Solutioning and Project Management
When a colleague asked me to write a post on the difference between solutioning and project management, I knew that solutioning had transcended from a passing fad to a full-blown trend. It had embedded itself in the consulting lexicon, and there was no turning back. When I set about writing this article, it occurred to me that the term solutioning had in fact become so entrenched in my vocabulary that I ought to confirm other people had the same understanding of its meaning. I expected to source a definition from businessdictionary.com or the like. Instead, the best definition of solutioning came from an unexpected source.
“A word many business people misuse to describe the process of creating a solution. These people need a grammar lesson and should be fired immediately.”
While I agree that the term needs work (like so many in the consulting world), I am a fan of the process. It sounds like common sense. Of course, there is a process that people follow to come up with a solution! It’s called problem solving, or critical thinking. The idea behind a term like solutioning, though, is that it seeks to structure the problem solving process so that it is consistent, repeatable, and generates optimal results.
For example, let’s say that you want to come up with the best approach to cooking eggs. You can prepare the eggs in a variety of different ways to achieve a similar objective. But which method generates the optimal result—i.e., the result that the consumer of the eggs would prefer? To come up with a solution for this problem, you’d follow a defined set of steps (in this case, so basic that you likely wouldn’t even take the time to document your process.) This might include:
Research different methods of cooking eggs (e.g., poaching, scrambling, hard boiling)
Identify experts in preparing the eggs according to each of the different methods
Interview those experts to understand how they prepare the eggs to perfection using each of those methods. Collect lessons learned from their previous attempts at cooking eggs
Meet with the egg consumer to gauge their preferences—or, if that is not possible, assemble a focus group of stakeholders that knows the consumer well to pinpoint their wants and needs
Refine the selected cooking strategy based on input gleaned from the egg consumer and affiliated stakeholders
Present the strategy to the egg consumer and collect feedback
Iterate as many times as necessary to get it right.
I’d argue that managing a process with a defined start and end point is project management. Therefore, a solutioning effort could be construed as a project in and of itself. In fact, I’m managing one of those right now. In some ways, it’s more complex than some of the other projects I am managing. Since the emphasis is on perfecting a solution, the desired end product is more ambiguous than it is for some of my other engagements. Therefore, the project is sometimes more difficult to manage.
On the other hand, solutioning can also be a technique used as part of a larger project. If you are managing an effort to write a research paper or implement software, for example, you may go through the set of steps listed above to source content for the paper or to select the preferred software vendor. Critical thinking skills are useful for project managers to wield on any engagement, no matter the size or sector. And, if it’s a consulting gig that you seek, savvy PMs know that getting the terminology right is essential for success in a new industry. So, with that in mind, happy solutioning!
