Problem-Solving Resource Center

Tough problems are tough to solve because they haven’t been solved before. Easy problems are quickly resolved, but tough problems require an in-depth understanding of the problem and creative thinking beyond the obvious solutions.

Typically tough problems are solved by teams rather than individuals because it takes several different perspectives to form a complete analysis of what is at the root of the issue. By using a standard process that all team members are familiar with, a diverse group of people will have a common understanding of the step-wise process, terminology and techniques to efficiently and effectively tackle long-standing or acute problems.

In this Resource Center, we present the two most common problem-solving processes: 8-D Problem-Solving and DMAIC Problem-Solving. While there are differences in these two processes, the tools and techniques used to analyze the problem, generate solutions and implement the action plan are the same and therefore are presented independent of the problem-solving process.