Are you a natural problem solver? Problem solving is one of the key elements of business process improvement and quality management in general.

If you learn key problem solving tools and techniques, you will inevitably improve your processes.

One of the fundamentals to problem solving is developing a great problem statement. The better you can articulate the problem, the better chance you have at solving the problem.

Although more exist, I selected 3 core components of a great problem statement to get you started.

Your problem statement should:

  • Include a clear and concise description of the issue with a metric that describes the problem
  • Include an explanation of the impact or magnitude of the issue
  • Explain how often the issue occurs

An example problem statement:

  • Since January of this year, sales of the orange phone has decrease by 20% resulting in increased inventory levels above the 4000 unit capacity at the warehouse causing us to have to lease an additional storage unit for $200,000 a year.

Branner Consulting, LLC can help you at any stage along your journey from process documentation to implementing process improvement projects. We also provide coaching and training in Six Sigma and Lean methodologies.