, for example, as
a checklist to make sure that you’ve covered all major blind
spots or to guide and structure longer-term problem-solving
efforts.

Asking the right questions

Asking powerful questions is one of the best tools you can deploy in
problem solving. Questions that help drive towards a better problem
definition are especially helpful for in-the-moment problem-solving
situations.

View the video to see how Arun’s powerful questions more clearly define
the problem his team is trying to solve, and in the process, reduce the
budget and scope (boundaries set on a project in terms of what work is
done in terms of goals, deadlines, and items to provide as the project
ends) significantly.
What biases do you bring to the table?
Especially in the throes of time pressure, the temptation to "go with your
gut" can run high. Debiasing techniques can help you break this
habit and think about the biases you’re bringing to the table.

Taming your biases: Can you identify the

bias?
When problem solving, we are all prone to biases that color our
perceptions. Biases aren’t always bad. They can be useful as a means of
incorporating knowledge and experience into problem solving. But some
types of biases color our thinking in ways that are not useful. In all parts
of the problem-solving process, keep these types of biases—and
techniques to control their impact—in mind. You will be introduced
to each of these biases throughout this course, as they apply to the
hypothesis-led approach.
Click each example to learn more about the category of bias it
represents.

1.
“Because the price of apples has increased over the last two months, I should
buy a whole bag now to save money in case I want to buy apples later on.”
Click to flip
Confirmation biases

Confirmation bias is the tendency to view new evidence as confirming an

existing hypothesis.
 Key assumption check: spot assumptions that may be incorrect or
that you’ve assumed by listing out and testing each one of your
assumptions
 Analysis of competing hypotheses: Reduce bias and get to the very
best answer by considering multiple hypotheses and collecting
evidence for each
Click to flip
2. “I know that there is absolutely no way my proposed solution will fail.”
Click to flip
Confidence biases

Confidence bias includes the tendency to disregard warning signs.

To combat this, imagine yourself in the future and that your strategy has
failed. Then figure out why it failed, what went wrong, and what you could
have done to prevent it.
Click to flip
3. “We should use the same shift scheduling process as last time since it worked
before in the past.”
Click to flip
Key concept definitions mentioned
throughout the course
 Problem Solving: the process of finding answers to difficult and
complicated personal and professional issues
 Hypothesis: your first best guess for the solution to a problem, an
idea based on limited evidence/information that can serve as a
starting point to future discussion
 Stakeholders: a person with an interest or concern in the topic
 Iterative: always improving, usually of a design or product
 Solution set: all the possible solutions and ideas for the problem
 Bias: a tendency to feel a particular way about something or
someone which can impact the way you think or behave in a certain
situation

In problem solving, striking the right balance between

analytical and conceptual work, and between convergent and
divergent phases, is important to your success. Common barriers
to good problem solving include taking an analytical approach to a
problem that requires creative thinking, or spending too much time
doing divergent thinking and failing to converge on a solution.

Structuring the problem

Bad news … really bad
CarneCarne, a chain of affordable high-quality butcher shops in Spain, was
launched seven years ago with a single shop in eastern Spain. It has
grown significantly and aspires to expand into other European countries.
But expansion plans and preparations have added operational complexity
(operations for a business that have many parts and sectors that impact
each other). CarneCarne aims to navigate this growth while building a
strong reputation for high quality, safety and service.

Yesterday, the CarneCarne team encountered an urgent problem. Their

northwest distribution center, a warehouse or building designed to hold
goods before shipping, called with upsetting news: during routine testing,
they found E. coli (common bacteria found in food that causes sickness)
contamination in some frozen beef samples.

They immediately pulled beef from the shelves, notified customers and
regulators, and shut down and decontaminated the affected distribution
center. Now they must get to the root cause of the contamination. They
plan to issue a press release within three days to address the issue and
win back consumer confidence. Elena (CEO), has convened Javier (CFO),
Sophia (head of operations), and Mateo (head of supply chain) to come up
with a plan.
Key concept definitions mentioned
throughout the scenario
 Supply Chain: the processes and activities used to create goods or
services (building the good from raw materials, shipping it to a
facility, etc.)
 Operational Complexity: operations for a business that have
many parts and sectors that impact each other
 Distribution Center: a warehouse or building designed to hold
goods for shipping to a market for sale
 [Link]: common bacteria found in food that causes sickness

Which parts will you focus on?

