Friday, April 13, 2007

Hey, that calls for a CATWOE!


Kitty Cat
Originally uploaded by zeddyorg.
I great post at LifeHack about a problem solving tool:
CATWOE is a method for expanding your thinking about a problem or situation before you zero in on a specific problem that you want to solve.

Customers: Who are they, and how does the issue affect them?

Actors: Who is involved in the situation? Who will be involved in implementing solutions? And what will impact their success?

Transformation Process: What processes or systems are affected by the issue?

World View: What is the big picture? And what are the wider impacts of the issue?

Owner: Who owns the process or situation you are investigating? And what role will they play in the solution?

Environmental: Constraints What are the constraints and limitations that will impact the solution and its success?

The idea is that before attempting to resolve a problem, you run through the CATWOE checklist so you’re not fixing one thing but potentially letting something else go wrong.
Read all about it at the source, MindTools.

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