A3 template for problem solving, with a filled-in example
An A3 is a lean method for describing and solving a problem on one sheet: from situation and goal to cause, countermeasures and follow-up. This page has an A3 template to fill in, with an example next to it. You print it or save it as PDF, nothing has to be downloaded.
What is an A3?
The name comes from the paper size. An A3 forces you to describe a problem concisely, with a line of thought from left to right: what is the situation, what do we want, what is the cause, what do we do about it and how do we follow up. It follows the PDCA principle: plan, do, check, act.
In an Obeya the A3 belongs to the wall for problems and actions. A deviation in a KPI is the trigger, the A3 is the analysis, and the countermeasures become actions with an owner and a date.
A filled-in example
A made-up example at Meridiaan Health, to show how short a box may be. The numbers are deliberately left out, fill those in with your own figures.
1. Background: Cancelled appointments cost capacity and waiting time. It is a KPI on the team’s wall.
2. Current situation: The percentage of cancelled appointments has risen and is above the target of X%. The trend per week shows a trend, not an outlier.
3. Goal: Back to the target of X% within a quarter.
4. Analysis: Why do patients cancel? Why do they not know they can reschedule? Why is that not in the reminder? Cause: the reminder does not mention rescheduling.
5. Countermeasures: Adjust the reminder. A trial at one clinic. Measure the outcome after four weeks.
6. Plan: Text ready: Sanne, next week. Trial: starts in two weeks. Measurement: every week on the wall.
7. Follow-up: Every week at the stand-up: has the KPI dropped? If not: back to the analysis.
A3, problem solving, CoVince Obeya (covince.com/obeya)
A3 template
Why is this a problem, and for whom?
What do we do about the causes?
What do the numbers say now, with the source.
Who does what, when?
What must be true, where, and by when?
How do we measure whether it works, and when do we look?
Ask why five times. Stop at a cause you can do something about.
| Why 1 | |
|---|---|
| Why 2 | |
| Why 3 | |
| Why 4 | |
| Why 5 |
How to keep an A3 good
- One problem per A3. An A3 about everything solves nothing.
- Numbers in the current situation, with the source. ‘It is going badly’ is not a situation.
- A cause you can do something about. Stop asking ‘why’ when it ends at something beyond your power.
- Countermeasures as actions with owner and date. Otherwise it stays a nice sheet.
- Follow-up on the wall. The A3 is checked in the stand-up, not forgotten in a folder.
The A3 on a digital canvas
In CoVince you make an A3 on the canvas: an infinite board with sticky notes, shapes, arrows and charts, where the team works at the same time. The KPI it is about is in the same journey, and the countermeasures become actions on the timeline, with an owner and a date. Whoever is remote works along on the same board via video calling.
You can read more about the wall an A3 belongs to in The five Obeya walls.
Frequently asked questions
What is an A3?
A lean method for describing and solving a problem on one sheet, from situation and goal to cause, countermeasures and follow-up.
Why is it called A3?
The name comes from the paper size. An A3 forces you to keep the problem concise.
Can I print the A3 or save it as PDF?
Yes. Choose Print / save as PDF. The printout shows the filled-in template without the rest of the page.
Is what I fill in stored?
No. The page remembers nothing; print or save as PDF before you close it.
How does an A3 fit in an Obeya?
A deviation in a KPI is the trigger, the A3 is the analysis, and the countermeasures become actions with an owner and a date on the wall for problems and actions.