09 Dec How to Solve Out-of-Stocks (While Reducing Inventory)
How to solve out-of-stocks (while reducing inventory).
Table of Contents
Solving Your Out-of-Stock Problem Once and for All
While inexperienced retailers may celebrate completely selling out of stock — retailing professionals know that out-of-stocks can be disastrous for a retail organization, both in the short and long term.
In the short term, out-of-stock causes lost sales (you can’t sell what you don’t have) and disappointed customers.
But in the long-term, chronic out-of-stocks become even more insidious. If you are consistently running out of stock, several things will begin to happen:
- Your profit margins will start to decrease. This is because you are not only losing sales (and thus revenue) but are also increasing your costs by having to replenish more frequently.
- Your reputation among customers will suffer. Would you want to waste your time going to a store that never has what you want in stock?
- Your competitors will steal sales. If there is demand for your product and someone else is selling it — customers will flock in their direction.
This is why most retailers are doing everything they can to reduce out-of-stocks. And while there is no silver bullet on how to prevent stock-outs, there are some tactics that retailers can use to prevent out-of-stock problems.
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What is a stock-out?
A stock-out happens when there is no inventory left of a specific item at a specific location.
In other words, even if most of your stores have the item but one store does not – you still have a stock out (and will be losing sales). Moreover, if you notice a stock-out at one store at any given particular point in time, it’s likely that you’re experiencing similar stockouts at different stores at different times.
While some retailers will attempt to “resolve” a stock-out situation by offering alternative fulfillment options to customers (sending them to a store with inventory, transferring stock from store to store, shipping items directly to the customer, etc.) — this only works a portion of the time. In many cases, customers simply walk out of the store without making a purchase.
This means that, while alternative fulfillment methods can help retain some portion of lost sales, they’re merely a band-aid for a deep cut. The only way to eliminate the pain of out-of-stocks completely is to prevent them from happening in the first place.
As such, here are 6 ways retailers can prevent out-of-stocks and lost sales in their business:
1. Prevent out-of-stocks with accurate forecasting
When it comes to solving out-of-stock problems, prevention is the best medicine. Remember that once you have out-of-stocks, you will have lost sales. The best way to prevent stockouts is to know the demand for your products in advance. If you know how many units of each SKU you need at each store and when you need them, you’ll be able to prevent out-of-stocks.
The challenge is that most forecasting solutions on the market today don’t do a good enough job to anticipate demand. Their forecasts often have too many exceptions, which can lead to out-of-stock issues. To get a reliable forecast, retailers will need to invest in forecasting software that accounts for the most important factors influencing demand (price, seasonality, competitors, etc.).
In modern retailing, AI-powered retail forecasting tools are the most accurate and reliable methods for preventing stock-outs.
2. Identify and fix a broken assortment
The reality is that out-of-stocks are actually a symptom of several other problems. For example, your out-of-stocks may be indirectly caused by gaps in your product assortment.
While retailers may offer a wide range of assortment for any given category, not all products within that assortment will sell the same quantity. That’s why knowing how to balance assortment diversity vs depth for your products ensures that you don’t run out of stock on popular items.
Alternatively, you may be tying up too much money in an unnecessary assortment. If you have too much depth and diversity to your assortment, you will not have enough budget to invest in more units of your most popular SKUs.
But fixing a broken assortment is not easy.
Expanding assortment can be a risk because your new products may not sell. Reducing assortment can create unintended lost sales.
How do you find the perfect balance of assortment to maximize your revenue sales while reducing the cost of unnecessary SKUs?
Traditionally, this was done manually through the process of assortment planning. Planners would map out their product categories on Excel spreadsheets and make judgement calls on when to shrink or expand their assortment. In some cases, analysts would compile reports on store performance to help with the decision-making process.
Unfortunately, it is very difficult to translate this type of assortment plan to a precise number of units required at every store at every time frame to eliminate stock-outs. This becomes impossible for retailers with hundreds of stores and millions of SKUs.
This is why retailers have started to turn to AI to help them predict when they need to shrink or expand assortment to maximize GMROI.
3. Optimize unbalanced allocation
Retailers who have out-of-stocks in one location but plenty of inventory at another will need to optimize allocation. To do this, retailers need to better understand how to distribute inventory across their business.
But this is easier said than done.
It’s not just a matter of knowing exactly how many units of each product you’ll need at each store at every time frame (and that is difficult enough by itself). You’ll also need to account for dozens of additional factors (like seasonality, product cannibalization, competitors, promotions, events, etc.).
It’s very difficult to do this manually for a small retailer. It’s virtually impossible to do for a large one.
