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Getting to the Root of a Problem Quickly

By the Mind Tools Content Team

5 Whys Root-Cause Analysis

Have you ever had a problem that refused to go away? No matter what you did, sooner or later it would return, perhaps in another form.

Stubborn or recurrent problems are often symptoms of deeper issues. "Quick fixes" may seem convenient, but they often solve only the surface issues and waste resources that could otherwise be used to tackle the real cause.

In this article and in the video, below, we look at the 5 Whys technique (sometimes known as 5Y). This is a simple but powerful tool for cutting quickly through the outward symptoms of a problem to reveal its underlying causes – so that you can deal with it once and for all.

Origins of the 5 Whys Technique

Sakichi Toyoda, the Japanese industrialist, inventor, and founder of Toyota Industries, developed the 5 Whys technique in the 1930s. It became popular in the 1970s, and Toyota still uses it to solve problems today.

Toyota has a "go and see" philosophy. This means that its decision making is based on an in-depth understanding of what's actually happening on the shop floor , rather than on what someone in a boardroom thinks might be happening.

The 5 Whys technique is true to this tradition, and it is most effective when the answers come from people who have hands-on experience of the process or problem in question.

The method is remarkably simple: when a problem occurs, you drill down to its root cause by asking "Why?" five times. Then, when a counter-measure becomes apparent, you follow it through to prevent the issue from recurring.

The 5 Whys uses "counter-measures," rather than "solutions." A counter-measure is an action or set of actions that seeks to prevent the problem from arising again, while a solution may just seek to deal with the symptom. As such, counter-measures are more robust, and will more likely prevent the problem from recurring.

When to Use a 5 Whys Analysis

You can use 5 Whys for troubleshooting, quality improvement, and problem solving, but it is most effective when used to resolve simple or moderately difficult problems.

It may not be suitable if you need to tackle a complex or critical problem. This is because 5 Whys can lead you to pursue a single track, or a limited number of tracks, of inquiry when, in fact, there could be multiple causes. In cases like these, a wider-ranging method such as Cause and Effect Analysis or Failure Mode and Effects Analysis may b e more effective.

This simple 5 Whys technique, however, can often direct you quickly to the root cause of a problem. So, whenever a system or process isn't working properly, give it a try before you embark on a more in-depth approach – and certainly before you attempt to develop a solution.

The tool's simplicity gives it great flexibility, too, and 5 Whys combines well with other methods and techniques, such as Root Cause Analysis . It is often associated with Lean Manufacturing , where it is used to identify and eliminate wasteful practices. It is also used in the analysis phase of the Six Sigma quality improvement methodology.

How to Use the 5 Whys

The model follows a very simple seven-step process: [1]

1. Assemble a Team

Gather together people who are familiar with the specifics of the problem, and with the process that you're trying to fix. Include someone to act as a facilitator , who can keep the team focused on identifying effective counter-measures.

2. Define the Problem

If you can, observe the problem in action. Discuss it with your team and write a brief, clear problem statement that you all agree on. For example, "Team A isn't meeting its response time targets" or "Software release B resulted in too many rollback failures."

Then, write your statement on a whiteboard or sticky note, leaving enough space around it to add your answers to the repeated question, "Why?"

3. Ask the First "Why?"

Ask your team why the problem is occurring. (For example, "Why isn't Team A meeting its response time targets?")

Asking "Why?" sounds simple, but answering it requires serious thought. Search for answers that are grounded in fact: they must be accounts of things that have actually happened, not guesses at what might have happened.

This prevents 5 Whys from becoming just a process of deductive reasoning, which can generate a large number of possible causes and, sometimes, create more confusion as you chase down hypothetical problems.

Your team members may come up with one obvious reason why, or several plausible ones. Record their answers as succinct phrases, rather than as single words or lengthy statements, and write them below (or beside) your problem statement. For example, saying "volume of calls is too high" is better than a vague "overloaded."

4. Ask "Why?" Four More Times

For each of the answers that you generated in Step 3, ask four further "whys" in succession. Each time, frame the question in response to the answer you've just recorded.

What Is a 5 Whys Template?

The diagram, below, shows an example of 5 Whys in action, following a single lane of inquiry.

Figure 1: 5 Whys Example (Single Lane)

The 5 Whys method also allows you to follow multiple lanes of inquiry. An example of this is shown in Figure 2, below.

In our example, asking "Why was the delivery late?" produces a second answer (Reason 2). Asking "Why?" for that answer reveals a single reason (Reason 1), which you can address with a counter-measure.

Similarly, asking "Why did the job take longer than expected?" has a second answer (Reason 2), and asking "Why?" at this point reveals a single reason (Reason 1). Another "Why?" here identifies two possibilities (Reasons 1 and 2) before a possible counter-measure becomes evident.

There is also a second reason for "Why we ran out of printer ink" (Reason 2), and a single answer for the next "Why?" (Reason 1), which can then be addressed with a counter-measure.

Figure 2: 5 Whys Example (Multiple Lanes)

Step 5. Know When to Stop

You'll know that you've revealed the root cause of the problem when asking "why" produces no more useful responses, and you can go no further. An appropriate counter-measure or process change should then become evident. (As we said earlier, if you're not sure that you've uncovered the real root cause, consider using a more in-depth problem-solving technique like Cause and Effect Analysis , Root-Cause Analysis , or FMEA .)

If you identified more than one reason in Step 3, repeat this process for each of the different branches of your analysis until you reach a root cause for each one.

6. Address the Root Cause(s)

Now that you've identified at least one root cause, you need to discuss and agree on the counter-measures that will prevent the problem from recurring.

7. Monitor Your Measures

Keep a close watch on how effectively your counter-measures eliminate or minimize the initial problem. You may need to amend them, or replace them entirely. If this happens, it's a good idea to repeat the 5 Whys process to ensure that you've identified the correct root cause.

Appreciation

A similar question-based approach known as "appreciation" can help you to uncover factors in a situation that you might otherwise miss.

It was originally developed by the military to assist commanders in gaining a comprehensive understanding of any fact, problem or situation. But you can also apply it in the workplace.

Starting with a fact, you first ask the question, "So what?" – in other words, what are the implications of that fact? Why is this fact important?

You then continue asking that question until you've drawn all possible conclusions from it.

The major difference between this and the 5 Whys technique is that appreciation is often used to get the most information out of a simple fact or statement, while 5 Whys is designed to drill down to the root of a problem.

Tips for Using the 5 Whys Technique

• Try to move quickly from one question to the next. That way, you'll have the full picture before you jump to any conclusions.
• The "5" in 5 Whys is really just a " rule of thumb ." In some cases, you may need to ask "Why?" a few more times before you get to the root of the problem. In other cases, you may reach this point before you ask your fifth "Why?" If you do, make sure that you haven't stopped too soon, and that you're not simply accepting "knee-jerk" responses.
• Know when to stop! The important point is to stop asking "Why?" when you stop producing useful responses.

Frequently Asked Questions About 5 Whys

1. what is the 5 whys technique.

The 5 Whys Technique is a problem-solving method involving repeatedly asking "why?" It's a way of quickly getting to the root cause of a situation.

2. Who Invented 5 Whys?

The 5 Whys technique was invented in the 1930s by Sakichi Toyoda, the Japanese industrialist, inventor, and founder of Toyota Industries.

5 Whys Infographic

See our infographic on the 5 Whys and use it to get to the root of your problems!

Bear in mind that appreciation can restrict you to one line of thinking. For instance, once you've answered your first "So what?" question, you might follow a single line of inquiry to its conclusion. To avoid this, repeat the appreciation process several times over to make sure that you've covered all bases.

The 5 Whys strategy is a simple, effective tool for uncovering the root of a problem. You can use it in troubleshooting, problem-solving, and quality-improvement initiatives.

Start with a problem and ask why it is occurring. Make sure that your answer is grounded in fact, and then ask the question again. Continue the process until you reach the root cause of the problem, and you can identify a counter-measure that will prevent it from recurring.

Bear in mind that this questioning process is best suited to simple or moderately difficult problems. Complex problems may benefit from a more detailed approach, although using 5 Whys will still give you useful insights.

[1] Pojasek, R. (2000). 'Asking "Why?" Five Times,' Environmental Quality Management , Volume 10, Issue 1, 79–84. Available here . [Accessed July 1, 2022.]

