Overview of the phases of structured problem-solving approaches
| Problem-solving approaches | Individual problem-solving (Woods, 2000) | Toyota way (Liker, 2004) | DMAIC (De Mast and Lokkerbol, 2012) | Scientific thinking (Shingō, 2007) | Quality control circle (Rafaai et al., 2018) | Kaizen circle (McKinsey & Company, 2003) |
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| Level | Individual | Group composed to solve problem | Group composed to solve problem | Group composed to solve problem | Existing team | Group composed to solve problem |
| Phases |
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| Problem-solving approaches | Individual problem-solving ( | Toyota way ( | DMAIC ( | Scientific thinking ( | Quality control circle ( | Kaizen circle ( |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level | Individual | Group composed to solve problem | Group composed to solve problem | Group composed to solve problem | Existing team | Group composed to solve problem |
| Phases | (1) Problem definition | (1) Initial problem perception (2) Clarify the problem (3) Locate area, point of cause | (1) Define | (1) Create problem awareness (2) Pursuit of purpose | (1) Identify the problem | (1) Problem definition |
(2) Root-cause analysis | (4) Five times why investigation of root cause | (2) Measure (3) Analyse | (3) Understanding the status quo (4) Better methods (5) Lock on to problems | (2) Analyse the problem | (2) Root-cause analysis | |
(3) Generate ideas | (6) Idea generation (7) Judgment | (3) Generate alternative solution (4) Select best solution | (3) Brainstorm | |||
(4) Plan implementation | (8) Propose | (5) Prepare plan of action (6) Present solution to managers | (4) Implementation plan | |||
(5) Implement | (5) Counter-measure | (4) Improve | (9) Implement | (7) Implement solution | (5) Implement | |
(6) Check and sustain | (6) Evaluate (7) Standardize | (5) Control | (6) Check and sustain |