POLARIS PROBLEM INDEX · 24 BRIEFS
Start with the problem already on your desk.
Choose the symptom your team sees. Each brief shows what to check, the minimum evidence to request and the first reversible test.
Sales Win Rate Is Down: What to Check First
Diagnose a falling sales win rate across opportunity mix, stage conversion, pricing and execution before changing the team.
02 · SALESLeads Are Not Converting: Find Where They Drop
Find why qualified leads are not becoming opportunities by separating source quality, response time, routing, qualification and follow-up.
03 · SALESSales Cycle Is Too Long: Locate the Waiting Time
Find which stage, approval, stakeholder or handoff is extending sales cycle time and test a faster path without sacrificing deal quality.
04 · CUSTOMER SUPPORTCustomers Keep Contacting Support Again
Diagnose repeat customer contacts by linking tickets into issue episodes and separating resolution quality from ticket closure.
05 · CUSTOMER SUPPORTSupport Ticket Backlog Is Growing
Find whether a growing backlog comes from demand, repeat work, capacity, routing, policy or incomplete closure.
06 · CUSTOMER SUPPORTFirst Contact Resolution Is Low
Fix first contact resolution by verifying the metric, customer confirmation, intent mix and the exact handoff that prevents resolution.
07 · INVENTORYInventory Is Up and Stockouts Are Up
Explain rising inventory and stockouts by tracing SKU-location demand, availability, replenishment, allocation and transfer decisions.
08 · WAREHOUSEWarehouse Picking Is Too Slow
Find whether slow warehouse picking comes from travel, slotting, release waves, congestion, replenishment or exception handling.
09 · LOGISTICSOn-Time Delivery Is Declining
Locate whether delivery performance is failing at promise, release, warehouse, carrier handoff or last mile.
10 · PRODUCT & RETAILNew Product Sales Are Underperforming
Separate product choice from exposure, stock, price, content and launch execution before changing the assortment.
11 · PRODUCT & RETAILProduct Conversion Is Below Competitors
Compare conversion fairly by matching traffic intent, category, price, availability and customer promise.
12 · PRODUCT & RETAILProduct Return Rate Is Rising
Find whether returns are driven by product, expectation, fit, damage, fulfillment or policy changes.
13 · FINANCERevenue Is Up but Cash Is Down
Reconcile profit and cash, then find whether receivables, inventory, payables, capital spending or one-time items consumed the growth.
14 · FINANCEReceivables Collection Is Slowing
Find whether slower collections come from terms, billing, disputes, approvals, customer mix or collection execution.
15 · FINANCEGross Margin Is Declining
Decompose gross margin by price, mix, volume, cost, discount, returns and accounting changes before cutting spend.
16 · PEOPLE & OPERATIONSHeadcount Is Up but Output Is Down
Separate demand, mix, ramp, workflow, coordination and quality before assuming a people-performance problem.
17 · PEOPLEEmployee Turnover Is Rising
Find which roles, managers, tenure bands and employment moments explain rising regrettable turnover.
18 · PEOPLEHiring Takes Too Long
Locate delay in intake, sourcing, scheduling, assessment, approval, offer or acceptance.
19 · ENGINEERINGSoftware Release Cycle Is Slow
Trace commit-to-production time and find whether review, tests, environments, approvals or deployment queues are the constraint.
20 · ENGINEERINGProduction Incidents Are Rising
Separate exposure, detection, change-related failures, recurring causes and recovery gaps before adding process.
21 · ENTERPRISE AIAI PoC Is Not Reaching Production
Find whether the AI PoC lacks a real decision, representative evaluation, integration owner, controls or unit economics.
22 · CUSTOMER GROWTHCustomer Churn Is Rising
Use renewal cohorts and customer journeys to separate mix, adoption, service, product, price and contract causes.
23 · MARKETINGCustomer Acquisition Cost Is Rising
Separate media price, traffic quality, conversion, sales acceptance, revenue quality and attribution before cutting channels.
24 · PLANNINGForecast Accuracy Is Low
Measure forecast error at the decision grain, separate bias from noise and identify whether data, events, hierarchy or process is failing.