All quality issues solved in seven steps!

Whether you are an ordinary employee, a quality manager, or a quality director, regardless of your position in the company, the ability to analyze and solve problems has become one of the indispensable core skills in the workplace. The ability to solve problems determines your compensation! Let's share: all quality issues can be solved in seven steps!

1. Core skills for quality professionals to earn high salaries

For a long time, problem-solving skills have been highly valued. At the same time, the trend of 'the winner takes all' is becoming increasingly obvious. In the future, no matter which industry you are in, you must have more advanced skills. This is because the business environment is constantly changing, and employees are required to show results in a short time.

As a result, underperforming employees can be dismissed at any time. Moreover, nowadays it is difficult to do a good job relying solely on intuition and experience. The era when interpersonal relationships alone could secure a job is long gone.

In the past, some said Japan's strength was its small income gap. However, today's society is developing distinctions such as 'annual salaries of 300 million yen, 30 million yen, 3 million yen, and the unemployed.' In an era of high economic growth, the phrase 'office workers have it easy' that people used to say has become outdated. The decisive factor in income levels is the ability to solve problems.

2. Analytical skills are essential for problem-solving

In the process of solving problems, the most indispensable ability is analytical skill. No matter how familiar you are with the steps of problem-solving, if you lack analytical ability, problem definition, solution proposals, and implementation plans will always remain superficial and fail to address the core issues.

What exactly is "analysis"? Simply put, it is the process of distinguishing between states and phenomena. The character "析" (xī) means to chop a tree with an axe, implying not only separation but also cutting apart. Analysis is a mental activity that breaks down chaotic reality into meaningful groups and explains their interrelationships. This work requires a certain level of skill and a persistent spirit.

Analysis is the most important element among all problem-solving techniques.

3. Having problem-solving ability allows professional skills to be fully utilized

In today's information overload, memorizing a large amount of specialized knowledge does not guarantee a stable career. Various countless problems, such as how to handle customer quality complaints, how to prevent quality risks in product design, how to help suppliers solve quality omissions, how to communicate across departments, and how to persuade superiors, vary in severity but always require our resolution. Only by mastering problem-solving techniques can professional knowledge be effectively applied when facing a large amount of information.

4. People who can solve problems will never be oversupplied

In this era of endless problems and everyone's desire for answers, problem solvers will never face oversupply issues.

Today, technological progress never stops, and information is overflowing. You must constantly remind yourself whether the information and data you have painstakingly memorized, the specialized skills you have spent a lot of time learning, as well as intuition and experience, have become outdated.

However, as long as you possess the ability to analyze and solve problems, you do not need to worry about skills becoming obsolete. On the contrary, as information overload increases and technology advances faster, the demand for problem-solving will continue to grow.

All quality problems, when addressed using a structured problem-solving method, help eliminate issues and develop long-lasting effective solutions. Project management emphasizes solving various problems faced with a structured approach, as follows:

1. First, define the problem

Determine whether it is a problem. If it has no impact on your work, then it is not a problem. If it causes any impact, large or small, it is a problem. The key is to identify which aspect the problem belongs to, such as personnel emotions, objective environmental changes, or other aspects, and accurately define it from the perspective of problem attributes.

2. Collect information

Collect information from all aspects related to the problem. There are many methods of collection, such as inquiry, observation, document review, investigation, etc. Try to be comprehensive to prevent omissions.

3. Perform cause analysis

Project management emphasizes conducting root cause analysis, involving an important tool called the Ishikawa diagram, also known as the fishbone diagram. Place the problem at the fish head and causes on the fish bones, breaking down layer by layer and exploring causes from different dimensions to identify the root cause.

4. Generate alternative solutions

This means generating various different solutions, considering both the cost and timeliness of the solutions. For example, analyze the pros and cons of each plan under the same comparison.

5. Choose the best solution

After comparative analysis, solutions can be categorized as optimal, moderate, or poor. Of course, choose the optimal solution that balances cost-effectiveness and minimizes impact.

6. Implement the solution

Implement the selected solution according to the established steps. Avoid scope creep and incomplete efforts. Do things thoroughly and avoid ineffective interference and processes.

7. Verify the effectiveness of the solution

After implementation, review whether it was effective and whether the problem was solved. This is both a reflection process and an experience accumulation process. Any effort you put in will manifest at places and times you may not realize and will reward you exponentially.

The above is the underlying thinking framework for problem-solving in project management. Mastering this way of thinking can effectively avoid the series of risks caused by blind decision-making. In our work and life, it will surely help us develop a resilient self.