O processo de solução de problemas - O Projeto do Sultão

[Gigante Consulting] [presents] [The Sultan´s project] [or the problems solution process] At the beginning of our history there was a Sultan and the desire of building a palace. They presented him with a process to solve the problem: To build the palace and then to move to there. And so it was done!

But the result did not please him. The cost of construction was several times larger than the initial budget and the construction time was much higher than acceptable. The sultan felt that his money was thrown away.

He realized that one peace was missing to solve his problems, and this piece was PLANNING. He redesigned the process. Before building, one must " to plan" the project.

Activities should be planned, deadlines and costs should be estimated, risks analyzed and plans designed to mitigate them. And so it was done! Although the Sultan could no longer claim the cost or time, strictly fullfiled, he was not at all pleased with the result.

The palace had cracks which made the Sultan to feel like the ancient prince of Persia. Doors that rang, taps that did not had water, clogged drains. .

. The Sultan was furious. "How dare them to give me a palace that does not work?

" - thought the Sultan. He realized that there was a piece missing to solve his problems, and this piece was QUALITY. Redrawn the process: Before moving to the palace, tests to make sure everything is working must be done.

It´ll only be deployed if it is 100% guaranteed. And so it was done! Everything delivered on time, within the budget and without errors.

But it still did not please the Sultan. That was definitely not what he wanted. He realized that a piece was missing to solve his problems, and this piece was the DEFINITION OF NEEDS.

Redrawn the process again with one step before planning. Define solution requirements. "Of course!

" - exclaimed the Sultan. "How could one test the quality at the end of a project without defining clearly the requirements? " And so it was done!

At this time, the Sultan was confident. They carefully documented every characteristic the Sultan wanted to the palace And at the end of the project: What a beauty! Everything in compliance.

In accordance with deadline, budget and quality. But the Sultan still did not look satisfied. His sadness was contagious.

"Customers never know what they want," - said the project team. In fact, one piece was still missing. It was the UNDERSTANDING OF THE PROBLEM.

No one had asked "why" the Sultan wants to build a palace. If they had, they would understand his real motivation: Conquer the heart of a woman. The palace was only a means of impressing her.

Other approaches could bee more effective: A trip, a candlelit dinner, a poem, a pill. . .

Finally we defined the complete process for a successful project: Initially we should understand the need, then, only after that, to define the requirements of the solution, to plan the project, to build the solution, to test it, and to deploy it. There are concepts and techniques that can help organizations the best to play each step of this process. It is important to thoroughly know them and to structure working methods which allow the proper return of investments, bringing customers closer to their goals.