Facing problems in the same way as we take new opportunities is part of our life and business. We spend a lot of time-solving problems and we know that problems are at the center of what many people do every day.
For example, at work, whether you’re solving a problem or discovering new problems to solve, the problems you face can be large or small, simple or complex, and easy or difficult.
In a simple problem-solving process, we:
- Define the problem
- Generate options
- Evaluate options
- Select a POSSIBLE and SUITABLE option
- And implement solutions
But sometimes, even if we spend a lot of time, money and energy and follow the problem-solving process, we cannot attain the results we desire. When we spend more time and review all the works, it looks like the problem that we have solved was not the main one and there is another problem behind this problem that we must solve.
This is one of the common challenges that we have in managing projects. It means after doing a lot of work, it looks like that the implemented solutions cannot solve the defined problems properly.
In the concept of managing project risks, we call it “The Problem Behind The Problem“, which is an important risk in relation to project scope management.
Unfortunately, most of the project teams do not take this risk seriously. During the years that I have collaborated with businesses and helped them build and run their PMOs, less than 5% of project teams consider this risk and/or take the right actions.
By adding this risk to the Project Risk Registry list and monitoring this risk properly, it forces the project team to use the right tools and techniques such as the 5 Whys, Cause-and-Effect Diagram, CATWOE, Swim Lane Diagram, etc. to be sure the problems and their roots (pains) are identified and defined correctly.
As a result, we can increase the quality of defined business and stakeholder requirements in the project.
It is important to know that this risk must be handled by the project team members who play key roles in the project scope management such as Business Analysts, Customer Experience Analysts, User Experience Researchers, etc.
Although I will discuss the “The Problem Behind The Problem” risk in relation to managing projects in this post, we face this risk in our lives and even in our business operational works as well.
So, it’s worth it if we spend time and use the right tools and techniques for managing this risk before we lose our valuable resources.
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them. – Albert Einstein
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