In the case of the CarneCarne team, we’ve discussed the
importance of a SMART problem question and strong problem
definition. Together, these are the foundations of any problem-
solving effort, no matter the size.
What happens next? It’s time to structure the problem by
breaking it into component parts and prioritizing which
parts you will focus on. Without a clear plan, you may find
your analysis opening more questions than it resolves.
Remember, in the real world, you almost always lack the time
you need to address every aspect of an inquiry. How you
structure and prioritize is a key to spending your limited time
and other resources on the right area to look into.

Structuring and prioritization

As we just saw, the CarneCarne team doesn't have much time to get
to the root cause, and it’s very important that they do. Here, Marc
and Emily talk about the next steps CarneCarne should
take: structuring the problem and prioritizing issues.

CarneCarne’s issue tree

The CarneCarne team needs to organize their problem-solving effort
and is using an issue tree to help. Elena has asked them to identify
the root cause of the E. coli infection in the frozen beef samples in the
northwest distribution center. The supply chain (the processes and
activities used to create goods or services), from source to the northwest
distribution center and then to customers, looks like this:

 Five individual family farms raise cattle and process their

beef onsite
  A packaging facility packages the beef from the farms
 CarneCarne’s northwest distribution center prepares the
beef for distribution
 The beef is distributed to three CarneCarne stores, where
consumers buy it

They have begun structuring the problem by creating an issue tree

and thinking about three options for the first-level branching. They
are now deciding among these options. Keep in mind that structuring a
problem is a process that is constantly being improved on: new
information or experience can allow a team to see the problem in a
different light.
Key concept definitions mentioned
throughout the scenario

Help the CarneCarne team work on their issue tree above by filling in the
3 blue squares in the first level of the tree. Which set of 3 questions would
make the strongest first level of the tree?
Review the following information. Then select the best answer

and click Submit.

Set 1
1A: Was there initial contamination at one or more of the family farms?

1B: Was there initial contamination at any of the points along the supply
chain prior to the arrival of the beef at the northwest distribution center?

1C: Was there initial contamination in one or more of the CarneCarne

stores?
Correctly unselected
Set 2
1A: Was there initial contamination at one or more of the five family farms
that supply the CarneCarne northwest distribution center?

1B: Was there initial contamination at the packaging facility that feeds the
northwest distribution center?

1C: Was there initial contamination at the northwest distribution center?

Correctly selected

Set 3
1A: One or more of the family farms were the source of the initial
contamination.

1B: The packaging facility was the source of the initial contamination.

1C: The northwest distribution center was the source of the initial
contamination.
Correctly unselected
SUBMIT

Correct

That’s right!

It's likely that separating the possibilities by steps of the supply chain
preceding the contamination site will be a useful way for the team to
approach the analysis. Taken together, the three issues in this set
represent a reasonably exhaustive set of questions that will help answer
the question "How did the frozen beef at the northwest distribution center
become contaminated?" The causes are unlikely to appear in more than
one of these categories—the list is mutually exclusive.
Key takeaways
In this module, we have covered the following tools:

 Recognizing the importance of problem structuring: use this

to remind yourself to pause when faced with a new problem before

diving into a solution

 Identifying the problem type: use this first to recognize the

uniqueness of each problem, assess its urgency, and determine the

type of thinking needed for an effective solution

See below for notes on each issue.

What has been the source of E. coli contamination when other

companies have faced this problem?
  This answer should not be selected. While it is one line of
inquiry, it is not linked to this particular branch of the issue
tree, which focuses on the five family farms, and may take the
team off track.

Has CarneCarne ever faced a similar issue at any of its other

locations?

 This answer should not be selected. This question might be

relevant if the team were brainstorming first-level potential
causes and wanted to reference previous similar issues. But
this question doesn’t focus on the specific cause of the
contamination at the northwest distribution center, and it could
lead the team off track.

Was beef contaminated with E. coli as it was processed at one of the

family farms’?

 This answer should be selected. It represents a logical sub-

issue of “Was there initial contamination at one or more of the
five family farms that supply the CarneCarne northwest
distribution center?”, and it is at an appropriate level of detail.

Are any of the farms’ beef storage containers contaminated?

