Two colleagues were discussing a problem in the office the other day (this is not the start of a joke I’m afraid...) and I happened to interject with “Have you asked the Duck?” They stopped talking and gave me a quizzical look, “Duck?” they stated in unison. 

“Have you not heard about the Problem-Solving Duck?” I replied. 

When I was learning to program, and at my wits’ end on how to solve a problem, I came across the book The Pragmatic Programmer by Andrew Hunt and David Thomas. They describe a programmer who would debug code by explaining it, line by line, to a yellow plastic waterfowl. Through the process of describing what the code is supposed to do and observing what it actually does, any irregularity between these two become apparent. 

Years later, while teaching computer programming, I found this to be an amazing tool. 

Hearing the dreaded words: “This stupid program, it just doesn’t do what I want it to!” I would respond with my standard, immortal phrase “A computer is only as good as the person on it. Have you discussed it with the duck?” Using this technique students were able to vocalise their problem which in turn slowed down their thinking and enabled them to explain it more precisely (after all the duck needs to understand the problem) which then in turn helped them to find the flaw in their code.

Can the Problem-Solving Duck help with Business Analysis?

There are many instances within Business Analysis where this technique could be used. For example, when documenting the steps of a process, you need to record the level of detail required by the audience. 

If you reminisce back to the first time you were taught to make a cup of tea, did you have to be told what ‘Boil the kettle’ meant or did you have some basic knowledge already? If you were explaining that very first step to a Martian, would you need to add more detail to your instruction? If not,  would they put the kettle into water to heat it up or perhaps put the kettle on the hob and end up with a molten mess of plastic?

In order to teach someone how to do something that is completely alien to them, we need to take things step-by-step and ensure that our instructions are specific. The consequence of not being clear and the ambiguity of the English language means that badly written instructions are open to interpretation and the chance that things won’t go the way we want them to. 

Using the ‘Problem-Solving Duck technique’ enables greater understanding, aids the identification of logical flaws and errors, encourages step-by-step analysis and eliminates assumptions. 

There are many instances within Business Analysis that you could use this technique such as user stories, scenario analysis, perhaps talking through a rich picture, empathy map or customer journey map. It is so versatile that its use is only limited by the attentiveness of the duck!

Next time you are troubled by a problem… talk to the Duck, everything will become clearer!