A632.3.3.RB - Framing Complex Decisions

A632.3.3.RB - Framing Complex Decisions

Describe the 3 different tools or approaches for dealing with complex, multiple stakeholders, and environmental decision processes in your organization. Reflect on changes or alterations you would consider to ensure the most successful process possible. Describe the elements in detail and make clear the available options and consequences.

In my organization – and probably enterprise-wide at Boeing – Lean tools are used to frame problem solving and even problem identifying. We use visualization tools like a fishbone or ishikowa diagram, the 5-why, and value stream mapping to see a problem from a bird’s eye view. We take in all stakeholders and what their needs would be – what their frames are – and try to come up with a valid and reasonable problem statement. We form workshops that include the many stakeholders and work out a model of a solution. These workshops can get heated and the solution one stakeholder thinks would work the best might be another stakeholder’s worst nightmare. These workshops and tools help us work with everyone’s perspective and needs in the forefront of the solutions. Not everyone gets what they want and sacrifice and compromise are very much a part of these workshops but from my experiences in these workshops, learning more about frames I would have never even considered helps me going forward with my decision making.

One of the workshops I talked about in this week’s discussion board was the 737 skin plate flow workshop. We were working to reduce the flow to increase output in an effort to make sure we had capacity for the next rate increases. The solution we came up with involved new crane requirements and at the last minute we realized that we hadn’t included the crane crew in the solution. We got the crane lead in and found out that our solution would actually make their job harder. We didn’t have all of the frames in view and spent a lot of time on a solution that was ineffective and practically impossible. From that experience, I always try to think about every stakeholder – every job we’ll need to happen for our solution to work or even be presentable.

There are a lot more than three tools that we use from the Lean toolbox. The ones I mentioned are the most popular. One of the more recent ones is the Boeing Problem Solving (BPS) method and the RCCA – Root Cause Corrective Action model. The BPS is actually a way to determine what Lean tool is the right tool for the situation. Here is a link to a PDF that shows a visual of this tool. All of these tools are used in an effort to link our many stakeholders in the decision and problem solving aspects of our organization. By being consistent with the use of these Lean tools, we can be sure that the entire Boeing enterprise is using the same brain when it comes to being proactive and innovative in our problem solving.

References:

Boeing Problem Solving (BPS) link: https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/228582/pdfs/Whitepaper_Boeing%20Problem%20Solving%20Model_RCA_Final.pdf?_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_XSNOVlUsTOhJQ5ECypT0sxRKujPDDxk1Iv_Dp5MBvXiKoDnzJd_Fsdc_nWjMb1ImKcr3ZkM_fiwMPSzgFHOtP5SS73w&_hsmi=38509366

Hoch, S. J., Kunreuther, H., Gunther, R. E., & Wharton School. (2001). Wharton on making decisions. New York: Wiley.