Common Business Challenges

..decomposed into their component parts

It is useful to look at some of the common challenges faced in business and see how the various problem types illuminate the essential nature of each one. Some activities (such as strategic planning) have often been considered more than "mere" problem solving. In reality, they are merely activities defined by 3-4 of the basic problem types. They seem somehow "more than problem solving" precisely because they are a complex mixture of different problem types.

Getting clear about the component parts of these business challenges is a significant aid in structuring the work, explaining the work to others involved, and in sequencing the activity for the most successful outcome.

The pages to follow offer a description of several typical business activities in terms of the problem types they contain:

  1. Visioning
  2. Strategic Planning
  3. Project Management
  4. Portfolio Management
  5. System Wide Data System Implementation
  6. Performance Evaluation