This is why retailers have been turning to software to help them balance and optimize their allocation. A good allocation tool is able to automatically account for plans, promotions, inventory levels at each location, seasonality, and other factors that affect demand. Using retail allocation optimization software can help you solve your out-of-stock challenges and ensure that each location has ample supply to meet customer demand.
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4. Automate your replenishment with AI
Once your inventory has been allocated to stores, you still need to worry about replenishment. This is another area where retailers run into problems. Inefficiently replenishing inventory is a frequent source of out-of-stock problems for retailers managing large quantities of products and stores.
Even if you have a good demand forecast and optimized allocation, bad replenishment timing can still cause out-of-stocks. Ship inventory too early, and you’re tying up to much money in stock you don’t need. Replenish too late, and lose sales.
This is why optimizing replenishment is a major focus for many retailers. There are several common approaches to doing so:
- Modifying replenishment schedules and quantities to take promotions and price changes into account
- Leveraging data analytics to determine ideal order quantities
- Improving collaboration and flexibility with vendors and logistics providers
- Optimizing logistics routes and updating shipping schedules
- Opening new distribution centers to allow for faster reactivity
But all of these are massive undertakings, many of which require major restructuring and change management to implement. And even when these changes are implemented, retailers will still find opportunities to optimize their replenishment process further. For example, if you improve your logistics routes to reduce transit time for your inventory orders — you might reduce your cost of replenishment and improve replenishment speed — but you’ll still be reacting to out-of-stocks (albeit faster) instead of preventing them. Sure, the damage will be reduced. But there will still be damage.
Alternatively (or even concurrently to these ideas), leading retailers have discovered that AI-based auto-replenishment can almost entirely eliminate their replenishment problems. Instead of trying to solve every constraint (vendors, logistics, MOQs, lead-time variability, etc.), AI can predict when you need to replenish and with how many units, taking all of these constraints into account . The result is automatically generated POs that are optimized for your demand, shipping times, shipping costs, vendor requirements, order quantities, etc.
This way, you will always replenish on time, in the most cost-effective way possible.
5. Optimize your safety stock
Optimizing your safety stock may seem like an obvious fix but in some cases, the medicine is worse than the disease.
In short, safety stock is the buffer inventory retailers hold in warehouses and back rooms to mitigate risks like vendor lead-time variability.
Increasing your safety stock arbitrarily may solve your out-of-stock problems with certain SKUs, but it also ties up a large amount of money in your inventory. It is also hard to know how much safety stock you’ll need throughout the year for different SKUs.
The trick is to increase your safety stocks by a minimal amount to protect you from out-of-stocks while minimizing inventory costs. Or, in other words, only add stock when it adds value.
Traditional methods for determining safety stock such as guesstimation or using common statistical modelling techniques do not work well in today’s dynamic retailing environment.
Today’s most successful retailers leverage software that specializes in optimizing safety stock based on an accurate demand forecast.
6. Be proactive about inter-store transfers
When a popular item is out-of-stock at their location, store managers are often faced with the decision to transfer inventory in from another store. Not only does this come at an additional cost (shipping cost, employee time, etc.), but it also doesn’t solve the root problem.
That’s because managers only request inventory transfers when it’s too late and a product is completely out-of-stock. In other words, sales are already being lost.
To mitigate lost sales and minimize costs, inventory should be transferred from store to store proactively. This means knowing in advance when ‘store A’ is running low on a particular SKU while ‘store B’ has too much of the same item.
But having this predictive ability is not enough. Even if you used transfers effectively to minimize out-of-stocks — you could destroy your margins. This is especially true if you are transferring inventory over large geographical distances (across states or provinces, for example).
Thus, it’s not enough to be proactive and time your transfers right. You also need to ensure that each individual transfer is profitable for your company, so you’re not selling transferred items at a loss because of shipping costs.
Although it’s possible to run these calculations manually — this task becomes too complicated for larger retailers. That’s why many retailers have adopted retail analytics tools that automate the entire process, by not only proactively identifying inter-store transfer opportunities but also making sure that they’re profitable for the company.
Lost sales due to out-of-stocks?
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7. Use pricing as a lever to sculpt demand
In basic economics, demand determines the optimal price for each product. But the price also has an impact on demand — because changing the price of a product will impact how many people want to buy it. Sophisticated retailers like Amazon have figured out how to leverage this phenomenon effectively.
If you know that you’re going to sell out of a product (demand is too high and your suppliers can’t keep up), you can increase your prices. Taking this action can increase your profit margins per sale while decreasing stock-outs (through decreased demand).
But you’ll need to be very careful with this tactic.
