problem solving techniques. xonitek corporation 2 brainstorming & the six hats… defining the...

Problem Solving Techniques

XONITEK Corporation 2

Brainstorming &The Six Hats…

Defining the Problem…


A Better Process for Thinking

Based on Six Thinking Hats by Edward de Bono

First published in 1985

A rigorous, disciplined method to unlock creativity


What’s Wrong with How We Think?

Major obstacle: clutter

Thoughts are intermixed and entangled

Some categories are given much more attention than others

Argumentative vs. Constructive

Result: Poor solutions


Examples of Adversarial Thought…

“That’ll never work.” – Why? What if it did?

“That’s a stupid idea.” – Can it be made better?

“I don’t like any of these suggestions.” – What about the facts?

“You can’t support that conclusion.” – What about ‘gut instinct’?

“We’re way past the time allocated in the agenda.” – Inefficient?

“That’s a great idea!” – What about risk?


How the Hats Work…

Six major categories of thought activities… (represented by ‘hats’)

The Hats represent a mindset at that point in the process…

The facilitator moves the team through each hat to get all perspectives on the board…

The ideas are confined to the color of the moment…

The sequence is up to the team…


Brainstorming Rules of Conduct…

No personal attacks…

Equal opportunity to participate…

Quantity over Quality…

Piggybacking is acceptable…

Brainstorming is a created environment of uninhibited thinking and sharing of ideas…


Brainstorming Goals…

Everyone to participate…

Create and open and creative environment…

To create a significant variety and volume of ideas for consideration…

Leave no stone unturned…


How the Problem is Defined…

How can we reduce run duration on Bus Route 22 by 20%...?

Why are customer complaints rising…?

How can we make the Troy garage safer…?

What is your question…?


Organize the Output…

List the main ideas on a visual easel or white board…

Summarize each idea on a 3 x 5 card so that the other “hats” can be linked…

This output will be used for the “Affinity Diagram” process and to assess all the “hats” later…


Three Complementary Groups of ‘Hats’

Yellow - “Benefits” – sunny, positive

First, a constructive component: List out all ideas identified – traditional brainstorming

For each given idea, list every benefit identified on the same card.

Look to combine several ideas

Are there additional benefits in the combined ideas?

Look for themes, then build other themes

No criticism! – Entirely constructive

First Group… Yellow and Black



Yellow Hat Examples

“We should hold meetings outdoors. The fresh air will improve our health. Outdoor meetings require less electricity. Maintenance on chairs would go down…”

“We could close the factory on Fridays. Our employees like long weekends. Heat bills would go down. Absenteeism could go down…”

“Schools should be open all year! Then parents would miss work less often in the summer, less vandalism would occur due to bored children…”



Black - “Risks” – dark, critical Everyone’s favorite hat?

For a given idea, list every risk identified on the card.

Why won’t it work?

What bad things could happen because of it?

What else could it damage?

First Group… Yellow and Black



Black Hat Examples

“If we were to meet outdoors, no one would pay attention. It could rain and then everyone would get wet. Wind could blow our papers away…”

“If we were closed on Fridays, the employees would not like the drop in pay they would receive. Our customers might not appreciate an extra day delay in their orders…”

“If school were open in the summer, children would miss beneficial family experiences during vacations, summer recreation directors would be out of work…”



- “Facts” – pure, unblemished

Just the facts, ma’am.

Must give a reference

Opinion is okay only if it is a third party’s opinion, relevant to the topic at hand

White and RedSecond Group -

White



White Hat Examples

“23% of companies have a policy of meeting outdoors. It rains, on average, 20 days a month here. Of the 10 companies in this area code that tried meeting outdoors, 8 stopped within one month.”

“55% of European factories are closed on Friday. 80% of employees in our industry surveyed last year supported a longer weekend. 8 out of 10 European customers reported last month that they would not be disrupted if we were closed on Fridays.”

“85% of school maintenance occurs during the summer. A law exists in this state which requires every school to be closed at least one month a year.”



Red - “Emotion” – unjustified, ‘gut’ thinking Convey your emotional reaction to an idea No support offered Weighted like any other aspect

White and RedSecond Group -



Red Hat Examples

“I like the idea of meeting outdoors. It makes me happy, calm, and tranquil.”

“I feel very nervous about closing on Fridays.”

