CREATING MEANINGFUL PROBLEM STATEMENTS
Feel free to take notes as you follow along with the presentaon...
Review Problem Statement:
What’s the problem with this problem
statement?
Employees are stressed because there are not enough
people to answer the phones, there are too many calls
coming in all the me, and customers are constantly
complaining their calls are not being answered.
When you see this problem statement do
any solutions come to mind?
Analyzing the Problem:
Does the problem impact more than one
person?
Is there data to back up the problem?
Is the problem within our realm of inuence?
Craing the Problem Statement:
Who is affected?
What is the result of
the problem?
When/How oen does
the problem occur?
Where does the
problem occur?
What is the business
impact (the big WHY)?
Example Lean Problem Statement:
The Office Assistants (Who?), at Agency HQ (Where?), do
not answer the phones 30% of the time within 3 rings
(When?) which causes a delay in serving customers (What
is the result of the problem?) resulting in a negative
customer experience (What is the business impact? The
Big WHY).
ACTIVITY
1
Scenario
The agency failed a data integrity audit for the second me and a statewide training plan is
needed to make sure people know how to do their work. This training must be done within
three months or people will start losing their jobs.
2
Analyzing the Problem
This is the second time the Agency has failed the data integrity audit.
Three failures will result in a 30% funding cut, which could mean job loss or reduction in
service, however it's unknown until a plan is put in place.
98% of the errors happen at HQ and are due to inaccurate reporting.
Does the problem impact more than one
person?
Is there data to back up the problem?
Is the problem within our realm of
inuence?
3
Cra Your Lean Problem Statement
Who is affected?
What is the result of the
problem?
When/How often does
the problem occur?
Where does the problem
occur?
What is the
business
impact
(the big WHY)?
Write out your problem statement
Contact us:
Janina Oestreich
Planning and Performance Manager
Division of Child Support
(O) 360-628-6413 / oestrjm@dshs.wa.gov
Rachelle Jennings
Performance Management Analyst
Division of Child Support
(O) 360-529-6260 / jennira@dshs.wa.gov
