Selecting a Problem

12/28/22 • 14 min

Uncommon Sense - Tools to Improve your Work Forever

The starting point for any project-based improvement effort, your Problem Statement should be a concise description of the issue to be solved. Sounds simple, right? But using this fundamental tool correctly is a common stumbling block amongst practitioners, PMI Senior Consultant Damion Albinson tells us.

So set your project up for success from the very start; join us as Damion shares real examples of what a problem statement is and isn’t, and how to make sure you get it right.
Ready to kick off a new improvement project? Check out these helpful guides to get you started:

More from PMI:

Take your improvement career to the next level with PMI's Lean Six Sigma Certifications - now available in two new and accessible formats, built around you.

More from PMI:

Take your improvement career to the next level with PMI's Lean Six Sigma Certifications - now available in two new and accessible formats, built around you.

Previous Episode

Visualising with Value Stream Mapping

Waste identification and elimination is a life’s work, but collate where your customer sees the value into a single visualisation of your end-to-end process, and you’ll have an extremely powerful tool to help you get started.
Join PMI Director Consultant Barry Byrne, self-confessed super fan of the Value Stream Map, as he talks about the benefits of being able to see how your work works across functions to deliver exactly what your customer is looking for. But, he asks, where in our business system is the health of those cross-functional relationships nurtured - who's the guardian of those interdependencies?
Ready to find the waste in your system? Here are more helpful resources on Value Stream Mapping.

More from PMI:

Take your improvement career to the next level with PMI's Lean Six Sigma Certifications - now available in two new and accessible formats, built around you.

Next Episode

Going to Gemba

See for yourself how a process is operated by going to Gemba – ‘the real place’ where the work happens.

PMI Director Consultant Dennis Crommentuijn-Marsh has certified scores of Lean Six Sigma projects and can easily recognise those which started with a Gemba Walk. To the improvement practitioner, it’s a positive enquiry to learn from the experts that run the process, but how do you handle the concerns of Process Operators who may fear repercussions or ulterior motives?

Find the answer to this and many other tips and tricks for getting the most from your Gemba walk in this episode of Uncommon Sense.
Are you preparing to go to Gemba? Here are more resources to help you do it effectively:

More from PMI:

Take your improvement career to the next level with PMI's Lean Six Sigma Certifications - now available in two new and accessible formats, built around you.