Solving Problems with Creative Thinking

What is a problem?

• A goal that is difficult to achieve

• Something that needs more attention

• A situation that could lead to a negative outcome

Which option best describes “The 5 Whys” questioning technique?

• Ask five people involved in the problem why they think it occurred

• Ask the following:

  Why the problem occurred. Why it happened now. Why it must be solved. Why others haven’t solved it already. Why you are involved.

• Ask “Why?” repeatedly at least five times until you get to the root cause

• Ask a different person why the problem occurred, each day for five days

True or False?

Fault tree analysis and Histogram are two of the many methods that will help you with root cause analysis

• True

• False

Which is a good problem statement?

• Rachel loads her presentation for a virtual meeting that begins in ten minutes. 100 people have logged into the session. Her system crashes

• The sales team is unable to use the new tool for collecting and analyzing data. This situation is leading to a challenge in maintaining accurate and up-to-date sales data

• Smith has to reach the office by 9:30 a.m. to attend a meeting. It is now 8:30 a.m. His car does not start as he had left the lights on. He could make it to the meeting in time if he takes a cab

There are five types of solutions. One among the following is not. Which one?

• Interim

• Corrective

• Adaptive

• Contingent

• Reactive

What do you think is the first part of implementing a solution?

• Identifying the important contributors and giving them recognition

• Preventing the problem from happening again

• Designing a way to measure how well the solution works

• Identifying those who caused the problem and punishing them

True or False?

A corrective solution is created before a problem occurs.

• True

• False