Solving problems in a digital world can get tricky. As organisations undergo digital transformation, a lot of assets in a business are now considered IT assets.
“In the olden days, a train breakdown would have been considered an engineering issue. But now that transport systems are leveraging data and software to enhance operations, the nature of the problem has changed. As a result, the engineering and the digital realm has blurred,” said Mr. Goh Boon Nam, Chief of IT Service Management Practice, NUS-ISS.
However, the way many companies approach problems have not kept up with the changes that are making the digital landscape more complicated and complex. This often results in solutions that produce only incremental improvements, rather than transformational ones.
Speaking in a keynote address themed ‘Solving difficult problems in the world of digitalisation and digital disruption’ at NUS-ISS’ Learning Day 2018, Boon Nam explained how systems thinking and root cause analysis could help organisations tackle the issues more efficiently.
Not all problems are created equal
The first, and perhaps most important step, is to identify the type of problem at hand.
“Some situations, such as the printer running out of ink, are considered simple problems. They are called ‘known-knowns’, because we know the cause of the problem, as well as the way to fix it,” Boon Nam said. This means that there are already rules and best practices in place to deal with the issue. Therefore, one simply has to "sense, categorise and respond" – establish the facts ("sense"), categorise, then respond by following the rule or applying a best practice.
But in reality, given the increasingly complex technological landscape, there are often more than meets the eye when a problem arises.
Boon Nam introduced the Cynefin framework, developed by researcher Dave Snowden, who specialises in the field of knowledge management. Cynefin is a Welsh word meaning ‘habitat’, and the idea of the framework is to offer one a "sense of place" from which to analyse behaviour and make decisions.
The framework offers four decision-making contexts: simple, complicated, complex, chaotic. At the centre of the four domains is ‘disorder’ – referring to situations where there is an overlap of contexts.
When things cease to be simple
The complicated domain, which consists of "known unknowns”, is the domain of the experts. Here, the relationship between cause and effect requires analysis or expertise.
“An example would be the Circle Line disruptions back in 2016,” said Boon Nam. “Initially they couldn’t resolve the issue because they have yet to figure out the root cause. Once they found that it was the rogue train PV46 causing the signal faults, they were then able to work towards a solution.”
On the other hand, the complex domain represents “unknown unknowns”. The problem solving process is no longer as straightforward. “You may be able to find the root cause, but you might not have a guaranteed solution for it,” Boon Nam explained.
According to the Cynefin framework, the way to tackle such problems is through a cyclical iterative approach. “You have to probe for information and experiment with some solutions; then try to get a sense of whether the solution is working, and respond accordingly. The cycle then repeats,” he shared.
Such problems are common in the age of digitalisation, where changes happen fast. “Your solutions may seem to work in theory, but in the real world, things don’t work in a linear fashion. There are actions, reactions and side effects. Moreover, some side effects are circular – there is always a chance they may boomerang back to hit you.”
Bringing order to the chaos
Last but not least, in a chaotic situation, “unknowables” prevail. “The important thing to remember, is that when there is chaos, the most pressing need is to establish order, rather than to solve a problem,” Boon Nam advised.
For example, when the World Trade Centre was attacked in during 911, the utmost priority thereafter was not about solving a technical or business problem – but to bring order to the situation. “Only after you have ‘simplified’ the chaos into a complex problem, then there can be enough stability for the identification of solutions to take place.”
To successfully navigate chaotic situations, a strong and visible leadership is important. The immediate job of the leader is to staunch the bleeding, not discover patterns.
Effective delegation through direct top-down command will help bring order to the chaos, by helping to keep the people’s minds off the mess and uncertainty. “Besides stabilising the situation, you would also need to gather information and through a process of sense-making, turn the chaotic situation into a complex or complicated problem.”
In his concluding remarks, Boon Nam highlighted that while the digital disruption era brings a lot of complex challenges, there are also immense opportunities to be found. “However, it will depend on whether the companies are able to take the situations in stride and find their strategy within the chaos,” he said.
For more information on the NICF - Systems Thinking & Root Cause Analysis, click here