Being too aggressive can lead to negative outcomes like damaging your reputation and brand image. Furthermore, some jurisdictions have anti-price gouging bylaws designed to curb predatory pricing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
But assuming it is ethical (and legal) to do so, this tactic requires a very careful balancing act.
You’ll need to increase prices only by the amount that helps you maximize your profits and not a cent more. This is because increasing your prices by too much might destroy demand completely, reducing your revenue from the product. And making this calculation manually is tricky because not all products have the same reaction to price changes.
In some cases, retailers will implement a pricing strategy like “high-low” — where they will price a product highly, and reduce it in increments to find the “sweet spot” between demand and profit. But this is not always possible and can end in very expensive pricing experiments.
In order to simplify this process, some sophisticated retailers have started to employ advanced pricing optimization technology to automatically identify the right price for each SKU to perfectly balance in-stock percentage and profit margins.
How leading retailers fix out-of-stocks
As you’ve seen above, although out-of-stocks may seem simple on paper, their causes and fixes are quite complicated. Bringing in more units of a SKU is simply not enough (and can do more damage than the out-of-stock).
To fix out-of-stocks while maximizing your profits, you need to:
- Predict stock-outs before they happen
- Fix assortment issues that are creating out-of-stock scenarios
- Distribute your inventory across channels effectively and accurately
- Time your orders perfectly so you don’t run out of stock, but inventory doesn’t sit on shelves for too long
- Carry enough safety stock to mitigate risks, but not too much that it’s a major cost
- Find profitable inventory transfer opportunities between stores
- Use pricing as the ultimate fail-safe to sculpt demand
According to McKinsey , this is why retailers that use advanced analytics to solve these issues outperform the market by 68%.
Advanced analytics and artificial intelligence have given retailers an enormous advantage in the market. If you’d like to learn more about how AI and analytics can resolve your out-of-stock problems, don’t hesitate to send get in touch with our team of retail experts.
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1.What are the methods to solve problems relating to stocks which…1. What are the methods to solve problems relating to stocks which are bitter, cloudy, lacking colour or lacking flavour? BusinessCERT IV COMMERCIAL COOKERY SITHCCC006Share QuestionEmailCopy linkComments (0)
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Homework answers / question archive / SITHCCC007 Prepare stocks, sauces and soups Assessment 1 Portfolio Assessment Guidelines What will be assessed The purpose of this assessment is to assess your knowledge required to complete the tasks outlined in elements and performance criteria of this unit: culinary terms and trade names for ingredients commonly used in the production of different stocks, sauces and soups relating to: convenience products thickening agents contents of stock date codes and rotation labels and their implication for food quality standards characteristics of stocks, sauces and soups listed in the performance evidence: appearance and presentation classical and contemporary variations dishes to which they are matched freshness and other quality indicators nutritional value preparation methods production and cooking durations service style taste texture derivatives of base stocks and sauces mise en place requirements for stocks, sauces and soups appropriate environmental conditions for storing stock, sauces and soups products to: ensure food safety optimise shelf life safe operational practices using essential functions and features of equipment used to produce stocks, sauces and soups
SITHCCC007 Prepare stocks, sauces and soups Assessment 1 Portfolio Assessment Guidelines What will be assessed The purpose of this assessment is to assess your knowledge required to complete the tasks outlined in elements and performance criteria of this unit: culinary terms and trade names for ingredients commonly used in the production of different stocks, sauces and soups relating to: convenience products thickening agents contents of stock date codes and rotation labels and their implication for food quality standards characteristics of stocks, sauces and soups listed in the performance evidence: appearance and presentation classical and contemporary variations dishes to which they are matched freshness and other quality indicators nutritional value preparation methods production and cooking durations service style taste texture derivatives of base stocks and sauces mise en place requirements for stocks, sauces and soups appropriate environmental conditions for storing stock, sauces and soups products to: ensure food safety optimise shelf life safe operational practices using essential functions and features of equipment used to produce stocks, sauces and soups
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SITHCCC007 Prepare stocks, sauces and soups
Assessment 1 Portfolio
Assessment Guidelines
Assessment 1
You are required to complete all questions and tasks for this portfolio. All tasks and exercises are based on the theory content and recipes contained in your workbook/ online unit.
- List all essential equipment and utensils required for the preparation, production and service of stocks, sauces and soups and explain the use of each item.
- Provide 3 examples each, for brown, white and miscellaneous stocks, and list
- the cooking times which apply
- the quality signs for good stock
- What are the points of care which must be applied when preparing stocks?
- List the production steps for each of the following types of stock:
- Provide an overview over the different types of glazes, the production method for a glaze and the required procedures to provide for a product which is free of impurities.
