7 tools of problem solving

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7 Powerful Problem-Solving Root Cause Analysis Tools

The first step to solving a problem is to define the problem precisely. It is the heart of problem-solving.

Root cause analysis is the second important element of problem-solving in quality management. The reason is if you don't know what the problem is, you can never solve the exact problem that is hurting the quality.

Manufacturers have a variety of problem-solving tools at hand. However, they need to know when to use which tool in a manner that is appropriate for the situation. In this article, we discuss 7 tools including:

• The Ishikawa Fishbone Diagram (IFD)
• Pareto Chart
• Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA)
• Scatter Diagram
• Affinity Diagram
• Fault Tree Analysis (FTA)

1. The Ishikawa Fishbone Diagram IFD

The model introduced by Ishikawa (also known as the fishbone diagram) is considered one of the most robust methods for conducting root cause analysis. This model uses the assessment of the 6Ms as a methodology for identifying the true or most probable root cause to determine corrective and preventive actions. The 6Ms include:

• Measurement,
• Mother Nature- i.e., Environment

Related Training: Fishbone Diagramming

2. Pareto Chart

The Pareto Chart is a series of bars whose heights reflect the frequency or impact of problems. On the Chart, bars are arranged in descending order of height from left to right, which means the categories represented by the tall bars on the left are relatively more frequent than those on the right.

Related Training: EFFECTIVE INVESTIGATIONS AND CORRECTIVE ACTIONS (CAPA) Establishing and resolving the root causes of deviations, problems and failures

This model uses the 5 Why by asking why 5 times to find the root cause of the problem. It generally takes five iterations of the questioning process to arrive at the root cause of the problem and that's why this model got its name as 5 Whys. But it is perfectly fine for a facilitator to ask less or more questions depending on the needs.

Related training: Accident/Incident Investigation and Root Cause Analysis

4. Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA)

FMEA is a technique used to identify process and product problems before they occur. It focuses on how and when a system will fail, not if it will fail. In this model, each failure mode is assessed for:

• Severity (S)
• Occurrence (O)
• Detection (D)

A combination of the three scores produces a risk priority number (RPN). The RPN is then provided a ranking system to prioritize which problem must gain more attention first.

Related Training: Failure Mode Effects Analysis

5. Scatter Diagram

A scatter diagram also known as a scatter plot is a graph in which the values of two variables are plotted along two axes, the pattern of the resulting points revealing any correlation present.

To use scatter plots in root cause analysis, an independent variable or suspected cause is plotted on the x-axis and the dependent variable (the effect) is plotted on the y-axis. If the pattern reflects a clear curve or line, it means they are correlated. If required, more sophisticated correlation analyses can be continued.

Related Training: Excel Charting Basics - Produce Professional-Looking Excel Charts

6. Affinity Diagram

Also known as KJ Diagram, this model is used to represent the structure of big and complex factors that impact a problem or a situation. It divides these factors into small classifications according to their similarity to assist in identifying the major causes of the problem.

7. Fault Tree Analysis (FTA)

The Fault Tree Analysis uses Boolean logic to arrive at the cause of a problem. It begins with a defined problem and works backward to identify what factors contributed to the problem using a graphical representation called the Fault Tree. It takes a top-down approach starting with the problem and evaluating the factors that caused the problem.

Finding the root cause isn't an easy because there is not always one root cause. You may have to repeat your experiment several times to arrive at it to eliminate the encountered problem. Using a scientific approach to solving problem works. So, its important to learn the several problem-solving tools and techniques at your fingertips so you can use the ones appropriate for different situations.

ComplianceOnline Trainings on Root Cause Analysis

P&PC, SPC/6Sigma, Failure Investigation, Root Cause Analysis, PDCA, DMAIC, A3 This webinar will define what are the US FDA's expectation for Production and Process Control / Product Realization, the use of statistical tehniques, 6 sigma, SPC, for establishing, controlling , and verifying the acceptability of process capability and product characteristics, product acceptance or validation and other studies. Non-conformance, OOS, deviations Failure Investigations, and Root Cause Analysis, PDCA, DMAIC, and similar project drivers to improvement, A# and similar dash boards.

Accident/Incident Investigation and Root Cause Analysis If a major workplace injury or illness occurred, what would you do? How would you properly investigate it? What could be done to prevent it from happening again? A properly executed accident/incident investigation drives to the root causes of the workplace accident to prevent a repeat occurrence. A good accident/incident investigation process includes identifying the investigation team, establishing/reviewing written procedures, identifying root causes and tracking of all safety hazards found to completion.

Root Cause Analysis - The Heart of Corrective Action This presentation will explain the importance of root cause analysis and how it fits into an effective corrective and preventive action system. It will cover where else in your quality management system root cause analysis can be used and will give examples of some of the techniques for doing an effective root cause analysis. Attendees will learn how root cause analysis can be used in process control.

Addressing Non-Conformances using Root Cause Analysis (RCA) RCA assumes that systems and events are interrelated. An action in one area triggers an action in another, and another, and so on. By tracing back these actions, you can discover where the issue started and how it grew into the problem you're now facing.

Introduction to Root Cause Investigation for CAPA If you have reoccurring problems showing up in your quality systems, your CAPA system is not effective and you have not performed an in-depth root cause analysis to be able to detect through proper problem solving tools and quality data sources, the true root cause of your problem. Unless you can get to the true root cause of a failure, nonconformity, defect or other undesirable situation, your CAPA system will not be successful.

Root Cause Analysis and CAPA Controls for a Compliant Quality System In this CAPA webinar, learn various regulations governing Corrective and Preventive Actions (CAPA) and how organization should collect information, analyze information, identify, investigate product and quality problems, and take appropriate and effective corrective and/or preventive action to prevent their recurrence.

Root Cause Analysis for CAPA Management (Shutting Down the Alligator Farm) Emphasis will be placed on realizing system interactions and cultural environment that often lies at the root of the problem and prevents true root cause analysis. This webinar will benefit any organization that wants to improve the effectiveness of their CAPA and failure investigation processes.

Root Cause Analysis for Corrective and Preventive Action (CAPA) The Quality Systems Regulation (21 CFR 820) and the Quality Management Standard for Medical Devices (ISO 13485:2003), require medical device companies to establish and maintain procedures for implementing corrective and preventive action (CAPA) as an integral part of the quality system.

Strategies for an Effective Root Cause Analysis and CAPA Program This webinar will provide valuable assistance to all regulated companies, a CAPA program is a requirement across the Medical Device, Diagnostic, Pharmaceutical, and Biologics fields. This session will discuss the importance, requirements, and elements of a root cause-based CAPA program, as well as detailing the most effective ways to determine root cause and describing the uses of CAPA data.

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7 QC Tools: Your Ultimate Guide To Quality Improvement

Introduction to 7 QC tools

Quality management is an important aspect of any organization, and achieving it requires effective problem-solving strategies. In this regard, the 7 QC tools offer a comprehensive approach to problem-solving and quality improvement. These tools are designed to help organizations identify the root cause of problems, make data-driven decisions, and ultimately improve the quality of their products or services. In this post, we will explore the importance of the 7 QC tools, their history and evolution, how to select the right tool for quality control, and detailed explanations of each of the 7 QC tools.

Importance of 7 QC tools in quality management

The importance of 7 QC tools in quality management cannot be overstated. These tools help organizations to improve quality by providing a systematic approach to problem-solving. They enable organizations to analyze data, identify problem areas, and make data-driven decisions. By using these tools, organizations can reduce costs, increase productivity, and improve customer satisfaction. The 7 QC tools are widely used in various industries, including manufacturing, healthcare, and service sector. They are easy to use, cost-effective, and can be applied to various types of problems.

History and evolution of 7 QC tools

The history and evolution of the 7 QC tools can be traced back to the early 1920s when Dr. Walter A. Shewhart introduced the concept of statistical process control (SPC). Over time, additional techniques were added to the original seven, and the tools evolved to include Pareto charts, cause-and-effect diagrams, check sheets, histograms, scatter diagrams, and control charts. Today, the 7 QC tools are widely used in quality management and have become an integral part of Lean and Six Sigma methodologies.

How to select the right tool for quality control

Here are some points to consider when selecting the right tool for quality control:

• Identify the problem: Before selecting a tool, it is important to clearly identify the problem at hand. This will help determine which tool is best suited for the job.
• Understand the data: Understanding the data available is crucial for selecting the right tool. Some tools are better suited for qualitative data, while others work best with quantitative data.
• Determine the scope: Consider the scope of the problem and the level of detail required to solve it. Some tools are better suited for analyzing specific details, while others provide a more holistic view of the problem.
• Consider the complexity: Some problems are more complex than others, and require more sophisticated tools to solve. Consider the level of complexity and choose a tool that is appropriate for the problem at hand.
• Evaluate the strengths and limitations: Each tool has its own strengths and limitations. It is important to understand these before selecting a tool, so that you can choose one that is best suited for the problem at hand.
• Seek expert advice: If you are unsure which tool to use, seek advice from experts in the field. They can provide valuable insights and help you select the right tool for the job.

By considering these factors, you can select the right tool for quality control and ensure that your problem-solving efforts are effective and efficient.

7 QC Tools Explained

1. Pareto Chart

A Pareto chart is a graph that displays the relative frequency or size of problems in descending order of importance. It is a tool for identifying the most significant causes of a problem or the largest sources of variation in a process. The chart uses a vertical bar graph to show the frequency or size of each problem, with the bars arranged in order of decreasing importance. The chart also includes a cumulative percentage line that shows the cumulative percentage of problems accounted for by each cause. Pareto charts are useful for prioritizing problems and identifying the root causes that should be addressed to have the most significant impact on process improvement.

2. Cause-and-effect diagram

A cause-and-effect diagram, also known as a fishbone diagram or Ishikawa diagram, is a tool used to identify the root causes of a problem. It is a structured approach that helps to identify and categorize the possible causes of a problem, based on the various factors that could contribute to it. The diagram starts with a problem statement at the head of the diagram and uses a structured approach to identify the possible causes, grouping them into categories such as people, process, equipment, materials, and environment. Cause-and-effect diagrams are useful for identifying the root causes of a problem and for organizing and structuring the potential causes in a way that can be easily analyzed and addressed.

3. Check sheet

A check sheet is a tool used to collect data in a structured way. It is a simple form that is used to record data in a standardized format, making it easy to collect and analyze data across different processes or situations. Check sheets can be used to track defects or errors, record the frequency of events, or collect other types of data. They are useful for identifying patterns and trends in data, as well as for tracking progress and improvement over time.

4. Histogram

A histogram is a graph that shows the distribution of data. It is a visual representation of how frequently certain values occur within a set of data, using a series of vertical bars. The bars are grouped into categories or ranges of values, with the height of each bar representing the number of data points that fall within that category. Histograms are useful for identifying the shape of the distribution, including the mean and standard deviation, and for identifying outliers or unusual data points.

5. Scatter diagram

A scatter diagram also known as a scatter plot, is a graph that shows the relationship between two variables. It is a visual representation of how one variable changes in response to changes in the other variable. Each data point is plotted on the graph as a point, with one variable represented on the x-axis and the other variable represented on the y-axis. Scatter diagrams are useful for identifying correlations or patterns in data, and for identifying outliers or unusual data points. They are commonly used in quality control and process improvement to identify relationships between process variables and product quality or performance.

6. Control Charts

A control chart is a tool used to monitor and control a process over time. It is a graphical representation of data collected from a process, plotted against established control limits. The chart shows how the process is performing and alerts the user to any changes or variations that may occur. Control charts are useful for identifying trends, detecting shifts or changes in the process, and for identifying the sources of variation that may be causing problems. They can be used to monitor any process that produces data, from manufacturing to healthcare to financial services.

7. Flow Charts

A flow chart is a diagram that shows the steps in a process or system. It is a visual representation of the sequence of activities involved in a process, from start to finish. Flow charts are used to help understand a process, identify bottlenecks or inefficiencies, and to design or improve a process. The chart consists of boxes, symbols, and arrows that indicate the flow of the process. Boxes represent steps or actions in the process, while arrows represent the flow of materials or information between steps. Flow charts are useful for analyzing and improving any process, from simple to complex, and can be used in a variety of industries, including manufacturing, healthcare, and software development.

7 QC Tools: A Summary Table

These 7 QC tools are often used in combination with each other and with other quality management tools to improve quality and productivity, reduce costs and waste, and enhance customer satisfaction. The 7 QC Tools can be applied across various industries, including manufacturing, healthcare, finance, and service industries. These tools help to identify problems, analyze data, and improve processes, leading to better quality control and customer satisfaction. Knowing how and when to use each tool is essential to their effectiveness and achieving process improvement.

7 QC Tools Limitations:

While the 7 QC tools are widely used and effective for quality management, there are some limitations to their application. Here are some of the common limitations:

• Limited scope: The 7 QC tools are primarily focused on identifying and analyzing data related to quality issues and do not address other important aspects of quality management such as customer satisfaction, process improvement, and strategic planning.
• Lack of guidance: While the 7 QC tools provide a structured approach to data analysis, they do not provide guidance on how to implement solutions or make improvements based on the results.
• Data interpretation: The accuracy and usefulness of the data analyzed using the 7 QC tools depend on the quality and reliability of the data collected. Incorrect data or incomplete data can lead to incorrect conclusions and ineffective solutions.
• Limited application: The 7 QC tools are designed for use in manufacturing and industrial settings, and may not be as relevant or applicable in service industries or other non-manufacturing settings.
• Insufficient for complex problems: The 7 QC tools are useful for identifying and analyzing simple quality problems with a single cause or factor, but may be insufficient for more complex problems that have multiple causes and variables.
• Overreliance on data: The 7 QC tools rely heavily on data analysis and may overlook other important factors that contribute to quality, such as employee involvement, leadership, and culture.

Alternative Approach to 7QC Tools:

There are several other quality management tools and methodologies that organizations can use in addition to or instead of the 7 QC tools. Some of these alternatives include:

• Six Sigma: A data-driven approach to quality management that aims to minimize defects and variability in processes and products by using statistical methods and tools.
• Lean Manufacturing: A methodology focused on reducing waste and improving efficiency in manufacturing processes by eliminating non-value-added activities, streamlining production flows, and increasing responsiveness to customer demands.
• Root Cause Analysis (RCA): A problem-solving technique used to identify the underlying causes of a problem or failure, and develop solutions to prevent recurrence.
• Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA): A proactive risk management tool that helps identify and mitigate potential failures and defects in products or processes before they occur.
• Statistical Process Control (SPC): A method for monitoring and controlling a process by using statistical techniques to identify and correct deviations and abnormalities in the process.
• Kaizen: A continuous improvement philosophy that emphasizes small, incremental changes in processes and systems, and encourages employee involvement and empowerment.

These tools and methodologies can be used alone or in combination with each other, depending on the specific needs and goals of the organization.

In conclusion, the 7 QC tools offer a comprehensive approach to problem-solving and quality improvement. They are data-driven, cost-effective, and provide a systematic approach to quality management. By using these tools, organizations can reduce costs, increase productivity, and improve customer satisfaction. However, it is important to select the right tool for the problem at hand, and to understand the strengths and limitations of each tool. The 7 QC tools have a rich history and have become an integral part of Lean and Six Sigma methodologies, making them an essential tool for any organization that wants to improve the quality of its products or services.

References:

Goetsch, D. L., & Davis, S. B. (2014). Quality management for organizational excellence. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Ishikawa, K. (1985). What is Total Quality Control? The Japanese Way. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Batch vs. One Piece Flow Manufacturing: Which Is Right For Your Business?

Maximizing Quality And Efficiency: The Power Of Design For Six Sigma (DFSS)

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7 Basic Tools of Quality for Process Improvement

Japan is known worldwide for its quality products and services. One of the many reasons for this is its excellent quality management. How did it become so? Japan has Dr. Kaoru Ishikawa to thank for that.

Postwar Japan underwent a major quality revolution. Companies were focused on training their employees in statistical quality control. But soon they realized that the complexity of the subject itself could intimidate most of the workers; so they wanted more basic tools.

Dr. Kaoru Ishikawa, a member of the Japanese Union of Scientists and Engineers (JUSE), took it to his hands to make quality control easier for everyone – even those with little knowledge of statistics – to understand. He introduced the 7 basic tools of quality. They were soon adopted by most companies and became the foundation of Japan’s astonishing industrial resurgence after World War 2.

This post will describe the 7 basic quality tools, how to use them and give you access to templates that you can use right away.

Quality Tools: What Are They?

How can teams and organizations use the 7 basic quality tools, cause and effect diagram, scatter diagram, check sheets.

• Control chart
• Pareto chart

The 7 basic tools of quality, sometimes also referred to as 7 QC tools – represent a fixed set of graphical tools used for troubleshooting issues that are related to quality.

They are called basic quality tools because they can be easily learned by anyone even without any formal training in statistics. Dr. Kaoru Ishikawa played the leading role in the development and advocacy of using the 7 quality tools in organizations for problem-solving and process improvement.  

The 7 basic quality tools include;

• Cause-and-effect diagram
• Scatter diagram
• Check sheet

The 7 quality tools were first emphasized by Kaoru Ishikawa a professor of engineering at the University of Tokyo, who is also known as the father of “Quality Circles” for the role he played in launching Japan’s quality movement in the 1960s. During this time, companies were focused on training their employees in statistical quality control realized that the complexity of the subject could intimidate most of the workers; hence they opted for simpler methods that are easy to learn and use. 7 basic tools of quality were thus incorporated company-wide.

Quality tools are used to collect data, analyze data, identify root causes, and measure results in problem-solving and process improvement. The use of these tools helps people involved easily generate new ideas, solve problems, and do proper planning.

• Structured approach: They provide a systematic approach to problem-solving and process improvement, ensuring that efforts are well-organized and focused.
• Data-driven decision making: The tools enable data collection, analysis, and visualization, empowering teams to make informed decisions based on evidence.
• Improved communication and collaboration: Visual representations and structured tools facilitate effective communication and collaboration among team members, leading to shared understanding and alignment.
• Problem identification and prioritization: The tools help identify and prioritize problems or improvement opportunities, enabling teams to allocate resources efficiently and address critical issues first.
• Continuous improvement: By using these tools, teams can establish a culture of continuous improvement, as they provide a framework for ongoing monitoring, analysis, and refinement of processes.

