UNDERSTANDING PROBLEM

Properly defining a problem is half-way of finding the right solution

Problem definition through questions

What and why? Where and why?

Problems

When and why?

What extent and how?
“WHY” IS A BIG QUESTION
Why is involved with all questions
WHY?

What? Where? When? How? Who? Which?

 A THREADBARE ANALYSIS
What? Specific description.
• What is it?
• What are the symptoms?
• What are the characteristics?
• What data is available?
• What is expected?
• What resources are involved?

Where? Specific location.

• Where is it?
• Is it inside or outside?
• Does this problem exist?
• Can it be eliminated, combined or simplified?
• Can assistance be obtained?
 A THREADBARE ANALYSIS
• When? Specific time.
• When did it arise?
• Could it be removed earlier?
• Could it be prevented?
• Should it be removed?
• Should it be automated, consolidated, eliminated,
contracted, expanded?
• Should it be consulted with vendors?
• Should it be post-audited?
 A THREADBARE ANALYSIS
• What extent? Specific magnitude.
• Who is/are affected?
• How large is the size?
• How much benefit is lost?
• How much direct and indirect losses?
• What other impacts?
• Who and how much resources should be involved?
• What is level of previous experience?
• Who can analyze?
• Which equipment or facilities should deploy?
• How can it be avoided?
 Design Process
• Clearly define problems, goals and objectives including
the moral issues
• Locate all possible alternative designs
• Consider the possible consequences of the various
alternatives (effect analysis)
• Consider how likely/unlikely and how
valuable/undesirable the possible consequences are
• Take adequate account of moral or ethical commitments
• Weight up which alternative is best in light of the effects
A Thinking Map for Good decisions
• What makes the design NECESSARY (objectives)?
• What is RECOMMENDED and on what GROUNDS?
• What are the ALTERNATIVES/OPTIONS (realistic or unusual)
• What are the POSSIBLE CONSEQUENCES of the various options
– and HOW LIKELY are they? (on the basis of what evidence and
how reliable is it?)
• How IMPORTANT are these consequences – for all those affected?
• When COMPARE the alternatives in the light of their consequences,
which is best? Is the recommended design best?
• How can one implement this design?
• Now, CREATE A THINKING MAP
 Design Decision-making methods
& tools
• Traditional technique (still very much dominant)
a. The Chair is the commander.
b. Too much “red-herring”, “intimidation”,
“noise”, “narrowly defined & loosely
supported issues”, “halo effect”, “in-
fighting, criticism, free-style expression”,
“shifting agendum without decision”,
“bossing”, “coterie sub-grouping”, etc.
 Decision-making methods & tools
• Modern Techniques
i. Brainstorming, Delphi conferencing/NGT
ii. PMI technique for generating ideas: plus,
minus and interesting
iii. ALU to judge ideas: advantage, limitations,
and unique connections
iv. Cause-and-effect analysis
v. Pareto (priority) ranking
vi. Quality function deployment (QFD) in design
and production
vii. Statistical tools and techniques
 Brainstorming
• Human being is the best of creations of Allah(swt)/God for they are
awarded virtue of consciousness or ability to think
• We need to use our thinking power to make our existence in this
planet more meaningful and beneficial to each other
• Peter F. Drucker mentioned that Organization Design should
simultaneously structure & integrate three different kinds of work:
1. The operating task which is responsible for producing the result of
today‘s business
2. The innovative task , which create the company‘s tomorrow, and
3. The top management task which directs, and gives vision and sets
the course for the business of both today and tomorrow.
• One of the modern techniques of decision-making is brainstorming
• This is a lovely word to many people, a meaningful methodology to
a few.
 What is Brainstorming?
• Can any one make all decisions? Should anybody alone be
allowed to make any decisions in business or academic
institutions? NO!
• Can anybody be called upon to ‘contribute’ in a specialized
decision-making? Or, can every decision-making be termed a
specialized one? NO!
• Brainstorming is an innovative decision-making technique used in
team environment through the cultivation of wisdom. Each person
in the team thinks creatively and places as many ideas as possible
without any intimidation. The ideas are discussed or reviewed only
after all ideas by all members are placed.
• Brainstorming is a method of specialized decision-making - for
medium and long terms, principally for long-term decision-making
• It is about creativity – generation of creative ideas or products
 WHY IS BRAINSTORMING?