- Provide 3 examples each for, thickeners based on fats, and thickeners based on starches. Explain how these are used in the preparation of soups and sauces including points of care to ensure a quality product.
- What are the methods to solve problems relating to stocks which are bitter, cloudy, lacking colour or lacking flavour?
- What are the critical hygiene and food safety aspects which must apply when selecting ingredients for stocks and sauces, as well as preparing, cooling and storing stocks including the provisions for labelling?
- List the classification for soups and provide 2 menu examples for each with an appropriate service vessel for service and accompaniment or garnish (no repetition of garnish or accompaniment).
- Select 1 example of the soups you have listed in Question 9 and write and adjust the ingredients for the recipe, using the attached recipe template to yield 10 serves. Include the production method on the recipe card.
- List the production steps for a Consommé, including points of care.
- List the classifications for sauces and provide 3 examples for each.
- List the production steps for a Jus.
- List 3 derivative sauces which can be produced from sauce Demi-glace with their main ingredients.
- List 2 derivative sauces which can be produced from sauce Béchamel, with their main ingredients.
- What is the production method for a Velouté?
- Provide 3 examples for derivative sauces which can be produced from each, fish velouté, chicken velouté and veal velouté.
- What are the basic ingredients of sauce mayonnaise? List the preparation steps and provide 2 examples for derivative sauces (and ingredients used), that can be produced from sauce mayonnaise.
- How do the ingredients and production steps for a sauce Hollandaise and sauce Béarnaise differ? Provide 3 derivative examples which can be produced from each Sauce.
- What are the correct hygienic procedures to reconstitute sauces and soups whilst ensuring the correct consistency and flavour?
21. List 3 different convenience products for stocks, sauces and soups and explain how these are used. What could be done to enhance convenience products in terms of flavour and presentation?
- List 3 food safety aspects which must be considered during the production of soups stocks and sauces to ensure food safety and a clean workplace during and post production:
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Does It Matter If Your Stock Is Cloudy?
Chicken, beef, vegetable, or fish — homemade stock is a handy staple to have around since it serves as the foundation for so many recipes we love. But we’ve always been taught that stock should be as clear as possible and free from cloudy imperfections, which is often easier said than done.
So what if your stock does turn out cloudy? Does it really matter?
The Taste Is What Matters
At the end of the day, what’s really important is how your stock tastes — not the way it looks — so it’s okay if your stock turns out cloudy. While it might not look perfect, the cloudiness doesn’t affect the overall flavor of the stock. After all, we’re cooking in our own kitchen, not working the line in a fine-dining restaurant.
This Is Why Your Stock Is Cloudy
There are a few reasons why your stock may have turned out cloudy. Generally speaking, the cloudy nature of stock is simply due to impurities or particles in the stock.
Stock should always be started with cold water and cooked, uncovered, at a simmer, without ever coming to a full boil. If the stock does boil, some of the fat will emulsify into the liquid, which can make it cloudy. Another reason for cloudiness is that the stock wasn’t strained well or at all.
Here’s How You Can Fix It
To avoid homemade stock becoming cloudy in the first place, always start with cold water, regardless of the type of stock you’re making. Be sure not to turn the heat too high to avoid the stock from reaching a boil as it cooks. This is a good preventative measure to keep impurities, like small pieces of the ingredients or fats, from clouding the stock.
If the stock does become cloudy, the best way to remove impurities is by straining it. Use a fine-mesh strainer, and consider lining it with cheesecloth to catch even more food particles and bits of fat.
But really, unless you’re making a consommé or other recipe that requires a pristine-looking stock, it’s okay if your stock is a little bit cloudy. Looks aren’t everything — your soup, stew, or braise will turn out just fine and taste delicious.
Make Homemade Stock
- How To Make Chicken Stock in the Slow Cooker
- How To Make Chicken Stock in the Pressure Cooker
- How To Make Vegetable Stock
- Recipe: Roasted Vegetable Stock
- Recipe: Shellfish Stock
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SITHCCC007 Prepare stocks, sauces and soups assessment
- List all essential equipment and utensils required for the preparation, production and service of stocks, sauces and soups and explain the use of each item.
2 .Provide 3 examples each, for brown, white and miscellaneous stocks, and list
- the cooking times which apply
- the quality signs for good stock
Quality signs for stock:
•A pronounced flavour of the main ingredient
•Be fat-free
•Be cooked for the required time to extract all the flavour
•A good stock should be jellied when it is cold. This is achieved by adding gelatinous meat, such as shin, shank, trotters or tail to the liquid. This enriches the flavour as the collagen is broken down and its flavour is released into the stock. A double stock will also jelly due to the amount of gelatine in it
• A mixture of bones often provides a good base for soups
• Ham bones can be added to brown stock, demi-glace or game sauce for a more intense flavour. Often a base stock or ‘Grand jus’ is placed on the stove so that all the meat trimmings and roasting juices can be added during the day. The resulting strained liquid from the ‘Grand jus’ is then used instead of water when cooking fresh brown stock to provide extra flavour
- What are the points of care which must be applied when preparing stocks?