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• The Art of Effective Problem Solving: A Step-by-Step Guide
• Learn Lean Sigma
• Problem Solving

Whether we realise it or not, problem solving skills are an important part of our daily lives. From resolving a minor annoyance at home to tackling complex business challenges at work, our ability to solve problems has a significant impact on our success and happiness. However, not everyone is naturally gifted at problem-solving, and even those who are can always improve their skills. In this blog post, we will go over the art of effective problem-solving step by step.

You will learn how to define a problem, gather information, assess alternatives, and implement a solution, all while honing your critical thinking and creative problem-solving skills. Whether you’re a seasoned problem solver or just getting started, this guide will arm you with the knowledge and tools you need to face any challenge with confidence. So let’s get started!

Table of Contents

Problem solving methodologies.

Individuals and organisations can use a variety of problem-solving methodologies to address complex challenges. 8D and A3 problem solving techniques are two popular methodologies in the Lean Six Sigma framework.

Methodology of 8D (Eight Discipline) Problem Solving:

The 8D problem solving methodology is a systematic, team-based approach to problem solving. It is a method that guides a team through eight distinct steps to solve a problem in a systematic and comprehensive manner.

The 8D process consists of the following steps:

• Form a team: Assemble a group of people who have the necessary expertise to work on the problem.
• Define the issue: Clearly identify and define the problem, including the root cause and the customer impact.
• Create a temporary containment plan: Put in place a plan to lessen the impact of the problem until a permanent solution can be found.
• Identify the root cause: To identify the underlying causes of the problem, use root cause analysis techniques such as Fishbone diagrams and Pareto charts.
• Create and test long-term corrective actions: Create and test a long-term solution to eliminate the root cause of the problem.
• Implement and validate the permanent solution: Implement and validate the permanent solution’s effectiveness.
• Prevent recurrence: Put in place measures to keep the problem from recurring.
• Recognize and reward the team: Recognize and reward the team for its efforts.

Download the 8D Problem Solving Template

A3 Problem Solving Method:

The A3 problem solving technique is a visual, team-based problem-solving approach that is frequently used in Lean Six Sigma projects. The A3 report is a one-page document that clearly and concisely outlines the problem, root cause analysis, and proposed solution.

The A3 problem-solving procedure consists of the following steps:

• Determine the issue: Define the issue clearly, including its impact on the customer.
• Perform root cause analysis: Identify the underlying causes of the problem using root cause analysis techniques.
• Create and implement a solution: Create and implement a solution that addresses the problem’s root cause.
• Monitor and improve the solution: Keep an eye on the solution’s effectiveness and make any necessary changes.

Subsequently, in the Lean Six Sigma framework, the 8D and A3 problem solving methodologies are two popular approaches to problem solving. Both methodologies provide a structured, team-based problem-solving approach that guides individuals through a comprehensive and systematic process of identifying, analysing, and resolving problems in an effective and efficient manner.

Step 1 – Define the Problem

The definition of the problem is the first step in effective problem solving. This may appear to be a simple task, but it is actually quite difficult. This is because problems are frequently complex and multi-layered, making it easy to confuse symptoms with the underlying cause. To avoid this pitfall, it is critical to thoroughly understand the problem.

To begin, ask yourself some clarifying questions:

• What exactly is the issue?
• What are the problem’s symptoms or consequences?
• Who or what is impacted by the issue?
• When and where does the issue arise?

Answering these questions will assist you in determining the scope of the problem. However, simply describing the problem is not always sufficient; you must also identify the root cause. The root cause is the underlying cause of the problem and is usually the key to resolving it permanently.

Try asking “why” questions to find the root cause:

• What causes the problem?
• Why does it continue?
• Why does it have the effects that it does?

By repeatedly asking “ why ,” you’ll eventually get to the bottom of the problem. This is an important step in the problem-solving process because it ensures that you’re dealing with the root cause rather than just the symptoms.

Once you have a firm grasp on the issue, it is time to divide it into smaller, more manageable chunks. This makes tackling the problem easier and reduces the risk of becoming overwhelmed. For example, if you’re attempting to solve a complex business problem, you might divide it into smaller components like market research, product development, and sales strategies.

To summarise step 1, defining the problem is an important first step in effective problem-solving. You will be able to identify the root cause and break it down into manageable parts if you take the time to thoroughly understand the problem. This will prepare you for the next step in the problem-solving process, which is gathering information and brainstorming ideas.

Step 2 – Gather Information and Brainstorm Ideas

Gathering information and brainstorming ideas is the next step in effective problem solving. This entails researching the problem and relevant information, collaborating with others, and coming up with a variety of potential solutions. This increases your chances of finding the best solution to the problem.

Begin by researching the problem and relevant information. This could include reading articles, conducting surveys, or consulting with experts. The goal is to collect as much information as possible in order to better understand the problem and possible solutions.

Next, work with others to gather a variety of perspectives. Brainstorming with others can be an excellent way to come up with new and creative ideas. Encourage everyone to share their thoughts and ideas when working in a group, and make an effort to actively listen to what others have to say. Be open to new and unconventional ideas and resist the urge to dismiss them too quickly.

Finally, use brainstorming to generate a wide range of potential solutions. This is the place where you can let your imagination run wild. At this stage, don’t worry about the feasibility or practicality of the solutions; instead, focus on generating as many ideas as possible. Write down everything that comes to mind, no matter how ridiculous or unusual it may appear. This can be done individually or in groups.

Once you’ve compiled a list of potential solutions, it’s time to assess them and select the best one. This is the next step in the problem-solving process, which we’ll go over in greater detail in the following section.

Step 3 – Evaluate Options and Choose the Best Solution

Once you’ve compiled a list of potential solutions, it’s time to assess them and select the best one. This is the third step in effective problem solving, and it entails weighing the advantages and disadvantages of each solution, considering their feasibility and practicability, and selecting the solution that is most likely to solve the problem effectively.

To begin, weigh the advantages and disadvantages of each solution. This will assist you in determining the potential outcomes of each solution and deciding which is the best option. For example, a quick and easy solution may not be the most effective in the long run, whereas a more complex and time-consuming solution may be more effective in solving the problem in the long run.

Consider each solution’s feasibility and practicability. Consider the following:

• Can the solution be implemented within the available resources, time, and budget?
• What are the possible barriers to implementing the solution?
• Is the solution feasible in today’s political, economic, and social environment?

You’ll be able to tell which solutions are likely to succeed and which aren’t by assessing their feasibility and practicability.

Finally, choose the solution that is most likely to effectively solve the problem. This solution should be based on the criteria you’ve established, such as the advantages and disadvantages of each solution, their feasibility and practicability, and your overall goals.

It is critical to remember that there is no one-size-fits-all solution to problems. What is effective for one person or situation may not be effective for another. This is why it is critical to consider a wide range of solutions and evaluate each one based on its ability to effectively solve the problem.

Step 4 – Implement and Monitor the Solution

When you’ve decided on the best solution, it’s time to put it into action. The fourth and final step in effective problem solving is to put the solution into action, monitor its progress, and make any necessary adjustments.

To begin, implement the solution. This may entail delegating tasks, developing a strategy, and allocating resources. Ascertain that everyone involved understands their role and responsibilities in the solution’s implementation.

Next, keep an eye on the solution’s progress. This may entail scheduling regular check-ins, tracking metrics, and soliciting feedback from others. You will be able to identify any potential roadblocks and make any necessary adjustments in a timely manner if you monitor the progress of the solution.

Finally, make any necessary modifications to the solution. This could entail changing the solution, altering the plan of action, or delegating different tasks. Be willing to make changes if they will improve the solution or help it solve the problem more effectively.

It’s important to remember that problem solving is an iterative process, and there may be times when you need to start from scratch. This is especially true if the initial solution does not effectively solve the problem. In these situations, it’s critical to be adaptable and flexible and to keep trying new solutions until you find the one that works best.

To summarise, effective problem solving is a critical skill that can assist individuals and organisations in overcoming challenges and achieving their objectives. Effective problem solving consists of four key steps: defining the problem, generating potential solutions, evaluating alternatives and selecting the best solution, and implementing the solution.

You can increase your chances of success in problem solving by following these steps and considering factors such as the pros and cons of each solution, their feasibility and practicability, and making any necessary adjustments. Furthermore, keep in mind that problem solving is an iterative process, and there may be times when you need to go back to the beginning and restart. Maintain your adaptability and try new solutions until you find the one that works best for you.