• The purpose of this technique is to generate:

• To determine the Mission statement (purpose of an organization),
vision(s), key results areas (KRAs), goals and main objectives.
• To identify the problems or ideas in the areas of, for instance,
product quality problem, cost reduction, production flexibility,
innovativeness, productivity improvement, hazards identification and
control, etc.
• To locate the well-thought opportunities or ideas to solve the
identified problems;
• To nursing the creativity or intellectual ability of the internal people;
• To sharing the contemporary modern thinking through the external
experts.
 Types of Brainstorming

• Brainstorming could be both in-presence and off-presence of participants

• In this in-presence brainstorming, a group of experts sit together and
conduct the brainstorming sessions until they fulfill the needful. The size of
the group should be between 5 and 10.
• This process is less time consuming and less expensive. Adequate data or
information may be quickly delivered to the members if asked for, and the
analysis could be more realistic. Learners can sit beside the participants
and get acquainted with the process.
• However, to bring a larger pool of heads together, the off-site brainstorming
what could be termed as Internet brainstorming or Delphi conferencing is an
option. As many as 30 experts from all over the globe(!) can be
accommodated in electronic/Internet type of brainstorming
• In this latter case, the role of the facilitator is to produce issues/agenda at
the first stage to each member in written form either via electronic media
(computer/internet) or postal letters. After getting back of their opinions,
he/she will produce them to each member without any attribution, alteration
or change and seek the opinions of every member. He/she will continue in
doing so until a consensus is developed among the members. This process
is definitely, more time consuming and costlier than the former one.
 WHERE IS IT MOST APPLICABLE?

• Brainstorming is generally applicable in long-term

decision-making or the major decision areas that will
bring a ‘big’ change in an organization. For instance:
• To create a new factory, academic institution, or for new
product design and introduction;
• To make a long-term and medium-term plan for an
organization (for over two years);
• To adopt a new systems in an organization such as total
quality management (TQM), just-in-time production (JIT)
philosophy, enterprise/manufacturing resources planning
(ERP/MRPII), business process re-engineering (BPR);
• To extend business in a new region or country (plant
location, market intervention, etc.).
 WHAT ARE THE FEATURES OF THIS
TECHNIQUE?

• Brainstorming is a participatory decision-analysis and decision-making technique

where everyone shares throughout the entire process. This process can be
characterized as follows:
• A draft of the subject matter (SM) is prepared and placed by a facilitator. This subject
matter does not specify the problems in clear terms, but hints about the mission;
• The facilitator is not a typical “president” or “chairperson” in the team;
• The facilitator introduces the matter, explains the style of giving ideas, and sought
active participation of everyone in the team;
• The facilitator is fully unbiased and voluntarily encourage and ensure that everyone is
given an opportunity in idea generation or making comment's);
• The team members should be the “subject matter specialists (SMSs)”;
• Critical to brainstorming is that no arguing, no criticism, no negativism, and no
evaluation of any ideas, comments, problems, or opportunities during idea generation
(brainstorming) session (Summers, 2000). The facilitator has the right to check
criticism or personal attack, if any.
• The length of a session should be at a range of 30-90 minutes, and should not
exceed two hours. There could be several agreed-upon sessions;
• Ideas are accepted mainly on the basis of consensus; and
• Later, the proposed ideas are scrutinized and ranked by category, importance,
priority, benefit, cost, impact, time, flexibility or other considerations.
FACILITATOR and ROLE OF THE FACILITATOR

• Under the concept of “no leadership”, anybody could be a facilitator.

No leadership means every member in a team is more or less
capable of being a leader. However, person who knows what
brainstorming is all about should be the facilitator. Besides,
acceptability of a person and his/her image power in the team may
be taken into consideration. Team members may select the
facilitator on the basis of consensus.
• WHAT SHOULD BE THE Role of Facilitator?
• The facilitator introduces the matter in question and invites the team
members to participate actively in idea generation. He/she will
produce a brief methodology of brainstorming and encourage all
members to give their opinions. He/she must stop any hindrance,
intimidation, criticism, personal attack, loud speaking, analysis or
synthesis during idea generation. He/she will stop “going back” to
make an idea perfect at this stage. The facilitator will take notes and
post all ideas on a board or a piece of big paper witnessed by the
team members.
 WHAT ARE THE COMMON SHORTCOMINGS
EXPERIENCED?

