practical problem solving tips

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© 2016 Marval Software Limited www.marval.co.uk E:[email protected] Practical Problem Solving Tips

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© 2016 Marval Software Limited www.marval.co.uk E:[email protected]

Practical Problem

Solving Tips

© 2016 Marval Software Limited www.marval.co.uk E:[email protected]

Introduction

This slide set is designed to help us become more effective in problem analysis and problem solving

It will: Look at some common approaches

Present some interesting challenges to overcome

Provide pragmatic, useable tips and techniques to help us refresh and improve our problem analysis and problem solving skills

© 2016 Marval Software Limited www.marval.co.uk E:[email protected]

Question

What is a

Problem?

© 2016 Marval Software Limited www.marval.co.uk E:[email protected]

Answer

A discrepancy between

what is and what should be

© 2016 Marval Software Limited www.marval.co.uk E:[email protected]

Types of problem solving

Fire fighting

Fishbone diagrams

Mind mapping

Analytical

Creative

Brainstorming

Teamwork

© 2016 Marval Software Limited www.marval.co.uk E:[email protected]

Some benefits

The more often we follow a

consistent approach

© 2016 Marval Software Limited www.marval.co.uk E:[email protected]

The 4 Ps of problem solving

Patience

Practice

Persistence

Perseverance

Plus a good dose of

Common Sense

© 2016 Marval Software Limited www.marval.co.uk E:[email protected]

Current situation?

Problems often take too long to identify and

solve?

We jump straight in with a solution without

assessing the problem properly?

Too much time spent fire-fighting?

Inconsistent approach?

No formal and documented approach/process?

Go for the complex solution and ignore the

obvious one?

© 2016 Marval Software Limited www.marval.co.uk E:[email protected]

If only we KNEW what we KNOW

88% of organisational knowledge is currently not

searchable or retrievable

Up to 20% of our time is spent finding answers

to problems that have already been solved

As much as 12% of our time is spent looking for

sources of information

- Delphi Group

© 2016 Marval Software Limited www.marval.co.uk E:[email protected]

The SIX key questions

What?

Where?

When?

How?

Why?

Who?

“I keep six honest serving men. They taught me all I know: Their names are What and Why and When and How and Where and Who.” Rudyard Kipling (The ‘Just So’ stories)

© 2016 Marval Software Limited www.marval.co.uk E:[email protected]

Known barriers to effective decision-making

Indecision

Stalling

Overreacting

Vacillating

Half measures

Making assumptions

© 2016 Marval Software Limited www.marval.co.uk E:[email protected]

Problem solving on the ‘phone

Simple guidelines

Requires a well-structured approach

Talk to customers in business language

Don’t expect them to be an ‘expert’ in IT

Remember they are an expert in their field

Ensure you understand their issue

Ask questions to confirm your understanding

Re-state the ‘problem’ for clarification

Document what they are saying

© 2016 Marval Software Limited www.marval.co.uk E:[email protected]

Problem solving on the ‘phone

Simple guidelines

NEVER make assumptions

Be empathic

Think before you speak - customer perception

Advise the customer YOU cannot immediately solve their problem - if this is true

Ensure the customer feels confident that the team will look after their interests and keep them informed

Be professional at all times (not matter what the provocation!)

© 2016 Marval Software Limited www.marval.co.uk E:[email protected]

Influences on group decisions

Peer pressure: Members are reluctant to go against the majority viewpoint

Critical reasoning stifled, leading to wrong decisions being

made - group think

Successful groups are over confident and so take riskier decisions

Majority view: Groups make more extreme decisions than each

individual's decisions

Group polarisation

Pulling your weight: Individuals put in less effort into achieving decisions than

other members - social loafing

© 2016 Marval Software Limited www.marval.co.uk E:[email protected]

Find the best solution for the situation

Don't view any alternative as the ‘perfect solution’.

If there were such a thing, there probably wouldn't be a

problem in the first place.

Suspend judgment and criticism when first collecting

ideas

Involve a trusted colleague

Is there something you missed?

Do they see a problem with your approach /solution?

Compromise

Consider compromise when you have a full grasp of the problem

and your alternatives

Competing solutions may yield a hybrid solution.

© 2016 Marval Software Limited www.marval.co.uk E:[email protected]

Knowing when to escalate is essential

Many IT specialists mistakenly believe that escalating a problem is an admission of incompetence, so they violate established escalation guidelines.