• Novick, L.R. and Bassok, M., 2005.  Problem Solving . Cambridge University Press.

Daniel Croft

Daniel Croft is a seasoned continuous improvement manager with a Black Belt in Lean Six Sigma. With over 10 years of real-world application experience across diverse sectors, Daniel has a passion for optimizing processes and fostering a culture of efficiency. He's not just a practitioner but also an avid learner, constantly seeking to expand his knowledge. Outside of his professional life, Daniel has a keen Investing, statistics and knowledge-sharing, which led him to create the website learnleansigma.com, a platform dedicated to Lean Six Sigma and process improvement insights.

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Elisabeth Swan is the co-author of “The Problem-Solver’s Toolkit” and co-host of “The Just-in-Time Cafe Podcast.” She’s been a process improvement consultant, speaker, and innovator for over 30 years. She’s the Chief Learning Experience Officer for GoLeanSixSigma.com, a former cast member of ImprovBoston, and – if asked – may still be able to ride a unicycle.

Surgeon Atul Gawande made headlines when he told the world that a simple checklist could drastically reduce unnecessary deaths in The Checklist Manifesto .

Yet, checklists conjure images of forklift drivers on loading docks with clipboards counting boxes. How could they transform healthcare?

“ He has… produced a 90-second checklist which reduced deaths and complications by more than one-third in eight hospitals around the world – at virtually no cost and for almost any operation. ” – James Clarke, reviewing The Checklist Manifesto,  Ulster Med J. 2011 Jan; 80(1): 54.

Aviation was transformed decades earlier when management and engineers at Boeing Corporation created the pre-flight checklist after the 1935 crash of the prototype Boeing B-17 at Wright Field in Dayton, Ohio. Checklists have become so essential to the airline industry that most crashes can be traced to the misuse or failure to complete a checklist.

A New York Times reviewer noted, “no matter how expert you may be, well-designed checklists can improve outcomes”. Since the purpose of process improvement is improving outcomes, Lean Six Sigma and checklists are natural companions.

To prove that, this Process Street blog post will show the relationship between checklists and lean six sigma, and provide you with a free  DMAIC Improvement Project Tollgate Checklist that you can use right now.

Use the links below to jump to that section of the post:

Lean Six Sigma and the role of problem-solving

Lean six sigma & the checklist, introduction phase, define phase, measure phase, analyze phase, improve phase, control phase, checklists and lean six sigma, use process street to reduce error.

Or, if you just want the checklist, check it out below!

Let’s get started.

For those unfamiliar with Lean Six Sigma and process improvement, it is a structured approach for organizations to scrutinize how things are done, poke at data and processes to uncover waste and then cut out things like extra forms, out-dated approvals and other time-wasting steps.

It’s a customer-focused, 5-step problem-solving model that engages entire workforces to constantly seek a better way of doing things.

Proof of Lean Six Sigma’s influence is evident in today’s hiring practices. A poll by GoLeanSixSigma highlights that hiring managers prefer a person who is “ Green Belt Certified ” – having substantial Lean Six Sigma skills – by an almost 80% margin. In an interview with the former head of Twitter, problem-solving emerged as the top skill sought by today’s most influential hiring managers.

In other words, problem-solving (especially via Lean Six Sigma) is an absolutely vital skill.

If problem-solving is a must-have skill and checklists are key to good outcomes, then combining the two makes sense.

DMAIC – Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve & Control – is the 5-Step model for Lean Six Sigma and there’s a set of required tollgates at the end of each phase. These tollgates outline what has to be done in order to move the problem-solving process forward.

Using the tollgates as an outline, we created a dynamic  Process Street template  that you can use for free and run checklists from to track your progress!

Before you can start solving problems, you need a problem to solve.

Picking a process issue – and finding someone in leadership to support you – are two required tasks in this first tollgate. Scoping the project is important (bigger than a “just-do-it” and smaller than “solving world hunger”) but even more critical is finding a Sponsor.

Finding a Sponsor

In a poll asking Lean Six Sigma practitioners what they considered the biggest obstacle to process improvement success, “Getting Leadership Support” accounted for almost a third.

When we coach team leads who tell us they can’t find someone to back their project, we let them know, “No Sponsor, no project”. If nobody in charge has any skin in the game, there’s no point in attempting the process fix. Find a different project that leadership supports.

One thing that helps when searching for leadership backing is being able to explain what Lean Six Sigma is and why it makes a difference. Since the checklist template is dynamic we inserted a video in the Define Phase within the checklist item, “Enlist a Project Champion/Sponsor who will support you and the project”. The team lead can share the video with managers or directors who they consider Sponsor candidates.

There’s also a Project Selection Guide Template embedded in the checklist so users can take a project idea and put it through a few screening questions. Is it a repeating problem? Is there a way to measure it? The checklist serves as a reminder, a source of templates, supporting videos and other just-in-time guidance.

The next set of tollgate tasks cover the Define Phase of DMAIC. This is where problem-solvers clarify the problem, the process impacted and customers of the process.

There is a journey of discovery during this phase as everyone agrees on the issue to solve. One of the big challenges is the tendency of ambitious team leads—or equally ambitious Sponsors—to try to “shoot the moon.”

Shooting the moon

They might want to reduce cycle time, reduce defects , improve margins, and increase customer satisfaction all by next Tuesday. But a project that focuses on everything accomplishes nothing. It’s okay to measure the cost reduction that results from reducing defects. But pick one of those to be the goal. Success is more possible if you focus on one goal at a time .

It takes practice and discipline to develop a manageable goal statement. Another moon shot is aiming for perfection out of the starting gate. When we see a goal statement that claims the team will, “reduce defects from 25% to 0%” then we know there is a sizable risk of failure and disappointment.

That’s why the Define Phase of the checklist includes a Goal Builder Template along with a blog providing tips on how to create well-crafted goal statements.

The primary focus of the Measure Phase is to baseline the process. If you’re trying to reduce defects, you need to know how you’re doing at that now. What’s your track record? You need to know the baseline of the process in order to measure whether or not you made a difference with your improvement when you get to the Improve Phase.

You need to know the gap, so you can close the gap.

The data’s in the system, somewhere…

One of the issues we run into in this phase is problem solvers assuming that data is sitting in a system somewhere waiting to be accessed. If they simply run a report, they’ll have the baseline. Check that off the list. But that rarely goes according to plan.

Maybe there’s system data, but was it entered with care? Is it reliable? We’ve seen teams struggle to use data that didn’t make sense. They could access cycle time data, but it didn’t take into account that the workday ended at 5:00. I had another team looking at why healthcare invoices had to be manually adjusted. They looked up the defect codes and the biggest category was “Other”. System data existed, but it was useless.

Most of the time, it helps to collect some data manually. In order to think through your approach, you need a Data Collection Plan. That involves listing the data you want and considering things like stratification factors—the “who, what, when, where” of data. If you’re looking at defects, should you collect data on defects by product? Defects by the fields on a form? Defects by customer type?

Within the task: “Develop a Data Collection Plan with Operational Definitions and create Check Sheets as Needed”, we’ve embedded a template (The Data Collection Plan) and a video to guide the process.

You’ll learn a lot by collecting the data firsthand, so if the perfect data set is not magically sitting in the system, it helps to have a plan.

Analyze is the crux of the DMAIC method. This is where learners drill down and discover the root cause of the process problem they’ve been chasing. Once you do that, you can solve the problem for good.

But if you have not determined the root cause then you might be solving a “symptom,” putting a bandaid on the problem or implementing a change based on a hunch. All of this means there’s a high likelihood the problem will remain and the efforts will have been in vain.

Finding the smoking gun

If you’ve always been told, “don’t bring me a problem, bring me a solution,” that’s an encouragement to jump right past this step into the fun of solutions. I’ve seen teams go with their assumptions regardless of what the data says or the process analysis reveals. I’ve seen Sponsors who tell teams what solutions they want to be implemented right from the get-go.

How do you stick with analysis long enough to find the smoking gun? The trick is to keep collecting the clues in the Cause & Effect Diagram , aka The “Fishbone Diagram”. It’s an aptly named tool, popularized by Dr. Ishikawa , which resembles a fish skeleton. Its construction allows teams to develop root cause theories around a problem as they build their knowledge of the process.

