How to Write a Good Problem Statement
Stating the Problem for Root Cause Analysis
The Analysis phase of any improvement project depends on a good problem statement to drive the root cause analysis. Writing a good statement of the problem is easy if you have analyzed the data using one or more Pareto charts.
Pareto charts narrow the focus to a few "big bars". Each big bar can become a good problem statement. In the Pareto chart below, Timely Filing is the "big bar".
Writing the Problem Statement
It's easy to write a good problem statement using a template I developed many years ago and included in QI Macros Fishbone Diagram.
During (time), (big bar on Pareto) accounted for XX% of problem which was X higher than desired and caused customer dissatisfaction.
So the problem statement for the Pareto chart above would be:
During 2019, Timely Filing accounted for 61.6% of denied insurance claims which was $7.8 million dollars higher than desired and caused significant loss of profit.
Just put this problem statement into the head of the fishbone diagram template:
