Problem Management
1. The Questions

No significant project or policy decision should proceed without objective and substantive answers to the following questions.

These questions should normally be answered in the following order, but for learning purposes we will discuss them in reverse order (as numbered).

• 5. What problems were perceived in the current situation?
• 4. How does the proposed solution alleviate those problems?
• 3. What other solutions were considered, and why were they rejected?
• 2. What is the cost/benefit advantage of the proposed solution?
• 1. How can improvements be measured?

Fully understanding the answers to those questions provides several benefits.

• You can present the solution to others with confidence that it is a good solution.
• Almost all questions that others will ask will be covered.
• Other people are more likely to accept the plan.
• If others must pass the plan on for further approval, you have already done most of their work for them, so it is far more likely that they will actually bother to do so.
• In the event of failure, the thoroughness of the analysis will provide some protection from personal blame.

Difficulty fully answering and understanding these questions for a specific project could indicate many things, including:

• The solution really isn't a good one.
• You don't have a full grasp of the underlying problem.
• You really like your solution, but haven't been able to find a significant problem for it to solve.
• Someone else wants this implemented for reasons he prefers not to say, and has, without your realizing it, convinced you that it is a good idea.
• Someone else wants to see you fail, and has made you think this is your own good idea.

Whatever the reason, if you can't confidently answer all of those questions, there's a good chance that something is wrong with your proposal, something that will only get worse.

Historical note: after giving a public presentation of his plan for reorganizing his department, a new director was taken unawares and was totally unprepared to answer a combination of the first two questions: What problems were perceived in the current situation, and how does the proposed solution alleviate those problems? This double question is known as the Sellens Question, in honour of his now-former employee that dared to ask it.