Each time they collect data, interview process participants on a Gemba Walk or map the process steps, they uncover potential reasons for defects. Making the most of the Fishbone Diagram is key but, during a poll, users reported where they fell short.

Solutions masquerading as problems

Over a third of respondents reported the issues of “listing solutions” on the Fishbone instead of causes. What we hear are phrases like, “the root cause is a lack of training”.

The problem with “lack of” anything is that it’s a sneaky way of putting a solution on the Fishbone.

The question is, “what is the training addressing?” Is it lack of user knowledge? If that’s the problem, could it be solved with helpful visuals, a simpler process? There are a lot of ways to address user knowledge before jumping to more employee training.

This is when you want to behave like the persistent detective – think Columbo, the classic 70’s TV icon. Every question helps you accumulate clues. People working through the process may have the answer without knowing it. The trick is to keep looking upstream until you find potential culprits. Dig past the symptoms.

To help with this phase, the checklist includes both a Fishbone Diagram Template as well as a video on how to get the most out of the Fishbone.

The Improve Phase is a long-anticipated step in the journey. It’s the step teams generally want to jump to from the start. Testing countermeasures, piloting solutions, watching the problem disappear, that’s the fun of process improvement. If you’ve done a proper job of Define, Measure, and Analyze, this phase falls nicely into place.

The ripple effect

The catch? Unintended consequences.

If you toss a stone into a lake you can see the ripples flow out from the center. The same principle holds true for process change. If you remove a step, change a form, skip an approval , will things fall apart? For that, we look to the Failure Modes & Effects Analysis or FMEA for short.

It’s a methodical way of assessing the potential for things to go wrong. It Involves deciding the potential severity and frequency of future problems and then mistake-proofing the process to prevent them. The technique originated at NASA since they couldn’t risk trial and error when sending men to the moon. By thinking through the risks of change they developed the kind of contingency plans you saw on display in movies like Apollo 13.

That’s why there’s an FMEA Template and a video on how to use it tucked into the main checklist from this post.

It’s okay to make changes. It’s simply key to think through the impact of those changes on other parts of the business.

Process Improvement can happen quickly and have a dramatic impact, but it’s critical to “stick the landing.” The Control Phase exists to see the improvement through to stability.

If teams move on and everyone takes their eyes off the ball, things may start to slip. What they need is the ability to continuously see the performance of the new process.

Sticking the landing

Have you ever tried to watch a game without a scoreboard? How would you know who was winning? Or how much time was left?

It’s the same with process work.

How does your team know how they’re doing? How do you stay aware of how the new process is performing?

By making the data visible.

Keeping an eye on Process Performance can be done with a single metric — you need to focus on one thing. If the goal was to reduce defects, then the single metric would be tracking the daily percentage of defects. A great way to measure success is with a Control Chart.

Control Charts are time charts. You might know them as Line Charts or Run Charts. They include a measure of variation so they are often referred to as “Run Charts that went to college”. They can be created in Excel , but they can also be drawn by hand.

Teams often set up whiteboards in the shared workspace to track things like defects. People can rotate responsibility for updating the chart. If people can see the measure and are responsible for it—they pay attention to it. What gets measured gets managed.

The Control Chart Template is embedded in the checklist for the Control Phase.

Process Improvement is a mainstay of Operational Excellence and checklists are simple but effective ways to make sure you get the outcomes you want. The following quote comes from the interim CEO/President of the Association for Manufacturing Excellence ( AME ).

“ I am a big fan of checklists for ensuring quality at the source. They serve an important purpose in reminding us of all that’s needed in a particular process or project. Without checklists, we risk missing or overlooking something by mistake. Checklists work best when ticking off items as they are completed, not en masse once the entire project is done. The key point is to use and follow them, not “pencil-whip” them from memory after the fact. While not foolproof, checklists can help us cover the details and result in more thorough, successful improvement efforts. ” – Jerry Wright , President, AME

Checklists have transformed healthcare, aviation, and countless other industries. Run this Process Street DMAIC Tollgate Checklist and make sure your next improvement effort gets great results.

Process Street is a powerful piece of workflow software that lets you crush the human error in your organization.

By creating process templates (like the free DMAIC checklist in this post) you can give your whole team a central location for them to see what they have to do, and how exactly they should do it.

No more confusion, no more errors.

Take advantage of our powerful feature set to create superpowered checklists, including:

• Form fields
• Conditional logic
• Variable user permission levels
• Exporting and printing templates
• And much, much more!

Check out our intro webinar to see the app in action!

Stop leaving the success of your processes up to chance. Get started with a free trial of Process Street today!

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Ben Mulholland is an Editor at Process Street , and winds down with a casual article or two on Mulholland Writing . Find him on Twitter here .

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Lean Events and Training / Events / Intro to Problem-Solving

Intro to Problem-Solving

Learn a proven, systematic approach to resolving business and work process problems..

Online – On-Demand, Self-Paced

Why you should attend

Learn a proven, systematic approach to resolving business and work process problems, including how to overcome the shortcomings of most problem-solving efforts: not understanding the situation and jumping to conclusions.

$249, Users have access for 12 months

Register now on our eLearning platform

In this in-depth , self-paced learning experience, you’ll learn how to use A3 thinking and the plan-do-check-act (PDCA) improvement cycle — essential lean problem-solving practices that are effective at any level from the front line to the executive suite .

Too often, people jump to implement a “solution” to “fix” a problem only to see it recur and the firefighting cycle repeat. Learning and implementing the A3 thinking and PDCA improvement cycle will ensure you fully grasp the problem situation, identify the root cause, and try and test countermeasures, establishing a perpetual system for clearing obstacles keeping you or your team from achieving — or beating — your performance objectives.  

Throughout this experience, narrated by John Shook, Toyota’s first American manager in Japan, Senior Advisor of the Lean Enterprise Institute, and Chairman of the Lean Global Network, you’ll follow a case example that illustrates and breaks down each step of the problem-solving approach into their simple, easily understood parts. You’ll engage with hands-on activities, videos, multimedia, PowerPoint presentations, articles, and book excerpts, including the best-selling Managing to Learn .

In addition, you will deepen your understanding of lean problem-solving concepts by applying this new way of thinking to a problem you’re currently wrestling with, using downloadable “tools,” such as the Problem Breakdown Analysis and Guided Gemba   exercises and an A3 template.

This learning experience will enhance your ability to resolve work process problems — to get back on track after failing to achieve the standard targets or to achieve a higher performance target — a skill that is critical to every position in every industry , whether in a lean – thinking organization or not. As part of a lean journey, the experience will help you master an essential element of lean thinking and practice .

Who Will Benefit?  

• Individuals who aim to enhance their career prospects by improving their problem-solving skills by adopting the A3 problem-solving process and the PDCA improvement cycle
• Lean practitioners who feel they must fill in learning gaps or refresh their A3 problem-solving and PDCA knowledge and skills
• Leaders, from mid-level managers to top executives, who are trying to level up their team’s knowledge of and adopt lean problem-solving processes as their standard approach, including continuous-improvement and human-resource leaders 

What Will I Learn?  

Upon completion, you will be able to: 

• Build a foundational understanding of problem types and problem-solving.   
• Identify the four types of problems.  
• Resolve business challenges by using the scientific-method-based PDCA-based improvement cycle.
• Apply A3 thinking to solve problems.
• Clearly define problems, beginning with grasping the situation by gathering facts at the gemba.
• Break down general, vague problems into specific, actionable ones that you can solve at the root cause.  

What Else Should I Know?

Get a head start or supplement your online learning. This ebook highlights and explains what you need to know about using this powerful lean practice to gain its most impactful benefits:  

Also, though no prerequisite training or reading is required, having familiarity with lean management basics will be helpful. We recommend the following books:

This learning experience is based on the tested and proven methodology created for LEI’s popular Managing to Learn workbook , authored by John Shook , Toyota’s first American manager in Japan, Senior Advisor of the Lean Enterprise Institute, and Chairman of the Lean Global Network.  

You might also find the book Four Types of Problems helpful in enhancing your problem-solving capabilities. The book explains how most business problems fall into four categories and describes the thought processes, management cadences, and improvement methods t hat will resolve each type.  

Time Estimates Per Unit*

*Actual times may vary.

