Stage A: Defining the Problem
Defining the problem means that the Team reviews and discusses the problem or issue to ensure that it:
- Provides a complete and accurate description of the problem
- Includes details to specifically define a broad area of concern
- Is based on facts and not opinions or conjecture of what might or could happen
- Is understood in the same way by all members of the Team
Use the 5 Whys Process with one problem statement at a time.
Problem statements that are useful for uncovering root cause must fully and accurately describe ‘the problem’. Phrases such as ‘travel skills’, ‘independence’, or ‘academic skills’ hint at a broad area that could be problematic, but only capture the problem area, and not ‘the problem’ within it. Such a phrase does not adequately describe the problem in a way that creates the same understanding of the exact nature the problem area causes for youth in transition to adult life. It does not point to a root cause that the Team can effectively address.
Stage A discussion provides a way for the Team to transform unclear language or incomplete phrases into problem statements everyone on the Team understands in the same way. Vague or broad language brings to mind entirely different definitions of a problem, as each Team member will recall examples of the problem through the lens of their own experience and agency operations. A shared understanding of the specific nature of the problem is an essential prerequisite for generating goals and strategies that can be supported by the various agencies that have come together as a Team to solve them.
Stage A discussion begins by using ‘What’ questions such as ‘What is the problem with ______?” to refine the initial statement or phrase. Using ‘What’ questions provides the Team a process for shining a light on a specific issue or concern experienced by the agencies represented on the Team. After discussion using ‘what’ questions, rewrite the original statement, as a brief, clear, factually worded statement of the specific problem to which everyone on the Team agrees and understands in the same way.
Use these Stage A criteria as a guide to determine that the Team has arrived at a Problem Statement useful for uncovering root cause using the 5 Whys process:
The new Problem Statement:
- Provides a complete and accurate description of the problem
- Includes details to specifically define a broad area of concern
- Is based on facts and not opinions or conjecture of what might or could happen
- Is understood in the same way by all members of the Team
After the Stage A discussion, the Team is ready to move into asking ‘Why’ questions to uncover root cause. First clarifying ‘What’ the problem is through the Stage A discussion positions the Team to fully focus on uncovering root cause of that problem in Stages B and C.
The Stage A Examples illustrate how this discussion can unfold.