1. Mind-set
2. Problem Definition
3. Solution Criteria
4. Possible Solutions
5. Solution Choice
6. Implement
1. Mind-Set
You do not deal with the problem or decision itself. Rather, you concern yourself with how you “think about’ the decision/problem and with the context of the problem or decision situation.
Thinking about problems—“opportunities”—“challenges”;
SITNA-situation that needs attention
Organizational context—circumstances and setting of the decision or problem; consider if organization has clear vision and mission; state of organization al environment (trust?)
Decision Making context—parameters such as resources (people money, facilities and time); need to know the givens
People context—stakeholders; individual attitudes biases, skills, and knowledge
2. Problem Definition
Outcome of the problem definition step is a clear, specific statement of the problem with which everyone involved agrees. There is a clear understanding of the problem by all the stakeholders.
Four categories of problems:
Short-Fall—something is out of whack or not up to your expectations. You are reacting to a situation. Corrective action is required to reestablish some previous condition.
Opportunity—something has occurred that provides you an opportunity for growth and change if you can take advantage of the situation.
Improvement—you simply want to improve what you are doing or to reengineer the way the organization is doing something.
New Venture—you want to move into the unknown. This is a new venture for the organization; one never done before.
3. Solution Criteria
Focus attention on the solution criteria. This defines the parameters of what you want any solution to look like, and how you will know that you have a good solution. This provides a vehicle to evaluate and combine possible solutions and helps you prevent the “hardening of positions”. Understand needs vs. wants. A need is a criterion that the solution MUST meet. A want is criterion that the solution SHOULD meet. A third category could include NICE-TOO’S—things that if the solution could meet it would be nice or serendipitous.
4. Possible Solutions
Generate as many possible solutions as you can. Be creative. In the complex world of rapid change good solutions are often derived by combining parts of a number of ideas and by building on them.
Generate
Clarify
Combine
Document them
