Problem Definition for Beginners

Back in 2006/7 I worked for Goodrich Aerospace as Group Continuous Improvement Manager, within my team I had a gentleman named Tim Holmes. Now Tim is one of those gentleman once met never forgotten, all for good reasons. His passion, intellect is second to none.

We had done a presentation on Standard Work to the Senior Leadership team and after the meeting Tim, Rob (Quality Manager) and myself got to talking. We knew Tim was a poet so we tasked him with creating a poem on Problem Definition something we could use in all of the conference rooms, training rooms, etc.

This was the result. Something I use regularly.

Problem Definition for Beginners

They say a well-defined problem is half way solved,
So if I want to fix an issue I get the right tool involved.
If I’ve got a problem that isn’t well defined
With lots of complex issues that keep racing round my mind
Or when there’s loads of data but I cannot find the proof
I know that there’s a solution there, but I just can’t see the truth.
Whenever I’m finding it difficult to focus my attention,
Or if I need help to understand and gain some comprehension,
I reach for a tool that’s simple to use and helps avoid contention
I break the problem into easy steps and ask myself 6 questions.
What precisely is it that’s wrong? is the first thing you should ask
I try to be exact here as it helps me in my task.
Where is the next one, as in where was it found?
This will help locate the issue and fix it to the ground.
Next up its When – as in what time of day,
I’ll also add the month & year to help me on my way.
Who is question number four, I need to know who found it?
Then I’ll know when I ‘go look see’ or need to talk around it.
The next question is five and the detail is Which? by way of demonstration
I’d like a specific requirement here, ideally a specification
Now finally I ask a How… to quantify the problem.
How many are wrong? Or even How was it found? And now I’m ready solve em.
This process will lend itself to any problem raised,
It will help us relieve that awful stress from out of our days.
‘Cause when you’ve got the all details, once your problems’ defined.
The picture should be much more clear, the solutions more easy to find;
Just work though the detail use logic… then pause,
For sooner or later you’ll find the root cause.
You see the answers to our troubles are never beyond our cognition,
They’re halfway over a little hill called Problem Definition

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