Org Chart

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This is a Problem Solving Org Chart, not your typical HR Org Chart.
All companies have org charts with varying levels of reliability and completeness, but even the up to date, comprehensive ones are of little use to you as a Problem Solver.

So what is the difference between a comprehensive org chart and a problem solving org chart?
Simple: a problem solving org chart identifies only decision makers (DMs) and subject matter experts (SMEs). Or in more simple terms, those who want something, can authorise something, need something or know something – because only those people are relevant to the problem and the solution within the organisation from a business and technology domain perspective.

“Problem Solving Org Charts identify the relevant Decision Makers and Subject Matter Experts”

Purpose of the Problem Solving Org Chart

The Problem Solving Org Chart is designed to identify the decision makers and those with domain specific expertise within the business.

This is because they:

WANT	Want a problem solved, a value delivered, an inefficiency removed etc
AUTHORISE	Can sign off problem statements, research, prototypes etc. This means they formally agree and allow us to move forward – any ‘change of mind’ is entirely the responsibility of the stakeholder. This makes it very unlikely to happen because they are responsible for the time and cost associated with any changes once they’ve authorised them (not the delivery team), and they have already made a confident decision. We’ve created transparency and trust.
NEED	Stakeholders need to show progress, present insights, guarantee delivery and efficacy, control costs. SMEs need to have visibility of the research, give input on the project, collaborate and understand how the solution will affect them and their domain of expertise. The need to come out the other side looking like heros.
KNOW	SMEs and Linchpin employees know how thing work – how they really work, where all the bodies are buried, the history that led to current state, the pain points, the compromises, the technical limitations. DMs know the financial and governance limitations.

I know, I know – that means that Org charts are built on W.A.N.K. – but I defy you to forget this acronym.

The Value of the Problem Solving Org Chart

1. You know who has the expertise on any given element of the business or technology for research, collaboration, hypothesis or testing. You can find critical information, know the unknowns and sanity test solution hypothesise before and after prototyping and usability testing.
2. Gives a simple and comprehensive overview (and tracker) of who to interview inside the business and technology domains – and why. This allows us to quickly create only valuable interview scripts, schedules and logs.
3. It allows us to focus on the important business and individual wants and needs.
4. It connects us with those who can authorise – who can sign off – research insights, problem statements, discovery reports, prototypes and usability tests, so that we are all in agreement now, not fighting later.
5. The problem solving team can move forward, without resistance or change, blameless and supported by the client, when we work with the Decision Makers and get them to authorise (formally sign off) every stage. This prevents “The client’s changed their minds” and the loss of time, money and utility with needless delays built on miscommunication and lack of agreement.
6. It gives the entire project delivery team sight of the true knowledge experts and the decision makers with whom to collaborate, build trust and appease.
7. Identifying these people removes a lot of expensive friction from the project and optimises its efficacy, with minimum compromise and the quickest results.

It’s critical that Decision Makers and SMEs feel like problem solving is something we do with them, not to them – so early and continual collaboration is required.

Examples

NB. For security clearance and NDA reasons, some elements of the example files may be redacted, changed or removed.