• The main limitation in its application is that many people do not know what brainstorming is all
about. The common pitfalls that were experienced are noted below:
• There is lack of sincerity and the term is used for the name sake instead of its real sense;
• Anybody is invited to participate the sessions as an active member and thus create “noise” in the
process;
• Sometimes the coordinator is more or less ignorant about the concept and its scope;
• Many participants cannot make any distinction between this and traditional decision-making
process;
• Issues/problems in discussion are narrowly defined and loosely supported;
• Senior level people dominate the sessions. They exert influence upon others to accept their
proposals;
• Subordinate people are reluctant to raise proposals and some of them pay “do” attention to highly
placed bosses for some shadow gains. Halo affect influence the acceptance of more ideas from
one person than others;
• Takes it as a traditional way of decision-making – free expression is grossly impeded, criticism
and in-fighting moods are not arrested;
• Sometime too hurry to come up with a solution. Too long sessions, for instance 4-5 hours, at a
stretch are held;
• Team size is usually large and too many irrelevant proposals. People drift from agendum in
question to anywhere. Sometime people make coterie sub-groups within the team and try to
establish ego;
• External experts are seldom invited, and commitment to decision “taking” is lacking.
 HOW THE PROCESS SHOULD PROCEED?

• Methodology of brainstorming process

1. Team building
5-10 experts
Competent facilitator
Include learners

6. Rounding-up 2. Setting Agenda

Solutions through consensus Rational (brief)
Documentation Major issues
Thanks giving Sessions times & venues
Distribution in advance

5. Finding Solutions
Case-by-case 3. Listing Problems
No drifting Voice freedom & no intimidation.
List solutions Facilitate/encourage
Analyze &synthesize No discussion on proposals
A few sessions For 1-1.5 hour
Each within 2 hours

4. Problem Analysis
Type/extent/gravity
Use of tools (Pareto chart, Cause-
&-effect, etc.)
Clear problem definition
For 1-2 hour
 CONCLUSION on BRAINSTORMING

• Brainstorming is a method to encapsulate the ideas of shared

decision-making. In theory, it provides a great potential to cater the
best possible and probable decisions.
• Sometimes people spend a lot of hours and resources in the name
of brainstorming. The fruits that are coming out from some gestures
may be termed “giving birth a mouse by a mountain”. Eventually,
everything is thrown away to the garbage bin.
• To crystallize a solution, the proper ingredients must be brought
about at the right times by the right people. It is not difficult to attain
its objectives for it does not include any complex mathematics or
mysterious elements.
• Understanding the concept and systematic application can add
value for every unit of time and resource invested.
 Delphi Technique
• A systematic process for combining opinions into a reasoned consensus.
• Solicit & collate opinions about a certain subject from experts, then
• Feedback the digested appraisals to narrow the differences among opinions until a
consensus is reached.
• This is also an on –sitting or off-sitting technique, i.e., circulate/send a well prepared
questionnaire among the experts requesting the written opinions that are reasoned.
• Summarize reasons by the moderator then are returned for consideration by the
whole panel.
• The procedure is a multi-step iterative. In the process reduce redundant attributes,
combine two or more attributes, or decompose an attribute to facilitate the
measurement.
• The selected attributes should be:
1. Completed: covering all aspects of the problem.
2. Operational, to be meaningfully used in the analysis
3. Decomposable for simplification and measurement
4. Nonredundant: avoid double counting of impacts
5. Minimal to minimize the problem dimension
• Advantages: anonymity of written responses can reduce the ‘bandwagon’ and
dominant-personality effects
 Nominal Group Process/Technique (NGP/NGT)

• A powerful group technique in problem-solving

• In can stimulate creative thinking and avoid underproductive aspects of face-to-
face meetings
• Its steps are:
1. Silent idea generation: the participants receive a formal problem statement
individually, generate ideas silently and independently for 15 minutes.
2. Group round-robin listing of factors: each individual reads one idea out loud to the
group. The idea is recorded. All other ideas are placed and recorded. No
explanation, questions or comments are allowed.
3. Discussion and clarification of factors: clarify each factors recorded in step 2
through discussions by all. Combine factors, delete factors or add new factors.
4. Individual voting: each participant is asked to select the most important issues
from the list. The selections are collected and displayed.
5. Discussion of voting results: discusses on ideas ranked in step 4. Clarify
misinformation and approach to a consensus. Can add new ideas.
6. Final individual voting: rank the final ideas by each individual (say on the scale of
0-10 where 0 = not at all important, 10 = absolutely important). Individual ratings
are collected and tabulated.