7 Basic Quality Tools Explained with Templates

The 7 quality tools can be applied across any industry.  They help teams and individuals analyze and interpret the data they gather and derive maximum information from it.

Flowcharts are perhaps the most popular out of the 7 quality tools. This tool is used to visualize the sequence of steps in a process, event, workflow, system, etc. In addition to showing the process as a whole, a flowchart also highlights the relationship between steps and the process boundaries (start and end).

Flowcharts use a standard set of symbols, and it’s important to standardize the use of these symbols so anyone can understand and use them easily. Here’s a roundup of all the key flowchart symbols .

• To build a common understanding of a process.
• To analyze processes and discover areas of issues, inefficiencies, blockers, etc.
• To standardize processes by leading everyone to follow the same steps.

Real-world examples of usage

• Documenting and analyzing the steps involved in a customer order fulfillment process.
• Mapping out the workflow of a software development lifecycle.
• Visualizing the process flow of patient admissions in a hospital.

Enhances process understanding, highlights bottlenecks or inefficiencies, and supports process optimization and standardization efforts.

How to use a flowchart

• Gather a team of employees involved in carrying out the process for analyzing it.
• List down the steps involved in the process from its start to end.
• If you are using an online tool like Creately , you can first write down the process steps and rearrange them later on the canvas as you identify the flow.
• Identify the sequence of steps; when representing the flow with your flowchart, show it from left to write or from top to bottom.
• Connect the shapes with arrows to indicate the flow.

Who can use it?

• Process improvement teams mapping and documenting existing processes for analysis.
• Business analysts or consultants analyzing workflow and process optimization opportunities.
• Software developers or system designers documenting the flow of information or interactions in a system.

To learn more about flowcharts, refer to our Ultimate Flowchart Tutorial .

A histogram is a type of bar chart that visualizes the distribution of numerical data. It groups numbers into ranges and the height of the bar indicates how many fall into each range.

It’s a powerful quality planning and control tool that helps you understand preventive and corrective actions.

• To easily interpret a large amount of data and identify patterns.
• To make predictions of process performance.
• To identify the different causes of a quality problem.
• Analyzing the distribution of call wait times in a call center.
• Assessing the distribution of product weights in a manufacturing process.
• Examining the variation in delivery times for an e-commerce business.

Provides insights into process performance and variation, enabling teams to target areas for improvement and make data-driven decisions.

How to make a histogram

• Collect data for analysis. Record occurrences of specific ranges using a tally chart.
• Analyze the data at hand and split the data into intervals or bins.
• Count how many values fall into each bin.
• On the graph, indicate the frequency of occurrences for each bin with the area (height) of the bar.
• Process engineers or data analysts examining process performance metrics.
• Financial analysts analyzing expenditure patterns or budget variances.
• Supply chain managers assessing supplier performance or delivery times.

Here’s a useful article to learn more about using a histogram for quality improvement in more detail.

This tool is devised by Kaoru Ishikawa himself and is also known as the fishbone diagram (for it’s shaped like the skeleton of a fish) and Ishikawa diagram.

They are used for identifying the various factors (causes) leading to an issue (effect). It ultimately helps discover the root cause of the problem allowing you to find the correct solution effectively.

• Problem-solving; finding root causes of a problem.
• Uncovering the relationships between different causes leading to a problem.
• During group brainstorming sessions to gather different perspectives on the matter.
• Investigating the potential causes of low employee morale or high turnover rates.
• Analyzing the factors contributing to product defects in a manufacturing process.
• Identifying the root causes of customer complaints in a service industry.

Enhances problem-solving by systematically identifying and organizing possible causes, allowing teams to address root causes rather than symptoms.

How to use the cause and effect diagram

• Identify the problem area that needs to be analyzed and write it down at the head of the diagram.
• Identify the main causes of the problem. These are the labels for the main branches of the fishbone diagram. These main categories can include methods, material, machinery, people, policies, procedures, etc.
• Identify plausible sub-causes of the main causes and attach them as sub-branches to the main branches.
• Referring to the diagram you have created, do a deeper investigation of the major and minor causes.
• Once you have identified the root cause, create an action plan outlining your strategy to overcome the problem.
• Cross-functional improvement teams working on complex problems or process improvement projects.
• Quality engineers investigating the root causes of quality issues.
• Product designers or engineers seeking to understand the factors affecting product performance.

The scatter diagram (scatter charts, scatter plots, scattergrams, scatter graphs) is a chart that helps you identify how two variables are related.

The scatter diagram shows the values of the two variables plotted along the two axes of the graph. The pattern of the resulting points will reveal the correlation.  

• To validate the relationship between causes and effects.
• To understand the causes of poor performance.
• To understand the influence of the independent variable over the dependent variable.
• Exploring the relationship between advertising expenditure and sales revenue.
• Analyzing the correlation between employee training hours and performance metrics.
• Investigating the connection between temperature and product quality in a production line.

Helps identify correlations or patterns between variables, facilitating the understanding of cause-and-effect relationships and aiding in decision-making.

How to make a scatter diagram

• Start with collecting data needed for validation. Understand the cause and effect relationship between the two variables.
• Identify dependent and independent variables. The dependent variable plotted along the vertical axis is called the measures parameter. The independent variable plotted along the horizontal axis is called the control parameter.
• Draw the graph based on the collected data. Add horizontal axis and vertical axis name and draw the trend line.
• Based on the trend line, analyze the diagram to understand the correlation which can be categorized as Strong, Moderate and No Relation.  
• Data analysts exploring relationships between variables in research or analytics projects.
• Manufacturing engineers investigating the correlation between process parameters and product quality.
• Sales or marketing teams analyzing the relationship between marketing efforts and sales performance.

Check sheets provide a systematic way to collect, record and present quantitative and qualitative data about quality problems. A check sheet used to collect quantitative data is known as a tally sheet.

It is one of the most popular QC tools and it makes data gathering much simpler.

• To check the shape of the probability distribution of a process
• To quantify defects by type, by location or by cause
• To keep track of the completion of steps in a multistep procedure (as a checklist )
• Tracking the number of defects or errors in a manufacturing process.
• Recording customer complaints or inquiries to identify common issues.
• Monitoring the frequency of equipment breakdowns or maintenance needs.

Provides a structured approach for data collection, making it easier to identify trends, patterns, and areas for improvement.

How to make a checksheet

• Identify the needed information.
• Why do you need to collect the data?
• What type of information should you collect?
• Where should you collect the data from?  
• Who should collect the data?
• When should you collect the data?
• How should you measure the data?
• How much data is essential?

Construct your sheet based on the title, source information and content information (refer to the example below).

Test the sheets. Make sure that all the rows and columns in it are required and relevant and that the sheet is easy to refer to and use. Test it with other collectors and make adjustments based on feedback.

• Quality inspectors or auditors who need to collect data on defects or issues.
• Process operators or technicians responsible for tracking process parameters or measurements.
• Customer service representatives who record customer complaints or inquiries.

Control Chart

The control chart is a type of run chart used to observe and study process variation resulting from a common or special cause over a period of time.

The chart helps measure the variations and visualize it to show whether the change is within an acceptable limit or not. It helps track metrics such as defects, cost per unit, production time, inventory on hand , etc.

Control charts are generally used in manufacturing, process improvement methodologies like Six Sigma and stock trading algorithms.

• To determine whether a process is stable.
• To monitor processes and learn how to improve poor performance.
• To recognize abnormal changes in a process.
• Monitoring the variation in product dimensions during a manufacturing process.
• Tracking the number of customer complaints received per day.
• Monitoring the average response time of a customer support team.

Enables real-time monitoring of process stability, early detection of deviations or abnormalities, and prompt corrective actions to maintain consistent quality.

How to create a control chart

• Gather data on the characteristic of interest.
• Calculate mean and upper/lower control limits.
• Create a graph and plot the collected data.
• Add lines representing the mean and control limits to the graph.
• Look for patterns, trends, or points beyond control limits.
• Determine if the process is in control or out of control.
• Investigate and address causes of out-of-control points.
• Regularly update the chart with new data and analyze for ongoing improvement.
• Production supervisors or operators monitoring process performance on the shop floor.
• Quality control or assurance personnel tracking variation in product quality over time.
• Service managers observing customer satisfaction levels and service performance metrics.

Pareto Chart

The Pareto chart is a combination of a bar graph and a line graph. It helps identify the facts needed to set priorities.

The Pareto chart organizes and presents information in such a way that makes it easier to understand the relative importance of various problems or causes of problems. It comes in the shape of a vertical bar chart and displays the defects in order (from the highest to the lowest) while the line graph shows the cumulative percentage of the defect.

• To identify the relative importance of the causes of a problem.
• To help teams identify the causes that will have the highest impact when solved.
• To easily calculate the impact of a defect on the production.
• Analyzing customer feedback to identify the most common product or service issues.
• Prioritizing improvement efforts based on the frequency of quality incidents.
• Identifying the major causes of delays in project management.

Helps focus improvement efforts on the most significant factors or problems, leading to effective allocation of resources and improved outcomes.

How to create a Pareto chart

• Select the problem for investigation. Also, select a method and time for collecting information. If necessary create a check sheet for recording information.
• Once you have collected the data, go through them and sort them out to calculate the cumulative percentage.
• Draw the graph, bars, cumulative percentage line and add labels (refer to the example below).
• Analyze the chart to identify the vital few problems from the trivial many by using the 80/20 rule . Plan further actions to eliminate the identified defects by finding their root causes.
• Quality managers or improvement teams looking to prioritize improvement initiatives.
• Project managers seeking to identify and address the most critical project risks.
• Sales or marketing teams analyzing customer feedback or product issues.

What’s Your Favorite Out of the 7 Basic Quality Tools?  

You can use these 7 basic quality tools individually or together to effectively investigate processes and identify areas for improvement. According to Ishikawa, it’s important that all employees learn how to use these tools to ensure the achievement of excellent performance throughout the organization.

Got anything to add to our guide? Let us know in the comments section below.

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FAQs about 7 Basic Quality Tools

Quality problems in an organization can manifest in various forms and affect different areas of operations.

• Product defects: Products may have defects or non-conformities that deviate from quality specifications, leading to customer dissatisfaction, returns, or warranty claims.
• Service errors: Service errors can occur when services do not meet customer expectations, such as incorrect billing, delays in delivery, or inadequate customer support.
• Process inefficiencies: Inefficient processes can lead to delays, errors, or rework, resulting in increased costs, decreased productivity, and customer dissatisfaction.
• Poor design or innovation: Inadequate product design or lack of innovation can lead to products that do not meet customer needs, lack competitive features, or have usability issues.
• Supplier quality issues: Poor quality materials or components from suppliers can affect the overall quality of the final product or service.
• Ineffective quality management systems: Inadequate quality management systems, such as lack of quality standards, processes, or documentation, can contribute to quality problems throughout the organization.

The basic quality improvement steps typically follow a systematic approach to identify, analyze, implement, and monitor improvements in processes or products.

• Clearly articulate the problem or identify the area for improvement.
• Collect relevant data and information related to the problem.
• Analyze the collected data to identify patterns, root causes, and opportunities for improvement.
• Brainstorm and generate potential improvement ideas or solutions.
• Assess the feasibility, impact, and effectiveness of the generated improvement ideas.
• Develop an action plan to implement the chosen solution.
• Continuously monitor and measure the results of the implemented solution.
• Based on the monitoring results, evaluate the effectiveness of the implemented solution.
• Once the improvement is successful, document the new processes, best practices, or standard operating procedures (SOPs).
• Iterate through the steps to continuously improve processes and products.

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Amanda Athuraliya is the communication specialist/content writer at Creately, online diagramming and collaboration tool. She is an avid reader, a budding writer and a passionate researcher who loves to write about all kinds of topics.

What are the 7 basic quality tools, and how can they change your business for the better?

Reading time: about 6 min

What are the 7 basic quality tools?

• Stratification
• Check sheet (tally sheet)
• Cause and effect diagram (fishbone or Ishikawa diagram)
• Pareto chart (80-20 rule)
• Scatter diagram
• Control chart (Shewhart chart)

The ability to identify and resolve quality-related issues quickly and efficiently is essential to anyone working in quality assurance or process improvement. But statistical quality control can quickly get complex and unwieldy for the average person, making training and quality assurance more difficult to scale. 

Thankfully, engineers have discovered that most quality control problems can be solved by following a few key fundamentals. These fundamentals are called the seven basic tools of quality. 

With these basic quality tools in your arsenal, you can easily manage the quality of your product or process, no matter what industry you serve.

Learn about these quality management tools and find templates to start using them quickly.

Where did the quality tools originate?

Kaoru Ishikawa, a Japanese professor of engineering, originally developed the seven quality tools (sometimes called the 7 QC tools) in the 1950s to help workers of various technical backgrounds implement effective quality control measures.

At the time, training programs in statistical quality control were complex and intimidating to workers with non-technical backgrounds. This made it difficult to standardize effective quality control across operations. Companies found that simplifying the training to user-friendly fundamentals—or seven quality tools—ensured better performance at scale

7 quality tools

1. stratification.

Stratification analysis is a quality assurance tool used to sort data, objects, and people into separate and distinct groups. Separating your data using stratification can help you determine its meaning, revealing patterns that might not otherwise be visible when it’s been lumped together. 

Whether you’re looking at equipment, products, shifts, materials, or even days of the week, stratification analysis lets you make sense of your data before, during, and after its collection.

To get the most out of the stratification process, consider which information about your data’s sources may affect the end results of your data analysis. Make sure to set up your data collection so that that information is included. 

2. Histogram

Quality professionals are often tasked with analyzing and interpreting the behavior of different groups of data in an effort to manage quality. This is where quality control tools like the histogram come into play. 

The histogram represents frequency distribution of data clearly and concisely amongst different groups of a sample, allowing you to quickly and easily identify areas of improvement within your processes. With a structure similar to a bar graph, each bar within a histogram represents a group, while the height of the bar represents the frequency of data within that group. 

Histograms are particularly helpful when breaking down the frequency of your data into categories such as age, days of the week, physical measurements, or any other category that can be listed in chronological or numerical order. 

3. Check sheet (or tally sheet)

Check sheets can be used to collect quantitative or qualitative data. When used to collect quantitative data, they can be called a tally sheet. A check sheet collects data in the form of check or tally marks that indicate how many times a particular value has occurred, allowing you to quickly zero in on defects or errors within your process or product, defect patterns, and even causes of specific defects.

With its simple setup and easy-to-read graphics, check sheets make it easy to record preliminary frequency distribution data when measuring out processes. This particular graphic can be used as a preliminary data collection tool when creating histograms, bar graphs, and other quality tools.

4. Cause-and-effect diagram (also known as a fishbone or Ishikawa diagram)

Introduced by Kaoru Ishikawa, the fishbone diagram helps users identify the various factors (or causes) leading to an effect, usually depicted as a problem to be solved. Named for its resemblance to a fishbone, this quality management tool works by defining a quality-related problem on the right-hand side of the diagram, with individual root causes and sub-causes branching off to its left.   

A fishbone diagram’s causes and subcauses are usually grouped into six main groups, including measurements, materials, personnel, environment, methods, and machines. These categories can help you identify the probable source of your problem while keeping your diagram structured and orderly.

5. Pareto chart (80-20 rule)

As a quality control tool, the Pareto chart operates according to the 80-20 rule. This rule assumes that in any process, 80% of a process’s or system’s problems are caused by 20% of major factors, often referred to as the “vital few.” The remaining 20% of problems are caused by 80% of minor factors. 

A combination of a bar and line graph, the Pareto chart depicts individual values in descending order using bars, while the cumulative total is represented by the line.

The goal of the Pareto chart is to highlight the relative importance of a variety of parameters, allowing you to identify and focus your efforts on the factors with the biggest impact on a specific part of a process or system. 

6. Scatter diagram

Out of the seven quality tools, the scatter diagram is most useful in depicting the relationship between two variables, which is ideal for quality assurance professionals trying to identify cause and effect relationships. 

With dependent values on the diagram’s Y-axis and independent values on the X-axis, each dot represents a common intersection point. When joined, these dots can highlight the relationship between the two variables. The stronger the correlation in your diagram, the stronger the relationship between variables.

Scatter diagrams can prove useful as a quality control tool when used to define relationships between quality defects and possible causes such as environment, activity, personnel, and other variables. Once the relationship between a particular defect and its cause has been established, you can implement focused solutions with (hopefully) better outcomes.

 7. Control chart (also called a Shewhart chart)

Named after Walter A. Shewhart, this quality improvement tool can help quality assurance professionals determine whether or not a process is stable and predictable, making it easy for you to identify factors that might lead to variations or defects. 

Control charts use a central line to depict an average or mean, as well as an upper and lower line to depict upper and lower control limits based on historical data. By comparing historical data to data collected from your current process, you can determine whether your current process is controlled or affected by specific variations.

Using a control chart can save your organization time and money by predicting process performance, particularly in terms of what your customer or organization expects in your final product.

Bonus: Flowcharts

Some sources will swap out stratification to instead include flowcharts as one of the seven basic QC tools. Flowcharts are most commonly used to document organizational structures and process flows, making them ideal for identifying bottlenecks and unnecessary steps within your process or system. 

Mapping out your current process can help you to more effectively pinpoint which activities are completed when and by whom, how processes flow from one department or task to another, and which steps can be eliminated to streamline your process. 

Learn how to create a process improvement plan in seven steps.

Lucidchart, a cloud-based intelligent diagramming application, is a core component of Lucid Software's Visual Collaboration Suite. This intuitive, cloud-based solution empowers teams to collaborate in real-time to build flowcharts, mockups, UML diagrams, customer journey maps, and more. Lucidchart propels teams forward to build the future faster. Lucid is proud to serve top businesses around the world, including customers such as Google, GE, and NBC Universal, and 99% of the Fortune 500. Lucid partners with industry leaders, including Google, Atlassian, and Microsoft. Since its founding, Lucid has received numerous awards for its products, business, and workplace culture. For more information, visit lucidchart.com.

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Helping You become a Certified Six Sigma Green Belt as Quickly and Painlessly as Possible!!

“A man and his tools make a man and his trade” – Vita Sackville-West

As a Six Sigma Green Belt, one of the most important skills you need is the ability to solve a problem or improve a process .

To do this successfully, you need the proper tools. In fact, there are 7 specific tools that you must know.

Kaoru Ishikawa once said “ As much as 95% of quality problems can be solved with seven fundamental quantitative tools ”.