Download the Intro to Problem-Solving Concept Map and share it with your manager.

Senior Advisor, Lean Enterprise Institute

John Shook learned about lean management while working for Toyota for 11 years in Japan and the U.S., helping it transfer production, engineering, and management systems from Japan to NUMMI and other operations around the world. While at Toyota’s headquarters, he became the company’s first American kacho (manager) in Japan. In the U.S., Shook joined […]

Need to level set your team’s lean knowledge and skills? Choose the Lean Fundamentals Enterprise Subscription and gain unlimited access for everyone in your organization to three foundational lean learning experiences for three months.

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6.4 Lean Processes

Portions of the material in this section are based on original work by Geoffrey Graybeal and produced with support from the Rebus Community. The original is freely available under the terms of the CC BY 4.0 license at https://press.rebus.community/media-innovation-and-entrepreneurship/.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

• Discuss the lean process methodology
• Understand the phases of the lean problem-solving process.

You have learned about different problem-solving approaches that entrepreneurs take to lead their startups and work with others. Most of these approaches have had to do with the entrepreneur’s cognitive or creative mindsets. Now we will learn about an approach that is more rooted in process, called lean process . Lean problem solving has been used as an entrepreneurial methodology in new and emerging ventures, and it’s interesting that it comes from a large corporate, manufacturing background that focuses on efficiencies. The Six Sigma methodology, pioneered at Motorola in the 1970s and 1980s, and adopted by many companies, is a disciplined, data-driven approach that provides companies tools to improve the capability of their business processes. According to the American Society for Quality, “Six Sigma views all work as processes that can be defined, measured, analyzed, improved and controlled. A set of qualitative and quantitative tools is used to drive process improvement. This increase in performance and decrease in process variation helps lead to defect reduction and improvement in profits, employee morale, and quality of products or services.” 26 GE copied it and created the “ Process Excellence ” programs that millions of managers and others have taken to get certified at various “belts.” Although Six Sigma and Process Excellence do not fit strictly in terms of entrepreneurship, as they are used mainly by large, mature companies, many of the methods fit in the lean model.

Toyota pioneered the lean process in the 1980s. The term “ lean manufacturing ” is the most common, but it is much more than manufacturing. The lean process is a systematic method for the maximizing of continuous improvement and the minimization of surplus or unused material in the production of a process. The entrepreneur begins the startup with a sense the original product will be the product carrying the organization to success in the long term. In most cases, the good or service will require modification to maintain a process, technology, or up-to-date product offering. Lean problem solving means the entrepreneur’s entire team scans both the company’s internal and external environments for continuous improvement and methods for bringing additional revenue to the startup by cost improvement processes that promote sustainable value. The external environment encompasses customers, industry trends, and competition. The internal environment comprises the factors inside the enterprise, such as employees, and internal practices and processes. In lean manufacturing, for example, improving efficiencies in the internal environment should lead to advantages in the external environment (whether that be cost savings to customers, competitive advantage from more output/superior product, etc.).

For example, every mile saved per day per UPS truck driver results in approximately $50 million in savings per year, according to Juan Perez, the company’s chief information and engineering officer. Using customer data and artificial intelligence, the company created a system dubbed ORION, which is an acronym for On-Road Integrated Optimization and Navigation. 27 To date, the system has resulted in $400 million in savings to UPS. By applying the lean process, everything that UPS saves on the input (by reducing mileage) leads to savings on the output, which leads faster deliveries, lower costs for consumers, and more profit for UPS.

Lean Problem-Solving Process

The lean problem-solving process is a cycle of observation, assessment, and continual evaluation. As shown in Table 6.1 , this cycle typically involves eight specific steps.

Are You Ready?

Too much too late.

Many entrepreneurs create a startup with an idea that they develop without any feedback from potential customers, relying on their own knowledge or assumptions about the market. Consider the story of Rapid SOS: https://hbr.org/2018/05/do-entrepreneurs-need-a-strategy. What would most likely happen when they decided to go forward with their product? Will it be a fit to the customer’s needs or solve their problems? How is lean process different from this?

Lean Problem-Solving Phases

Observation is the phase in which the entrepreneur studies the challenge and notes all facets of the challenge requiring solution. In this phase, the entrepreneur asks questions and conducts research about the change needed for a successful product, outcome, or service. The entrepreneurs must determine why the change is needed. What is the purpose of the endeavor? Feedback is extremely important in this phase.

For example, a community asked a group of entrepreneurs to help address the youth obesity problem in a middle school. The entrepreneurs began to study the intake of food by the children and determined that both the content of the school lunch menu and the lifestyle of the majority of the children were affecting the obesity rate in the community. They then defined the purpose of the project as finding a low-cost, low-risk method of changing the lunch menu and agreed that the primary outcome would be a 30 percent reduction in the obesity rate of the children. The entrepreneurs began to assess the cost of changing the lunch menu and observing what else the kids ate. The entrepreneurs discovered that the lunch menu change required to reduce the obesity rate was beyond the financial capability of the school district. Research also showed that many of the children, products of single-parent homes, were eating high-calorie, high-fat, take-out foods for dinner. Further observation revealed that the children did not engage in physical activity after hours because the local surroundings were not safe. The community needed a process to transform the wellness of the children, and the entrepreneurs recommended using a lean process approach to help the children as quickly as possible.

After the observation of the problem comes assessment , the phase in which the entrepreneur experiments and analyzes the potential process and its capabilities. The entrepreneur leverages creative tools and resources to arrive at a solution and assesses each step of a possible solution. Each step must add value to the solution, or that step in the solution is unnecessary. In addition, the step must be capable of solving the issue and add flexibility to the solution. How is the process or product being improved? In this phase, a prototype of the product is developed and delivered. The entrepreneur must ask the customer if all needs and wants are satisfied with the prototype. If the prototype is being developed for mass production, surveying customers about potential sales is essential. In the school lunch example, the school system would have been the customer of the new food menu (prototype) in the assessment phase.

Evaluation is the phase in which behaviors are analyzed to assess success. The entrepreneur continually studies each phase of the solution to observe the effectiveness of outcomes desired by the client. The entrepreneur ensures that transformation is built into the habits of the school to obtain, maintain, and develop the desired outcomes.

In a real-world example of a company applying lean processes, the New Balance Company , which designs and manufactures both athletic and casual shoes, used a batching approach in the early 2000s that organized production by departments, so that all of the cutting took place in one department, all of the stitching took place in another, and so forth. While it seems that batching tasks would improve efficiency, at New Balance, it meant that production of one pair of shoes took nine days. Executives observed piles of inventory sitting between floors and departments, and noticed employees waiting while there were delays in the production line. They also noticed that the pay structure contributed to the piles of works in process because employees were paid by the piece, which encouraged them to produce as much as possible.

The company applied lean principles to rearrange the production floor by value streams, or the making of a product by sharing similar processing steps. On one side was “cut and stitch” products using US materials of leather and mesh, while another side used premade products from overseas for soles, inserts, and kits. This change cut the time to make a pair of shoes down to four hours, meaning that domestic plants could ship some orders in twenty-four hours, while competitors may need as much as 121 days to ship when they outsourced manufacturing to Asia.

An often-used lean problem-solving tool is whiteboarding ( Figure 6.16 ). Whiteboarding is a type of graphing that permits the entrepreneur to plot each step in a process to build comprehension and detailing of the process. The entrepreneur draws each step on the whiteboard using a linking-type diagram, and draws arrows to show how processes affect other processes. Seeing the flow of the process allows the entrepreneur to note where functions in the process are duplicated or inconsistent.

For example, in a community garden, storing tools, such as hoes and hand trowels for weeding, in different sheds wastes time when preparing to begin the process of weeding. These tools should be stored collectively to eliminate multiple trips and wasted time. Seeing the process on a whiteboard or other medium brings awareness to how processes can be improved. After the process is changed, it is graphed again for further scrutiny.

Entrepreneur In Action

The origin of lean.