“I don’t like the idea of kids being chained to desks all summer. It makes me very uneasy.”


Green - “Creativity” – unconstrained, unleashed

Just the ideas, ma’am.

“Lateral thinking” Beyond logical ideas Ideas build from each other Start with something wild and go from there

Green = unusual, illogical ideas versus

Yellow = usual, rational ideas


Third Group - Green and Blue



Green Hat Examples

“Meetings should be held on the moon.” “The moon is far away and barren.” “Meetings should be far away and out of our usual element.” “Let’s try meeting at a nature preserve in the desert.”

“Our factory should be built around a youth soccer field.” “Soccer fields are rowdy, loud, and full of people.” “Those people are very excited to be there.” “If we looked at our Lean program as a competitive, team sport, with rewards to the winners and shame to those benched, we could gain wild enthusiasm.”

“Children should be educated in submarines.” “Submarines are vehicles with complex technology and narrow spaces.” “Specialized classrooms within hospitals, police stations, and auto mechanic garages could combine field trips with the daily learning experience at our vocational school.”



Blue - “Structure” – control, order

Sets the agenda for the thinking activity

Gives the topic, boundaries, and objectives

Sets out the order (rough or firm) for the use of the other hats

Third Group - Green and Blue



Blue Hat Examples

“Today we are considering where we should hold our meetings in the future. The discussion will last no more than one hour. The order of hats will be yellow, green, white, black, red. We will then vote on our favored setting.”

“This is the first discussion on how to use our factory on Fridays. We will begin with the green hat. After one hour, we will suspend and summarize what we have explored.”

“The school board has asked us to brainstorm some suggestions on activities for students in this district in the summer. They have provided us a table of white hat facts and figures to use. Let us engage in green, then yellow, then black hat thinking. We will share our red hat thoughts on the alternatives identified later when we meet with the board.”


Some Ideas to Consider

Order of hats depends on many aspects Participants Topic Goals of the activity

It’s okay to go back into ‘blue hat’ mode and redefine the activity

Consider a facilitator who is responsible for the ‘blue hat’ during a meeting.

Consider a typical ‘hat agenda’ for particular meetings you hold.

Participation is critical… think of going around and always getting input or allow the users to “Pass” for a limited number of times….


XONITEK Brainstorm Hats

Our suggested brainstorming method within continuous improvement events

The project facilitator assumes the Blue Hat role.

Order of Hats: (suggested)

Blue – Structure, control and order

White – Facts, pure and unblemished

Yellow - Benefits, sunny and positive

Green – Creativity, unconstrained and unleashed

Black – Risks, dark and critical

Red - Emotion, unjustified and gut thinking


Process Closure….

After the ideas are collected, based on the number of cards, proceed to creating an Affinity Diagram

You can use the “hat” comments to determine those ideas that may have “too much risk” to be listed… Review anything to be omitted with the team


The Softer Side of VOC…

May not always appear to be efficient to use some of these “thought” eliciting methodologies Recall that Human Productivity is exponential when

People are engaged… Imagine a tug of war with between a football team and

a crew team… First blush the football team wins but the “orchestrated”

efforts of the Crew Team gets the job done every time…

Thinking Hats Example Activity


Organizing the Brainstorm Ideas…

Affinity Diagrams…


What is an Affinity Diagram?...

A process of organizing thoughts, concepts and issues into a relational order.

Often used to organize input from a Brainstorming session…


When should you use an Affinity Diagram?

When you have large amounts of ideas, issues or concepts to sort…

To change the paradigm of “how things are done”.

Involves people of specialized or limited knowledge on the subject to: See the big picture Help Create the big picture

Do not use an Affinity Diagram if there are a dozen items or less.


Getting Started… Summarize each idea as it is being created from Brainstorming for this activity.

If the team is large… select no more than 8 of the most knowledgeable persons to arrange the board.

Post or place the notes randomly on a board or table for team members to read and organize.

Remember: The best size teams do not exceed 8 members… the others can be “on call” in the background.