These tools were first categorized as Quality Control Tools by Ishikawa in his book Introduction to Quality Control .

Improvements happen when we solve problems.

So, what are these 7 fundamental tools for problem solving & continuous improvement? Flow Chart

• Check Sheet
• Pareto Chart
• Cause & Effect Diagram
• Control Chart
• Scatter Diagram

Get The Free Quiz For The 7 QC Tools

So why are these seven tools so effective?

They all share two characteristics that make them very effective in problem solving (and continuous improvement).

First – they are all visual tools . You’ve heard the saying – a picture is worth a thousand words . These tools prove that point.

Second – they all deal with facts or data , not opinions or conjecture.

Problems are solved with facts and data .

Improvements are made with facts and data .

When we combine a fact-based approach with a visual tool, we are able to solve problems more easily .

The other comment I’ll make about these tools is that they are often used in combination with each other, and I’ll provide examples of that as we go through each tool.

Let’s get started with the flow diagram.

1. Flow Chart

A Flow Chart is a visual tool that depicts the flow or sequence of a process . This can include the flow of information, tasks, people, material or decision .

The Flow Chart’s value lies in its ability to visually communicate the steps and sequence of a process.

The Flow Chart makes the complex become simple, and promotes a common understanding of a process, which is the foundation for improvement.

The Flowchart is an excellent starting point in the Problem-Solving Process , as it allows your problem-solving team to see the entire process and identify improvements.

Flow Chart Example:

Let’s say we’re a manufacturer of toasters, and we’ve been asked to put together a high-level flow diagram of the entire manufacturing process.

Remember, each of these steps in the process could have its own more detailed flow chart.

2. Check Sheet

Solving problems and making improvements requires data . Period.

The check sheet is a simple tool for collecting, organizing and analyzing data .

A Check Sheet is normally a table with defined rows and columns where the data collected is usually 1 check mark within each category. However, you can modify this concept of a data collection tool to meet a variety of different needs.

The best check sheets contain something more than data, they contain meta data .

Meta data is data about the data – like who collected the data, when (date, shift or time) the data was collected, and where (location, line, equipment number) there data collection took place.

Without this meta data, the actual data can become ambiguous and lose its integrity ( think data integrity ).

Let’s say we go back to our toaster example and see what a check sheet for final assembly rejects might look like. This also includes the meta data and illustrations to go along with it.

This data can then be fed into a pareto chart to identify the “critical few” defects (Hint, it’s the electrical defect).

3. Pareto Chart

The Pareto Chart is a bar chart that allows for analysis of data in search of the Pareto Principle or the 80/20 rule .

The 80/20 rule was first identified by an Italian researcher, Vilfredo Pareto , who was studying wealth and land ownership in Europe, and found that 80% of the land in Europe was owned by 20% of the population.

The 80/20 rule was popularized by Joseph Juran , who names the Pareto Chart after Vilfredo Pareto.

Juran went on to say that the Pareto Chart helps us separate the vital few from the trivial many .

Mechanically, the Pareto Chart is simply a bar chart and the categories of data are typically arranged from greatest to least on the X-axis.

The Y-axis is a count of defects , but this number can be cost , or any other variable. Pareto Charts also frequently include a cumulative frequency line to assist in the analysis.

In this example , the top 3 defects (Defects A, B & C) make up only 20% (3 out of 15) of the defect conditions, however they contribute to 72% of the total number defects . If we could eliminate just these 3 defect conditions, we could eliminate 72% of the defects. That’s the Pareto Chart and the 80/20 Rule at work.

4. Cause & Effect Diagram

The Cause and Effect diagram is a visual tool to explore all the potential factors that may be causing or contributing to a particular problem .

This tool was popularized by Kaoru Ishikawa and allows you to graphically capture all the potential causes of a problem , then select those which require further investigation.

The Cause & Effect Diagram is also commonly referred to as the Fishbone Diagram, the Ishikawa Diagram, Cause & Effect Matrix, C&E Diagram or the C-E Diagram.

The Ishikawa diagram has 8 major categories (The 8M s) that might contribute to your problem which include:

• Mother Nature
• Measurements
• Maintenance

Cause & Effect Example:

Let’s say you’re a Toaster Manufacturer and you received a customer complaint for a toaster that is not toasting.

We can go through the brainstorming process using the 8M’s to identify potential causes and contributing factors that require further investigation.

You can see here we’ve excluded maintenance, machines and Management, and identified potential causes and contributing factors in other areas.

We can also prioritize the most likely contributing factors which should give the investigation actions to conclude the root cause of the problem.

5. Control Chart

A control chart is a statistically based tool that analyzes the variation of a process .

A control chart is a time-based line graph that reflects the behavior of a process over time including normal variation and any special cause variation.

A control chart can also be described as a visual communication tool that graphs analyzed data in real-time and reflects the stability of a process .

Remember: A good process is a stable process; we want stability.

The details of the control chart, including the various kinds, how to create them, and how to analyze them can be found in the Statistical Process Control (SPC)  chapter.

The control chart contains upper and lower control limits that are statistically based, which allow the user to identifying instances where the process appears to be behaving abnormally.

These control limits and centerline represent the “voice of the process” and are simply a reflection of the process – both the average value of your process and the natural variation of the process.

Using control charts allows you to proactively monitor your process , detect when a problem is occurring (or has occurred), which is the starting point for an improvement project.

A control chart is like a scoreboard . It can be used at the end of an improvement project to indicate if an improvement was successful or not.

6. Scatter Diagram

A Scatter diagram is a visual analysis tool that is meant to reflect the possible relationship between two variables .

The Scatter Plot visually plots pairs of data on an X-Y graph in order to reveal the relationship between the data sets.

The relationship between the two variables can be positive, negative or non-existent. The strength of the relationship can also be analyzed visually by how closely the points fall on the line of best fit.

The strength of that relationship can be expressed mathematically using the Pearson Correlation Coefficient , which is a number that ranges from a strong positive correlation (+1) to a strong negative correlation (-1).

The scatter plot is often used in the problem-solving process when we’re studying a process to understand which input variables (independent variables) are contributing to a negative outcome in a response variable (dependent variable).

FYI – below is a hypothetical situation. I’ve created this data as an example, however I believe the conclusions are likely accurate 😊.

Let’s say that I’m studying the various factors that affect performance on the CSSGB Exam .

I propose a hypothesis that there is a relationship between quiz scores and the ultimate exam score.

So I run an experiment where I work with 14 people and have them take a quiz before the exam to determine if a relationship exists between these two variables .

Ultimately, I’d like to be able to predict their exam score based on the quiz score .

So I’ve taken these pairs of data, with the Quiz Score as the Independent Variable (X), and the Exam Score as the Dependent Variable and analyzed them using a Scatter Diagram.

This scatter diagram indicates that a strong positive correlation exists between these two variables (r = 0.8).

If you do well on the quiz, you’re likely going to do well on the exam.

But can doing well on a quiz CAUSE you to do well on the exam. No.

This is a good opportunity to warn you about the difference between correlation and causation.

This is an example of correlation without causation.

These two variables highly correlate with each other because there are other factors like study time, study habits, or job performance that are CAUSING you to do well on both variables.

So, if you really want to do well on the exam, create healthy study habits, invest your time to study, reflect on what you’ve learned, put that into action and you will do well on the exam (and the quiz).

It’s not to say that this quiz is without value though. The quiz is an indicator of potential success on the exam .

7. Histogram

The Histogram is a tool used to visualize the distribution of continuous data .

More specifically, a Histogram is a type of Bar Chart that graphs the frequency of occurrence of continuous data and is a useful tool for displaying, summarizing and analyzing data .

Variation is all around us. Every process or product has some level of variation.

Every data set you collect will have variation in it, and this variation will exist in a “Pattern”.

And the best way to see or understand this Pattern of variation is to graph your data using a Histogram.

There are different patterns of variation that may be revealed in a Histogram. The most common distributions, and their analysis, are discussed within the Probability Statistical Distributions (Chapter 12) of the Green Belt Master Class .

Typically, a distribution can be characterized by the central tendency of the data (Mean, Median Mode), and the “ variation ” ( range, standard deviation, etc ) within the data.

The Normal Distribution is the most common type of statistical distributions.

The histogram is a visual tool you can use as a gut check to see if your data set is approximately normal .

As a Six Sigma Green Belt, one of the most important skills you can have, is the ability to solve a problem or improve a process .

To do this successfully, you need to be able to apply the 7 QC Tools.

These 7 tools combine a fact-based approach with a visual tool that makes solving problems easier.

Below is a quick and simple review of the definition for each of the 7 tools discussed within this chapter.

1. A Flow Chart is a visual tool that depicts the flow or sequence of a process . This can include the flow of information, tasks, people, parts, material , etc.

2. The check sheet is a simple tool for collecting, organizing and analyzing data .

3. The Pareto Chart is a bar chart that allows for analysis of data in search of the Pareto Principle or the 80/20 rule .

4. The Cause and Effect diagram is a visual tool to explore all the potential factors that may be causing or contributing to a particular problem (effect).

5. A control chart is a time-based line graph that reflects the behavior of a process over time including normal variation and any special cause variation.

6. A Scatter diagram is a visual analysis tool that is meant to reflect the possible relationship between two variables .

7. A Histogram is a type of Bar Chart that graphs the frequency of occurrence of continuous data and is a useful tool for displaying, summarizing and analyzing data .

Next: Kano Model

Streamlining Six Sigma Projects with The 7 QC Tools

Updated: September 26, 2023 by Ken Feldman

As in any tool chest, you can have dozens, if not hundreds, of different tools for all types of specialized tasks. Such is the case with Six Sigma. There are many tools available for your use depending on what you want to accomplish. However, like your home tool chest, there are a small set of basic tools that are your go-to tools you will use most often and on most projects. 

Let’s review the 7 QC tools that are most commonly used in Six Sigma , the benefits of those tools, and some best practices for using them.

Overview: What are the 7 QC tools? 

It is believed that the 7 QC tools were introduced by Kaoru Ishikawa in postwar Japan, inspired by the seven famous weapons of Benkei. Benkei was a Japanese warrior monk who armed himself with seven weapons and was on a personal quest to take 1,000 swords from samurai warriors who he believed were arrogant and unworthy.

Ishikawa was influenced by a series of lectures on statistical quality control given by Dr. W. Edwards Deming in 1950 to a group of Japanese scientists and engineers. Unfortunately, the complexity of the subject intimidated most workers, so Ishikawa focused primarily on a reduced set of tools that would suffice for most quality-related issues.

The 7 QC tools are:

• Check sheet 
• Fishbone diagram (cause and effect diagram, or Ishikawa diagram)
• Pareto chart
• Control chart
• Scatter diagram
• Stratification

Let’s explore each in a little more detail.

Check sheet: A form to collect and tally data for further analysis.

Image source:  techqualitypedia.com .

Fishbone diagram: Fishbone diagrams are used to drill down to find the root cause of a problem. As the name implies, the diagram looks like the bones of a fish, where each main bone represents a specific category of possible root cause, and the subsequent drilling down is shown as smaller and smaller bones.

Image source:  asq.org .

Histogram: This is a bar graph showing the frequency of a set of data, usually continuous data. The histogram allows you to see the center of the data, the range of the data, and the distribution of the data. It is a very useful snapshot. The downside is that you can’t see the sequence or order of the data.

Image source:  statisticsbyjim.com .

Pareto chart: This chart is based on the 80/20 principle that says 80% of your effect is caused by 20% of your causes. For example, 80% of your sales comes from 20% of your customers. Dr. Joseph Juran, who developed this chart, often referred to this principle as the vital few and trivial many . He later revised that to the vital few and useful many . The Pareto chart lists the causes in descending order of frequency or magnitude. It is used to prioritize what you should look at first to improve your process.

Image source:  www.automateexcel.com .

Control chart: A control chart is a statistical tool that looks at your process data over time for the purpose of distinguishing between special cause and common cause variation.

Image source:  www.spcforexcel.com .

Scatter diagram: These are also known as scatter plots. They’re used to show a graphical correlation between a set of paired data on an X and Y axis. It is the graphical representation of what you would use for regression analysis.

Image source: www.spcforexcel.com .

Stratification: This is a graph that shows data that has been stratified when the data comes from different sources. It is useful to view the data by certain strata such as shift, gender, geographic location, machines, or suppliers.

Image source: www.systems2win.com .

3 benefits of the 7 QC tools 

These seven tools are easy to understand and apply and will help you understand what is going on in your process. 

1. Easy 

These 7 QC tools are easy to understand and implement yet powerful in identifying root causes, in discriminating between types of variation, and as a visual description of your data. A picture is truly worth 10,000 words (or statistical calculations). 

2. Software-driven 

Gone are the days when you had to draw all of your graphs by hand. There are many simple and cost-effective software packages that will take your data and quickly produce graphs. 

3. 80/20 

The Pareto principle applies to the 7 QC tools as well. 80% of your quality issues can be addressed by using 20% of the most common tools.

Why are the 7 QC tools important to understand? 

The key thing to understand is when to use each tool — which one is appropriate for your specific situation?

Tools address different issues

The more familiar you are with these common tools, the quicker you’ll be able to select the right one to help you solve your problem or answer your question. The Fishbone diagram is used to search for root causes of your problem. A control chart is used to distinguish between common and special cause variation. A scatter diagram is used to look for correlation or relationship between an X and Y variable. 

Graphs don’t tell the whole story 

Graphs and diagrams are useful for providing an overview and directional indicator of your process, but statistical analysis will provide greater confidence than a graph alone. 

Flexibility 

These seven tools can be used for different types of data and across any type of function. Their flexibility makes them useful in myriad situations and industries, so becoming familiar with them can be a wise investment.

3 best practices when thinking about the 7 QC tools 

Use these tools for as many applications as is feasible. Keep it simple, and only use the more sophisticated and complex tools if you need the additional information and analysis. 

1. Have a clear idea of what question you’re trying to answer 

Since each of the tools can be used to answer different data and process questions, be sure you’ve clearly defined the question you’re trying to answer. 

2. Use them as your primary presentation  

Use the 7 QC tools and their accompanying graphs and diagrams as your primary presentation format. Reserve the statistical analysis for questions that go beyond what’s answered in the graphs.

3. Make sure they’re self-explanatory 

Be sure your graphs are succinct and self-explanatory so people can understand what you’re trying to tell them without the need for a long-winded explanation.  

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about the 7 QC tools

What is meant by stratification .

If you collected production data throughout the day across all three shifts and five machines, you might want to stratify or separate your data and look at it by shift and by machine. This would allow you to understand whether there were any differences between the strata. This might indicate the source of a root cause or an opportunity to improve the other shifts if one is found to be doing better than the others. 

What are the 7 basic QC tools? 

Scatter diagrams, Pareto charts, control charts, histograms, stratification, fishbone diagrams and check sheets.

Do I have to draw the graphs and diagrams for the 7 QC tools by hand? 

With the use of current software and computer technology, you will rarely be required to create the graphs by hand. Still, it might be interesting to do it by hand once to fully appreciate the tools and software available to us.

Let’s review what’s in your tool belt 

The 7 QC tools are basic graphical representations of your data. They can be used to answer a wide variety of questions about your data and your process. Use them as your primary presentation format when talking about what your data is telling you. While they are not a complete list of tools, they should be robust enough to address many of your improvement issues.

The 7 QC tools, while basic, are foundational to the Six Sigma methodology and have stood the test of time. Their simplicity and versatility make them indispensable for professionals across industries. As businesses evolve and data becomes more integral to decision-making, the importance of these tools only grows. They bridge the gap between raw data and actionable insights, allowing teams to make informed decisions. Moreover, in today’s digital age, with the integration of AI and machine learning, these tools can be further enhanced to provide even deeper insights. However, the essence remains the same: understanding and improving processes through data visualization.

Key Points About The 7 QC Tools:

Origin and Influence: Introduced by Kaoru Ishikawa, inspired by Benkei’s seven weapons and influenced by Dr. W. Edwards Deming’s lectures on statistical quality control.

List of 7 QC Tools: Check sheet, Fishbone diagram, Histogram, Pareto chart, Control chart, Scatter diagram, and Stratification.

Benefits: These tools are easy to understand, software-driven, and adhere to the 80/20 principle, addressing 80% of quality issues with 20% of the most common tools.

Importance: They address different issues, provide an overview of processes, and offer flexibility across data types and functions.

Best Practices: Clearly define the question, use the tools as the primary presentation format, and ensure graphs are self-explanatory.

About the Author

Ken Feldman

TECHIEQUALITY

7qc tools for problem solving | what are 7 qc tools.

7QC Tools for Problem Solving techniques are generally used in manufacturing, Non-manufacturing industries, and service sectors to resolve problems.

Download 7-QC Tools Template/ Format

Definition and History:-

The 7QC Tools (Also Known as “Seven Basic Tools of Quality”) originated in Japan. First emphasized by Kaoru Ishikawa, a professor of engineering at Tokyo University and the father of “quality circles”. These tools are used to solve critical quality-related issues. You can use the 7 basic tools of quality to help understand and solve problems or defects in any industry. With the help of Excel, you can plot the graphs / Diagrams to resolve the daily quality problems. I will help you to understand the basic ideas and knowledge of 7QC Tools and their usage.

For solving problems seven QC tools are used Pareto Chart, Cause & Effect Diagram, Histogram, Control Charts, Scatter Diagrams, Graphs/Process Flow Diagram, and Check Sheets. All these tools are important tools used widely in the manufacturing field to monitor the overall operation and continuous process improvement. seven QC tools are used to find out the Root cause of the problem and implement the action plan to improve the process efficiency.

7QC tools are:-

• Pareto Chart
• Cause and effects diagram
• Scatter Diagram
• Control Chart
• Check Sheet
• PFD(Process Flow diagram)/Graphs

  Benefits of 7QC Tools:-

• Improve management decisions.
• Simple and easy for implementation
• Continuous quality improvement
• Quick results
• Enhances customer satisfaction through improved quality product
• Reduce cycle time and improve efficiency
• Control cost of poor quality / Cost of quality
• Reduce defects and optimize the production
• Reduce variations and improve the quality of Products
• Encouragement of teamwork and confidence
• Enhancement of customer focus.

Pareto Chart:-

A Pareto Chart is named after the Italian Economist Vilfredo Pareto. It is a type of chart that contains both bars and a line graph, where the individual values are represented in the bar graph in descending order (largest to smallest value) and the cumulative percentage is represented in the line graph.

