SHOP NOW

HOW TO WRITE AN EFFECTIVE

PROBLEM STATEMENT

By Rod Morgan
 6 COMMENTS

Continuous improvement specialists are challenged to solve problems

for their organizations or clients. They have acquired a wide array of
tools, methods and techniques for that purpose.
Improve Your Lean Six Sigma
Knowledge TODAY for FREE
Weekly best practices in Lean Six Sigma sent directly to your inbox.

If continuous improvement practitioners are able to establish the winning

conditions for change, they can look forward to successful outcomes.
First Name
However, the devil is in the details, making continuous improvement jobs
interesting and challenging.
Email Address
One of those “little devils” that often gets overlooked is the need to
construct an effective problem statement at the start of any improvement
Six Sigma Level
project.

Sign Me Up
MY LATEST VIDEOS
We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe at any time.

This video file cannot be

played.
(Error Code: 102630)

What Is a Problem Statement?

 Adapted from an article by Alan Bryman in the International Journal of
Improve
Social ResearchYour LeanA problem
Methodology: Six Sigmais a statement about an area
of concern, a condition to be improved upon, a difficulty to be eliminated,
Knowledge TODAY for FREE
or a troubling question that exists in theory or in practice that points to
the need for meaningful understanding and deliberate investigation.
Weekly best practices in Lean Six Sigma sent directly to your inbox.

Why Is It So Hard to Write an Effective

Problem Statement?
First Name
One of the challenges in writing a great problem statement is the
distractions that can come from a variety of sources.
Email Address

Symptoms associated with the problem add to the confusion when

Six Sigma Level
trying to describe a problem. For example, arriving at the physician’s
office and stating, “Doctor, I am experiencing pain in the back of my
thigh down to the lower part of my leg! I need you to ‘fix’ my leg!” It is
Sign Me Up
only after a thoughtful evaluation that the doctor concludes that your
problem lies with your sciatic nerve and originates in your lower back.
We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe at any time.

Solutions are often an early consideration when wrestling with a

problem. When one is faced with a problem, alleviating that pain as
quickly as possible is a natural, almost reflexive, action. It is, however,
extremely important to avoid jumping to solutions until a profound
understanding of the current state is achieved.

The search for causes of your pain is a natural reaction that also
needs to be avoided when first describing a problem. Establishing
root cause will be a part of the ensuing investigative procedure but
should be reserved for the appropriate time in the lifecycle of the
problem-solving method.

Blame is also a natural reflex when one is afflicted with a problem. A

quote attributed to John Burroughs, American naturalist and nature
essayist, may be all that needs to be said on this subject: “You can
get discouraged many times, but you are not a failure until you begin
to blame somebody else and stop trying.”

Handpicked Content: Before Deployment: "Minding Your Ps

to Get Your Q"
Improve Your Lean Six Sigma
Knowledge TODAY for FREE
Weekly best practices in Lean Six Sigma sent directly to your inbox.

First Name

In short, a great problem statement must be free of causes, solutions

Email Address
and blame, and careful consideration must be given to ensure symptoms
do not become a distraction.
Six Sigma Level

What Is in a Problem Statement?

Sign Me Up
A problem statement should describe an undesirable gap between the
We current-state levelUnsubscribe
respect your privacy. of performance and
at any time. the desired future-state level of
performance. A problem statement should include absolute or relative
measures of the problem that quantify that gap, but should not include
possible causes or solutions!

Key elements of an effective problem statement include:

Gap: Identify the gap (pain) that exists today.

Timeframe, location and trend: Describe when and where the

problem was first observed and what kind of trend it is following.

Impact: Quantify the gap (cost, time, quality, environmental, personal,

etc.)

Importance: To the organization, the individual, etc. to better

understand the urgency.
 What Method Can I Employ to Author a Great
Improve
ProblemYour Lean Six Sigma
Statement?
Knowledge TODAY for FREE
The ability to articulate an effective problem statement is not simply a
business
Weekly skill – it isinaLean
best practices life skill. How can
Six Sigma sentchildren,
directly toyouth and adults begin
your inbox.
to solve problems if they haven’t been able to adequately describe
them? This holds true for continuous improvement specialists.