Categorize…

Each person can arrange the notes “silently” in columns by their perception of how they are “common”…

Disagreements are resolved by moving the note by another participant and: There is no objection from the original placement Or a duplicate of the note is created and placed in both columns

DO NOT over analyze the relationships… go with your first reactions… target to complete in about 20 minutes…

Isolated ideas should not be forced into a category but set off in their own section…


Define the Theme of the Column…

Look at the items sorted into a column and with the entire team identify the “common thread” and make this the header…

Put this description in a phrase at the top of the column… You may find two columns of similar themes and put them next to each other

under a “super header”…

The header should be meaningful even to those who did not participate in the process…

Everyone participates at this point…


Formalize the Affinity Diagram…

An example of an organizedAffinity Diagram…

Notice the Header, Super Header and then the Stated Topic.

[ Stated Topic ]


Finalize…

Chart a course of action for the various headers… Categorize as

Now Future (convenience) With Project Approval and schedule

Document each header as a Project Plan and submit for approval…


Charting…

Types of Charts described: Histogram Line Pie Pareto

Diagrams: Ishikowa or Fish Bone Diagram 5 Whys Tree Diagrams

Warning: If the data does not inspire “Action” then stop collecting…


Histograms…

Excellent tool to show the relationship between points of data or two data sets… Examples:

Revenues month to month, previous year and current year Acceptance rates for customers

By type Which service Territory

Service Levels


Collection of Data…

For the sake of simplicity we will discuss only two types… Point of Use Data Historical Data

This data is often put side by side for “perspective”…

There is an advanced process of calculating a sample size and establishing the validity of the data


Point of Use Data…

This is data that is collected at a point in the process on a continuous basis…

Typically charted in short term for immediate feedback… Arrival times at each bus stop Queue length waiting to board Service disruption reports


Historical Data…

Historical Data: Data retrieved from the system often to show trends…

Examples: Farebox revenues Traffic delay patterns Concession profitabilities

Both Historical and Point of Use Data are effective in the development of a Project ROI…


Data on a (stacked) Histogram…

02,0004,0006,0008,000

10,000

Nov Dec J '08 Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep

Do

llars

Months

Fare Revenue by Type, Route #22

Full Reduced Monthly

Example:

This Chart shows the changes in three levels of fare revenue over 11 months.

Chart created using Microsoft Excel.

What questions and answers would you make from reviewing this chart?


Scatter/Line Charts…

0

10

20

30

40

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Minu

tes

Average Minutes Late, Troy Routes

Route 80 Route 86 Route 84


Pie Charts…

1,500,591

309,280

244,674

215,412

142,844

102,34052,190 13,281 7,820

8,822 12

70

22

14

24

90

80

86

84

Rural

Monthly Ridership by Route

Pie charts provide excellent graphical displays of data relationships.

At the time of setting up the chart the user can display numbers or percentages or both for visual clarity.


Pareto Charts…

Pareto Charts assist the user in selecting the “tall pole” to prioritize corrective actions.

Originally developed by an Italian economist who charted the wealth

in Italy to discover the 80 – 20 rule…. (80% of the wealth is controlled by 20% of

the population)

The analysis by the “ 80 – 20 “ rule can benefit you in all aspects of business.


Pareto Chart…

106

59

33

12 103 2

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Fre

qu

ency

Category

Reasons for Denial of Boarding

Lack of $

Wrong Route

No Handicap AccessAbusive

Door Failure

Excess Luggage

The pareto is comparable to a Histogram, only the data is sorted in descending values.

In this example, the option on the chart to add the quantity data was selected.

Can you see how this prioritizes the actions to be taken?


Creating Charts with Excel…

Once the data has been created you “select all” and click this button.

Note the types of charts that can be created….


Charting in Excel…

Data Labels:

Note the labels Y1 – Y5;Day 1, Day 2 and how they Appear on the chart…

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Y1 Y2 Y3 Y4 Y5

Day 2

Day 1

Data…


Charting in Excel…

You can have several types of charts and multiple sets of data displayed based on the chart type selected…

Try out different charts… Keep the presentation simple for your viewers… Be aware of the format that clearly demonstrates data

relationships…


A Tip for Binning or Intervals… When you make a bar graph from “variable” data it is sometimes

best to create intervals. Intervals group the data so that it can be more informative…

Determine the number of Bins from the charts that follow this slide. Define the range by subtracting the largest from the smallest data value. Divide the range by the desired interval Round the value up to the nearest whole number. Subtract 0.5 from the interval value to establish the bin starting value.