Would it surprise you to know the origin of lean, in modern times, is considered to be Henry Ford’s production line? Although we don’t necessarily think of the creation of automobiles as an entrepreneurial venture in today’s world, Henry Ford was truly an entrepreneur for his time when the manufacture of automobiles was just beginning. Not only did he recognize the opportunity inherent in the sale of automobiles, he recognized the need to create an efficient process for automobile production that could decrease costs and, consequently, the selling price of the vehicle. As the first entrepreneur to join the use of interchangeable parts with moving conveyance to develop fabrication processes, Ford was able to turn over inventory in a very short time; however, Ford’s process could not deliver variety. In fact, Ford was quoted as saying of the Model T’s color, “You can have any color as long as it's black.” 29 It had the fastest drying time; hence, it was the only color he used for a number of years.

The Ford system was built around one static product. In the 1930s, when the market demanded product variety, the company was not set up to address this challenge. Kiichiro Toyoda ( Figure 6.17 ), the second president of Toyota Motor Corporation , visited the Ford plant in Michigan to learn more about their application of the assembly line concept. After observing, he proposed a new production system that would strive to “right size” equipment to better match tasks and the volume of work, as well as introducing quality assurance steps in each sequence of the work process. Toyoda’s approach shifted the focus from machinery to process, optimizing efficiency while maintaining quality.

• 26 American Society for Quality. “What Is Six Sigma?” n.d. https://asq.org/quality-resources/six-sigma
• 27 Juan Perez. “UPS’ Approach to Innovation and Technology.” Presentation sponsored by J. Mack Robinson College of Business, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA. March 28, 2019.
• 28 “Genchi Genbutsu.” Lean HE Glossary . n.d. http://www.leanhe.org/lean-he/glossary#TOC-Genchi-Genbutsu
• 29 Diana T. Kurylko. “Model T Had Many Shades; Black Dried Fastest.” Automotive News . June 16, 2003. http://www.autonews.com/article/20030616/SUB/306160713/model-t-had-many-shades%3B-black-dried-fastest

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• Project management

How to use Toyota’s legendary A3 problem-solving technique

Georgina Guthrie

February 21, 2020

If you came home one day and found your kitchen taps on full-blast and your house full of water, what’s the first thing you’d do? Grab a bucket and start scooping — or turn off the tap?

When it comes to problem-solving, many of us take a rushed, reactionary approach rather than fixing the issue at the source. So in other words, we see the water, panic, and start scooping. If this sounds like something you’ve done recently, then don’t feel too bad: when the pressure’s high, we often jump towards the quickest fix, as opposed to the most effective one.

This is where the A3 technique comes in. It’s a problem-solving approach designed to efficiently address the root cause of issues.

What is the A3 technique?

The A3 technique is a structured way to solve problems. It’s part of the Lean methodology , developed by Toyota back in the mid-’40s. This doesn’t mean you need to implement a Lean way of working to take advantage of this process — it can work as a standalone exercise.

Granted, A3 isn’t an inspiring name, but the story of its origins is actually pretty interesting. Rumour has it that Taiichi Ohno, inventor of the Toyota Production System, refused to read past the first page of any report. In response, his team created A3 address and summarize problem-solving on one side of A3-sized paper. The A3 technique played a huge part in Toyota’s success and all kinds of industries have since adopted it. Here’s how to get started.

How to solve a problem with A3

The first thing to remember is this: A3 is collaborative and relies on good communication. It’s not something you should do by yourself.

There are three main roles involved:

• Owner (that’s you or someone under your charge)

As you’ve probably guessed, these aren’t roles that already exist in your company; you must create them for the purpose of this process. Here’s what they mean.

The owner is responsible for leading the exercise. They are the lynchpin between the two other roles, fostering good communication and keeping documents up to date. It’s tempting to think of the owner as the head of this trio, but that’s not true: everyone is equal here.

The mentor is someone with solid  problem-solving experience. It’s their job to coach the owner and steer them towards finding a solution. It’s not their job to find the answers themselves.

And finally, there are the  responders . This is someone (or a group of people) who have a vested interest in the outcome of the A3 project. Responders might include the client, stakeholders, or managers. A potential problem here is gaining access to them: if you work somewhere with a strict hierarchy — and you’re somewhere near the bottom of that structure — you may face challenges. There’s no easy way around this. Essentially, you need your organization to support this way of working and make it easy for you to access those at the top if needed.

How to create an A3 report

True to its origins, the A3 report is a one-page document. It typically contains 5-7 sections that systematically lead you towards a solution. These are the most commonly used steps, but feel free to modify them.

• Background:  Explain your project in a few sentences, including its context.
• Problem statement:  Explain the current problem. You can use process mapping to see the different tasks that surround the issue. This isn’t essential, but it will make it easier for you to locate the root cause.
• Goals:  Define your desired outcome, and include metrics for measuring success. You won’t know everything until you reach the end, so you may find you need to come back and refine stages 1-3.
• Root cause analysis:  This is a big stage of the process. You need to work out what you think the root problem is. You can use different methods to help you here, including 5 whys or a fault tree analysis .
• Countermeasures:  Once you’ve worked out your root cause, you can start proposing solutions.
• Implementation:  Work out how you’ll implement these solutions, including an action list with clearly defined roles and responsibilities. Project management software is a useful tool here because it can help everyone on the team track each other’s progress in real-time.
• Follow-up:  Using your metrics for success, decide whether the problem was solved. Report your results back to the team/organization. In the spirit of Lean (continuous improvement), you should go back and modify your plan if the results weren’t as expected. And if they were, you should make this process the new standard.

Final thoughts

A3 is an efficient, methodical way to solve problems at their source. When issues rear their head, rising stress can lead people to panic. Having a clearly designed system in place to guide you towards a solution minimizes the chances of people settling for a ‘quick fix’ or failing to act altogether.

Beyond being a guiding light in times of pressure, A3 is a great team-building exercise because it encourages individuals to work together towards a common goal — across all areas of the organization. Combine this with collaborative tools designed to help teams track progress and work together more effectively, and you’ll be unstoppable.

Solve problems like a pro with Root Cause Corrective Action

Lean to Six Sigma: process improvement methodologies explained

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IMPROVEMENT DESIGN

The Pursuit of Excellence

LFS takes a systematic approach to problem-solving.  The goal is to make problems clear to all employees at all levels and to facilitate teamwork to solve these problems.  The improvement process is triggered in two ways:

• Andon signal indicates that a process is not meeting the performance standard.
• Employee suggestions and ideas to improve the process.

The Root Cause Problem Solving process is launched to solve problems quickly using methods like the “Five Whys” or the Ishikawa (Fishbone) Diagram. The scientific method of problem solving is used to ensure a disciplined approach: Problem, Cause, Solution, Action, Measure.  If the team cannot solve the problem then more advanced Data Analysis tools are employed.  Strategic Planning is linked to the process, ensuring that product, engineering and capital decisions take into consideration the problems being triggered and suggestions of the team.

Improvement Design Tools

When intuition, data and facts are united with the scientific method of problem solving, good things happen fast!  Following are the key elements of a great Improvement Design:

• Andon – A clear signal that there is a problem.
• Root Cause Problem Solving – Problem, Cause, Solution, Action, Measure, at all levels.
• Improvement Events – Organizing the team around improvement and culture change.
• Data Analysis – Powerful analysis for complex issues.
• Strategic Planning and Deployment – Problem solving at the highest level.

SEE IMPROVEMENT DESIGN EXAMPLES

Binary Signals

It can be hard to tell when someone has a problem.  Sometimes we are not even aware of our own problems.  It’s natural, for instance, for someone to want to solve a problem on their own.  It may give them great satisfaction to do so.  Or maybe they feel it’s a negative reflection on their abilities if they have to call for help.  On the other side, leaders in today’s fast-paced world are inundated with demands on their time and cannot always tell when their team truly needs their support.

This is where Andon signals come in.  Andon means light in Japanese.  But in lean systems, it means “There is a problem, something needs attention”.  It is powerful in its simplicity and purpose.  We use Andons to create a visual workplace, where problems are easily seen.  These signals can be lights, empty space, sounds, kanban cards, etc… But at its heart, an Andon signal makes it clear and binary when people, processes and equipment need attention.  They are a way of taking some of the guesswork out of the question “What problems do I have right now?”

Suggestion System

Appreciation

Appreciation is the fuel that powers a world of trust and happiness.  These are words to embrace and live by.  The world is a mirror, what you put out is what you get back.  The more a team is appreciated for their value, the more value they return back to the operation. This giving becomes a way of life in great businesses. 

Rewards and Recognition Programs are the way to build culture and drive real business value.  But they don’t happen on their own, they need to be built with attention to business needs and process design.