 This answer choice should be selected. It is possible that the

farms are storing the beef in containers that are contaminated
with E. coli.

Are any of the farms’ processes inadvertently introducing E. coli into

the meat?

 This answer should not be selected. This sub-issue is not

MECE—it overlaps with other questions, such as whether the
containers the farms use, or the meat processing, are the
sources of contamination.

The 80/20 rule

Once you have fleshed out your issue tree and have built out rows for
your first and second levels of issues, you likely have many issues that
you will need to investigate and little time to do so, just like the
CarneCarne team. Fortunately, the Pareto principle or the 80/20 rule
can help both you and the CarneCarne team prioritize which
issues you want to perform analysis/research on.
Assessing impact and feasibility
When determining the root cause of a problem, as the CarneCarne team is
trying to do, the chief prioritization you can do is by rough
likelihood of a particular branch or issue being a cause. In other
types of problem solving—when you're finding a solution rather than a
cause (such as coming up with a recommendation for an IT solution)—
prioritization by criteria such as impact and feasibility can be
incredibly useful. You can use the prioritization matrix tool to help
guide your work, which can be found in your workbook under reference
material.

Key takeaways

In this module, we have covered the following key tools:

 Issue or logic trees: use this to break down your problem into

more manageable parts to be analyzed

 MECE framework (Mutually Exclusive, Collectively

Exhaustive): use this to test that you have broken down your

problem into workable parts that are easier to analyze one by one

 The 80/20 principle and prioritization matrix: use these to

prioritize your time by focusing on the most critical areas for

analysis and research to reach a solution efficiently

Take a moment to think about what key

immediate next steps the SodaComp team
should take to advance their problem-
solving.
Click on the accordion below to reveal the Expert response.
Expert response
The team’s structured approach has helped them to focus in on two
potential issues that could help address the problem question, and they
have formed hypotheses in response to these issues. It is just as
important now as it was at the beginning of their project that they take a
structured approach to their problem-solving efforts.

Up to this point, the team has taken the first three steps of the
hypothesis-led approach to problem solving: 1) Define problem 2) Identify
issues 3) Prioritize issues. They are now ready to move forward to the
next step of this process: 4) Plan analyses and work. To do this, the team
should think about what proof they might need to support or reject their
hypothesis, and then what analyses they might need to conduct to gather
the proof that will either prove or disprove the hypotheses.

In this case, they should identify what they need to know to determine
how best to maximize European market share growth by selling through
restaurants and cafes, developing their online store, making their existing
products healthier, and developing a healthy juice option. They would
then determine what analyses would provide this information. The
analyses might include things like looking at which restaurants and cafes
might result in the greatest impact to market share growth, or which of
their existing products might be the best candidate to make healthier.

Once they list out the required analyses, they can then begin to prioritize
them and order their tasks, factoring in dependencies and eliminating
redundancies. From there they can further refine this emerging work plan
by identifying dates and task owners, and defining deliverables. As this is
a substantial project, the work plan will likely be fairly detailed.

The final four steps

As we saw in the case of SodaComp, after defining and structuring a
problem, their next steps are to map a plan for arriving at a
recommendation and then execute that plan. This process of
arriving at a recommendation comprises the final four steps of the
hypothesis-led problem-solving approach, which we’ll cover in this
section: plan analyses & work, conduct analyses, synthesize
findings, and develop recommendations.

Like the first steps of the hypothesis-led approach, arriving at a

recommendation is a process that can constantly be
improved. A team may conduct analyses to test a hypothesis only
to find that the hypothesis was incorrect. The team would then circle
back to identify the next best hypothesis or find a new one.
Even when solving smaller problems with short timelines, it’s
important to use a careful and calculated approach during this
phase to avoid losing time or clarity by focusing on the wrong issues
or doing work that has been done by others.

Explore the Work Plan Worksheet

Thinking through all the important
elements
The work plan is where your problem-solving efforts pay off. It involves
figuring out when and by whom tasks will be done, with a focus on solving
each problem.

Use the Work Plan Worksheet in the Forward Learning Workbook as a tool
to think through important elements for each issue. If you used an issue
tree, start by forming hypotheses for key issues, then, decide on the end
product you'll need, and the analyses, sources, timing, and staff you will
need to get there.

