I view Project Management as a strategic competence. For me, project-managing is the ability to state a problem, break it down into addressable pieces and collaboratively drive the solution definition and execution process.It goes far beyond the spreadsheet filling and task-chasing approach that I have seen in some instances.
From this strategic perspective, Project Managers are bound to encounter challenging problems. The 4S problem-solving method (Garrette, et al., 2018) has helped me tackle some of these challenges. I learned the 4S problem-solving method during the “Consulting to Management” module of my EMBA at Cass Business School (2018-2020). Since then, I have applied it to my MBA consulting dissertation and to numerous work projects.
Here I summarise the 4S method in the hope that other Project Managers will find it useful too. This framework is a map to navigate the uncertain path of business problems. Having a high-level, birds-eye view of the problem-solving process helps to keep a structured approach to solving complex business problems.
The 4S problem-solving method is comprised of 4 stages:
-State
-Structure
-Solve
-Sell
STATE
The “Problem Statement” stage is a collaborative effort to define the scope of the problem. It is an opportunity to engage with stakeholders through interviews and workshops with the goal of integrating the different perspectives. The TOSCA framework is used for structuring the problem definition. TOSCA stands for Trouble, Owner, Success Criteria, Constraints and Actors. You can allocate each of these elements to different team members to analyse, craft the statement, and present to others. This will increase your speed, and will integrate different perspectives. I usually document the Statement in a slide and use that to open every project progress presentation. This helps us revisit the problem statement throughout the problem- solving process and make adjustments.
STRUCTURE
The following stage is the “Problem Structure”. The benefit of the 4S method is that it provides additional insights into how to decompose the work. The idea is to use industry, functional and logical frameworks to decompose the problem into an issue tree. Here is where the PM and strategy interlinks become most clear: project managers can use strategy frameworks to structure the problem. For example, the Ansoff matrix, BCG growth-share matrix, PESTEL, Porter’s five forces. But strategy is not the only “sister-field” that PMs can use as input. Operations, Marketing and Finance frameworks are also useful when handling business change projects. For example, market size, revenue breakdown, market share, McKinsey 7S, cost breakdown, etc. Where you cannot apply industry or functional frameworks, the good old logical frameworks can support you, eg: high-low matrixes. As Project Managers, we will accumulate a library of such frameworks throughout our careers. These frameworks are the structure of the issue tree that represents the problem decomposition. Many trees will fit your problem, depending on your organisation perspective. Start with the one that best fits your problem and provides a map for the problem-solving. It does not need to be perfect, but it has to enable progress. Your issue tree will be iterative. The issue tree will help you allocate the work across teams for the next stage.
SOLVE
The “Solve” stage entails unpacking each branch of the issue tree into granular questions. These questions pave the way to the data gathering and analysis. In my experience this stage allows greater cross-functional collaboration. The goal is to design solutions that follow logically from the analysis and address the problem statement. In my experience, this stage tends to be the most confusing one for the project team. The project grows in different directions as the different teams conduct their data gathering efforts. Project managers need to tightly coordinate this process and bring the insights together against the issue tree. Many a time we found incoherent and controversial data. Additionally, some issue branches might become big enough and spin off as mini-projects, which might put the project timeline at risk. Having a defined Problem-Statement has helped me identify the most meaningful findings to continue progressing.
SELL
The “Sell” stage is about selling the solution to your stakeholders. This mostly takes the shape of a slide-deck. The 4S method entails using the “Pyramid Principle” for this. This is one of my favourite learnings in itself. As Project Managers, we need to keep our stakeholders engaged. They care about the end result, not about the process. The Pyramid Principle tells us to front-load the solutions, and justify them with the most meaningful data points. An example sentence is: “We should X because of A, B and C insights”. This is contrary to the chronological steps we followed during the project. Communicating according to the chronological steps would like this: “We did W and Y processes, and that gave us A, B, and C insights and because of that we should do X”. Why save the best for last? To keep your stakeholders engaged, start with the best and most engaging piece of information.
There you have it. The summary of the 4S problem-solving method for project-managers.
Learn more on:
Cracked It! : How to Solve Big Problems and Sell Solutions Like Top Strategy Consultants (Garrette, et al., 2018)