Example: The range is 38 with 50 data points. The number of Bins was decided to be 8. The result is 4.75 or 38/8 which is then rounded to 5.0 as the bin interval… Subtract 0.5 from the lowest value recorded and then add the interval 8 times

for each bin… Lowest = 20, 20 – 0.5 = 19.5, 19.5 + 5 = 24.5 this is the first bin. Add 24.5 + 5 = 29.5 this is the second bin. Tally the data points by the intervals to create the chart values. Any value that falls on the lower interval level goes into the higher

bin. Repeat until done…


Binning Example…

Bin Value

19.5 – 24.5

24.5 –

29.5

29.5 – 34.5

34.5 – 39.5

39.5 - 44.5

44.5 – 49.5

49.5 - 54.5

54.5 - +++

Count 3 7 5 12 8 7 4 4

The Bins Defined….

Example Binning Data

02468

101214

19.5 –24.5

24.5 –29.5

29.5 –34.5

34.5 –39.5

39.5 -44.5

44.5 –49.5

49.5 -54.5

54.5 -+++

Intervals

Qty

of

Mea

sure

men

ts

in B

in

Now you can see the data displayed with the most significant issues…

The intervals don’t have to be displayed and are often identified as the actual defects.


Suggested Intervals…

Number of readings Number of Intervals

Fewer than 50 5 to 7

50 to 100 6 to 10

101 to 150 7 to 12

more than 150 10 to 12


Diagrams…

Ishikowa Diagrams (Fishbone) & Tree Diagrams…


Ishikowa Diagrams…

These diagrams are also called: Fish Bone Diagrams Cause and Effect Diagrams

The diagrams are designed to show the following: Desired Effect or the Existing Outcome Primary, Secondary and Tertiary causes

Diagrams are visually effective to understand the issue and potential causes…


Creating an Ishikowa Diagram…

Create a horizontal line… List the “Desired Effect” or “Existing Outcome” at the end

of the line… This should clearly identify the purpose of the analysis…

Cause or Effect Statement


Ishikowa Diagrams cont…

The next step is to identify the categories and possible causes… Often the cause elements are defined by the pareto charts and other

charts shown earlier… Categories should be of a generalized nature to help classify..

Man Machine Materials Design Methods Etc…


Ishikowa Diagrams cont…

Cause or Effect Statement

Man Machine

Materials Design

Cause 1

Cause 2Cause 3

Cause 2

Cause 1

Cause 2

Cause

1

Cause A

Cause B Cause 2

Cause A

Note the expanding level of “attributed” cause…. This gets you to the “root” cause.


Analyzing the Data…

Review the Diagram… Is there sufficient information?

Should some categories be consolidated?

Repeated causes may be “root” causes…

While the Pareto chart may have initiated the categories…. Consider using another pareto to further define the details of the causes…

How can you measure the various causes?

“Mark” out the candidates for project development…

Use the Define a Project section to quantify the project.


The 5 Why’s…

The 5 Why’s are another Cause & Affect definition process… This is the process of repeatedly asking “WHY” until you have reached

the root cause… Don’t be afraid to keep asking (past 5 why’s) if necessary to get to the

“root cause”… This technique can be used on process issues or interrelation issues… Often used when constructing the “Fish Bone Diagram”…

Asking direct questions and getting direct answers …. Brings you closer to the heart of the problem…


5 Why’s example…

Q: Why did the house burn down? A: Faulty Wiring. Q: Why was there faulty wiring? A: The outlet was repaired incorrectly. Q: Why was it repaired incorrectly? A: Home owner did the repair. Q: Why did the home owner do the repair? A: Qualified electrician was not available. Q: Why was the electrician not available? A: He was out of town…and is the only one around.

This is a simple example of how you would “peg” down through the answers to get the reason the house burned down…. Maybe we need more electricians!!


Tree Diagrams…

Types of Diagrams can any of the following or a combination of the following… Time Based… Probability Based… Simple Cause and Effect…

Tree Diagrams can become an extension of the Ishikowa Diagram & Affinity Diagram…this helps to clarify relationships by category.


Tree Diagram with Time / Cause & Affect…

Take the Time off the different sections and you have JUST cause and effect…

These diagrams are easily created with paper and pencil….later converted to an iGrafx or Excel program.

Diagram taken from the Internet: Author Unknown


Tree Diagram with Probability…

This tree is most commonly used by Six Sigma trained personnel.

If the expected probabilities have been calculated from historical data then…One can predict the probability of an outcome(s) as shown.