Click here to learn “How to Plot Pareto Chart In Excel”.

Understanding the Pareto Chart principle (The 80/20 rule):  

The Pareto principle is also known as the 80/20 rule derived from the Italian Economist Vilfredo,

The principle is understood as –

20% of the input creates 80% of the results

80 % of the effects come from 20% of the causes.

In the above Pareto Chart[Figure-1], we can see the cumulative% in the line graph, According to the Pareto Chart principle 80/20 rule, the 80% cumulative in the line graph is filling under the low hardness, which means BH, Damage, SH and Low hardness defers are coving the 80% of contribution over total types of defects. And those 80 % of contributions were due to the 20% caused.

  Histogram:-

The histogram is one of the 7QC tools, which is the most commonly used graph to show frequency distribution.

Helps summarize data from a process that has been collected over a period of time.

Click here to know the “How to Plot Histogram in Excel:

Fish-bone  Diagram/Cause and Effects /Ishikawa Diagram:-

The cause and Effects Diagram looks like a fish that’s why it’s called Fish-bone Diagram, also called the Ishikawa diagram.

It’s a visualization tool for categorizing the potential causes of a problem in order to identify its root causes.

CFT members are identifying the potential cause through the Brainstorming process of individuals and together.

  The Potential cause is related w.r.t below as

• Environment
• Measurement

Scatter diagram:-

The scatter diagram graphs pairs of variable data, with one variable on each axis, to look for a relationship between them. If the variables correlate, the points will fall along a line or curve. The better the correlation, the more points will strongly cluster to the line. It generally gives the idea of the correlation between the variables.

In the above figure-4, the positive and Negative correlation is only due to the direction, and in both the correlation, points are clustered to the line but in the last figure in figure-4, Points are not clustered to the line but spread over the X and Y-axis.  

Control Chart:-

A line on a control chart is used as a basis for judging the stability of a process. If the observed points are beyond a control limit then it is evidence that special causes are affecting the process.

Control Charts can be used to monitor or evaluate a process.

There are basically two types of control charts, those for variable data and those for attributes data.

Click here to learn more about the Control Chart and Statistical Process Control.  

Benefits: -Higher Quality, Lower Unit Cost, Higher effective Capability, etc.

Selection of Control Charts based on Attribute / Variable Type Data:-

Calculation of Average and Range Charts-

Click here to know the details.

The formula of the Attributes Control Chart:-

Click here to learn the formula and calculation.

Nomenclature of Control Chart:-

Check Sheet:-

Check Sheet is a simple document used for collecting data in real time. Variable or Attribute type data is collected through a Check sheet. A check sheet generally helps to make the decision on the basis of a fact and to collect the data for analysis and evaluation.

Sample check Sheet:-

Process Flow diagram/Graphs:-

A process flow diagram is a diagram used to indicate the general flow of plant processes and equipment.

The 7QC tools are the most commonly used tool in the industry for improvement, With the help of the 7QC tools you can understand the process/activities, analyze the data, and interpret the result/graph/output.

Which are the 7 QC tools?

The seven QC tools are

• Fishbone diagram
• PFD(Process Flow diagram)/Graphs /Stratification

Useful Article:

why why analysis methodology | 5-why analysis step by step guide

Rework vs Repair |IATF Requirement for Control of Reworked/ Repaired Product

How to plot the Run Chart in Minitab

Run Chart Example | Concept & Interpretation of Result with Case Study | Industrial Example:

Thank you for reading..keep visiting Techiequality.Com

I hope the above article “7QC Tools for Problem Solving” is useful to you…

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Nine essential problem solving tools: The ultimate guide to finding a solution

October 26, 2023 by MindManager Blog

Problem solving may unfold differently depending on the industry, or even the department you work in. However, most agree that before you can fix any issue, you need to be clear on what it is, why it’s happening, and what your ideal long-term solution will achieve.

Understanding both the nature and the cause of a problem is the only way to figure out which actions will help you resolve it.

Given that most problem-solving processes are part inspiration and part perspiration, you’ll be more successful if you can reach for a problem solving tool that facilitates collaboration, encourages creative thinking, and makes it easier to implement the fix you devise.

The problem solving tools include three unique categories: problem solving diagrams, problem solving mind maps, and problem solving software solutions.

They include:

• Fishbone diagrams
• Strategy maps
• Mental maps
• Concept maps
• Layered process audit software
• Charting software
• MindManager

In this article, we’ve put together a roundup of versatile problem solving tools and software to help you and your team map out and repair workplace issues as efficiently as possible.

Let’s get started!

Problem solving diagrams

Mapping your way out of a problem is the simplest way to see where you are, and where you need to end up.

Not only do visual problem maps let you plot the most efficient route from Point A (dysfunctional situation) to Point B (flawless process), problem mapping diagrams make it easier to see:

• The root cause of a dilemma.
• The steps, resources, and personnel associated with each possible solution.
• The least time-consuming, most cost-effective options.

A visual problem solving process help to solidify understanding. Furthermore, it’s a great way for you and your team to transform abstract ideas into a practical, reconstructive plan.

Here are three examples of common problem mapping diagrams you can try with your team:

1. Fishbone diagrams

Fishbone diagrams are a common problem solving tool so-named because, once complete, they resemble the skeleton of a fish.

With the possible root causes of an issue (the ribs) branching off from either side of a spine line attached to the head (the problem), dynamic fishbone diagrams let you:

• Lay out a related set of possible reasons for an existing problem
• Investigate each possibility by breaking it out into sub-causes
• See how contributing factors relate to one another

Fishbone diagrams are also known as cause and effect or Ishikawa diagrams.

2. Flowcharts

A flowchart is an easy-to-understand diagram with a variety of applications. But you can use it to outline and examine how the steps of a flawed process connect.

Made up of a few simple symbols linked with arrows indicating workflow direction, flowcharts clearly illustrate what happens at each stage of a process – and how each event impacts other events and decisions.

3. Strategy maps

Frequently used as a strategic planning tool, strategy maps also work well as problem mapping diagrams. Based on a hierarchal system, thoughts and ideas can be arranged on a single page to flesh out a potential resolution.

Once you’ve got a few tactics you feel are worth exploring as possible ways to overcome a challenge, a strategy map will help you establish the best route to your problem-solving goal.

Problem solving mind maps

Problem solving mind maps are especially valuable in visualization. Because they facilitate the brainstorming process that plays a key role in both root cause analysis and the identification of potential solutions, they help make problems more solvable.

Mind maps are diagrams that represent your thinking. Since many people struggle taking or working with hand-written or typed notes, mind maps were designed to let you lay out and structure your thoughts visually so you can play with ideas, concepts, and solutions the same way your brain does.

By starting with a single notion that branches out into greater detail, problem solving mind maps make it easy to:

• Explain unfamiliar problems or processes in less time
• Share and elaborate on novel ideas
• Achieve better group comprehension that can lead to more effective solutions

Mind maps are a valuable problem solving tool because they’re geared toward bringing out the flexible thinking that creative solutions require. Here are three types of problem solving mind maps you can use to facilitate the brainstorming process.

4. Mental maps

A mental map helps you get your thoughts about what might be causing a workplace issue out of your head and onto a shared digital space.

Because mental maps mirror the way our brains take in and analyze new information, using them to describe your theories visually will help you and your team work through and test those thought models.

5. Idea maps

Idea maps let you take advantage of a wide assortment of colors and images to lay down and organize your scattered thought process. Idea maps are ideal brainstorming tools because they allow you to present and explore ideas about the best way to solve a problem collaboratively, and with a shared sense of enthusiasm for outside-the-box thinking.

6. Concept maps

Concept maps are one of the best ways to shape your thoughts around a potential solution because they let you create interlinked, visual representations of intricate concepts.

By laying out your suggested problem-solving process digitally – and using lines to form and define relationship connections – your group will be able to see how each piece of the solution puzzle connects with another.

Problem solving software solutions

Problem solving software is the best way to take advantage of multiple problem solving tools in one platform. While some software programs are geared toward specific industries or processes – like manufacturing or customer relationship management, for example – others, like MindManager , are purpose-built to work across multiple trades, departments, and teams.

Here are three problem-solving software examples.

7. Layered process audit software

Layered process audits (LPAs) help companies oversee production processes and keep an eye on the cost and quality of the goods they create. Dedicated LPA software makes problem solving easier for manufacturers because it helps them see where costly leaks are occurring and allows all levels of management to get involved in repairing those leaks.

8. Charting software

Charting software comes in all shapes and sizes to fit a variety of business sectors. Pareto charts, for example, combine bar charts with line graphs so companies can compare different problems or contributing factors to determine their frequency, cost, and significance. Charting software is often used in marketing, where a variety of bar charts and X-Y axis diagrams make it possible to display and examine competitor profiles, customer segmentation, and sales trends.

9. MindManager

No matter where you work, or what your problem-solving role looks like, MindManager is a problem solving software that will make your team more productive in figuring out why a process, plan, or project isn’t working the way it should.

Once you know why an obstruction, shortfall, or difficulty exists, you can use MindManager’s wide range of brainstorming and problem mapping diagrams to:

• Find the most promising way to correct the situation
• Activate your chosen solution, and
• Conduct regular checks to make sure your repair work is sustainable

MindManager is the ultimate problem solving software.

Not only is it versatile enough to use as your go-to system for puzzling out all types of workplace problems, MindManager’s built-in forecasting tools, timeline charts, and warning indicators let you plan, implement, and monitor your solutions.

By allowing your group to work together more effectively to break down problems, uncover solutions, and rebuild processes and workflows, MindManager’s versatile collection of problem solving tools will help make everyone on your team a more efficient problem solver.

Download a free trial today to get started!

Ready to take the next step?

MindManager helps boost collaboration and productivity among remote and hybrid teams to achieve better results, faster.

Why choose MindManager?

MindManager® helps individuals, teams, and enterprises bring greater clarity and structure to plans, projects, and processes. It provides visual productivity tools and mind mapping software to help take you and your organization to where you want to be.

Explore MindManager

35 problem-solving techniques and methods for solving complex problems

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All teams and organizations encounter challenges as they grow. There are problems that might occur for teams when it comes to miscommunication or resolving business-critical issues . You may face challenges around growth , design , user engagement, and even team culture and happiness. In short, problem-solving techniques should be part of every team’s skillset.

Problem-solving methods are primarily designed to help a group or team through a process of first identifying problems and challenges , ideating possible solutions , and then evaluating the most suitable .

Finding effective solutions to complex problems isn’t easy, but by using the right process and techniques, you can help your team be more efficient in the process.

So how do you develop strategies that are engaging, and empower your team to solve problems effectively?

In this blog post, we share a series of problem-solving tools you can use in your next workshop or team meeting. You’ll also find some tips for facilitating the process and how to enable others to solve complex problems.

Let’s get started! 

How do you identify problems?

How do you identify the right solution.

• Tips for more effective problem-solving

Complete problem-solving methods

• Problem-solving techniques to identify and analyze problems
• Problem-solving techniques for developing solutions

Problem-solving warm-up activities

Closing activities for a problem-solving process.

Before you can move towards finding the right solution for a given problem, you first need to identify and define the problem you wish to solve. 

Here, you want to clearly articulate what the problem is and allow your group to do the same. Remember that everyone in a group is likely to have differing perspectives and alignment is necessary in order to help the group move forward. 

Identifying a problem accurately also requires that all members of a group are able to contribute their views in an open and safe manner. It can be scary for people to stand up and contribute, especially if the problems or challenges are emotive or personal in nature. Be sure to try and create a psychologically safe space for these kinds of discussions.

Remember that problem analysis and further discussion are also important. Not taking the time to fully analyze and discuss a challenge can result in the development of solutions that are not fit for purpose or do not address the underlying issue.

Successfully identifying and then analyzing a problem means facilitating a group through activities designed to help them clearly and honestly articulate their thoughts and produce usable insight.

With this data, you might then produce a problem statement that clearly describes the problem you wish to be addressed and also state the goal of any process you undertake to tackle this issue.  

Finding solutions is the end goal of any process. Complex organizational challenges can only be solved with an appropriate solution but discovering them requires using the right problem-solving tool.

After you’ve explored a problem and discussed ideas, you need to help a team discuss and choose the right solution. Consensus tools and methods such as those below help a group explore possible solutions before then voting for the best. They’re a great way to tap into the collective intelligence of the group for great results!

Remember that the process is often iterative. Great problem solvers often roadtest a viable solution in a measured way to see what works too. While you might not get the right solution on your first try, the methods below help teams land on the most likely to succeed solution while also holding space for improvement.

Every effective problem solving process begins with an agenda . A well-structured workshop is one of the best methods for successfully guiding a group from exploring a problem to implementing a solution.

In SessionLab, it’s easy to go from an idea to a complete agenda . Start by dragging and dropping your core problem solving activities into place . Add timings, breaks and necessary materials before sharing your agenda with your colleagues.

The resulting agenda will be your guide to an effective and productive problem solving session that will also help you stay organized on the day!

Tips for more effective problem solving

Problem-solving activities are only one part of the puzzle. While a great method can help unlock your team’s ability to solve problems, without a thoughtful approach and strong facilitation the solutions may not be fit for purpose.

Let’s take a look at some problem-solving tips you can apply to any process to help it be a success!

Clearly define the problem

Jumping straight to solutions can be tempting, though without first clearly articulating a problem, the solution might not be the right one. Many of the problem-solving activities below include sections where the problem is explored and clearly defined before moving on.

This is a vital part of the problem-solving process and taking the time to fully define an issue can save time and effort later. A clear definition helps identify irrelevant information and it also ensures that your team sets off on the right track.

Don’t jump to conclusions

It’s easy for groups to exhibit cognitive bias or have preconceived ideas about both problems and potential solutions. Be sure to back up any problem statements or potential solutions with facts, research, and adequate forethought.

The best techniques ask participants to be methodical and challenge preconceived notions. Make sure you give the group enough time and space to collect relevant information and consider the problem in a new way. By approaching the process with a clear, rational mindset, you’ll often find that better solutions are more forthcoming.  

Try different approaches  

Problems come in all shapes and sizes and so too should the methods you use to solve them. If you find that one approach isn’t yielding results and your team isn’t finding different solutions, try mixing it up. You’ll be surprised at how using a new creative activity can unblock your team and generate great solutions.

Don’t take it personally 

Depending on the nature of your team or organizational problems, it’s easy for conversations to get heated. While it’s good for participants to be engaged in the discussions, ensure that emotions don’t run too high and that blame isn’t thrown around while finding solutions.

You’re all in it together, and even if your team or area is seeing problems, that isn’t necessarily a disparagement of you personally. Using facilitation skills to manage group dynamics is one effective method of helping conversations be more constructive.

Get the right people in the room

Your problem-solving method is often only as effective as the group using it. Getting the right people on the job and managing the number of people present is important too!

If the group is too small, you may not get enough different perspectives to effectively solve a problem. If the group is too large, you can go round and round during the ideation stages.

Creating the right group makeup is also important in ensuring you have the necessary expertise and skillset to both identify and follow up on potential solutions. Carefully consider who to include at each stage to help ensure your problem-solving method is followed and positioned for success.

Document everything

The best solutions can take refinement, iteration, and reflection to come out. Get into a habit of documenting your process in order to keep all the learnings from the session and to allow ideas to mature and develop. Many of the methods below involve the creation of documents or shared resources. Be sure to keep and share these so everyone can benefit from the work done!

Bring a facilitator 

Facilitation is all about making group processes easier. With a subject as potentially emotive and important as problem-solving, having an impartial third party in the form of a facilitator can make all the difference in finding great solutions and keeping the process moving. Consider bringing a facilitator to your problem-solving session to get better results and generate meaningful solutions!

Develop your problem-solving skills

It takes time and practice to be an effective problem solver. While some roles or participants might more naturally gravitate towards problem-solving, it can take development and planning to help everyone create better solutions.

You might develop a training program, run a problem-solving workshop or simply ask your team to practice using the techniques below. Check out our post on problem-solving skills to see how you and your group can develop the right mental process and be more resilient to issues too!

Design a great agenda

Workshops are a great format for solving problems. With the right approach, you can focus a group and help them find the solutions to their own problems. But designing a process can be time-consuming and finding the right activities can be difficult.

Check out our workshop planning guide to level-up your agenda design and start running more effective workshops. Need inspiration? Check out templates designed by expert facilitators to help you kickstart your process!

In this section, we’ll look at in-depth problem-solving methods that provide a complete end-to-end process for developing effective solutions. These will help guide your team from the discovery and definition of a problem through to delivering the right solution.

If you’re looking for an all-encompassing method or problem-solving model, these processes are a great place to start. They’ll ask your team to challenge preconceived ideas and adopt a mindset for solving problems more effectively.

• Six Thinking Hats
• Lightning Decision Jam
• Problem Definition Process
• Discovery & Action Dialogue

Design Sprint 2.0

• Open Space Technology

1. Six Thinking Hats

Individual approaches to solving a problem can be very different based on what team or role an individual holds. It can be easy for existing biases or perspectives to find their way into the mix, or for internal politics to direct a conversation.

Six Thinking Hats is a classic method for identifying the problems that need to be solved and enables your team to consider them from different angles, whether that is by focusing on facts and data, creative solutions, or by considering why a particular solution might not work.

Like all problem-solving frameworks, Six Thinking Hats is effective at helping teams remove roadblocks from a conversation or discussion and come to terms with all the aspects necessary to solve complex problems.

2. Lightning Decision Jam

Featured courtesy of Jonathan Courtney of AJ&Smart Berlin, Lightning Decision Jam is one of those strategies that should be in every facilitation toolbox. Exploring problems and finding solutions is often creative in nature, though as with any creative process, there is the potential to lose focus and get lost.

Unstructured discussions might get you there in the end, but it’s much more effective to use a method that creates a clear process and team focus.

In Lightning Decision Jam, participants are invited to begin by writing challenges, concerns, or mistakes on post-its without discussing them before then being invited by the moderator to present them to the group.

From there, the team vote on which problems to solve and are guided through steps that will allow them to reframe those problems, create solutions and then decide what to execute on. 

By deciding the problems that need to be solved as a team before moving on, this group process is great for ensuring the whole team is aligned and can take ownership over the next stages. 