First
TheName
5W2H (what, when, where, why, who, how, how much) method is
deceptively simple. Ask the right questions in the right order and let the
answers lead you to a great problem statement.
Email Address

Example of Developing a Problem Statement

Six Sigma Level

Let’s walk through the 5W2H method for manufacturing and call center
examples. Sign Me Up

We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe at any time.

Question 1: What is the problem that needs to be solved?

Manufacturer: Window frames and parts are ending up in the

assembly department missing required weep holes or slots.

Call center: The assessment call is too complex, time consuming and
administratively heavy, resulting in a diminished experience for the
client as well as the staff member performing the work.

Handpicked Content: Are You Ready? How to Conduct a

Maturity Assessment

Question 2: Why is it a problem? (highlight the pain)

 Manufacturer: If identified (visual inspection), the affected parts must
Improve
be sent backYour Lean
for rework, Six
thereby Sigma
increasing the overall cost of
manufacturing, creating higher inventory levels (WIP) and increasing
Knowledge TODAY for FREE
risk since some of the defects may not be detected until later in the
process, or worse, they may end up being incorrectly shipped to the
Weekly best practices in Lean Six Sigma sent directly to your inbox.
job sites.

Call center: This results in higher variability and length of call

handling time, clients having to repeat their “story” as the move
Firstthrough
Name the assessment and downstream case worker (meeting)
process, clients providing more information than may be required,
increased workload for the assessment worker and increased wait
Email Address
times in the (telephone) queue. The overall impact is reduced service
levels as well as diminished client and assessment worker
Six Sigma Level
experience.

Sign Me
Question 3: Where is the problem Up
observed? (location, products)

We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe

Manufacturer: at any
This problem is time.
observed in the assembly department,
downstream departments as well as ultimately in the field with
customer complaints and costly field repairs and replacements.

Call center: This problem is observed in all assessment calls but will
vary in magnitude depending on the client (needs and circumstance),
assessment worker (experience) and other factors that contribute to
variation in the handling of assessment calls.

Question 4: Who is impacted? (customers, businesses, departments)

Manufacturer: This problem affects the assembly department that is

tasked with trying to inspect for the error and react accordingly, rework
occurring in the department/work cell responsible for weep holes and
slots, the company as a whole in terms of cost, brand and reputation,
and, most importantly, the customer who is affected by this problem if
it makes it to the field.

Call center: This affects the client associated with the call, clients
waiting in the queue, client’s families, and the organization and
employers in the community being served.

Question 5: When was the problem first observed?

Improve Your Lean Six Sigma
Knowledge TODAY for FREE
Weekly best practices in Lean Six Sigma sent directly to your inbox.

First Name

Email Address SHOP NOW

Six Sigma Level

Manufacturer: This has been an ongoing issue going back as far as
memory serves in the long-term employees, but with increased
Sign Me
volume and more customization Uphigher complexity in design, the
and
impact and severity of this problem has increased rapidly over the last
We respect
two your privacy. Unsubscribe at any time.
years.

Call center: This is a latent problem that has always existed but has
become more evident with recent changes, including changes in
funding, legislation, demand for services, client demographics and
recent integration efforts in the organization as part of their ongoing
commitment to continuous improvement of service pathways and
client experience.

Handpicked Content: Lean Manufacturing: Adapting as

Important as Adopting

Question 6: How is the problem observed? (symptoms)

Manufacturer: Customer (in-field installation and service) complaints,

increased warranty costs, manufacturing non-conformance reports
(NCR), complaints from assembly department team and increased
costs in fabrication.

