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How you ask a question has a lot to do with the answer that you get. This concept is well known to those who ask questions for a living – pollsters, attorneys, investigators, reporters, and the like. The concept suggests an important tool in the project manager’s toolbox – the Frame.

The Frame is a simple but sophisticated tool. It uses the concept of “Reframing” – redefining a problem or issue in a way that is more amenable to solution. As a metaphor, the Frame represents the bounds of a problem or issue, or it’s definition.

Can it be that problems can be solved simply by re-defining the problem until it isn’t a problem? That seems like the worst kind of spin and deception. There are many situations, though, where re-framing a problem can lead to dramatic results.

A classic example from the literature is that of a struggling West Coast port. The powerful dock worker’s union, fearful of losing jobs, had over the years negotiated restrictive work rule practices with management. These practices were now barriers to management’s adoption of new container shipping technologies. In a new round of negotiations, the Union refused to budge, fearing layoffs. Management feared loss of business to more efficient ports.

But then a consultant from outside the industry, who was also a member of the committee, asked a bold question: “What could management afford to pay the union in a one-time settlement to have all the work rules dropped?” The answer to “What could management afford?” depended on the savings available if the port could operate free of restrictive work rules. A study, commissioned by the bargaining committee, concluded that the changes would be revolutionary and the savings enormous.

As a result, the committee negotiated a generous buy-out for the dock workers, and the work rules were eliminated. The port invested in containerized handl,ing equipment, and dramatically reduced costs and turn-around time for ships unloading and loading in the port. Business grew dramatically as ship owners benefited, and brought more business to the port. Even consumers benefited from lower prices of fresh Hawaiian produce in local stores. A solution arose because someone reframed the problem in a creative new way.

Reframing often has to do with reformulating a question or problem statement. Some techniques that help include:

- Write a formal statement of the problem

- Document your assumptions

- Describe the event that triggered the problem (often is misleading!)

- Question the problem constraints – ask “Why Can’t …”

- Talk to others to gain fresh insights

See if re-framing your problem can lead to better solutions.