Everything Lean For Leaders And Their Teams

Building Continuous Improvement Management Systems

Lean Consulting

Lean Training

Lean Products

Lean Support Services

Forms and Tools

Lean Dictionary
Consulting Training Products Services Forms Dictionary

Call us at 1.800.670.5805

Email UseView Cart

Gotta Go Lean BlogView Cart

View hundreds of terms in our Lean Dictionary

Lean Definition: Scientific Method

 

The scientific method is one of many problem solving techniques. The basic steps of the scientific method include:

1. Observation:

Gather facts and data about a situation.

2. Form a hypothesis:

In this step of the scientific method, the user makes a statement about what is happening and why. In effect, it is where a potential root cause of a problem is identified. Hypotheses are stated as fact. “We lose 7% of our customers each year because of poor quality.”

3. Make predictions:

Estimate what will happen if your hypothesis is true.

4. Create an experiment:

Control the environment and prove that your hypothesis is accurate.

5. Confirm the hypothesis:

In the final step of the scientific method, the user checks if the results of the experiment confirm the hypothesis.

You are probably most familiar with the scientific method from high school science class. Most people, though, continue to use some informal form of the scientific method throughout their lives.

Basic troubleshooting follows the scientific method. When you observe a symptom, you suspect a problem and then go out to prove your theory.

Add a Comment

Share Your Thoughts    |No comments|

© 2009-2012 by Velaction Continuous Improvement, LLC. All rights reserved.

Gotta Go Lean Blog

Don't forget to sign up for my Gotta Go Lean Blog via RSS...

rss-feed-3d

Lean Definitions | Tags:

Other Information You May Be Interested In...

  1. Problem Solving (+Video) Problem solving is the broad term that describes the formal and informal methodologyfor identifying the causes of problems, selecting appropriate solutions, and implementing a lasting fix. Some of the formal...
  2. Please Confirm Your Subscription Thanks for Subscribing to our “Lessons of the Day! You still need to CONFIRM your subscription. We’d like to thank you for signing up for our Lessons of the Day....
  3. 5 Whys Form (+ Video +Form) The 5 Whys Worksheet is used to guide a problem solver through his or her root cause analysis. ...
  4. A3 Management A3 management is a structured way of running a business. A3 management focuses on using a scientific approach to problem solving that creates a learning organization. It is imperative that...
  5. Please Confirm Your Subscription Thanks for subscribing to ‘Maximize Your Lean Success!’ You will need to CONFIRM your subscription. Soon, you will get an email from us asking you to confirm your subscription.  It...
  6. Terms of Use for Our Free Lean Forms Unless specifically identified otherwise, the free forms listed on this site are free to registered users and guests of Velaction.com. 1. The forms available without registration may not be modified in...

Comments and Feedback:

Please leave feedback about this entry.

You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.