Countermeasure: what it is and what it means

A countermeasure is the measure by which an action is countered or prevented, or its effects neutralized. In structured problem solving it is the action chosen after the cause has been written down and verified against the data: it differs from a generic solution because it carries a verification date, an owner and a threshold against which the starting figure is checked again. In the A3 report it occupies the countermeasures section, which stays closed until the cause analysis has produced a written cause. The sheet also records the options discarded, with the reason for discarding them, and each action is weighed on impact, cost and reversibility.

Distinctive: carries a verification date
Distinctive: after the cause has been written down and verified against the data
Essential: measure by which an action is countered or prevented
Essential: an owner and a threshold against which the starting figure is checked again
Constant: options discarded, with the reason for discarding them
Constant: impact, cost and reversibility

Glossary

Countermeasure

An action chosen to counter a cause already established, which carries an owner, a threshold and a date on which the starting figure is checked again.