© 2016 Marval Software Limited www.marval.co.uk E:[email protected]

Business impact assignment

You need an agreed business impact, urgency

and priority assignment approach that ensures

business critical issues are handled first

Ensure you have a clear incident process and

procedure in place. This will ensure a structured

approach is followed when you are under

pressure

© 2016 Marval Software Limited www.marval.co.uk E:[email protected]

Keep customers informed It’s imperative that the correct people are kept

informed Customers experience major frustration when they

have to wait for a status update

Managing customer expectation is the key to success

Customers appreciate knowing what’s been done, the current status of their problem and when to expect a resolution

Don’t forget about your own management team – they won’t like to be embarrassed

© 2016 Marval Software Limited www.marval.co.uk E:[email protected]

Proactive problem analysis & trending

“We never seem to make the time to be proactive, but always have the time to be reactive”

Dr Don Page

“The Too Busy Syndrome”

© 2016 Marval Software Limited www.marval.co.uk E:[email protected]

Proactive problem analysis & trending

Identify and resolve problems before new Incidents

occur

Identify potential problems quicker

Verify implemented improvements have been

successful:

• Incidents are being solved faster

• The same incidents and problems are not

re-occurring

© 2016 Marval Software Limited www.marval.co.uk E:[email protected]

Questions to drive analysis

Why is it necessary?

When should it be done (e.g. now, after hours, weekly)?

Where is the information for analysis located?

Who should do it?

What should be done?

How should it be done?

How should it be documented?

Who should we inform and when?

How should we inform others?

© 2016 Marval Software Limited www.marval.co.uk E:[email protected]

Analysis should identify/highlight

Request types having the biggest business impact

Request types occurring the most often (and who

experiences them most)

Where requests are occurring

When requests are occurring

Who/what is experiencing the most requests

Request types taking up staff time the most

Request types taking the longest time to turn around

If service improvements have been successful

Customer training needs

© 2016 Marval Software Limited www.marval.co.uk E:[email protected]

Trending focuses Service affected

Reported symptom

Affect configuration item(s) (Optional)

Identified root cause

Resolution applied

Service agreement used (Optional)

Actual individual time spent

Elapsed time spent

Location

Business impact

Cost/revenue impact (Optional)

Customer satisfaction

Ensure all incidents

are classified with

A ROOT CAUSE and

RESOLUTION code

© 2016 Marval Software Limited www.marval.co.uk E:[email protected]

Proactive perception analysis

Proactive perception analysis should primarily

focus on:

Requests not meeting agreed targets

Re-scheduled requests

Poor customer satisfaction

Incidents being ‘bounced’ around

Re-opened requests

© 2016 Marval Software Limited www.marval.co.uk E:[email protected]

Things we can do to save time in problem solving

Record/document everything

we do

Share knowledge and

communicate better

Provide diagnostic scripts,

checklists and staff skills

matrix

Have accurate configuration

management database

(CMDB)

Improved testing and release

process

Enter detailed classification

into incident records

Provide up-to-date processes

and procedures

Perform regular analysis and

link to KPIs

Spend more time planning

and evaluating risks

Develop knowledge base with

access to known errors,

solutions and workarounds

© 2016 Marval Software Limited www.marval.co.uk E:[email protected]

Top tip: ask "Why?" five times Ask "Why" a problem is occurring - and then ask "Why" four more

times. For example...

1. Why has the machine stopped?

A fuse blew because of an overload

2. Why was there an overload? There wasn't enough lubrication for the bearings

3. Why wasn't there enough lubrication? The pump wasn't pumping enough

4. Why wasn't lubricant being pumped? The pump shaft was vibrating as a result of abrasion

5. Why was there abrasion? There was no filter, allowing chips of material into the pump

Installation of a filter solves this problem

From "What a Great Idea" by Chic Thompson

© 2016 Marval Software Limited www.marval.co.uk E:[email protected]

The top 10 common mistakes we make

Making quick assumptions (an assumption is

something that is accepted as true without verification)

Not collecting/having/being given the facts

Being supplied with inaccurate/incomplete information

Not properly evaluating/reproducing the condition

Pressure from customer/business to deliver NOW

Agreeing a time frame without understanding the problem, impact, risks and resources required

Trying to fix things beyond our skillset

Not escalating a request early enough

Not involving the right people

Not keeping the customer/business informed

200 IT staff surveyed

© 2016 Marval Software Limited www.marval.co.uk E:[email protected]

Summary

With a well-defined problem analysis and problem solving process in place, you will realise major business benefits:

Repetitive problems solved permanently

Reduction in the number of incidents and problems

Minimised business impact

Shared knowledge

Reduced resolution time

Improved productivity

Confidence in IT improved/maintained

© 2016 Marval Software Limited www.marval.co.uk E:[email protected]

About Marval

Marval offers a

customer-centric

approach to IT service

management (ITSM),

encompassing ITSM

software, consultancy

and education

People

Technology Process

© 2016 Marval Software Limited www.marval.co.uk E:[email protected]

© 2016 Marval Software Limited www.marval.co.uk E:[email protected]

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