Note that the probability for each section of

the tree equals a total of “1”.


Tree Diagrams…

Can you think of ways to use these in your own company?

http://kera.name/treediag/ a free Tree Diagram from the web…


A Suggestion Program…

Consider this: Every suggestion is an employee “putting their solution on the

line” Each submission must be treated with sincerity. Every input requires a response from leadership.

This is the “untapped” wealth we all seek. Employee productivity…


Suggestion Program Outline…

Forms for input and resolution. Location of Forms Deposit of Forms Review and Clarification Financial Analysis Notification and / or Action…


Suggestion Proposal

Contributor: ______________ Date: ______/______/______ Department or Work Center:__________________________ Type of Proposal: (check one)

Labor Improvement Product Quality Material Yield Improvement Safety Current Situation Proposed Situation

Suggestion Value Analysis Analysis By: ______________________________ Date:______/______/______ Closure – Accepted Projected Start Date:______________

Declined Employee Notified: _______________ (Notify for either Closures)

Sample Form.

This can be revised to suit your company’s needs.

Use both sides of the form if necessary to collect all the information.


Location of Forms:

Forms should be visible.

Located in the areas most readily accessible to the employees. Support or Service Delivery

Drop off locations should be: Secure. Localized. Confidential.


Review and Clarification…

Review the form with the employee to clarify the content and scope.

Develop a cost analysis. Empirical data is the “tie breaker” for priorities.

Safety and (typically) Quality should always be prioritized.


Financial Analysis…

Conduct a detailed review of the proposal.

Solicit input from department leaders and “other” sources, i.e. industry organizations, peer companies, etc. Care should be taken to remove the “not invented here”

attitude towards the suggestion.

Use the format approved by your internal Accounting Group.


Notification and Action…

Accepted Suggestions:

Can be posted locally… Acknowledgement is significant to future input.

Must have a target “Action” date…

Consider “non Monetary” rewards…

Rejected Suggestions:

Review with the contributor for reasoning… Make sure you understood the intent so the conclusion is valid. Give positive feedback that encourages future suggestions.


Keep this in Mind….

Postponement of Activity suggests: Lack of concern for improvement

Recall the “they asked but did they really mean it” comment. Possible implied rejection without notification.

Use an Affinity Diagram if you have a significant quantity to evaluate… Conduct one improvement with several “common” inputs.

Any reward is warranted…. If you truly saved money … don’t go cheap.

Gentle Introduction to the Voice of the Customer

Before You Begin!

Become aware of your own bias… Do you have your own agenda for seeking this

feedback? Can you lead the inquiry without trying to steer the

responses? Will you attempt to influence the conclusions?


Before You Begin!

What is the true purpose for the inquiry? Improving customer satisfaction? Gauging likely reaction to a significant change? Identifying competitive strengths/weaknesses? Designing a new service?

What balance between “fact” and “opinion”?


Which Type of Question to Use?

Yes / No Questions …are easy to tally …lend themselves to statistical analysis

Short Answer Questions …tend to yield much more insight …have responses that are more difficult to compare …can frustrate respondents


Which Type of Question to Use?

Scale-Based (1-10, A-F, etc.) …provide some degree of additional insight …encourage responses that moderate extremes …might have inherent bias (“F” means something)


Examples: Poor Questions

“Which bus route should be eliminated?” “None” is not implied as acceptable No way to capture why Does not encourage exploring alternate solutions

“Which bus routes, if any, serve destinations you rarely or never visit?”

“Budgets are shrinking. One cost cutting idea is to eliminate unpopular routes. Are there routes in the system that server destinations you rarely or never visit? What other cost savings measures can you suggest?


Examples: Poor Questions

“On a scale of 1-10, grade the professionalism of your driver.” Wide scale… can it be narrowed down? What does “professionalism” mean? Will the poorly worded question have an impact on the driver’s employment?

Will respondents feel sympathy and modify responses?

“On a scale of 1-5, with 1 representing “excellent”, 3 “average”, and 5 “unacceptable”… “…did the driver greet you promptly and warmly?” “…assist you with questions about the route?” Etc.


Surveying Q&A

problem solving techniques. xonitek corporation 2 brainstorming & the six hats… defining the...

Documents

thinking hats

volume of ideas

hatsthe hats

combined ideas

main ideas

boardthe ideas

great idea

stupid idea