Lightning Decision Jam (LDJ)   #action   #decision making   #problem solving   #issue analysis   #innovation   #design   #remote-friendly   The problem with anything that requires creative thinking is that it’s easy to get lost—lose focus and fall into the trap of having useless, open-ended, unstructured discussions. Here’s the most effective solution I’ve found: Replace all open, unstructured discussion with a clear process. What to use this exercise for: Anything which requires a group of people to make decisions, solve problems or discuss challenges. It’s always good to frame an LDJ session with a broad topic, here are some examples: The conversion flow of our checkout Our internal design process How we organise events Keeping up with our competition Improving sales flow

3. Problem Definition Process

While problems can be complex, the problem-solving methods you use to identify and solve those problems can often be simple in design. 

By taking the time to truly identify and define a problem before asking the group to reframe the challenge as an opportunity, this method is a great way to enable change.

Begin by identifying a focus question and exploring the ways in which it manifests before splitting into five teams who will each consider the problem using a different method: escape, reversal, exaggeration, distortion or wishful. Teams develop a problem objective and create ideas in line with their method before then feeding them back to the group.

This method is great for enabling in-depth discussions while also creating space for finding creative solutions too!

Problem Definition   #problem solving   #idea generation   #creativity   #online   #remote-friendly   A problem solving technique to define a problem, challenge or opportunity and to generate ideas.

4. The 5 Whys 

Sometimes, a group needs to go further with their strategies and analyze the root cause at the heart of organizational issues. An RCA or root cause analysis is the process of identifying what is at the heart of business problems or recurring challenges. 

The 5 Whys is a simple and effective method of helping a group go find the root cause of any problem or challenge and conduct analysis that will deliver results. 

By beginning with the creation of a problem statement and going through five stages to refine it, The 5 Whys provides everything you need to truly discover the cause of an issue.

The 5 Whys   #hyperisland   #innovation   This simple and powerful method is useful for getting to the core of a problem or challenge. As the title suggests, the group defines a problems, then asks the question “why” five times, often using the resulting explanation as a starting point for creative problem solving.

5. World Cafe

World Cafe is a simple but powerful facilitation technique to help bigger groups to focus their energy and attention on solving complex problems.

World Cafe enables this approach by creating a relaxed atmosphere where participants are able to self-organize and explore topics relevant and important to them which are themed around a central problem-solving purpose. Create the right atmosphere by modeling your space after a cafe and after guiding the group through the method, let them take the lead!

Making problem-solving a part of your organization’s culture in the long term can be a difficult undertaking. More approachable formats like World Cafe can be especially effective in bringing people unfamiliar with workshops into the fold. 

World Cafe   #hyperisland   #innovation   #issue analysis   World Café is a simple yet powerful method, originated by Juanita Brown, for enabling meaningful conversations driven completely by participants and the topics that are relevant and important to them. Facilitators create a cafe-style space and provide simple guidelines. Participants then self-organize and explore a set of relevant topics or questions for conversation.

6. Discovery & Action Dialogue (DAD)

One of the best approaches is to create a safe space for a group to share and discover practices and behaviors that can help them find their own solutions.

With DAD, you can help a group choose which problems they wish to solve and which approaches they will take to do so. It’s great at helping remove resistance to change and can help get buy-in at every level too!

This process of enabling frontline ownership is great in ensuring follow-through and is one of the methods you will want in your toolbox as a facilitator.

Discovery & Action Dialogue (DAD)   #idea generation   #liberating structures   #action   #issue analysis   #remote-friendly   DADs make it easy for a group or community to discover practices and behaviors that enable some individuals (without access to special resources and facing the same constraints) to find better solutions than their peers to common problems. These are called positive deviant (PD) behaviors and practices. DADs make it possible for people in the group, unit, or community to discover by themselves these PD practices. DADs also create favorable conditions for stimulating participants’ creativity in spaces where they can feel safe to invent new and more effective practices. Resistance to change evaporates as participants are unleashed to choose freely which practices they will adopt or try and which problems they will tackle. DADs make it possible to achieve frontline ownership of solutions.

7. Design Sprint 2.0

Want to see how a team can solve big problems and move forward with prototyping and testing solutions in a few days? The Design Sprint 2.0 template from Jake Knapp, author of Sprint, is a complete agenda for a with proven results.

Developing the right agenda can involve difficult but necessary planning. Ensuring all the correct steps are followed can also be stressful or time-consuming depending on your level of experience.

Use this complete 4-day workshop template if you are finding there is no obvious solution to your challenge and want to focus your team around a specific problem that might require a shortcut to launching a minimum viable product or waiting for the organization-wide implementation of a solution.

8. Open space technology

Open space technology- developed by Harrison Owen – creates a space where large groups are invited to take ownership of their problem solving and lead individual sessions. Open space technology is a great format when you have a great deal of expertise and insight in the room and want to allow for different takes and approaches on a particular theme or problem you need to be solved.

Start by bringing your participants together to align around a central theme and focus their efforts. Explain the ground rules to help guide the problem-solving process and then invite members to identify any issue connecting to the central theme that they are interested in and are prepared to take responsibility for.

Once participants have decided on their approach to the core theme, they write their issue on a piece of paper, announce it to the group, pick a session time and place, and post the paper on the wall. As the wall fills up with sessions, the group is then invited to join the sessions that interest them the most and which they can contribute to, then you’re ready to begin!

Everyone joins the problem-solving group they’ve signed up to, record the discussion and if appropriate, findings can then be shared with the rest of the group afterward.

Open Space Technology   #action plan   #idea generation   #problem solving   #issue analysis   #large group   #online   #remote-friendly   Open Space is a methodology for large groups to create their agenda discerning important topics for discussion, suitable for conferences, community gatherings and whole system facilitation

Techniques to identify and analyze problems

Using a problem-solving method to help a team identify and analyze a problem can be a quick and effective addition to any workshop or meeting.

While further actions are always necessary, you can generate momentum and alignment easily, and these activities are a great place to get started.

We’ve put together this list of techniques to help you and your team with problem identification, analysis, and discussion that sets the foundation for developing effective solutions.

Let’s take a look!

• The Creativity Dice
• Fishbone Analysis
• Problem Tree
• SWOT Analysis
• Agreement-Certainty Matrix
• The Journalistic Six
• LEGO Challenge
• What, So What, Now What?
• Journalists

Individual and group perspectives are incredibly important, but what happens if people are set in their minds and need a change of perspective in order to approach a problem more effectively?

Flip It is a method we love because it is both simple to understand and run, and allows groups to understand how their perspectives and biases are formed. 

Participants in Flip It are first invited to consider concerns, issues, or problems from a perspective of fear and write them on a flip chart. Then, the group is asked to consider those same issues from a perspective of hope and flip their understanding.  

No problem and solution is free from existing bias and by changing perspectives with Flip It, you can then develop a problem solving model quickly and effectively.

Flip It!   #gamestorming   #problem solving   #action   Often, a change in a problem or situation comes simply from a change in our perspectives. Flip It! is a quick game designed to show players that perspectives are made, not born.

10. The Creativity Dice

One of the most useful problem solving skills you can teach your team is of approaching challenges with creativity, flexibility, and openness. Games like The Creativity Dice allow teams to overcome the potential hurdle of too much linear thinking and approach the process with a sense of fun and speed. 

In The Creativity Dice, participants are organized around a topic and roll a dice to determine what they will work on for a period of 3 minutes at a time. They might roll a 3 and work on investigating factual information on the chosen topic. They might roll a 1 and work on identifying the specific goals, standards, or criteria for the session.

Encouraging rapid work and iteration while asking participants to be flexible are great skills to cultivate. Having a stage for idea incubation in this game is also important. Moments of pause can help ensure the ideas that are put forward are the most suitable. 

The Creativity Dice   #creativity   #problem solving   #thiagi   #issue analysis   Too much linear thinking is hazardous to creative problem solving. To be creative, you should approach the problem (or the opportunity) from different points of view. You should leave a thought hanging in mid-air and move to another. This skipping around prevents premature closure and lets your brain incubate one line of thought while you consciously pursue another.

11. Fishbone Analysis

Organizational or team challenges are rarely simple, and it’s important to remember that one problem can be an indication of something that goes deeper and may require further consideration to be solved.

Fishbone Analysis helps groups to dig deeper and understand the origins of a problem. It’s a great example of a root cause analysis method that is simple for everyone on a team to get their head around. 

Participants in this activity are asked to annotate a diagram of a fish, first adding the problem or issue to be worked on at the head of a fish before then brainstorming the root causes of the problem and adding them as bones on the fish. 

Using abstractions such as a diagram of a fish can really help a team break out of their regular thinking and develop a creative approach.

Fishbone Analysis   #problem solving   ##root cause analysis   #decision making   #online facilitation   A process to help identify and understand the origins of problems, issues or observations.

12. Problem Tree 

Encouraging visual thinking can be an essential part of many strategies. By simply reframing and clarifying problems, a group can move towards developing a problem solving model that works for them. 

In Problem Tree, groups are asked to first brainstorm a list of problems – these can be design problems, team problems or larger business problems – and then organize them into a hierarchy. The hierarchy could be from most important to least important or abstract to practical, though the key thing with problem solving games that involve this aspect is that your group has some way of managing and sorting all the issues that are raised.

Once you have a list of problems that need to be solved and have organized them accordingly, you’re then well-positioned for the next problem solving steps.

Problem tree   #define intentions   #create   #design   #issue analysis   A problem tree is a tool to clarify the hierarchy of problems addressed by the team within a design project; it represents high level problems or related sublevel problems.

13. SWOT Analysis

Chances are you’ve heard of the SWOT Analysis before. This problem-solving method focuses on identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats is a tried and tested method for both individuals and teams.

Start by creating a desired end state or outcome and bare this in mind – any process solving model is made more effective by knowing what you are moving towards. Create a quadrant made up of the four categories of a SWOT analysis and ask participants to generate ideas based on each of those quadrants.

Once you have those ideas assembled in their quadrants, cluster them together based on their affinity with other ideas. These clusters are then used to facilitate group conversations and move things forward. 

SWOT analysis   #gamestorming   #problem solving   #action   #meeting facilitation   The SWOT Analysis is a long-standing technique of looking at what we have, with respect to the desired end state, as well as what we could improve on. It gives us an opportunity to gauge approaching opportunities and dangers, and assess the seriousness of the conditions that affect our future. When we understand those conditions, we can influence what comes next.

14. Agreement-Certainty Matrix

Not every problem-solving approach is right for every challenge, and deciding on the right method for the challenge at hand is a key part of being an effective team.

The Agreement Certainty matrix helps teams align on the nature of the challenges facing them. By sorting problems from simple to chaotic, your team can understand what methods are suitable for each problem and what they can do to ensure effective results. 

If you are already using Liberating Structures techniques as part of your problem-solving strategy, the Agreement-Certainty Matrix can be an invaluable addition to your process. We’ve found it particularly if you are having issues with recurring problems in your organization and want to go deeper in understanding the root cause. 

Agreement-Certainty Matrix   #issue analysis   #liberating structures   #problem solving   You can help individuals or groups avoid the frequent mistake of trying to solve a problem with methods that are not adapted to the nature of their challenge. The combination of two questions makes it possible to easily sort challenges into four categories: simple, complicated, complex , and chaotic .  A problem is simple when it can be solved reliably with practices that are easy to duplicate.  It is complicated when experts are required to devise a sophisticated solution that will yield the desired results predictably.  A problem is complex when there are several valid ways to proceed but outcomes are not predictable in detail.  Chaotic is when the context is too turbulent to identify a path forward.  A loose analogy may be used to describe these differences: simple is like following a recipe, complicated like sending a rocket to the moon, complex like raising a child, and chaotic is like the game “Pin the Tail on the Donkey.”  The Liberating Structures Matching Matrix in Chapter 5 can be used as the first step to clarify the nature of a challenge and avoid the mismatches between problems and solutions that are frequently at the root of chronic, recurring problems.

Organizing and charting a team’s progress can be important in ensuring its success. SQUID (Sequential Question and Insight Diagram) is a great model that allows a team to effectively switch between giving questions and answers and develop the skills they need to stay on track throughout the process. 

Begin with two different colored sticky notes – one for questions and one for answers – and with your central topic (the head of the squid) on the board. Ask the group to first come up with a series of questions connected to their best guess of how to approach the topic. Ask the group to come up with answers to those questions, fix them to the board and connect them with a line. After some discussion, go back to question mode by responding to the generated answers or other points on the board.

It’s rewarding to see a diagram grow throughout the exercise, and a completed SQUID can provide a visual resource for future effort and as an example for other teams.

SQUID   #gamestorming   #project planning   #issue analysis   #problem solving   When exploring an information space, it’s important for a group to know where they are at any given time. By using SQUID, a group charts out the territory as they go and can navigate accordingly. SQUID stands for Sequential Question and Insight Diagram.

16. Speed Boat

To continue with our nautical theme, Speed Boat is a short and sweet activity that can help a team quickly identify what employees, clients or service users might have a problem with and analyze what might be standing in the way of achieving a solution.

Methods that allow for a group to make observations, have insights and obtain those eureka moments quickly are invaluable when trying to solve complex problems.

In Speed Boat, the approach is to first consider what anchors and challenges might be holding an organization (or boat) back. Bonus points if you are able to identify any sharks in the water and develop ideas that can also deal with competitors!   

Speed Boat   #gamestorming   #problem solving   #action   Speedboat is a short and sweet way to identify what your employees or clients don’t like about your product/service or what’s standing in the way of a desired goal.

17. The Journalistic Six

Some of the most effective ways of solving problems is by encouraging teams to be more inclusive and diverse in their thinking.

Based on the six key questions journalism students are taught to answer in articles and news stories, The Journalistic Six helps create teams to see the whole picture. By using who, what, when, where, why, and how to facilitate the conversation and encourage creative thinking, your team can make sure that the problem identification and problem analysis stages of the are covered exhaustively and thoughtfully. Reporter’s notebook and dictaphone optional.

The Journalistic Six – Who What When Where Why How   #idea generation   #issue analysis   #problem solving   #online   #creative thinking   #remote-friendly   A questioning method for generating, explaining, investigating ideas.

18. LEGO Challenge

Now for an activity that is a little out of the (toy) box. LEGO Serious Play is a facilitation methodology that can be used to improve creative thinking and problem-solving skills. 

The LEGO Challenge includes giving each member of the team an assignment that is hidden from the rest of the group while they create a structure without speaking.

What the LEGO challenge brings to the table is a fun working example of working with stakeholders who might not be on the same page to solve problems. Also, it’s LEGO! Who doesn’t love LEGO! 

LEGO Challenge   #hyperisland   #team   A team-building activity in which groups must work together to build a structure out of LEGO, but each individual has a secret “assignment” which makes the collaborative process more challenging. It emphasizes group communication, leadership dynamics, conflict, cooperation, patience and problem solving strategy.

19. What, So What, Now What?

If not carefully managed, the problem identification and problem analysis stages of the problem-solving process can actually create more problems and misunderstandings.

The What, So What, Now What? problem-solving activity is designed to help collect insights and move forward while also eliminating the possibility of disagreement when it comes to identifying, clarifying, and analyzing organizational or work problems. 

Facilitation is all about bringing groups together so that might work on a shared goal and the best problem-solving strategies ensure that teams are aligned in purpose, if not initially in opinion or insight.

Throughout the three steps of this game, you give everyone on a team to reflect on a problem by asking what happened, why it is important, and what actions should then be taken. 

This can be a great activity for bringing our individual perceptions about a problem or challenge and contextualizing it in a larger group setting. This is one of the most important problem-solving skills you can bring to your organization.

W³ – What, So What, Now What?   #issue analysis   #innovation   #liberating structures   You can help groups reflect on a shared experience in a way that builds understanding and spurs coordinated action while avoiding unproductive conflict. It is possible for every voice to be heard while simultaneously sifting for insights and shaping new direction. Progressing in stages makes this practical—from collecting facts about What Happened to making sense of these facts with So What and finally to what actions logically follow with Now What . The shared progression eliminates most of the misunderstandings that otherwise fuel disagreements about what to do. Voila!

20. Journalists  

Problem analysis can be one of the most important and decisive stages of all problem-solving tools. Sometimes, a team can become bogged down in the details and are unable to move forward.

Journalists is an activity that can avoid a group from getting stuck in the problem identification or problem analysis stages of the process.

In Journalists, the group is invited to draft the front page of a fictional newspaper and figure out what stories deserve to be on the cover and what headlines those stories will have. By reframing how your problems and challenges are approached, you can help a team move productively through the process and be better prepared for the steps to follow.

Journalists   #vision   #big picture   #issue analysis   #remote-friendly   This is an exercise to use when the group gets stuck in details and struggles to see the big picture. Also good for defining a vision.

Problem-solving techniques for developing solutions 

The success of any problem-solving process can be measured by the solutions it produces. After you’ve defined the issue, explored existing ideas, and ideated, it’s time to narrow down to the correct solution.

Use these problem-solving techniques when you want to help your team find consensus, compare possible solutions, and move towards taking action on a particular problem.

• Improved Solutions
• Four-Step Sketch
• 15% Solutions
• How-Now-Wow matrix
• Impact Effort Matrix

21. Mindspin  

Brainstorming is part of the bread and butter of the problem-solving process and all problem-solving strategies benefit from getting ideas out and challenging a team to generate solutions quickly. 

With Mindspin, participants are encouraged not only to generate ideas but to do so under time constraints and by slamming down cards and passing them on. By doing multiple rounds, your team can begin with a free generation of possible solutions before moving on to developing those solutions and encouraging further ideation. 

This is one of our favorite problem-solving activities and can be great for keeping the energy up throughout the workshop. Remember the importance of helping people become engaged in the process – energizing problem-solving techniques like Mindspin can help ensure your team stays engaged and happy, even when the problems they’re coming together to solve are complex. 

MindSpin   #teampedia   #idea generation   #problem solving   #action   A fast and loud method to enhance brainstorming within a team. Since this activity has more than round ideas that are repetitive can be ruled out leaving more creative and innovative answers to the challenge.

22. Improved Solutions

After a team has successfully identified a problem and come up with a few solutions, it can be tempting to call the work of the problem-solving process complete. That said, the first solution is not necessarily the best, and by including a further review and reflection activity into your problem-solving model, you can ensure your group reaches the best possible result. 

One of a number of problem-solving games from Thiagi Group, Improved Solutions helps you go the extra mile and develop suggested solutions with close consideration and peer review. By supporting the discussion of several problems at once and by shifting team roles throughout, this problem-solving technique is a dynamic way of finding the best solution. 