Root Cause Problem Solving

Eliminating Waste

How frustrating is it to fix the same problem multiple times?  How deflating is it to your team?  It feels like running on a treadmill:  lots of energy expended and no motion forward!  Root Cause Problem Solving, rooted in the Scientific Method, is the tool for solving problems for good.  And to do it well takes discipline, data and a bias to test ideas.

It starts with broad problem perception.  We move down the funnel, from top to bottom, starting with a clear definition of the problem, getting to the point of cause and driving to the root cause.  Once we’ve done this we can move forward more confidently with developing potential solutions.  We run Improvement trials until a solution is found.  We standardize new processes to lock in the changes and develop a check procedure to test whether problems have truly been solved to root.

SEE SCIENTIFIC METHOD

Improvement Events

Culture Change Jump-Start

Driving culture change is hard work.  It’s not always clear where to start and how to rally the troops.  Improvement Events can be used to jump-start a lean improvement initiative.

It is useful to think of improvement as two cycles linked together:  an Improvement Loop and a Standardization Loop.  The Improvement Loop, where work is studied and waste eliminated, is the starting point.  This Loop subsequently feeds into the Standardization Loop, where improvements are documented through Standard Work and policies that lock in progress.  The Standardization Loop then feeds back into the Improvement Loop.  Consequently, these two loops feed into each other, setting up the “Virtuous Cycle” of continuous improvement.  Improvement Events inject energy into this cycle.

Improvement events are carefully selected following a rigorous series of steps to executing them as follows:

• Plan – Meet with Leaders, Select Area, Determine Data Needs, Finalize Plan
• Prepare – Gather and Organize Data, Develop Training Material, Communicate to Floor Team, Organize Logistics
• Training – Clarify Roles, Train Event Leaders, Train Participants
• Execute – Grasp the Current State, Summarize Observations, Generate Improvement Ideas, Test Ideas, Standardize

Data Analysis

Technical Prowess

World-class business concerns merge great people systems with powerful technology.  Some problems cannot be solved to root cause without advanced analytics.  Technology is everywhere and is powered by data and computing.  Some examples: graphing demand versus DC coverage (figure above), analyzing stocking strategies, building simulation and optimization models to forecast scenarios, developing AI applications, automating repeatable tasks.

SEE DATA ANALYSIS EXAMPLE

Strategic Planning and Deployment

All Together Now

Strategic Planning has evolved over the years.  In the old days, Management By Objectives (MBO) was the approach, where executive leadership would provide high-level objectives and allow their teams a wide berth in figuring out how to achieve them.  This often led to disconnected and fragmented efforts.

This process is very tight in great lean companies.  As a result, efforts are synchronized to keep the team aligned and pulling in the right direction.  Everyone is better focused on both the “what” and the “how”, from the Business Unit level through the various operations and locations, down to specific projects on the floor.  The teams present concise status updates that facilitate timely feedback and redirection as needed.  Projects are connected to developmental plans for team members.

Managing Customer Value

Using the Wrong Set of 5 Whys

Posted on May 30, 2011 November 10, 2017 Author business901 1 Comment

Do you try to quickly to get to why? The purpose of most questioning is to stimulate reflective thinking by probing for needs and concerns. Instead of probing with the 5 why’s try a more subtle approach or architecture for your sales and marketing.

The general thesis is that virtually any question can be converted into a more powerful question by moving up the pyramid. As an example, consider the following sequence: Are you feeling okay? Where does it hurt? How are you feeling in general? Why do you suppose you aren’t feeling well? As we move from the simple yes/no question towards the why question, you probably notice that the questions tend to motivate more reflective thinking, and are generally more “powerful. There are refinements within this dimension of linguistic architecture available to an interested practitioner. For instance, using the conditional tense rather than the present tense will often invite greater reflective speculation: What can we do? seems to offer fewer possibilities than… What could we do?

I like this architecture because Why is too powerful of a question to start with. Toyota’s, seven step “Practical Problem Solving Process” model encourages you to stay away from why till the fourth step.

• Initial problem perception
• Clarify the problem
• Locate area or point of concern
• Investigate root cause (5 Whys)
• Countermeasure
• Standardize

They actually follow a similar architecture depicted in the triangle above. They used simple closed ended questions to identify and clarify the problem and then locate the area of concern though the 5 whys.  Not the 5 Whys of root cause, but the 5 whys of When, Who, Where, Which and What. (The red is my adaption of the problem solving funnel)

The power of the first 5 whys is where the true power of discovery lies. It is the focusing step that provides clarity and provides the basis for agreement. Without these steps irrelevant information may be acted upon and finding agreement on root cause may be difficult. Effective action can only follow clear thinking. Providing a consensus on the point of concern before moving to root cause is imperative.

In the paper cited, author Eric Vogt goes on to state:

The dialogue group concluded that clearly one dimension which defines a powerful question is this linguistic architecture. However, other factors are also at play when we consider the relative power of the following two questions: Why is my coat unbuttoned? Where can we find spiritual peace? This is an instance where most people would say that the “where” question has somewhat greater power than the “why” question. After reflection, we hypothesized that there were probably three dimensions which define a powerful question: Architecture, Context and Scope.”

The paper is a short and easy read and I encourage you read it in full.

Related Information: Problem Solving – Think 3, Not 5 Pair Problem Solving in the Workplace Problem Solving really the Core of Lean Implementation Quit Brainstorming and start Q-Storming®

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How To Address Middle And Bottom Of Funnel Pain Points

Drive pipeline velocity with playbooks to effectively address the most common middle and bottom of funnel lead pain points.

The B2B marketplace has evolved rapidly in recent years due to various global factors, with the pandemic and economic turbulence being the top drivers.

As a result, there has been a notable change in both marketer and buyer priorities in recent years.

Speaking with our clients and partners, I have observed that in 2024, marketers’ top priorities have shifted from personalized outreach to generating sales-ready leads and driving pipeline opportunities.

This likely results from a more evident objective of proving return on investment (ROI), and pressuring marketers to effectively guide prospective clients through the discovery and purchase journey more efficiently.

However, this focus is understandable given the benefits of a stable pipeline with middle (MOFU) and bottom (BOFU) of the funnel leads.

Not only does it offer a consistent avenue for sustained growth, but it also allows sales teams to capitalize on the best opportunities for conversion.

In this guide, I present playbooks we implemented at INFUSE and recommend for B2B organizations in 2024 to effectively address the most common MOFU and BOFU pain points to increase conversions.

The Evolution Of The B2B Buyer

The increasing complexity of the buyer’s journey – a result of buyers taking a largely defensive position in an effort to de-risk their portfolios – has resulted in expanded B2B buying committees, extended sales cycles, and more discerning buyers across buying committees of organizations of all sizes and complexities.

This shift is unsurprising, considering that 83% of buyers initiate first contact with vendors. It suggests that sellers learn about buying processes on the buyer’s terms.

Buying committees are also increasingly younger, with many now comprising Millennials and Gen Z. These generations demonstrate unique buying behaviors compared to their predecessors; they are more independent, tech-native, and display a greater need for autonomy in their client journeys.

In fact, research shows that approximately 70% of the buyer’s journey is now done completely independently, without ever engaging with sales.

These young buyers have also prioritized cloud purchases, particularly due to the effortless integration of low/no-code solutions that allow organizations to build on their purchases in their own time as resources allow.

Addressing Middle-Of-The-Funnel (MOFU) Pain Points

Below is a list of the four most common middle-of-the-funnel pain points and strategies to address these challenges:

1. Lack Of Personalization

Conversions often stall due to a lack of understanding of the key needs buyers face in MOFU, as well as identifying the right timing and messaging to increase velocity to the bottom of the funnel.

Below are four tactics to address this pain point effectively:

Utilize Accurate Targeting With Segmentation

Ensure that prospective buyers are correctly segmented throughout their buyer’s journey.

Adjust targeting as their pain points and goals change to ensure aligned messaging. This can be streamlined with the use of data analytics tools to identify and categorize audiences based on their unique behaviors.

Make Use Of Data Throughout The Buyer’s Journey

It is normal for prospective clients to move freely in their buyer’s journey, often skipping phases or going back to research as needed.

Be sure to continually assess their position using behavioral data and other feedback mechanisms to ensure they receive the correct nurturing for their funnel stage.