- List the production steps for each of the following types of stock:
- Provide an overview over the different types of glazes, the production method for a glaze and the required procedures to provide for a product which is free of impurities.
- Provide 3 examples each for, thickeners based on fats, and thickeners based on starches. Explain how these are used in the preparation of soups and sauces including points of care to ensure a quality product.
- What are the methods to solve problems relating to stocks which are bitter, cloudy, lacking colour or lacking flavour?
- What are the critical hygiene and food safety aspects which must apply when selecting ingredients for stocks and sauces, as well as preparing, cooling and storing stocks including the provisions for labelling?
- List the classification for soups and provide 2 menu examples for each with an appropriate service vessel for service and accompaniment or garnish (no repetition of garnish or accompaniment).
- Select 1 example of the soups you have listed in Question 9 and write and adjust the ingredients for the recipe, using the attached recipe template to yield 10 serves. Include the production method on the recipe card.
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36 Problem-solving techniques, methods and tools
When it comes to solving problems, getting ideas is the easy part.
But businesses often forget the other four stages of the problem-solving process that will allow them to find the best solution.
Instead of jumping straight to idea generation, your problem-solving framework should look like this:
- Identify the problem
- Reveal why it has occurred
- Brainstorm ideas
- Select the best solution
See how idea generation doesn’t appear until stage 3?!
In this extensive resource, we provide techniques, methodologies and tools to guide you through every stage of the problem-solving process.
Once you’ve finished reading, you’ll possess an extensive problem-solving arsenal that will enable you to overcome your biggest workplace challenges.
11 Problem-solving techniques for clarity and confidence
Before we dive into more comprehensive methodologies for solving problems, there are a few basic techniques you should know.
The following techniques will set you up for a successful problem-solving session with your team, allowing you to take on your biggest challenges with clarity and confidence.
1. Take a moment, take a breath
When a problem or challenge arises, it’s normal to act too quickly or rely on solutions that have worked well in the past. This is known as entrenched thinking.
But acting impulsively, without prior consideration or planning, can cause you to misunderstand the issue and overlook possible solutions to the problem.
Therefore, the first thing you should always do when you encounter a problem is: breathe in and out.
Take a step back and make a clear plan of action before you act. This will help you to take rational steps towards solving a problem.
2. Ask questions to understand the full extent of the issue
Another common mistake people make when attempting to solve a problem is taking action before fully understanding the problem.
Before committing to a theory, ask enough questions to unearth the true root of the issue.
Later in this article, we cover The 5 Why’s problem-solving methodology which you can use to easily identify the root of your problem. Give this a go at your next meeting and see how your initial understanding of a problem can often be wrong.
3. Consider alternative perspectives
A common problem-solving issue is that of myopia—a narrow-minded view or perception of the problem. Myopia can occur when you’re too involved with the problem or your team isn’t diverse enough.
To give yourself the best chance of resolving a problem, gain insight from a wide range of sources. Collaborate with key stakeholders, customers and on-the-ground employees to learn how the problem affects them and whether they have found workarounds or solutions.
To paint the broadest picture, don’t limit your problem-solving team to a specific archetype. Try to include everyone, from the chief executive to the office janitor.
If you’re working with a small team, try the Flip It! problem-solving methodology to view the issue from a fresh angle.
4. Make your office space conducive to problem-solving
The environment in which your host your brainstorming sessions should maximise creativity . When your team members trust each other and feel relaxed, they’re more likely to come up with innovative ideas and solutions to a problem.
Here are a few ways to get your employees’ creative juices flowing:
- Play team-building games that maximise trust and build interpersonal relationships
- Improve your team’s problem-solving skills with games that encourage critical thinking
- Redesign the office with comfortable furniture and collaborative spaces
- Boost job satisfaction by creating a positive work-life balance
- Improve collaborative skills and learn to resolve conflicts
World Café is a problem-solving method that creates a casual environment conducive to creative thinking.
Keep reading to learn more about how World Café can help your team solve complex organisational problems.
5. Use problem-solving methodologies to guide the process
Because problem-solving is a creative process, it can be hard to keep it on track. As more ideas get banded around, conflicts can arise that derail the session.
That’s why problem-solving methodologies are so helpful. They offer you proven problem-solving frameworks to guide your group sessions and keep them on track.
