It is not uncommon for problems to be reported as symptoms. More examples are: noise, won�t work, no power, machine down, broken tool, head froze up, contaminated, rough surface, porosity, shortage of parts, rattles, quality problem, worn out, line stopped, not to specification, labour problem, management problem, too much variation, etc.
The problem solving team must use a systematic approach to define the real problem in as much detail as possible. A definition of the problem can best be developed using approaches that organize the facts to get a comparative analysis. These approaches do this by asking what �is� against what �is not�. Then they draw distinctions from this comparison, testing these against the problem definition and forming a statement or description of the problem which must be resolved.