Implement Feedback Mechanisms To Understand Prospect Challenges

Set up regular feedback loops via surveys, focus groups, and social listening tools to gather insights.

These can be used to make adjustments and optimize nurturing to target buyers at the right time with relevant messaging on the platforms or channels they frequent.

Find The Right Go-To-Market (GTM) Motion To Lead Your Nurturing And Funnel Efforts

GTM models act as a blueprint for molding an organization’s frameworks.

This involves determining target buyer personas, establishing interdepartmental data processes, and coordinating efforts to ensure a seamless revenue cycle.

Often, organizations have several GTM motions running simultaneously, which can be beneficial to accelerate velocity with certain buyer segments, hone in on the right product-market fit, or test a new market or solution.

2. Limited Budgets

Budgets will consistently remain a focal point, particularly in a time of high expectations – not only for vendors, but internally within organizations and buying committees.

Committee members are tasked with making carefully considered purchases that yield tangible returns, underscoring the importance of budget consciousness.

Below are three tactics to address this pain point effectively:

• Create a tiered pricing structure per persona designed to evolve alongside their budget and requirements. This allows for strategic upsells and cross-sells, maximizing revenue and catering to diverse needs.
• Provide referral programs to accommodate their budgetary requirements (with incentives) while encouraging clients to stimulate top-of-funnel demand.

3. Incorrect Content Or Messaging

When buyers receive content or messaging that is not relevant to their pain points, role, or stage in the buyer’s journey, it diminishes their interest and trust in the brand.

In fact, 47% of buyers reported that the key driver behind opening emails was relevant messaging.

• Deliver the right content to the right audience by tailoring messaging to suit the specific pain points and buyer’s journey stage of each prospect. Utilize customer relationship management systems (CRMs), data analytics, surveys, and other sources of buyer data to build highly personalized nurturing programs.
• Ensure your content is demand-ready by understanding the role of core decision-makers in the buying process and tailoring your content accordingly. In addition, ensure that your messaging is adjusted to the channels they frequent.
• Keep your brand top of mind by engaging buyers early with relevant content that addresses their evolving pain points. Providing answers to frequently asked questions and highlighting distinctive value propositions are essential for driving high engagement rates at the top of the funnel. This, in turn, facilitates the transition toward conversions in the subsequent phases, fostering sustained interest.

4. Single Channel Engagement

Buyers utilize more channels than ever, with the majority engaging with brands on 10 or more channels.

This trend is evident in current B2B buyer behavior, as prospective clients consult a variety of sources before making buying decisions. As a result, organizations that rely solely on single-channel engagement risk overlooking crucial audience segments.

Below are two tactics to address this pain point effectively:

• Omnichannel engagement is a necessity. B2B buyers increasingly seek a seamless omnichannel journey, with 87% preferring a personalized and consistent experience across all channels. To meet this demand, it is important to integrate your sales and marketing efforts across multiple touchpoints, ensuring consistency and continuity throughout the buyer’s journey.
• Email-only does not work anymore . While email remains a fundamental tool in B2B communication, its effectiveness as a standalone channel is fading. With crowded inboxes and evolving buyer preferences, organizations must diversify their communications and invest in strategies across multiple channels to create demand in their market – not just capture it.

Addressing Bottom-Of-Funnel Pain Points

Below is a list of the three most common bottom-of-funnel (BOFU) pain points and strategies on how to address them:

1. Performance Against Competitors

Considering the increased scrutiny of buyers in the current landscape, it comes as no surprise that most buying committees will seek to compare your solution with multiple competitors.

This highlights the importance of establishing key differentiators and demonstrating how your solution best supports your buyers’ business growth and objectives.

In fact, brand equity – as a precursor and counterbalance to full-funnel demand generation – is a critical element of a solid business strategy. Research shows that 84% of deals are won by the first vendor a buyer contacts.

This first contact requires companies to have comprehensive brand-to-demand strategies in place, to ensure they are first on their buyers’ minds.

• Offer competitor analysis that clearly defines your unique value proposition (UVP) to engage BOFU leads. Develop personalized comparisons of products against your competitors based on the features that are of the most interest to each segment. Make this information engaging and accessible in brief reports and datasets that highlight your strengths at a glance.
• Provide assurance through nurture streams that engage and educate prospective clients. Offer problem-solving content such as case studies, whitepapers, webinars, executive briefs, and industry reports demonstrating how your solution addresses challenges and delivers ROI.
• Offer free tools and demos illustrating personalized problem-solving. Enable buyers to experience the benefits of your solution firsthand by offering free tools, demos, or trials that allow them to explore its capabilities. Tailor demos to address the specific pain points and objectives of each buyer or segment, and adjust your demo tactics to meet the needs of the increasingly younger, tech-savvy, and independent buyer.

2. Integration And AI Concerns

Amidst the challenge of managing bloated tech stacks, integration has become a key concern. 35% of executives reported their legacy software was rigid, expensive, and difficult to use.

Buyers actively seek tools to solve new business challenges while navigating integration requirements.

In addition, the B2B landscape has embraced the advantages of incorporating generative AI into day-to-day operations, as demonstrated by the fact that 73% of marketers were already leveraging generative AI, just six months after the release of OpenAI’s GPT4.

Below are three tactics to address these pain points effectively:

• Ensure solutions seamlessly integrate with existing systems . Proactively evaluate compatibility features of popular software and prioritize features that facilitate seamless integration. Establish a robust testing protocol to verify compatibility before deployment, ensuring minimal disruption and maximum value to clients.
• Integrate AI into existing solutions where possible. Identify areas within your solution where AI integration can truly enhance functionality and value for clients. Collaborate with developers to seamlessly embed AI capabilities into these solutions and ensure thorough testing to guarantee integration and optimal performance.
• Provide training to meet the demand for innovation and automation. Develop customized training and coaching programs tailored to your buyers’ specific needs and skill levels. Offer ongoing support and resources to facilitate continuous learning and adaptation to new technologies.

Due to the democratization of technology, the rise of low-code/no-code solutions, and the increasing tech-savvy Millennial and Gen Z buyers, sellers now require a more solution-oriented approach, equipped with technical knowledge.

By the time buyers are ready to meet with sellers (typically 70% or more into their purchasing journey), they often have detailed technical inquiries and may no longer require the high-level discussions that vendors are traditionally accustomed to.

Meeting buyers where they are has become a fundamental requirement.

3. ROI Concerns

Buyers are increasingly pressured to achieve ROI goals, making this a recurring concern among those seeking information on how solutions can assist them in reaching their performance objectives.

• Support claims with case studies and/or customer testimonials . Utilize tangible ROI data from existing clients, preferably from the same or similar industries to the buyers. Combine this with case studies to inform bottom-of-funnel nurturing activities such as content and webinars.
• Foster brand evangelism to build confidence. Provide exemplary post-sales service to support clients and regularly check in with them to ensure their satisfaction. Brand evangelism can be utilized to address common objections after a sale while establishing brand credibility within your industry.

Key Takeaways

Engage buyers where they are in their buyer’s journey.

Lead nurturing and engagement tactics should always be tailored to address the pain points, challenges, platforms, and context of your buyers at their current stage in the sales funnel, ensuring relevance and effectiveness.

Innovate In Both Service And Technology To Maintain A Competitive Edge

In the B2B landscape, where technology is becoming increasingly democratized, it is crucial to consistently evaluate and refine your strategies, such as prioritizing low/no-code approaches, to stay updated with industry trends.

Explore Go-To-Market (GTM) Strategies

To fuel your GTM strategies with iterative approaches and data-driven insights, establish protocols for testing and optimization.

Continuously analyze performance metrics, refine tactics based on feedback, and foster collaboration across teams to ensure relevance and effectiveness.

Continuously Assess And Optimize Strategies To Streamline Nurturing

Given that each buyer’s challenges, needs, and readiness to purchase will frequently shift, ensure that you are closely monitoring their behavior triggers to optimize nurturing activities.

More resources: 

• How To Use SEO To Target Your Audience Throughout The Funnel
• How To Improve Lead Nurturing For B2B
• B2B Lead Generation: Create Content That Converts

Featured Image: NicoElNino/Shutterstock

Alexander Kesler is a visionary B2B digital marketer and an effective CEO with over 20 years of experience in building ...

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