Call center: This problem is observed in the variation in call-handling

times, wait times in the telephone queue, call abandon rates,
increased stress in front-line staff (workload and client
anxiety/dissatisfaction) and ambiguity in call handling protocols.
 Question 7: How often is the problem observed? (error rate, magnitude,
Improve
trend) Your Lean Six Sigma
Knowledge TODAY for FREE
Manufacturer: There is an observed 62,000 parts per million (PPM)
for this specific defect, taking into consideration rework completed in-
Weekly best practices in Lean Six Sigma sent directly to your inbox.
house and observed defects in the field. The PPM is derived from the
number of weeping holes and slots required per unit assembly versus
the actual number of deficiencies overall observed for the same
number of units.
First Name
Call center: This is a daily operational occurrence but increases in
call complexity related to changes in the knowledge base – multiple
Email Address
programs and changes in the environment (client demographics and
needs/circumstances, legislation, etc.) – have resulted in an increase
Six Sigma Leveland stress on the system.
in severity

Your Turn! Sign Me Up

We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe at any time.

Think of a problem you have encountered in your personal or
professional life, or a problem you are currently tasked to solve. Employ
the preceding method of asking seven simple questions and see where it
takes you.

Teach this simple and effective method to your friends, colleagues and
family. Writing problem statements truly is a life skill and, when employed
correctly, will place anyone in good stead to start solving the problem.

You Might Also Like

 Follow a “Good”
Improve Your Lean Six Sigma
Structured Continuous
Approach to Improvement
Knowledge TODAY for FREE
Continuous Programs
Improvement
The startling fact is that
Project Examples
Weekly best to
The need practices
deploy ain Lean Six Sigma sent directly to most
your continuous
inbox.
from an LSS
continuous improvement improvement programs –
Deployment for
(CI) program is greater whether they use Six
Cultural
than ever. In the global Sigma, Lean, total quality
Transformation
financial meltdown, management or some
First Name
companies must find In "Case Studies"
In "Blogs"
In "Basics"
Email Address

Six Sigma Level

Managing Change Increase

Sign Me Lean
Up Six Introducing
to a Continuously Sigma's Power SixSigma3.0
Improving Culture with TOC and
We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe at any time. In "Blogs"
Systems Thinking
In "Change
Management" In "Lean"

Comments 6
Improve Your Lean Six Sigma
Knowledge
Tayo TODAY for FREE
Good article.
Weekly best practices in Lean Six Sigma sent directly to your inbox.
- Log in to Reply

First Name

Email Address
Homework Doer

“Writing problem statement is one of the most important stages in

Six Sigma Level
work. Probably, even the most important after planning. In many
ways, depending on how correctly the tasks are set, the goal
achieving will depend. Sign Me Up
Of course, not everything will turn out right away, but in due course
We respect
this your privacy.
should Unsubscribe
become at any time.
your habit. Or rather, even grow into a good and
useful skill. In order to properly write statement, it is necessary to
remember the following rules:
The task should be specific, otherwise how do you know that the task
is completed.
Do not set a goal: “”Go there, don`t know where. Bring that, I do not
know what. “” (Russian proverb)
The goal should be very clear. As it is customary within military or
people with technical education.
Accuracy is the guarantee that the task you give to the employee will
be understood by them clearly. Incorrect, unauthorized interpretation
will be excluded. Thus, you save your own time. After all, if you
explained everything very clearly, the employee simply will come and
ask you to repeat your assignment.”

- Log in to Reply

Rod Morgan

Thanks for the wonderful comment and ideas, Homework Doer.

:-)
 - Log in to Reply

Improve Your Lean Six Sigma

Knowledge TODAY for FREE
Weekly best practices in Lean Six Sigma sent directly to your inbox.

Robert Beers

I liked the article very much! it clear points out the points of attention
Firstfor
Name
creating a good problemstatement!

- Log in to Reply
Email Address


Six Sigma Level

Rod Morgan Sign Me Up

Thank you for the positive comment, Robert! Wishing you a

We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe at any time.
fabulous year ahead. best regards, Rod.

- Log in to Reply

Ashwin J. More

Well written and easy tounderstand post! Clear problem statement is

the foundation of problem solving.

- Log in to Reply

 SUBSCRIBE

AN ELITE CAFEMEDIA PUBLISHER