The Six Thinking Hats problem-solving method is a popular technique that guides the process and helps your team analyse a problem from all angles.
We’re going to take a look at our favourite problem-solving methodologies in the next section of this article, XY Tried and tested problem-solving methodologies.
6. Use analogies to solve complex problems
Sometimes, solving a different problem can help you uncover solutions to another problem!
By stripping back a complex issue and framing it as a simplified analogy , you approach a problem from a different angle, enabling you to come up with alternative ideas.
After solving practice problems, your team might be more aptly equipped to solve real-world issues.
However, coming up with an analogy that reflects your issue can be difficult, so don’t worry if this technique doesn’t work for you.
The Speed Boat diagram is a visual tool that helps your employees view existing challenges as anchors holding back a boat which represents your end goals. By assigning a “weight” to each anchor, your team can prioritise which issues to tackle first.
7. Establish clear constraints
Constraints make a big problem more approachable.
Before you tackle a problem, establish clear boundaries and codes of conduct for the session. This allows your team to focus on the current issue without becoming distracted or veering off on a tangent.
In an article published in the Harvard Business Review, authors Oguz A. Acar, Murat Tarakci, and Daan van Knippenberg wrote, “Constraints … provide focus and a creative challenge that motivates people to search for and connect information from different sources to generate novel ideas for new products, services, or business processes.” (Why Constraints Are Good for Innovation, 2019)
Lightning Decision Jam is a prime example of how constraints can assist the creative process. Here, your team are given strict time constraints and isn’t permitted to discuss ideas until the end.
8. Dislodge preconceived ideas
Humans are creatures of habit.
We defer to strategies that have produced positive results in the past. This is typically beneficial because recalling our previous successes means we don’t need to constantly re-learn similar tasks.
But when it comes to problem-solving, this way of thinking can trip us up. We become fixated on a solution that worked in the past, but when this fails we’re dismayed and left wondering what to do next.
To resolve problems effectively, your employees need to escape the precincts of their imaginations. This helps to eliminate functional fixedness—the belief that an item serves only its predefined function.
Alternative Application is an icebreaker game that encourages employees to think outside the box by coming up with different uses for everyday objects. Try this at your next meeting or team-building event and watch your team tap into their creativity.
9. Level the playing field
Having a diverse group of employees at your brainstorming sessions is a good idea, but there’s one problem: the extroverted members of your team will be more vocal than the introverts.
To ensure you’re gaining insight from every member of your team, you need to give your quieter employees equal opportunities to contribute by eliminating personality biases.
Read more: What icebreaker games and questions work best for introverts?
The obvious solution, then, is to “silence” the louder participants (it’s not as sinister as it sounds, promise)—all you have to do is ban your team from debating suggestions during the ideation process.
The Lightning Decision Jam methodology gives your employees equal opportunities to contribute because much of the problem-solving process is carried out in silence.
10. Take a break from the problem
Have you ever noticed how the best ideas seem to come when you’re not actively working on a problem? You may have spent hours slumped over your desk hashing out a solution, only for the “eureka!” moment to come when you’re walking your dog or taking a shower.
In James Webb Young’s book, A Technique for Producing Ideas , phase three of the process is “stepping away from the problem.” Young proclaims that after putting in the hard work, the information needs to ferment in the mind before any plausible ideas come to you.
So next time you’re in a meeting with your team trying to solve a problem, don’t panic if you don’t uncover groundbreaking ideas there and then. Allow everybody to mull over what they’ve learned, then reconvene at a later date.
The Creativity Dice methodology is a quick-fire brainstorming game that allows your team to incubate ideas while concentrating on another.
11. Limit feedback sessions
The way your team delivers feedback at the end of a successful brainstorming session is critical. Left unsupervised, excessive feedback can undo all of your hard work.
Therefore, it’s wise to put a cap on the amount of feedback your team can provide. One great way of doing this is by using the One Breath Feedback technique.
By limiting your employees to one breath, they’re taught to be concise with their final comments.
16 Tried and tested problem-solving methodologies
Problem-solving methodologies keep your brainstorming session on track and encourage your team to consider all angles of the issue.
Countless methods have wiggled their way into the world of business, each one with a unique strategy and end goal.
Here are 12 of our favourite problem-solving methodologies that will help you find the best-fit solution to your troubles.
12. Six Thinking Hats
Six Thinking Hats is a methodical problem-solving framework that helps your group consider all possible problems, causes, solutions and repercussions by assigning a different coloured hat to each stage of the problem-solving process.
