How to solve Case Studies III
Situation Appraisal
By Christophe Mercier
Review from last session
A. What is going on?
B. Why did this
happen?
C. Which course of
action should we
take?
D. What lies ahead?
1. Potential Problem
Analysis (PPA)
2. Decision Analysis
(DA)
3. Problem Analysis
(PA)
4. Situation Appraisal
Situation Appraisal, an Evaluation Tool
Situation appraisal techniques
• Preceding PA, DA and PPA, it shows:
• Recognizing concerns
• Separating concerns into manageable components
• Setting priorities
• Planning resolution of concerns
– Where to begin
– How to recognize situations that require actions
– How to break apart overlapping and confusing
issues
– How to set priorities
– How to manage a number of simultaneous
activities efficiently
The Stages of Situation Appraisal:
RECOGNIZE CONCERNS
Current or Future
- Deviations
- Threats
- Opportunities
PLAN FOR RESOLUTION:
-Select the appropriate process to
solve each concern
- Plan the Who, What, Where,
When and Extent of the solution
SEPARATE:
-Break broad Concerns into more
clearly defined sub-concerns
-List additional concerns that must
be resolved
Recognizing concerns
• List current business situation, deviations, threats
and opportunities
• Review progress against goals
• Look ahead for surprises within the organization
and in the external environment
• Search for improvement
SET PRIORITIES:
-Decide in which order to work on
your separated concerns
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Sample of specific questions to ask in SA
• Where are we not meeting standards?
• What problems from the last six months remain unsolved
• What recommendations are we currently working on or be
coming up in the near future?
• What decisions need to be made now?
• What decisions are being made now and will have to be
implemented when a choice is made?
• What major projects, systems or plans are about to be
implemented?
Separating Concerns into Manageable
Components
• What is actually happening in this situation?
• What do we see/ hear/ feel/ smell/ taste that tells us
we must take action?
• What is there about the way we handled this
situation that should be improved?
• What is really troubling about this situation?
Separating Concerns into Manageable
Components
• Do we think one action will really resolve this
concern?
• Are we talking about one thing or several things?
• Are we in agreement as to the reason we are
concerned about this?
• What evidence do we have that says this is a
concern?
Setting Priorities amongst Concerns
• How SERIOUS is the current impact of this
particular concern on productivity, people and/
resources?
• How much TIME URGENCY does it have?
• What is the best estimate of its PROBABLE
GROWTH?
– Only critical concerns can be addressed.
Planning resolutions of concerns
Planning resolutions of concerns
• Does the situation require explanation? Is there a
deviation between expected and actual
performance? Is the deviation of unknown cause?
Would knowing the true cause help us take more
effective action? If there is a deviation AND it is of
unknown cause, we can use PA
• Does a choice have to be made? Or do objectives
need to be set in order to undertake some activity?
If so, we can use the techniques of DA
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Planning resolutions of concerns
In Conclusion
• Has a decision been made but not yet implemented,
and is it necessary to act now to avoid possible
future trouble? Does a plan need to be made to
safeguard some decision or future activity? If so we
can use the techniques of PPA
• The kind of answer we need determines the choice
of rational process and tool.
• How much of an answer we need determines
whether we will use all of a process or only part of it.
• The point is not to divide concerns among 3 boxes
for full application, but to use ideas and tools from
each that are most suitable and time efficient for
solving the case.
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