Improved Solutions   #creativity   #thiagi   #problem solving   #action   #team   You can improve any solution by objectively reviewing its strengths and weaknesses and making suitable adjustments. In this creativity framegame, you improve the solutions to several problems. To maintain objective detachment, you deal with a different problem during each of six rounds and assume different roles (problem owner, consultant, basher, booster, enhancer, and evaluator) during each round. At the conclusion of the activity, each player ends up with two solutions to her problem.

23. Four Step Sketch

Creative thinking and visual ideation does not need to be confined to the opening stages of your problem-solving strategies. Exercises that include sketching and prototyping on paper can be effective at the solution finding and development stage of the process, and can be great for keeping a team engaged. 

By going from simple notes to a crazy 8s round that involves rapidly sketching 8 variations on their ideas before then producing a final solution sketch, the group is able to iterate quickly and visually. Problem-solving techniques like Four-Step Sketch are great if you have a group of different thinkers and want to change things up from a more textual or discussion-based approach.

Four-Step Sketch   #design sprint   #innovation   #idea generation   #remote-friendly   The four-step sketch is an exercise that helps people to create well-formed concepts through a structured process that includes: Review key information Start design work on paper,  Consider multiple variations , Create a detailed solution . This exercise is preceded by a set of other activities allowing the group to clarify the challenge they want to solve. See how the Four Step Sketch exercise fits into a Design Sprint

24. 15% Solutions

Some problems are simpler than others and with the right problem-solving activities, you can empower people to take immediate actions that can help create organizational change. 

Part of the liberating structures toolkit, 15% solutions is a problem-solving technique that focuses on finding and implementing solutions quickly. A process of iterating and making small changes quickly can help generate momentum and an appetite for solving complex problems.

Problem-solving strategies can live and die on whether people are onboard. Getting some quick wins is a great way of getting people behind the process.   

It can be extremely empowering for a team to realize that problem-solving techniques can be deployed quickly and easily and delineate between things they can positively impact and those things they cannot change. 

15% Solutions   #action   #liberating structures   #remote-friendly   You can reveal the actions, however small, that everyone can do immediately. At a minimum, these will create momentum, and that may make a BIG difference.  15% Solutions show that there is no reason to wait around, feel powerless, or fearful. They help people pick it up a level. They get individuals and the group to focus on what is within their discretion instead of what they cannot change.  With a very simple question, you can flip the conversation to what can be done and find solutions to big problems that are often distributed widely in places not known in advance. Shifting a few grains of sand may trigger a landslide and change the whole landscape.

25. How-Now-Wow Matrix

The problem-solving process is often creative, as complex problems usually require a change of thinking and creative response in order to find the best solutions. While it’s common for the first stages to encourage creative thinking, groups can often gravitate to familiar solutions when it comes to the end of the process. 

When selecting solutions, you don’t want to lose your creative energy! The How-Now-Wow Matrix from Gamestorming is a great problem-solving activity that enables a group to stay creative and think out of the box when it comes to selecting the right solution for a given problem.

Problem-solving techniques that encourage creative thinking and the ideation and selection of new solutions can be the most effective in organisational change. Give the How-Now-Wow Matrix a go, and not just for how pleasant it is to say out loud. 

How-Now-Wow Matrix   #gamestorming   #idea generation   #remote-friendly   When people want to develop new ideas, they most often think out of the box in the brainstorming or divergent phase. However, when it comes to convergence, people often end up picking ideas that are most familiar to them. This is called a ‘creative paradox’ or a ‘creadox’. The How-Now-Wow matrix is an idea selection tool that breaks the creadox by forcing people to weigh each idea on 2 parameters.

26. Impact and Effort Matrix

All problem-solving techniques hope to not only find solutions to a given problem or challenge but to find the best solution. When it comes to finding a solution, groups are invited to put on their decision-making hats and really think about how a proposed idea would work in practice. 

The Impact and Effort Matrix is one of the problem-solving techniques that fall into this camp, empowering participants to first generate ideas and then categorize them into a 2×2 matrix based on impact and effort.

Activities that invite critical thinking while remaining simple are invaluable. Use the Impact and Effort Matrix to move from ideation and towards evaluating potential solutions before then committing to them. 

Impact and Effort Matrix   #gamestorming   #decision making   #action   #remote-friendly   In this decision-making exercise, possible actions are mapped based on two factors: effort required to implement and potential impact. Categorizing ideas along these lines is a useful technique in decision making, as it obliges contributors to balance and evaluate suggested actions before committing to them.

27. Dotmocracy

If you’ve followed each of the problem-solving steps with your group successfully, you should move towards the end of your process with heaps of possible solutions developed with a specific problem in mind. But how do you help a group go from ideation to putting a solution into action? 

Dotmocracy – or Dot Voting -is a tried and tested method of helping a team in the problem-solving process make decisions and put actions in place with a degree of oversight and consensus. 

One of the problem-solving techniques that should be in every facilitator’s toolbox, Dot Voting is fast and effective and can help identify the most popular and best solutions and help bring a group to a decision effectively. 

Dotmocracy   #action   #decision making   #group prioritization   #hyperisland   #remote-friendly   Dotmocracy is a simple method for group prioritization or decision-making. It is not an activity on its own, but a method to use in processes where prioritization or decision-making is the aim. The method supports a group to quickly see which options are most popular or relevant. The options or ideas are written on post-its and stuck up on a wall for the whole group to see. Each person votes for the options they think are the strongest, and that information is used to inform a decision.

All facilitators know that warm-ups and icebreakers are useful for any workshop or group process. Problem-solving workshops are no different.

Use these problem-solving techniques to warm up a group and prepare them for the rest of the process. Activating your group by tapping into some of the top problem-solving skills can be one of the best ways to see great outcomes from your session.

• Check-in/Check-out
• Doodling Together
• Show and Tell
• Constellations
• Draw a Tree

28. Check-in / Check-out

Solid processes are planned from beginning to end, and the best facilitators know that setting the tone and establishing a safe, open environment can be integral to a successful problem-solving process.

Check-in / Check-out is a great way to begin and/or bookend a problem-solving workshop. Checking in to a session emphasizes that everyone will be seen, heard, and expected to contribute. 

If you are running a series of meetings, setting a consistent pattern of checking in and checking out can really help your team get into a groove. We recommend this opening-closing activity for small to medium-sized groups though it can work with large groups if they’re disciplined!

Check-in / Check-out   #team   #opening   #closing   #hyperisland   #remote-friendly   Either checking-in or checking-out is a simple way for a team to open or close a process, symbolically and in a collaborative way. Checking-in/out invites each member in a group to be present, seen and heard, and to express a reflection or a feeling. Checking-in emphasizes presence, focus and group commitment; checking-out emphasizes reflection and symbolic closure.

29. Doodling Together  

Thinking creatively and not being afraid to make suggestions are important problem-solving skills for any group or team, and warming up by encouraging these behaviors is a great way to start. 

Doodling Together is one of our favorite creative ice breaker games – it’s quick, effective, and fun and can make all following problem-solving steps easier by encouraging a group to collaborate visually. By passing cards and adding additional items as they go, the workshop group gets into a groove of co-creation and idea development that is crucial to finding solutions to problems. 

Doodling Together   #collaboration   #creativity   #teamwork   #fun   #team   #visual methods   #energiser   #icebreaker   #remote-friendly   Create wild, weird and often funny postcards together & establish a group’s creative confidence.

30. Show and Tell

You might remember some version of Show and Tell from being a kid in school and it’s a great problem-solving activity to kick off a session.

Asking participants to prepare a little something before a workshop by bringing an object for show and tell can help them warm up before the session has even begun! Games that include a physical object can also help encourage early engagement before moving onto more big-picture thinking.

By asking your participants to tell stories about why they chose to bring a particular item to the group, you can help teams see things from new perspectives and see both differences and similarities in the way they approach a topic. Great groundwork for approaching a problem-solving process as a team! 

Show and Tell   #gamestorming   #action   #opening   #meeting facilitation   Show and Tell taps into the power of metaphors to reveal players’ underlying assumptions and associations around a topic The aim of the game is to get a deeper understanding of stakeholders’ perspectives on anything—a new project, an organizational restructuring, a shift in the company’s vision or team dynamic.

31. Constellations

Who doesn’t love stars? Constellations is a great warm-up activity for any workshop as it gets people up off their feet, energized, and ready to engage in new ways with established topics. It’s also great for showing existing beliefs, biases, and patterns that can come into play as part of your session.

Using warm-up games that help build trust and connection while also allowing for non-verbal responses can be great for easing people into the problem-solving process and encouraging engagement from everyone in the group. Constellations is great in large spaces that allow for movement and is definitely a practical exercise to allow the group to see patterns that are otherwise invisible. 

Constellations   #trust   #connection   #opening   #coaching   #patterns   #system   Individuals express their response to a statement or idea by standing closer or further from a central object. Used with teams to reveal system, hidden patterns, perspectives.

32. Draw a Tree

Problem-solving games that help raise group awareness through a central, unifying metaphor can be effective ways to warm-up a group in any problem-solving model.

Draw a Tree is a simple warm-up activity you can use in any group and which can provide a quick jolt of energy. Start by asking your participants to draw a tree in just 45 seconds – they can choose whether it will be abstract or realistic. 

Once the timer is up, ask the group how many people included the roots of the tree and use this as a means to discuss how we can ignore important parts of any system simply because they are not visible.

All problem-solving strategies are made more effective by thinking of problems critically and by exposing things that may not normally come to light. Warm-up games like Draw a Tree are great in that they quickly demonstrate some key problem-solving skills in an accessible and effective way.

Draw a Tree   #thiagi   #opening   #perspectives   #remote-friendly   With this game you can raise awarness about being more mindful, and aware of the environment we live in.

Each step of the problem-solving workshop benefits from an intelligent deployment of activities, games, and techniques. Bringing your session to an effective close helps ensure that solutions are followed through on and that you also celebrate what has been achieved.

Here are some problem-solving activities you can use to effectively close a workshop or meeting and ensure the great work you’ve done can continue afterward.

• One Breath Feedback
• Who What When Matrix
• Response Cards

How do I conclude a problem-solving process?

All good things must come to an end. With the bulk of the work done, it can be tempting to conclude your workshop swiftly and without a moment to debrief and align. This can be problematic in that it doesn’t allow your team to fully process the results or reflect on the process.

At the end of an effective session, your team will have gone through a process that, while productive, can be exhausting. It’s important to give your group a moment to take a breath, ensure that they are clear on future actions, and provide short feedback before leaving the space. 

The primary purpose of any problem-solving method is to generate solutions and then implement them. Be sure to take the opportunity to ensure everyone is aligned and ready to effectively implement the solutions you produced in the workshop.

Remember that every process can be improved and by giving a short moment to collect feedback in the session, you can further refine your problem-solving methods and see further success in the future too.

33. One Breath Feedback

Maintaining attention and focus during the closing stages of a problem-solving workshop can be tricky and so being concise when giving feedback can be important. It’s easy to incur “death by feedback” should some team members go on for too long sharing their perspectives in a quick feedback round. 

One Breath Feedback is a great closing activity for workshops. You give everyone an opportunity to provide feedback on what they’ve done but only in the space of a single breath. This keeps feedback short and to the point and means that everyone is encouraged to provide the most important piece of feedback to them. 

One breath feedback   #closing   #feedback   #action   This is a feedback round in just one breath that excels in maintaining attention: each participants is able to speak during just one breath … for most people that’s around 20 to 25 seconds … unless of course you’ve been a deep sea diver in which case you’ll be able to do it for longer.

34. Who What When Matrix 

Matrices feature as part of many effective problem-solving strategies and with good reason. They are easily recognizable, simple to use, and generate results.

The Who What When Matrix is a great tool to use when closing your problem-solving session by attributing a who, what and when to the actions and solutions you have decided upon. The resulting matrix is a simple, easy-to-follow way of ensuring your team can move forward. 

Great solutions can’t be enacted without action and ownership. Your problem-solving process should include a stage for allocating tasks to individuals or teams and creating a realistic timeframe for those solutions to be implemented or checked out. Use this method to keep the solution implementation process clear and simple for all involved. 

Who/What/When Matrix   #gamestorming   #action   #project planning   With Who/What/When matrix, you can connect people with clear actions they have defined and have committed to.

35. Response cards

Group discussion can comprise the bulk of most problem-solving activities and by the end of the process, you might find that your team is talked out! 

Providing a means for your team to give feedback with short written notes can ensure everyone is head and can contribute without the need to stand up and talk. Depending on the needs of the group, giving an alternative can help ensure everyone can contribute to your problem-solving model in the way that makes the most sense for them.

Response Cards is a great way to close a workshop if you are looking for a gentle warm-down and want to get some swift discussion around some of the feedback that is raised. 

Response Cards   #debriefing   #closing   #structured sharing   #questions and answers   #thiagi   #action   It can be hard to involve everyone during a closing of a session. Some might stay in the background or get unheard because of louder participants. However, with the use of Response Cards, everyone will be involved in providing feedback or clarify questions at the end of a session.

Save time and effort discovering the right solutions

A structured problem solving process is a surefire way of solving tough problems, discovering creative solutions and driving organizational change. But how can you design for successful outcomes?

With SessionLab, it’s easy to design engaging workshops that deliver results. Drag, drop and reorder blocks  to build your agenda. When you make changes or update your agenda, your session  timing   adjusts automatically , saving you time on manual adjustments.

Collaborating with stakeholders or clients? Share your agenda with a single click and collaborate in real-time. No more sending documents back and forth over email.

Explore  how to use SessionLab  to design effective problem solving workshops or  watch this five minute video  to see the planner in action!

Over to you

The problem-solving process can often be as complicated and multifaceted as the problems they are set-up to solve. With the right problem-solving techniques and a mix of creative exercises designed to guide discussion and generate purposeful ideas, we hope we’ve given you the tools to find the best solutions as simply and easily as possible.

Is there a problem-solving technique that you are missing here? Do you have a favorite activity or method you use when facilitating? Let us know in the comments below, we’d love to hear from you! 

thank you very much for these excellent techniques

Certainly wonderful article, very detailed. Shared!

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Table of Contents

Introduction & Why use the 7 QC Tools?

The 7 QC tools help to analyze the data and are most helpful in problem-solving methods. It is the fundamental tool to improve our product and process quality by identifying and analyzing the problems.

As per the Deming chain to achieve the organizational goal, we must tackle the product & process-related problems, and analyze these problems we get help from 7 QC tools. These 7 QC tools give us the analytical and statistical competence to solve the problems .

What are 7 QC tools?

7 Basic Quality techniques

• Pareto Charts
• Cause and Effect Diagrams
• Check sheet
• Scatter Diagrams
• Control Charts
• Flow Charts

Pareto Chart

• Prioritize problems.
• Pareto Charts are used to apply the 80/20 rule of Joseph Juran which states that 80% of the problems are the result of 20% of the problems. A Pareto Chart can be used to identify 20% of route causes of problems.

How is it done?

• Create a preliminary list of problem classifications.
• Tally the occurrences in each problem classification.
• Arrange each classification in order from highest to lowest
• Construct the bar chart

• Pareto analysis helps graphically display results so the significant few problems emerge from the general background
• It tells you what to work on first

To know the detail of What Pareto Principle is?, How to Make Pareto in Excel?

Cause & Effect Analysis

• Graphical representation of the trial leading to the root cause of a problem
• It’s a diagram that demonstrates the relationship between Effects and the categories of their causes
• The Arrangement of the Diagram lets it look like a fishbone it is therefore also called a fish-bone diagram
• Decide which quality characteristic , outcome, or effect you want to examine (may use a Pareto chart)
• Backbone –draw a straight line
• Ribs – categories
• Medium-size bones –secondary causes
• Small bones – root causes

• Breaks problems down into bite-size pieces to find the root cause
• Fosters teamwork
• A common understanding of the factors causing the problem
• Road map to verify picture of the process
• Follows brainstorming relationship

To learn in detail How to create a cause and effect diagram (Fishbone diagram)?

• A Histogram is a bar graph
• To determine the spread or variation of a set of data points in a graphical form
• usually used to present frequency

• Collect data, 50-100 data point
• Determine the range of the data
• Calculate the size of the class interval
• Divide data points into classes Determine the class boundary
• Count # of data points in each class
• Draw the histogram
• Allows you to understand at a glance the variation that exists in a process
• The shape of the histogram will show process behavior
•  Often, it will tell you to dig deeper for otherwise unseen causes of variation.
• The shape and size of the dispersion will help identify otherwise hidden sources of variation
•  Used to determine the capability of a process
• The starting point for the improvement process

Check Sheet

• Tool for collecting and organizing measured or counted data
• Data collected can be used as input data for other quality tools
• Collect data in a systematic and organized manner
• To determine the source of the problem
• To facilitate the classification of data (stratification).

Scatter Diagram

• To identify the correlations that might exist between a quality characteristic and a factor that might be driving it
• A scatter diagram shows the correlation between two variables in a process.
• These variables could be Critical to Quality (CTQ) characteristic s and a factor affecting it two factors affecting a CTQ or two related quality characteristics.
•  Dots representing data points are scattered on the diagram.
• The extent to which the dots cluster together in a line across the diagram shows the strength.
• Decide which paired factors you want to examine. Both factors must be measurable on some incremental linear scale.
• Collect 30 to 100 paired data points.
• Find the highest and lowest value for both variables.
• Draw the vertical (y) and horizontal (x) axes of a graph.
• Plot the data
• Title the diagram

The shape that the cluster of dots takes will tell you something about the relationship between the two variables that you tested.

You may occasionally get scatter diagrams that look boomerang- or banana-shaped.

• To analyze the strength of the correlation, divide the scatter plot into two sections.
• Treat each half separately in your analysis
• Helps identify and test probable causes. 
• By knowing which elements of your process are related and how they are related, you will know what to control or what to vary to affect a quality characteristic.

Control Chart

• The primary purpose of a control chart is to predict expected product outcomes.
• Statistical tool, showing whether a process is in control or not.
• Taking samples of a process and detecting the possibility of the process being out of control

How does it Work?