The roles of each hat are as follows:
- Blue Hat (Control): This hat controls the session and dictates the order in which the hats will be worn. When wearing the Blue Hat, your group will observe possible solutions, draw conclusions and define a plan of action.
- Green Hat (Idea Generation): The Green Hat signifies creativity. At this stage of the methodology, your team will focus their efforts on generating ideas, imagining solutions and considering alternatives.
- Red Hat (Intuition and Feelings): It’s time for your employees to communicate their feelings. Here, your team listen to their guts and convey their emotional impulses without justification.
- Yellow Hat (Benefits and Values): What are the merits of each idea that has been put forward thus far? What positive impacts could they have?
- Black or Grey Hat (Caution): What are the potential risks or shortcomings of each idea? What negative impacts could result from implicating each idea?
- White Hat (Information and Data): While wearing The White Hat, your team must determine what information is needed and from where it can be obtained.
For Six Thinking Hats to work effectively, ensure your team acts within the confines of each role.
While wearing The Yellow Hat, for example, your team should only discuss the positives . Any negative implications should be left for the Black or Grey hat.
Note: Feel free to alter the hat colours to align with your cultural context.
13. Lightning Decision Jam (LDJ)
Lightning Decision Jam is a nine-stage problem-solving process designed to uncover a variety of perspectives while keeping the session on track.
The process starts by defining a general topic like the internal design process, interdepartmental communication, the sales funnel, etc.
Then, armed with pens and post-it notes, your team will work through the nine stages in the following order:
- Write problems (7 minutes)
- Present problems (4 minutes/person)
- Select problems (6 minutes)
- Reframe the problems (6 minutes)
- Offer solutions (7 minutes)
- Vote on solutions (10 minutes)
- Prioritise solutions (30 seconds)
- Decide what to execute (10 minutes)
- Create task lists (5 minutes)
The philosophy behind LDJ is that of constraint. By limiting discussion, employees can focus on compiling ideas and coming to democratic decisions that benefit the company without being distracted or going off on a tangent.
14. The 5 Why’s
Root Cause Analysis (RCA) is the process of unearthing a problem and finding the underlying cause. To help you through this process, you can use The 5 Why’s methodology.
The idea is to ask why you’re experiencing a problem, reframe the problem based on the answer, and then ask “ why?” again. If you do this five times , you should come pretty close to the root of your original challenge.
While this might not be a comprehensive end-to-end methodology, it certainly helps you to pin down your core challenges.
15. World Café
If you’ve had enough of uninspiring corporate boardrooms, World Café is the solution.
This problem-solving strategy facilitates casual conversations around given topics, enabling players to speak more openly about their grievances without the pressure of a large group.
Here’s how to do it:
- Create a cosy cafe-style setting (try to have at least five or six chairs per table).
- As a group, decide on a core problem and mark this as the session topic.
- Divide your group into smaller teams by arranging five or six players at a table.
- Assign each group a question that pertains to the session topic, or decide on one question for all groups to discuss at once.
- Give the groups about 20 minutes to casually talk over each question.
- Repeat this with about three or four different questions, making sure to write down key insights from each group.
- Share the insights with the whole group.
World Café is a useful way of uncovering hidden causes and pitfalls by having multiple simultaneous conversations about a given topic.
16. Discovery and Action Dialogue (DAD)
Discovery and Actions Dialogues are a collaborative method for employees to share and adopt personal behaviours in response to a problem.
This crowdsourcing approach provides insight into how a problem affects individuals throughout your company and whether some are better equipped than others.
A DAD session is guided by a facilitator who asks seven open-ended questions in succession. Each person is given equal time to participate while a recorder takes down notes and valuable insights.
This is a particularly effective method for uncovering preexisting ideas, behaviours and solutions from the people who face problems daily.
17. Design Sprint 2.0
The Design Sprint 2.0 model by Jake Knapp helps your team to focus on finding, developing measuring a solution within four days . Because theorising is all well and good, but sometimes you can learn more by getting an idea off the ground and observing how it plays out in the real world.
Here’s the basic problem-solving framework:
- Day 1: Map out or sketch possible solutions
- Day 2: Choose the best solutions and storyboard your strategy going forward
- Day 3: Create a living, breathing prototype
- Day 4: Test and record how it performs in the real world
This technique is great for testing the viability of new products or expanding and fixing the features of an existing product.
18. Open Space Technology
Open Space Technology is a method for large groups to create a problem-solving agenda around a central theme. It works best when your group is comprised of subject-matter experts and experienced individuals with a sufficient stake in the problem.
Open Space Technology works like this:
- Establish a core theme for your team to centralise their efforts.
- Ask the participants to consider their approach and write it on a post-it note.
- Everybody writes a time and place for discussion on their note and sticks it to the wall.
