Many people get stalled in the problem solving process because they get stuck analyzing things to death and never get around to acting. This is known as “analysis paralysis” and it is due to the fear of not having enough information in order to make a decision and act. You will need to be able to make a decision based on your knowledge and understanding of the process and whether the root cause you’ve identified is truly the root cause. The best way to do this is to be able to turn the problem on and off by injecting the root cause and then removing it.
In some situations, the first step in implementing the solution is to get approval from your organization to proceed with the chosen solution. This may require you to sell your ideas so that your management will provide the necessary resources for you to successfully complete your project.
Once you get the approval to proceed with the implementation, it is time to plan what to do, what order to do it in, and when to do it. You need to look at the allocations of time and resources, anticipate bottlenecks, identify milestones in the project, and determine the pathway through to the finished solution. This may require the use of Gnatt or deployment charts.
During this phase, the various people involved act on the plans they have developed. They may carry out a design, fabricate a device, carry out experiments, make calculations, prepare a report, etc. Great care should be taken here. All the planning in the world will not save a poor job of carrying through the chosen solution.
Here are some things to remember:
- Are you following the solution plan? Are you meeting the solution goals and fulfilling the solution criteria?
- Are you proceeding on schedule?
- Are you staying within the budget you set or got approval for?
- Is the solution going to realize the quality level you anticipated?
- Is the solution still relevant to solving the original problem?
It is important to check these points to make sure the solution is “on track” and satisfying all the necessary goals. Be sure to check periodically that the problem is still correctly defined during the implementation phase. Sometimes a change in conditions can occur during implementation that will invalidate the solution.