• Define Upper limit, lower limit, and medium value
• Draw Chart.
• Gather values and draw them into the chart
• Predict process out of control and out of specification limits
• Distinguish between specific, identifiable causes of variation
• Can be used for statistical process control

Strategy for eliminating assignable-cause variation:

• Get timely data so that you see the effect of the assignable cause soon after it occurs.
• As soon as you see something that indicates that an assignable cause of variation has happened, search for the cause.
• Change tools to compensate for the assignable cause.

Strategy for reducing common-cause variation:

• Do not attempt to explain the difference between any of the values or data points produced by a stable system in control.
• Reducing common-cause variation usually requires making fundamental changes in your process
• Visual illustration of the sequence of operations required to complete a task.
• Schematic drawing of the process to measure or improve.
• The starting point for process improvement
• A potential weakness in the process is made visual.
• Picture the process as it should be.
• Way of representing a Procedure using simple symbols and arrows
• List major steps
• Write the process step inside each symbol
• Connect the Symbols with arrows showing the direction of the flow
• List sub-steps under each in the order they occur

• Identify process improvements
• Understand the process
• Shows duplicated effort and other non-value-added steps
• Clarify working relationships between people and organizations
• Target specific steps in the process for improvement.
• Simplest of all flowcharts
• Used for planning new processes or examining an existing one
• Keep people focused on the whole process
• Show what happens at each step in the process
• Show what happens when non-standard events occur
• Graphically display processes to identify redundancies and other wasted efforts

Benefits of all – Tool-wise

Related posts.

Cost of Quality | Quality engineer essential guide

Total Quality Management (TQM) Fundamentals

SIPOC – The complete guide

Root cause analysis

Control Charts & Types of control chart

7 Management and Planning Tools

• Skip to main content

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Quality Control Tools

“A man and his tools make a man and his trade” – Vita Sackville-West

As a Quality Engineer one of the most important skills you need is the ability to solve a problem or improve a process .

To do this successfully, you need the proper tools. In fact, there are 7 specific tool that you must know.

Kaoru Ishikawa once said “ As much as 95% of quality problems can be solved with seven fundamental quantitative tools ”.

These tools were first categorized as Quality Control Tools by Ishikawa in his book Introduction to Quality Control .

Does it seem odd that we’re in the Continuous Improvement section talking about Quality Control & Problem Solving ?

It shouldn’t – problem solving is continuous improvement .

Improvements happen when we solve problems.

So, what are these 7 fundamental tools for problem solving & continuous improvement:

Flow Charts

Check sheets, pareto charts, cause & effect diagrams, control charts, scatter diagrams.

Within this chapter, we will discuss when to use each tool along with how to construct and analyze them.

So why are these seven tools so effective?

They all share two characteristics that make them very effective in problem solving (and continuous improvement).

First – they are all visual tools . You’ve heard the saying – a picture is worth a thousand words . These tools prove that point.

Second – they all deal with facts or data , not opinions or conjecture.

Problems are solved with facts and data .

Improvements are made with facts and data .

When we combine a fact-based approach with a visual tool we are able to solve problems more easily .

The other comment I’ll make about these tools is that they are often used in combination with each other, and I’ll provide examples of that as we go through each tool.

Lastly, I wanted to provide a link to a Youtube Playlist for the 7 QC Tools .

Let’s get started with the flow diagram.

A Flow Chart is a visual tool that depicts the flow or sequence of a process . This can include the flow of information, tasks, people, material or decision .

The Flow Chart’s value lies in its ability to visually communicate the steps and sequence of a process.

The Flow Chart makes the complex become simple, and promotes a common understanding of a process, which is the foundation for improvement.

The Flowchart is an excellent starting point in the Problem-Solving Process , as it allows your problem-solving team to see the entire process and identify improvements.

Flow Charts are also powerful in their application. You can make them super detailed, or you can stay at a high level, depending on the goal of the flow chart.

One common mistake with flow charts is that they are often created in a conference room, away from where the process actually occurs.

There will always be a difference between the “theoretical” process that you believe is occurring, and the actual process that’s occurring.

You must go and see for yourself (Gemba), to truly understand the actual process.   Go and talk with the folks who actually work the process to truly understand the process.

Common Flow Chart Symbols

To facilitate the communication process, it’s generally acceptable to use standard symbols with your flow charts. This will ensure consistency and reduce miss-communication.

Flow Chart Example

Let’s say we’re a manufacturer of toasters, and we’ve been asked to put together a high-level flow diagram of the entire manufacturing process.

Remember, each of these steps in the process could have its own more detailed flow chart.

Solving problems and making improvements requires data . Period.

The check sheet is a simple tool for collecting, organizing and analyzing data .

I would argue that when you combine the simplicity of the check sheet with the potential value associated with the collected data that the check sheet is the most powerful QC tool.

A Check Sheet is normally a table with defined rows and columns where the data collected is usually 1 check mark within each category. However, you can modify this concept of a data collection tool to meet a variety of different needs.

The example above is very simply. Almost too simple.

The best check sheets contain something more than data, they contain meta data .

Meta data is data about the data – like who collected the data, when (date, shift or time) the data was collected, and where (location, line, equipment number) there data collection took place.

Without this meta data, the actual data can become ambiguous and lose its integrity ( think data integrity ).

A good check sheet is designed to have clear, unique & unambiguous data collection categories . If necessary , standard work (work instructions) can be created and distributed with the check sheet to ensure data is collected appropriately.

This can include illustrations to go along with the check sheet.

Let’s say we go back to our toaster example and see what a check sheet for final assembly rejects might look like. This also includes the meta data and illustrations to go along with it.

This data can then be fed into a pareto chart to identify the “critical few” defects (Hint, it’s the electrical defect).

The Pareto Chart is a bar chart that allows for analysis of data in search of the Pareto Principle or the 80/20 rule .

The 80/20 rule was first identified by an Italian researcher, Vilfredo Pareto , who was studying wealth and land ownership in Europe, and found that 80% of the land in Europe was owned by 20% of the population.

What Pareto did not realize is that this 80/20 rule is a universal principle , and can be applied to a lot more than wealth distribution.

The 80/20 rule was popularized by Joseph Juran , who names the Pareto Chart after Vilfredo Pareto.

Juran went on to say that the Pareto Chart helps us separate the vital few from the trivial many .

Essentially, the pareto chart is a prioritization tool that allows us to focus on the issues that are causing the biggest problem, and thus maximize our impact.

Mechanically, the Pareto Chart is simply a bar chart that displays data that from various discrete categories . This data might come from a check sheet .

The categories of data are typically arranged from greatest to least on the X-axis.

The Y-axis is a count of defects , but this number can be cost , or any other variable.  Pareto Charts also frequently include a cumulative frequency line to assist in the analysis.

Let’s analyze this our Pareto Chart quickly. There are 15 total defect conditions (A-N).

The top 3 defects (Defects A, B & C) make up only 20% (3 out of 15) of the defect conditions, however they contribute to 72% of the total number defects .

IF we could eliminate just these 3 defect conditions, we could eliminate 72% of the defects.

That’s the Pareto Chart and the 80/20 Rule at work.

The Cause and Effect diagram is a visual tool to explore all the potential factors that may be causing or contributing to a particular problem (effect).

This tool was popularized by Kaoru Ishikawa and allows you to graphically capture all the potential causes of a problem , then select those which require further investigation.

The Cause & Effect Diagram is also commonly referred to as the Fishbone Diagram, the Ishikawa Diagram, Cause & Effect Matrix, C&E Diagram or the C-E Diagram.

The cause and effect diagram can be completed as part of a 3-step process.

Step 1 is to agree on the problem statement, this is the negative “effect” you’re experiencing. This might seem simple, but it’s important to align on the problem statement prior to continuing.

Step 2 is the brainstorming process which is facilitated by the 8M’s of the fishbone process (below) , and should be used with a process flow chart and 5-Why technique to truly identify causes, and not simply stop at symptoms.

The Ishikawa diagram has 8 major categories (The 8M’s) that might contribute to your problem which include:

• Man – How do Humans interact with your product/process/equipment and how could that contribute to your problem.
• Machine – What type of equipment or machinery are used in your process and how could a deviation here contribute to your problem.
• Method – What type of process/procedure do you follow and what potential issues might contribute to your problem.
• Materials – What type of material is used and how could any material deviations contribute to your problem.
• Mother Nature – How does the environment interact with your product/process in a way that might contribute to your problem.
• Measurements – What type of measurements and measurement equipment do you use and how might this relate to the problem.
• Management – What are the attitudes, outlooks & priorities of management and how could this be contributing to your problem.
• Maintenance – What type of maintenance/calibration activities are being performed on your machines or measurement equipment that could be contributing to your problem.

Once you’ve brainstormed and created a list of potential causes and contributing factors , you can move on to Step 3.

Step 3 is to prioritize an action plan of investigation steps that will help confirm or exclude the potential causes and factors.

Another underrated characteristic of the Cause & Effect Diagram is its effectiveness as a communication aid . Especially when you’re dealing with a very complex issue.

Let’s go through a quick example

Cause & Effect Example

Let’s say you’re a Toaster Manufacturer and you received a customer complaint for a toaster that is not toasting.

Step 1 in the Cause and Effect process is to agree on a problem statement : The Toaster is not toasting.

With more data we could refine this problem statement to improve the brainstorming, but for now we will leave it generic.

We can always refine the problem statement as the investigation progresses.

Then we can go through the brainstorming process using the 8M’s to identify potential causes and contributing factors that require further investigation.

You can see here we’ve excluded maintenance, machines and Management, and identified potential causes and contributing factors in other areas.

We can also prioritize the most likely contributing factors which should give the investigation actions to conclude the root cause of the problem.

For example, we agree that the most likely root cause is a faulty heating element, and we will focus our investigation here first.

A control chart is a statistically based tool that analyzes the variation of a process .

A control chart is a time-based line graph that reflects the behavior of a process over time including normal variation and any special cause variation.

A control chart can also be described as a visual communication tool that graphs analyzed data in real-time and reflects the stability of a process .

Remember – A good process is a stable process – we want stability.

An unstable process is unpredictable and results in both problems, and is a clear opportunity for improvement.

The details of the control chart, including the various kinds, how to create them, and how to analyze them can be found in the Statistical Process Control chapter.

This section is a high-level summary of the control chart , along with how it can be used to solve problems and improve processes.

The control chart contains upper and lower control limits that are statistically based, which allow the user to identifying instances where the process appears to be behaving abnormally.

These control limits and centerline represent the “voice of the process” and are simply a reflection of the process – both the average value of your process and the natural variation of the process.

The primary benefit of a control chart is its unique ability to separate the normal variation within your process from the special cause variation.

Special cause variation causes problems .  It represents an opportunity for improvement .

Normal cause variation can also be an opportunity for improvement, however reducing normal cause variation can be difficult because it can often require making substantial changes to the process itself.

Using control charts allows you to proactively monitor your process , detect when a problem is occurring (or has occurred), which is the starting point for an improvement project.

A control chart is like a scoreboard . It can be used at the end of an improvement project to indicate if an improvement was successful or not.

A Scatter diagram is a visual analysis tool that is meant to reflect the possible relationship between two variables .

The Scatter Plot visually plots pairs of data on an X-Y graph in order to reveal the relationship between the data sets.

This section will summarize the scatter diagram at a high level, and the Relationship Between Variables Chapter in Statistics will cover this topic in detail.

The relationship between the two variables can be positive, negative or non-existent. The strength of the relationship can also be analyzed visually by how closely the points fall on the line of best fit.

The strength of that relationship can be expressed mathematically using the Pearson Correlation Coefficient , which is a number that ranges from a strong positive correlation (+1) to a strong negative correlation (-1).

Scatter Plots require pairs of data , one set of data in the pair is normally referred to as the Independent Variable (X) with the second half of the data set being your observed measurement also known as the Dependent Variable (Y).

When a Positive Correlation exists between two variables a positive increase can be expected from the dependent variable (Y) when the intendent variable (X) increases.

The opposite is true for the Negative correlation . A negative correlation means that when the independent variable (X) increases, the dependent variable (Y) will decrease.

No Correlation results when the two variables have no measurable effect on each other. That is a change in X, does not impact Y.

The scatter plot is often used in the problem-solving process when we’re studying a process to understand which input variables (independent variables) are contributing to a negative outcome in a response variable (dependent variable).

This chart is fairly easy to create using tools like excel or other statistical analysis packages, we can collect data using a check sheet, and we’re specifically collecting paired data.

Let’s take a look at an example of how we could use a scatter diagram to analyze two variables and assess the relationship between them.

Scatter Diagram Example

FYI – below is a hypothetical situation. I’ve created this data as an example, however I believe the conclusions are likely accurate 😊.

Let’s say that I’m studying the various factors that affect performance on the CQE Exam .

I hypothesis that there is a relationship between quiz scores and the ultimate exam score.

So I run an experiment where I work with 14 people and have them take a quiz before the exam to determine if a relationship exists between these two variables .

Ultimately, I’d like to be able to predict their exam score based on the quiz score .

So I’ve taken these pairs of data, with the Quiz Score as the Independent Variable (X), and the Exam Score as the Dependent Variable and analyzed them using a Scatter Diagram.

Each pair of data represents a dot on the Scatter Plot, and I’ve included a linear regression line to reflect the relationship between these variables.

This scatter diagram indicates that a strong positive correlation exists between these two variables (r = 0.8).

If you do well on the quiz, you’re likely going to do well on the exam.

But can doing well on a quiz CAUSE you to do well on the exam. No.

This is a good opportunity to warn you about the difference between correlation and causation.

This is an example of correlation without causation.

These two variables highly correlate with each other because there are other factors like study time, study habits, or job performance that are CAUSING you to do well on both variables.

So, if you really want to do well on the exam, create healthy study habits, invest your time to study, reflect on what you’ve learned, put that into action and you will do well on the exam (and the quiz).

It’s not to say that this quiz is without value though. The quiz is an indicator of potential success on the exam .

You might have indicators like this in your process that perhaps do not relate back to quality or cost, but they can indicate if a problem exists.

The Histogram is a tool used to visualize the distribution of continuous data .

More specifically, a Histogram is a type of Bar Chart that graphs the frequency of occurrence of continuous data and is a useful tool for displaying, summarizing and analyzing data .

Variation is all around us.

Every process or product has some level of variation.

Every data set you collect will have variation in it, and this variation will exist in a “Pattern”.

And the best way to see or understand this Pattern of variation is to graph your data using a Histogram.

There are different patterns of variation that may be revealed in a Histogram. The most common distributions, and their analysis, are discussed within the Probability Distribution section of Statistics , and 3 examples are shown below.

Typically, a distribution can be characterized by the central tendency of the data (Mean, Median Mode), and the “ variation ” ( range, standard deviation, etc ) within the data.

Within the next section on Statistics , you’ll learn that many concepts and tools assume that data is normally distributed .

The histogram is a visual tool you can use as a gut check to see if your data set is approximately normal .

Lastly, in terms of creating a histogram, this can be done in excel, and many statistical software packages will create histograms for you, so I won’t go into that detail here.

As a Quality Engineer one of the most important skills you can have, is the ability to solve a problem or improve a process .

To do this successfully, you need to be able to apply the 7 QC Tools.

These 7 tools combine a fact-based approach with a visual tool that makes solving problems easier.

Below is a quick and simple review of the definition for each of the 7 tools discussed within this chapter.

A Flow Chart is a visual tool that depicts the flow or sequence of a process . This can include the flow of information, tasks, people, parts, material , etc.

A Histogram is a type of Bar Chart that graphs the frequency of occurrence of continuous data and is a useful tool for displaying, summarizing and analyzing data .

Next Chapter: Continuous Improvement Techniques

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What Is Problem Solving?

By the Mind Tools Content Team

We all spend a lot of our time solving problems, both at work and in our personal lives.

Some problems are small, and we can quickly sort them out ourselves. But others are complex challenges that take collaboration, creativity, and a considerable amount of effort to solve.

At work, the types of problems we face depend largely on the organizations we're in and the jobs we do. A manager in a cleaning company, for example, might spend their day untangling staffing issues, resolving client complaints, and sorting out problems with equipment and supplies. An aircraft designer, on the other hand, might be grappling with a problem about aerodynamics, or trying to work out why a new safety feature isn't working. Meanwhile, a politician might be exploring solutions to racial injustice or climate change.

But whatever issues we face, there are some common ways to tackle them effectively. And we can all boost our confidence and ability to succeed by building a strong set of problem-solving skills.

Mind Tools offers a large collection of resources to help you do just that!

How Well Do You Solve Problems?

Start by taking an honest look at your existing skills. What's your current approach to solving problems, and how well is it working? Our quiz, How Good Is Your Problem Solving? lets you analyze your abilities, and signposts ways to address any areas of weakness.

Define Every Problem

The first step in solving a problem is understanding what that problem actually is. You need to be sure that you're dealing with the real problem – not its symptoms. For example, if performance in your department is substandard, you might think that the problem lies with the individuals submitting work. However, if you look a bit deeper, the real issue might be a general lack of training, or an unreasonable workload across the team.

Tools like 5 Whys , Appreciation and Root Cause Analysis get you asking the right questions, and help you to work through the layers of a problem to uncover what's really going on.

However, defining a problem doesn't mean deciding how to solve it straightaway. It's important to look at the issue from a variety of perspectives. If you commit yourself too early, you can end up with a short-sighted solution. The CATWOE checklist provides a powerful reminder to look at many elements that may contribute to the problem, keeping you open to a variety of possible solutions.

Understanding Complexity

As you define your problem, you'll often discover just how complicated it is. There are likely several interrelated issues involved. That's why it's important to have ways to visualize, simplify and make sense of this tangled mess!

Affinity Diagrams are great for organizing many different pieces of information into common themes, and for understanding the relationships between them.

Another popular tool is the Cause-and-Effect Diagram . To generate viable solutions, you need a solid understanding of what's causing the problem.

When your problem occurs within a business process, creating a Flow Chart , Swim Lane Diagram or a Systems Diagram will help you to see how various activities and inputs fit together. This may well highlight a missing element or bottleneck that's causing your problem.

Quite often, what seems to be a single problem turns out to be a whole series of problems. The Drill Down technique prompts you to split your problem into smaller, more manageable parts.

General Problem-Solving Tools

When you understand the problem in front of you, you’re ready to start solving it. With your definition to guide you, you can generate several possible solutions, choose the best one, then put it into action. That's the four-step approach at the heart of good problem solving.

