Lean Enterprise Institute Logo
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter Signup
  • Cart (0)
  • Account
  • Search
Lean Enterprise Institute Logo
  • Explore Lean
        • What is Lean?
        • A Brief History of Lean
        • Lexicon Terms
        • Topics to explore
          • Operations
          • Lean Product & Process Development
          • Administration & Support
          • Problem-Solving
          • Coaching
          • Executive Leadership
          • Line Management
  • The Lean Post
        • Subscribe to see exclusive content
          • Subscribe
        • Featured posts
          Ukraine map

          Ukrainian Resilience: How Lean is Helping Companies...

          Handling the Heat of the Kitchen

          Handling the Heat of the Kitchen: A...

          • See all Posts
  • Events & Training
        • Custom Coaching and Learning Experiences
        • Co-Learning Partnerships
        • Forms and Templates
        • Featured learning
          • Improvement Kata/Coaching Kata Remotely

            June 06, 2022 | Online Live Course

          • Developing Structured Problem-Solving and Leadership Skills using A3 Thinking: Managing to Learn Remotely

            September 19, 2022 | Online Live Course

          • Hoshin Kanri Remotely: Aligning and Executing on Your Organizational Objectives

            September 23, 2022 | Online Live Course

          • Designing the Future Remotely: A Lean Product Development Immersive Learning Experience

            September 26, 2022 | Online Live Course

          • See all Events
  • Store
        • Shopping Cart
        • Featured books
          The Deeper Purpose of Problem-Solving

          The Power of Process – A Story of Innovative Lean Process Development

          Toyota Way of Dantotsu Cover

          The Toyota Way of Dantotsu Radical Quality Improvement (Paperback)

          • See all Books
  • About Us
        • Our people
          • Senior Advisors and Staff
          • Faculty
          • Board of Directors
        • Contact Us
        • Lean Global Network
        • Press Releases
        • In the News
        • About us

The Lean Post / Articles / The Deeper Purpose of Problem-Solving

The Deeper Purpose of Problem-Solving

Problem Solving

The Deeper Purpose of Problem-Solving

By Régis Medina

October 27, 2020

Why problem-solving in a lean setting is a unique opportunity to think about how we think and develop expertise where it counts.

Facebook0Tweet0LinkedIn0Email0Print0Comment0

Let’s face it: we live in an illusion. That is to say, modern theories of cognition demonstrate that we do not really see what is around us. Instead, our eyes dart from one detail to the next to construct a convincing model of the world. Then we base our decisions on this model. Moreover, we are oblivious to the basic brain mechanisms that govern our actions, a phenomenon that you may have noticed when emerging from your thoughts and finding yourself in a place without remembering how you got there.

While this marvel of biology lets us accomplish great things, it also proves unreliable on many occasions. The mental structure of a mistake is “I thought that … but …,” and we make lots of them. For example, “I thought the department store was open on Sundays, but it was closed when I arrived,” or “I thought that batteries were included when I bought a clock, but they were not, and I was not able to use it when I got home.”

Mistakes are not restricted to our personal lives, of course. A typical workday is littered with errors, small and large. And this is why lean is so brilliant: It is a complete business strategy based on rooting out and fixing our misconceptions. But what does that mean in practice?

Most people interested in lean are familiar with the plan-do-check-act (PDCA) cycle. However, a common misconception about this method is that its main purpose is to improve processes. The logic goes like this: You find a problem, discover a missing standard, fix it, and then train everybody to use it. While this understanding is not wrong per se, it can lead to an environment where people are expected to follow too many processes without understanding why they are doing it — a dangerous situation if the company operates in a changing environment.

A better way to understand PDCA is to look at it as a means to root out misconceptions and fix the glitches in our thinking.

A better way to understand PDCA is to look at it as a means to root out misconceptions and fix the glitches in our thinking.

Let’s take an example. Users of a web application are complaining that pages are taking too long to load. By responding to a few “why’s,” one can easily get closer to the root of the technical problem:

The Deeper Purpose of Problem-Solving

While we should certainly delve deeper into the technical details to find the specific point of change to fix the issue, let’s remain at this level for the sake of argument — because we can already infer that we will end up with two kinds of countermeasures:

  • Fix the build script so that CSS and HTML files are compressed and load faster.
  • Add a check or warning to prevent users from uploading images larger than 1Mo, or better yet, transform the uploaded files automatically without burdening users with extra work.

The problem would probably be fixed either way, but we wouldn’t have actually learned much. We can expect the same people, and the same company, to repeat the same kind of mistakes in the future.

A better way to guide our search for root causes consists in trying to answer the question:

What is the mistake we keep repeating that creates this problem?

In our example, this could look like this:

The Deeper Purpose of Problem-Solving

By using this approach, learning can occur because it makes us aware of the shortcomings of our mental models. However, this is only the beginning.

By solving problems repeatedly in a given area, we can explore the factors that influence performance and progressively build a model of these factors. In our example, this approach would look like this:

The Deeper Purpose of Problem-Solving

This model can then be taught, discussed, and extended because it’s a standard: a collection of knowledge points that serve as a basis for training and reflection.

Ultimately, the goal of problem-solving is not just to fix tools and processes.

By creating standards, a company can deliberately build expertise in any domain. When done on topics that directly relate to customer preferences, and when performed by everybody every day, this creates a dynamic in which people are always building knowledge and changing to adapt to customer needs, which is the essence of the lean strategy.

Ultimately, the goal of problem-solving is not just to fix tools and processes. Instead, it is a unique opportunity to think about how we think and develop expertise where it counts. In addition, it is a robust, hands-on formula to create a company that keeps adapting to changing market conditions and creates value for society over decades.

Facebook0Tweet0LinkedIn0Email0Print0Comment0

Written by:

Régis Medina

About Régis Medina

Régis Medina was one of the early pioneers of Agile software development methodologies in the late 90s. In 2009, he embarked on a journey to explore the practices of Toyota, eventually making several trips to Japan, while working with dozens of teams in a variety of IT activities. He now works with prominent entrepreneurs of the French Tech community to build fast and resilient scale-ups. He is the author of Learning to Scale: The Secret to Growing a Fast and Resilient Company.

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related

illustration of three cooks in a kitchen prepping food

Problem Solving

How Organizations Can Increase Profitability While Improving the Work Environment

Case Study by Patricia Panchak and Matthew Savas

8 Steps to Radical Quality Improvement

Problem Solving

8 Steps to Radical Quality Improvement

Article by Chet Marchwinski

Thinking About Introducing A3 Problem-Solving? Think Twice if Leadership Isn’t Engaged

Problem Solving

Thinking About Introducing A3 Problem-Solving? Think Twice if Leadership Isn’t Engaged

Article by David Verble

Related books

The Power of Process – A Story of Innovative Lean Process Development

The Power of Process – A Story of Innovative Lean Process Development

by Eric Ethington and Matt Zayko

Welcome Problems, Find Success – Creating Toyota Cultures Around the World

Welcome Problems, Find Success – Creating Toyota Cultures Around the World

by Nate Furuta

Related events

June 06, 2022 | Online Live Course

Improvement Kata/Coaching Kata Remotely

Learn more

August 10, 2022

Building a Lean Operating and Management System 

Learn more

Explore topics

Problem Solving graphic icon Problem Solving
Line Management graphic icon Line Management
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • Facebook

©Copyright 2000-2022 Lean Enterprise Institute, Inc. All rights reserved.
Lean Enterprise Institute, the leaper image, and stick figure are registered trademarks of Lean Enterprise Institute, Inc.

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Learn More. ACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT
Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

Email sent!