Developing the work plan takes time. Make sure every element of the
work plan is defined in clear, methodical blocks.
What are the parts of the Work Plan Worksheet?
Click each section of the Work Plan Worksheet to learn more.
1. Issue
2. Hypothesis
3. End product
4. Analyses
5. Sources
6. Timing/responsibility

Sharpening your synthesis skills

Take a look at how synthesis can help you in your work, and how you can
improve your synthesis skills.
Click each heading to learn more.
Why it’s important
Improving your synthesizing skills will help you do better work, improve
relationships with co-workers and provide more impact:
 In your work: Good synthesis helps you and your teams
constantly get towards actionable insights. By definition,
synthesis makes you take a stance, and forces you to
mentally challenge and revisit your hypotheses.
 In your relationships: In conversations with co-workers
and customers, good synthesis signals that you are
listening and adding value—and that you are processing
what they are saying.
 In your presence and personal impact: Good
synthesis shows senior leaders that you are not just
gathering facts but working to understand their
implications. In other words, synthesis distinguishes a
strategist from an analyst.

How you can get better at it

There’s no magic formula for developing a synthesis: it’s a creative skill
you can improve only through practice. A good synthesis is often clear
and concise with strong, provocative language. Writing down your
synthesis and improving the language is a helpful exercise for improving
your skills.
Other best practices to follow are:
 Step back and take some time. This often means changing your
synthesis in a document, but it can also include stopping for a
moment to think before sharing your synthesis in conversation.
 Ask yourself two questions: What have I/we learned
(insights)? What should I/we do next
(implications)? Remember, a good synthesis consists of these two
elements.
 Test the insights and impact with others. Confirm that the
synthesis helps and is compelling—and that it accounts for all the
best thinking so far. It can be helpful to create a synthesis with
others to help refine your ideas.
 Iterate your synthesis. Revisit the relevant data points, your
interview notes and sources of information to ensure that you’ve
documented key details and have a reasonable and meaningful
synthesis. Avoid over-relying on the things that stand out to you.
When to do it
Practicing synthesis doesn’t require being the leader of a large problem-
solving project. You can find frequent opportunities to practice your
synthesis skills, such as:
 Developing an insight from data: After you’ve gathered data,
write a synthesis to advance your team’s thinking.
 Writing an update for your leader or teammates: Pulling
together the “so what's” of a situation will enable you to share a
meaningful perspective.
 Preparing an elevator pitch: Sharing a high-level understanding
of a situation with colleagues or customers can help them to think
and act.
 Synthesizing a complex conversation: In a meeting, pulling
together the group’s (or even one other person’s) thinking into a
synthesis is a great way to add value.

Review the team’s issue tree. Take a moment to think

about what analyses the team should perform to develop
that end product.
Click below heading to compare your response to an expert’s view.
Expert response
Here’s an example of how the team could describe the end product and
analyses.

End product
 A report that describes how competitive the market will be
if SodaComp launches a new orange soda. The report
should have a section that shows what customers prefer
and how SodaComp can make its product different than
what is in the market already
Analyses
  Conduct market research, such as focus groups testing
consumer preferences, to test if consumers will like this.
 Conduct a competitive market scan to understand what
the new orange soda would have to outperform.

Help SodaComp synthesize their findings

The SodaComp marketing team has done some preliminary research and
are sharing it with one another at a meeting.
What is your “so what”?
As you approach the end of the problem-solving process, you'll synthesize
analyses into insightful findings. A synthesis isn't just a summary of
an analysis, but a perspective on the analysis: an insight that
reflects your view of the facts and the impact of that insight on others
involved in the problem.
Sharpening your synthesis skills
Take a look at how synthesis can help you in your work, and how you can
improve your synthesis skills.
Click each heading to learn more.
Why it’s important
Improving your synthesizing skills will help you do better work, improve
relationships with co-workers and provide more impact:
 In your work: Good synthesis helps you and your teams
constantly get towards actionable insights. By definition,
synthesis makes you take a stance, and forces you to
mentally challenge and revisit your hypotheses.
 In your relationships: In conversations with co-workers
and customers, good synthesis signals that you are
listening and adding value—and that you are processing
what they are saying.
 In your presence and personal impact: Good
synthesis shows senior leaders that you are not just
gathering facts but working to understand their
implications. In other words, synthesis distinguishes a
strategist from an analyst.