There are various problem-solving styles to use. For example:

• Constructive Controversy is a way of widening perspectives and energizing discussions.
• Inductive Reasoning makes the most of people’s experiences and know-how, and can speed up solution finding.
• Means-End Analysis can bring extra clarity to your thinking, and kick-start the process of implementing solutions.

Specific Problem-Solving Systems

Some particularly complicated or important problems call for a more comprehensive process. Again, Mind Tools has a range of approaches to try, including:

• Simplex , which involves an eight-stage process: problem finding, fact finding, defining the problem, idea finding, selecting and evaluating, planning, selling the idea, and acting. These steps build upon the basic, four-step process described above, and they create a cycle of problem finding and solving that will continually improve your organization.
• Appreciative Inquiry , which is a uniquely positive way of solving problems by examining what's working well in the areas surrounding them.
• Soft Systems Methodology , which takes you through four stages to uncover more details about what's creating your problem, and then define actions that will improve the situation.

Further Problem-Solving Strategies

Good problem solving requires a number of other skills – all of which are covered by Mind Tools.

For example, we have a large section of resources to improve your Creativity , so that you come up with a range of possible solutions.

By strengthening your Decision Making , you'll be better at evaluating the options, selecting the best ones, then choosing how to implement them.

And our Project Management collection has valuable advice for strengthening the whole problem-solving process. The resources there will help you to make effective changes – and then keep them working long term.

Problems are an inescapable part of life, both in and out of work. So we can all benefit from having strong problem-solving skills.

It's important to understand your current approach to problem solving, and to know where and how to improve.

Define every problem you encounter – and understand its complexity, rather than trying to solve it too soon.

There's a range of general problem-solving approaches, helping you to generate possible answers, choose the best ones, and then implement your solution.

Some complicated or serious problems require more specific problem-solving systems, especially when they relate to business processes.

By boosting your creativity, decision-making and project-management skills, you’ll become even better at solving all the problems you face.

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7 Problem-Solving Skills That Can Help You Be a More Successful Manager

Discover what problem-solving is, and why it's important for managers. Understand the steps of the process and learn about seven problem-solving skills.

1Managers oversee the day-to-day operations of a particular department, and sometimes a whole company, using their problem-solving skills regularly. Managers with good problem-solving skills can help ensure companies run smoothly and prosper.

If you're a current manager or are striving to become one, read this guide to discover what problem-solving skills are and why it's important for managers to have them. Learn the steps of the problem-solving process, and explore seven skills that can help make problem-solving easier and more effective.

What is problem-solving?

Problem-solving is both an ability and a process. As an ability, problem-solving can aid in resolving issues faced in different environments like home, school, abroad, and social situations, among others. As a process, problem-solving involves a series of steps for finding solutions to questions or concerns that arise throughout life.

The importance of problem-solving for managers

Managers deal with problems regularly, whether supervising a staff of two or 100. When people solve problems quickly and effectively, workplaces can benefit in a number of ways. These include:

Greater creativity

Higher productivity

Increased job fulfillment

Satisfied clients or customers

Better cooperation and cohesion

Improved environments for employees and customers

7 skills that make problem-solving easier

Companies depend on managers who can solve problems adeptly. Although problem-solving is a skill in its own right, a subset of seven skills can help make the process of problem-solving easier. These include analysis, communication, emotional intelligence, resilience, creativity, adaptability, and teamwork.

1. Analysis

As a manager , you'll solve each problem by assessing the situation first. Then, you’ll use analytical skills to distinguish between ineffective and effective solutions.

2. Communication

Effective communication plays a significant role in problem-solving, particularly when others are involved. Some skills that can help enhance communication at work include active listening, speaking with an even tone and volume, and supporting verbal information with written communication.

3. Emotional intelligence

Emotional intelligence is the ability to recognize and manage emotions in any situation. People with emotional intelligence usually solve problems calmly and systematically, which often yields better results.

4. Resilience

Emotional intelligence and resilience are closely related traits. Resiliency is the ability to cope with and bounce back quickly from difficult situations. Those who possess resilience are often capable of accurately interpreting people and situations, which can be incredibly advantageous when difficulties arise.

5. Creativity 

When brainstorming solutions to problems, creativity can help you to think outside the box. Problem-solving strategies can be enhanced with the application of creative techniques. You can use creativity to:

Approach problems from different angles

Improve your problem-solving process

Spark creativity in your employees and peers

6. Adaptability

Adaptability is the capacity to adjust to change. When a particular solution to an issue doesn't work, an adaptable person can revisit the concern to think up another one without getting frustrated.

7. Teamwork

Finding a solution to a problem regularly involves working in a team. Good teamwork requires being comfortable working with others and collaborating with them, which can result in better problem-solving overall.

Steps of the problem-solving process

Effective problem-solving involves five essential steps. One way to remember them is through the IDEAL model created in 1984 by psychology professors John D. Bransford and Barry S. Stein [ 1 ]. The steps to solving problems in this model include: identifying that there is a problem, defining the goals you hope to achieve, exploring potential solutions, choosing a solution and acting on it, and looking at (or evaluating) the outcome.

1. Identify that there is a problem and root out its cause.

To solve a problem, you must first admit that one exists to then find its root cause. Finding the cause of the problem may involve asking questions like:

Can the problem be solved?

How big of a problem is it?

Why do I think the problem is occurring?

What are some things I know about the situation?

What are some things I don't know about the situation?

Are there any people who contributed to the problem?

Are there materials or processes that contributed to the problem?

Are there any patterns I can identify?

2. Define the goals you hope to achieve.

Every problem is different. The goals you hope to achieve when problem-solving depend on the scope of the problem. Some examples of goals you might set include:

Gather as much factual information as possible.

Brainstorm many different strategies to come up with the best one.

Be flexible when considering other viewpoints.

Articulate clearly and encourage questions, so everyone involved is on the same page.

Be open to other strategies if the chosen strategy doesn't work.

Stay positive throughout the process.

3. Explore potential solutions.

Once you've defined the goals you hope to achieve when problem-solving , it's time to start the process. This involves steps that often include fact-finding, brainstorming, prioritizing solutions, and assessing the cost of top solutions in terms of time, labor, and money.

4. Choose a solution and act on it.

Evaluate the pros and cons of each potential solution, and choose the one most likely to solve the problem within your given budget, abilities, and resources. Once you choose a solution, it's important to make a commitment and see it through. Draw up a plan of action for implementation, and share it with all involved parties clearly and effectively, both verbally and in writing. Make sure everyone understands their role for a successful conclusion.

5. Look at (or evaluate) the outcome.

Evaluation offers insights into your current situation and future problem-solving. When evaluating the outcome, ask yourself questions like:

Did the solution work?

Will this solution work for other problems?

Were there any changes you would have made?

Would another solution have worked better?

As a current or future manager looking to build your problem-solving skills, it is often helpful to take a professional course. Consider Improving Communication Skills offered by the University of Pennsylvania on Coursera. You'll learn how to boost your ability to persuade, ask questions, negotiate, apologize, and more. 

You might also consider taking Emotional Intelligence: Cultivating Immensely Human Interactions , offered by the University of Michigan on Coursera. You'll explore the interpersonal and intrapersonal skills common to people with emotional intelligence, and you'll learn how emotional intelligence is connected to team success and leadership.

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Article sources

Tennessee Tech. “ The Ideal Problem Solver (2nd ed.) , https://www.tntech.edu/cat/pdf/useful_links/idealproblemsolver.pdf.” Accessed December 6, 2022.

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Master the 7-Step Problem-Solving Process for Better Decision-Making

Discover the powerful 7-Step Problem-Solving Process to make better decisions and achieve better outcomes. Master the art of problem-solving in this comprehensive guide. Download the Free PowerPoint and PDF Template.

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Introduction

Mastering the art of problem-solving is crucial for making better decisions. Whether you're a student, a business owner, or an employee, problem-solving skills can help you tackle complex issues and find practical solutions. The 7-Step Problem-Solving Process is a proven method that can help you approach problems systematically and efficiently.

The 7-Step Problem-Solving Process involves steps that guide you through the problem-solving process. The first step is to define the problem, followed by disaggregating the problem into smaller, more manageable parts. Next, you prioritize the features and create a work plan to address each. Then, you analyze each piece, synthesize the information, and communicate your findings to others.

By following this process, you can avoid jumping to conclusions, overlooking important details, or making hasty decisions. Instead, you can approach problems with a clear and structured mindset, which can help you make better decisions and achieve better outcomes.

In this article, we'll explore each step of the 7-Step Problem-Solving Process in detail so you can start mastering this valuable skill. You can download the process's free PowerPoint and PDF templates at the end of the blog post .

Step 1: Define the Problem

The first step in the problem-solving process is to define the problem. This step is crucial because finding a solution is only accessible if the problem is clearly defined. The problem must be specific, measurable, and achievable.

One way to define the problem is to ask the right questions. Questions like "What is the problem?" and "What are the causes of the problem?" can help. Gathering data and information about the issue to assist in the definition process is also essential.

Another critical aspect of defining the problem is identifying the stakeholders. Who is affected by it? Who has a stake in finding a solution? Identifying the stakeholders can help ensure that the problem is defined in a way that considers the needs and concerns of all those affected by it.

Once the problem is defined, it is essential to communicate the definition to all stakeholders. This helps to ensure that everyone is on the same page and that there is a shared understanding of the problem.

Step 2: Disaggregate

After defining the problem, the next step in the 7-step problem-solving process is to disaggregate the problem into smaller, more manageable parts. Disaggregation helps break down the problem into smaller pieces that can be analyzed individually. This step is crucial in understanding the root cause of the problem and identifying the most effective solutions.

Disaggregation can be achieved by breaking down the problem into sub-problems, identifying the contributing factors, and analyzing the relationships between these factors. This step helps identify the most critical factors that must be addressed to solve the problem.

A tree or fishbone diagram is one effective way to disaggregate a problem. These diagrams help identify the different factors contributing to the problem and how they are related. Another way is to use a table to list the other factors contributing to the situation and their corresponding impact on the issue.

Disaggregation helps in breaking down complex problems into smaller, more manageable parts. It helps understand the relationships between different factors contributing to the problem and identify the most critical factors that must be addressed. By disaggregating the problem, decision-makers can focus on the most vital areas, leading to more effective solutions.

Step 3: Prioritize

After defining the problem and disaggregating it into smaller parts, the next step in the 7-step problem-solving process is prioritizing the issues that need addressing. Prioritizing helps to focus on the most pressing issues and allocate resources more effectively.

There are several ways to prioritize issues, including:

• Urgency: Prioritize issues based on their urgency. Problems that require immediate attention should be addressed first.
• Impact: Prioritize issues based on their impact on the organization or stakeholders. Problems with a high impact should be given priority.
• Resources: Prioritize issues based on the resources required to address them. Problems that require fewer resources should be dealt with first.

Considering their concerns and needs, it is important to involve stakeholders in the prioritization process. This can be done through surveys, focus groups, or other forms of engagement.

Once the issues have been prioritized, developing a plan of action to address them is essential. This involves identifying the resources required, setting timelines, and assigning responsibilities.

Prioritizing issues is a critical step in problem-solving. By focusing on the most pressing problems, organizations can allocate resources more effectively and make better decisions.

Step 4: Workplan

After defining the problem, disaggregating, and prioritizing the issues, the next step in the 7-step problem-solving process is to develop a work plan. This step involves creating a roadmap that outlines the steps needed to solve the problem.

The work plan should include a list of tasks, deadlines, and responsibilities for each team member involved in the problem-solving process. Assigning tasks based on each team member's strengths and expertise ensures the work is completed efficiently and effectively.

Creating a work plan can help keep the team on track and ensure everyone is working towards the same goal. It can also help to identify potential roadblocks or challenges that may arise during the problem-solving process and develop contingency plans to address them.

Several tools and techniques can be used to develop a work plan, including Gantt charts, flowcharts, and mind maps. These tools can help to visualize the steps needed to solve the problem and identify dependencies between tasks.

Developing a work plan is a critical step in the problem-solving process. It provides a clear roadmap for solving the problem and ensures everyone involved is aligned and working towards the same goal.

Step 5: Analysis

Once the problem has been defined and disaggregated, the next step is to analyze the information gathered. This step involves examining the data, identifying patterns, and determining the root cause of the problem.

Several methods can be used during the analysis phase, including:

• Root cause analysis
• Pareto analysis
• SWOT analysis

Root cause analysis is a popular method used to identify the underlying cause of a problem. This method involves asking a series of "why" questions to get to the root cause of the issue.

Pareto analysis is another method that can be used during the analysis phase. This method involves identifying the 20% of causes responsible for 80% of the problems. By focusing on these critical causes, organizations can make significant improvements.

Finally, SWOT analysis is a valuable tool for analyzing the internal and external factors that may impact the problem. This method involves identifying the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats related to the issue.

Overall, the analysis phase is critical for identifying the root cause of the problem and developing practical solutions. Organizations can gain a deeper understanding of the issue and make informed decisions by using a combination of methods.

Step 6: Synthesize

Once the analysis phase is complete, it is time to synthesize the information gathered to arrive at a solution. During this step, the focus is on identifying the most viable solution that addresses the problem. This involves examining and combining the analysis results for a clear and concise conclusion.

One way to synthesize the information is to use a decision matrix. This involves creating a table that lists the potential solutions and the essential criteria for making a decision. Each answer is then rated against each standard, and the scores are tallied to arrive at a final decision.

Another approach to synthesizing the information is to use a mind map. This involves creating a visual representation of the problem and the potential solutions. The mind map can identify the relationships between the different pieces of information and help prioritize the solutions.

During the synthesis phase, remaining open-minded and considering all potential solutions is vital. To ensure everyone's perspectives are considered, it is also essential to involve all stakeholders in the decision-making process.

Step 7: Communicate

After synthesizing the information, the next step is communicating the findings to the relevant stakeholders. This is a crucial step because it helps to ensure that everyone is on the same page and that the decision-making process is transparent.

One effective way to communicate the findings is through a well-organized report. The report should include the problem statement, the analysis, the synthesis, and the recommended solution. It should be clear, concise, and easy to understand.

In addition to the report, a presentation explaining the findings is essential. The presentation should be tailored to the audience and highlight the report's key points. Visual aids such as tables, graphs, and charts can make the presentation more engaging.

During the presentation, it is essential to be open to feedback and questions from the audience. This helps ensure everyone agrees with the recommended solution and addresses concerns or objections.

Effective communication is vital to ensuring the decision-making process is successful. Stakeholders can make informed decisions and work towards a common goal by communicating the findings clearly and concisely.

The 7-step problem-solving process is a powerful tool for helping individuals and organizations make better decisions. By following these steps, individuals can identify the root cause of a problem, prioritize potential solutions, and develop a clear plan of action. This process can be applied to various scenarios, from personal challenges to complex business problems.

Through disaggregation, individuals can break down complex problems into smaller, more manageable parts. By prioritizing potential solutions, individuals can focus their efforts on the most impactful actions. The work step allows individuals to develop a clear action plan, while the analysis step provides a framework for evaluating possible solutions.

The synthesis step combines all the information gathered to develop a comprehensive solution. Finally, the communication step allows individuals to share their answers with others and gather feedback.

By mastering the 7-step problem-solving process, individuals can become more effective decision-makers and problem-solvers. This process can help individuals and organizations save time and resources while improving outcomes. With practice, individuals can develop the skills to apply this process to a wide range of scenarios and make better decisions in all areas of life.

7-Step Problem-Solving Process PPT Template

Free powerpoint and pdf template, executive summary: the 7-step problem-solving process.

The 7-Step Problem-Solving Process is a robust and systematic method to help individuals and organizations make better decisions by tackling complex issues and finding practical solutions. This process comprises defining the problem, disaggregating it into smaller parts, prioritizing the issues, creating a work plan, analyzing the data, synthesizing the information, and communicating the findings.

By following these steps, individuals can identify the root cause of a problem, break it down into manageable components, and prioritize the most impactful actions. The work plan, analysis, and synthesis steps provide a framework for developing comprehensive solutions, while the communication step ensures transparency and stakeholder engagement.

Mastering this process can improve decision-making and problem-solving capabilities, save time and resources, and improve outcomes in personal and professional contexts.

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Research: How Different Fields Are Using GenAI to Redefine Roles

• Maryam Alavi

Examples from customer support, management consulting, professional writing, legal analysis, and software and technology.

The interactive, conversational, analytical, and generative features of GenAI offer support for creativity, problem-solving, and processing and digestion of large bodies of information. Therefore, these features can act as cognitive resources for knowledge workers. Moreover, the capabilities of GenAI can mitigate various hindrances to effective performance that knowledge workers may encounter in their jobs, including time pressure, gaps in knowledge and skills, and negative feelings (such as boredom stemming from repetitive tasks or frustration arising from interactions with dissatisfied customers). Empirical research and field observations have already begun to reveal the value of GenAI capabilities and their potential for job crafting.

There is an expectation that implementing new and emerging Generative AI (GenAI) tools enhances the effectiveness and competitiveness of organizations. This belief is evidenced by current and planned investments in GenAI tools, especially by firms in knowledge-intensive industries such as finance, healthcare, and entertainment, among others. According to forecasts, enterprise spending on GenAI will increase by two-fold in 2024 and grow to $151.1 billion by 2027 .

• Maryam Alavi is the Elizabeth D. & Thomas M. Holder Chair & Professor of IT Management, Scheller College of Business, Georgia Institute of Technology .

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Nonlinear Sciences > Exactly Solvable and Integrable Systems

Title: inverse scattering transform for the coupled lakshmanan-porsezian-daniel equation with nonzero boundary conditions.

Abstract: The challenge of solving the initial value problem for the coupled Lakshmanan Porsezian Daniel equation, while considering nonzero boundary conditions at infinity, is addressed through the development of a suitable inverse scattering transform. Analytical properties of the Jost eigenfunctions are examined, along with the analysis of scattering coefficient characteristics. This analysis leads to the derivation of additional auxiliary eigenfunctions necessary for the comprehensive investigation of the fundamental eigenfunctions. Two symmetry conditions are discussed to study the eigenfunctions and scattering coefficients. These symmetry results are utilized to rigorously define the discrete spectrum and ascertain the corresponding symmetries of scattering datas. The inverse scattering problem is formulated by the Riemann-Hilbert problem. Then we can derive the exact solutions by coupled Lakshmanan Porsezian Daniel equation, the novel soliton solutions are derived and examined in detail.

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