Criteria for Evaluating Potential Solutions

Posted by on Jun 25, 2011 in Lean Six Sigma, Problem Solving | 0 comments

Hopefully you and your team will come up with several options or solutions to fix the problem you are working on.  In evaluating these options or potential solutions, I have found the following criteria to be beneficial:
  • Effectiveness:  How likely is it that this solution will get me to the desired situation?
  • Feasibility:  How realistic is this solution?  How likely is it that this solution can be implemented effectively?
  • Time:  How long will it take to implement this solution?  How long will it take to get the desired results?
  • Cost:  How much will it cost, in money or other resources, to implement this solution?
  • Human resources:  How many people will need to be involved to implement this solution?
  • Difficulty or ease of implementation:  Overall, how easy or difficult will it be to implement this solution?
  • Risk:  How much is at risk in implementing this solution?

A good way to evaluate multiple potential solutions is to construct a decision matrix and score each potential solution.  You can do this very easily by putting the criteria across the top of the matrix and list the potential solutions down the left side.  Evaluate each potential solution using a rating such as:
1 = high, 2 = medium, and 3 = low
The choice with the highest score may not be the one to choose, but the relative scores can generate meaningful discussion and lead the team to a consensus.

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