Problem Solving Activity
A question checklist
Problem Solving Activity
A question checklist
This question checklist is a simple but effective problem solving activity. It’s straightforward to use and easy to adapt to any specific circumstance.
Using a set of structured questions encourages both broad and deep analysis of your situation or problem. The questions themselves may be simple, but when used as part of the checklist, they become a powerful management tool.
This tool uses a question hierarchy (see our article Best Management Tool Ever? A Good Question for more advice on how to build and use good management questions).
In this hierarchy, “what” broadly states the situation or problem although “why” is arguably the most powerful question you can ask. Asking “why” forces you to consider the significance of the problem and thus the nature of your response.
It can be especially valuable when applied as part of the well known problem solving technique, 5 Whys. The repeated asking of “why”? can enable deep analysis of problems, essential for getting to root causes.
Next you should use “how”, “where”, “who” and “when”. These questions are designed to both deepen and broaden analysis.
When combined into a question checklist, they become both a tool for analysing and solving problems, and the basis for an action plan.
The table below shows the structure of the question checklist, and includes some examples of more detailed, follow-up questions. It’s easy to develop a checklist to suit your own situation but don’t just use the question checklist for problem solving. You could also use it for routine situation analysis or to consider how you might deal with opportunities.
Problem solving activity – the question checklist tool
Using The Question Checklist Tool
Use the question checklist to build a set of questions for the problem or opportunity you’re investigating.
Problem Solving Activity
- Spend some time thinking about the checklist yourself, before briefing your team. You may find it useful to read our “T-break” article: Career Builder: Building Your Own Education for some tips on sharing knowledge in the workplace.
- Schedule one or more meetings with your team, to generate ideas about the problem or situation.
- Starting with the “what” questions, discuss all the responses and agree a common understanding of the situation or problem. Flip chart the feedback.
- Spend as much time as you need asking “why”?
- Repeat the activity for each of the primary questions. This may be easier in small groups or teams, for more complex situation.
- What next – decide before the team session what you intend to do next, subject to what is discovered in the analysis and feedback. End with actions to be completed, either in summary, or in preparation for any subsequent meeting. Ensure these are SMART – specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, time-bounded.
You’ll find a really interesting application of the idea of using checklists in this article on the BBC website: Dr Atul Gawande’s checklist for saving lives.
If checklists can make such a difference in life critical activities such as surgery, what benefit can they make to how we manage?
The eighth problem solving step
There are more practical tips on problem solving in our great-value e-guide: What’s the Problem? A comprehensive guide to problem solving, complete with these 9 essential tools:
- Tool 1: When you don’t know what to do
- Tool 2: Defining questions for problem solving
- Tool 3: Finding the right problems to solve
- Tool 4: Problem solving check-list
- Tool 4a: Using the question check-list with your team
- Tool 5: Problem analysis in 4 steps
- Tool 5a: Using 4 Step problem analysis with your team
- Tool 6: Questions that create possibilities
- Tool 6a: Using the 5 questions with your team
- Tool 6b: Putting creativity to work – 5 alternate questions
- Tool 6c: Workshop outline
- Tool 7: Evaluating alternatives
- Tool 8: Creative thinking techniques A-Z
- Tool 9: The 5 Whys technique
