We are human. We are error-prone. We make mistakes.
And when we do, the first thing to do is acknowledge what we did wrong and try to learn from it—so that next time we’re better prepared and don’t make the same mistake again.
So if you made a mistake in your business, congratulations! You get to have a growth experience and become a wiser person as a result of it.
…This isn’t exactly how people normally react when they make mistakes, though, is it? Because our brains aren’t wired that way—and because most of us aren’t taught how to process mistakes in this way. Most of us interpret our mistakes as an indication that there is something fundamentally “wrong” with ourselves—and maybe even irredeemably so. This can lead to long-term feelings of guilt and shame about who we are and what we’re capable of doing…
| Who is this tool for? | When should this tool be used? |
| City practitioners in charge of multi-stakeholder groups Local stakeholders | It should be used at the beginning of the project in order to get a clear understanding of the problem and can be repeated several times during the project cycle if needed. It can be used for brainstorming and for idea & knowledge exchange. |
Problem
The problem should be clearly stated. The problem must be a gap between the current situation and an ideal one. It should be closely related to the situation or context, so that readers can clearly see how they might benefit from solving it. This can also help reduce confusion about what you’re trying to solve.
The problem should be expressed in a positive way, because it’s easier to get people excited about something than it is to get them excited about something they don’t like—and if you do have problems with your product or idea, those problems can come across as negatives when stated as such (e.g., “we need more money” versus “we want more clients”). Expressing things positively also makes them easier for people who aren’t directly involved with your business/project/idea/etc.; for example, if you say something like “we need new customers” someone else might interpret this as “go out there and find some new people who will buy what we offer!” but when phrased as “get more customers” that same person may think of all sorts of ways he could go about doing just that: advertising online through Google Ads or Facebook ads; word-of-mouth referrals from happy customers.
Root causes
The root causes are the reasons why the problem exists. They’re also the things that need to be fixed in order to solve it, as well as the things that are causing and preventing it from being solved. It’s important to identify your root causes because they can help you determine where your efforts should be directed when tackling a problem.
Effects
The next step is to identify the effects of the problem. This is where you want to think about what is going wrong, so that you can make sure it doesn’t go on any longer.
It can be useful to think about the effects of your product or service in two different ways: direct and indirect effects. Direct effects are those that are directly caused by the root cause(s). For example, if your product has a problem with its battery life then customers will experience poor usage time as a result (which may lead them to leave negative reviews online). Indirect effects occur because there’s another issue that’s causing problems for users’ experience—and they’re not directly related to your core offering itself; instead, they’re ancillary issues surrounding it which should also be addressed when solving this particular problem area. For instance, if one of your products has poor user reviews, then this could impact sales globally due not only to reduced trustworthiness but also because potential buyers may associate poor ratings with all similar offerings from competitors who use similar hardware components (e.g., batteries).
Whatever type of effect we’re considering here though—direct or indirect—the key thing is always whether or not we’re able to measure them easily so we know whether something needs fixing later down line?
THE PROBLEM TREE technique aids in determining the fundamental causes of a problem and how they have impacted the situation.
The PROBLEM TREE method helps to identify the root causes of a problem and how it has affected the situation. It also helps you find solutions to fix or improve upon these issues. The PROBLEM TREE is a graphical representation of an existing problem, its causes, and effects which aims to get a clear and shared understanding of the issue.
How to use it online?
This tool can be used during virtual meetings to organize an online collaborative exercise. The problem tree visual can be uploaded to an online collaborative whiteboard platform (such as Canva, Miro, Mural…) or in a Google sheet, and participants can fill in the problem tree thanks to virtual sticky notes.
Conclusion
The Problem Tree is a great way to organize your thoughts and get the most out of your brainstorming sessions. It provides a clear structure that will help you focus on the root causes of your problem, so you can come up with solutions that target those causes directly. So when you get stuck, it’s time to find a tree!
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