Description
Success in today’s rapidly changing and competitive environment depends upon being able to sort and analyze information, rapidly assess a situation, and come up with correct and timely solutions and decisions. However, today’s professionals are often overwhelmed by a mass of information from many sources. This workshop explains how to distinguish between important and less important inputs and how to apply effective techniques to the processes of problem solving and decision making. The workshop also includes exercises for establishing and reinforcing these techniques.

Audience
Persons in any jobs or roles in which problem solving and decision making are important.

Prerequisites
An understanding of communication skills is desirable such as that provided by Arkoa's Communication Skills for IT Professionals workshop.

Classroom Requirements
Room set up as horseshoe and large enough for team activities, or with break-out rooms for team activities. Overhead projector, flipcharts.

Format

• Presentation
  
• Written Exercises
  
• Interactive Activities
  

Objectives
After completing this course, participants should be able to:

• Recognize the drivers for effective problem solving and decision making
• Describe the problem-solving and decision-making life cycles
• Identify different types of problems and solutions and recognize the differences between symptoms and causes
• Describe how to gather, organize, and analyze information inputs
• Apply a variety of problem-solving and decision-making techniques
• Apply appropriate techniques to select a solution and make a decision

Introduction

Drivers for Effective Problem Solving and Decision Making

• Motivating factors
  • Business drivers
  • Complex technologies
• Ways of working in IT
  • Teams and methods

The Problem-Solving and Decision-Making Process

• Problem resolution

Types of Problems and Solutions

• Problem identification
• Causes of problems
  • Causes versus symptoms
  • Identifying the causes

Managing Information Inputs

• Gathering information
• Organizing and analyzing information
  
  
  

Creative Techniques for Problem Solving and Decision Making

• Creative techniques
  • Techniques for creative problem solving
  • Brainstorming
  • Sorting ideas

Selecting Solutions and Making Decisions

• Selection techniques
• Presenting a solution or decision
  • Obtaining commitment and agreement

Conclusion

• Case Study Scenarios