How you can get better at it

There’s no magic formula for developing a synthesis: it’s a creative skill
you can improve only through practice. A good synthesis is often clear
and concise with strong, provocative language. Writing down your
synthesis and improving the language is a helpful exercise for improving
your skills.
Other best practices to follow are:
 Step back and take some time. This often means changing your
synthesis in a document, but it can also include stopping for a
moment to think before sharing your synthesis in conversation.
  Ask yourself two questions: What have I/we learned
(insights)? What should I/we do next
(implications)? Remember, a good synthesis consists of these two
elements.
 Test the insights and impact with others. Confirm that the
synthesis helps and is compelling—and that it accounts for all the
best thinking so far. It can be helpful to create a synthesis with
others to help refine your ideas.
 Iterate your synthesis. Revisit the relevant data points, your
interview notes and sources of information to ensure that you’ve
documented key details and have a reasonable and meaningful
synthesis. Avoid over-relying on the things that stand out to you.

When to do it
Practicing synthesis doesn’t require being the leader of a large problem-
solving project. You can find frequent opportunities to practice your
synthesis skills, such as:
 Developing an insight from data: After you’ve gathered data,
write a synthesis to advance your team’s thinking.
 Writing an update for your leader or teammates: Pulling
together the “so what's” of a situation will enable you to share a
meaningful perspective.
 Preparing an elevator pitch: Sharing a high-level understanding
of a situation with colleagues or customers can help them to think
and act.
 Synthesizing a complex conversation: In a meeting, pulling
together the group’s (or even one other person’s) thinking into a
synthesis is a great way to add value.

Take moment to think about how SodaComp's marketing

team can synthesize their findings. Take a moment to
think of a synthesis of their conversation. Remember that
a good synthesis includes both an insight and an
implication—the “so what.”
Click below heading to compare your response to an expert’s view.
Expert response
A low-sugar, low-cost, orange-flavored drink, delivered via our standard
channels, is best set to appeal to consumers and differentiate itself from
competitors, while minimizing production and distribution implications.
With a sound synthesis, the SodaComp team has an insight and an
implication—what have they learned and, based on that, what they should
consider next.
Making a strong recommendation that is
actionable and appropriate
After synthesis, the next step is to make a recommendation. To make a
strong recommendation, you need to ensure that the recommendation
is actionable (there is clear ownership, buy-in, and a timeline for
delivery) and appropriate (the solution is right for the organization). We
will explore forming recommendations and help you practice within the
Communicating for Impact module ahead.

Key concept definitions mentioned

throughout the scenario

Safia

“Recent focus group data indicates that many consumers limit soda intake

for health reasons, and that refined sugar is the main unhealthy

ingredient in our soda.”

Emmit

“Interesting! That sounds similar to what I uncovered. My consumer

research shows that excessive soda intake is a leading cause of weight

gain across all the age groups our consumers represent, and they rate
fitness and health as highly important. The majority of calories in our soda

come from sugar.”

Sarit

“Some themes here! Here’s what my research on top competitors turned

up: most do not have a healthy soda option, and most of the healthy

options are more high-end and expensive. Citrus flavors are their biggest

sellers (and ours as well), specifically orange. Their healthy options are

not generally sold through the same channels as our products.”

Key takeaways

In this module, we have covered the following key tools:

 Work Plan Worksheet: use this to develop effective work plans

and organize all the work that needs to get done to reach a solution

 Synthesizing: use this to bring together all of your findings and

form your own perspective on the analysis and what it means for

the problem being solved

  Developing a recommendation: use this to clearly tell others

what you believe needs to happen in order to solve the problem

based on the insights from your analysis

In summary...

In this course, you have learned how to utilize the hypothesis-led

problem solving approach to:

1. Define the problem you are faced with using different tools and
templates
2. Break down and structure the problem in a way that will help
you reach a solution
3. Plan your way towards finding a recommended solution

We hope that you can apply some of the lessons learned to your
day-to-day life decisions, whether it's using the Problem Statement
Worksheet to help organize your thoughts and approach for a
problem, or drawing an issue tree to break a complex problem down
into more management pieces.

To remember the key learnings from these sections, please

reference the Forward Learning Workbook, which provides a
summary of covered material and documents your reflections.