- The group is then invited to join the sessions that most interest them.
- Everybody joins and contributes to their chosen sessions
- Any significant insights and outcomes are recorded and presented to the group.
This methodology grants autonomy to your team and encourages them to take ownership of the problem-solving process.
19. Round-Robin Brainstorming Technique
While not an end-to-end problem-solving methodology, the Round-Robin Brainstorming Technique is an effective way of squeezing every last ounce of creativity from your ideation sessions.
Here’s how it works:
- Decide on a problem that needs to be solved
- Sitting in a circle, give each employee a chance to offer an idea
- Have somebody write down each idea as they come up
- Participants can pass if they don’t have anything to contribute
- The brainstorming session ends once everybody has passed
Once you’ve compiled a long list of ideas, it’s up to you how you move forward. You could, for example, borrow techniques from other methodologies, such as the “vote on solutions” phase of the Lightning Decision Jam.
20. Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA)
Failure Modes and Effects Analysis is a method for preventing and mitigating problems within your business processes.
This technique starts by examining the process in question and asking, “What could go wrong?” From here, your team starts to brainstorm a list of potential failures.
Then, going through the list one by one, ask your participants, “Why would this failure happen?”
Once you’ve answered this question for each list item, ask yourselves, “What would the consequences be of this failure?”
This proactive method focuses on prevention rather than treatment. Instead of waiting for a problem to occur and reacting, you’re actively searching for future shortcomings.
21. Flip It!
The Flip It! Methodology teaches your team to view their concerns in a different light and frame them instead as catalysts for positive change.
The game works like this:
- Select a topic your employees are likely to be concerned about, like market demand for your product or friction between departments.
- Give each participant a pile of sticky notes and ask them to write down all their fears about the topic.
- Take the fears and stick them to an area of the wall marked “fears.”
- Then, encourage your team to look at these fears and ask them to reframe them as “hope” by writing new statements on different sticky notes.
- Take these “hope” statements and stick them to an area of the wall marked “hope.”
- Discuss the statements, then ask them to vote on the areas they feel they can start to take action on. They can do this by drawing a dot on the corner of the sticky note.
- Move the notes with the most votes to a new area of the wall marked “traction.”
- Discuss the most popular statements as a group and brainstorm actionable items related to each.
- Write down the actions that need to be made and discuss them again as a group.
This brainstorming approach teaches your employees the danger of engrained thinking and helps them to reframe their fears as opportunities.
22. The Creativity Dice
The Creativity Dice teaches your team to incubate ideas as they focus on different aspects of a problem. As we mentioned earlier in the article, giving ideas time to mature can be a highly effective problem-solving strategy. Here’s how the game works:
Choose a topic to focus on, It can be as specific or open-ended as you like. Write this down as a word or sentence. Roll the die, start a timer of three minutes and start writing down ideas within the confines of what that number resembles. The roles of each number are as follows:
- Specification: Write down goals you want to achieve.
- Investigation: Write down existing factual information you know about the topic.
- Ideation: Write down creative or practical ideas related to the topic.
- Incubation: Do something else unrelated to the problem.
- Iteration: Look at what you’ve already written and come up with related ideas (roll again if you didn’t write anything yet).
- Integration: Look at everything you have written and try to create something cohesive from your ideas like a potential new product or actionable next step.
Once you’ve finished the activity, review your findings and decide what you want to take with you.
23. SWOT Analysis
The SWOT Analysis is a long-standing method for analysing the current state of your business and considering how this affects the desired end state.
The basic idea is this:
- Before the meeting, come up with a “Desired end state” and draw a picture that represents this on a flipchart or whiteboard.
- Divide a large piece of paper into quadrants marked “Strengths”, “Weaknesses”, “Opportunities” and “Threats.”
- Starting with “Strengths”, work through the quadrants, coming up with ideas that relate to the desired end state.
- Ask your team to vote for the statements or ideas of each category that they feel are most relevant to the desired end state.
- As a group, discuss the implications that these statements have on the desired end state. Spark debate by asking thought-provoking and open-ended questions.
The SWOT Analysis is an intuitive method for understanding which parts of your business could be affecting your long-term goals.
24. The Journalistic Six
When learning to cover every aspect of a story, journalists are taught to ask themselves six essential questions:
Now, this approach has been adopted by organisations to help understand every angle of a problem. All you need is a clear focus question, then you can start working through the six questions with your team until you have a 360-degree view of what has, can and needs to be done.
25. Gamestorming
Gamestorming is a one-stop creative-thinking framework that uses various games to help your team come up with innovative ideas.
Originally published as a book 10 years ago, Gamestorming contained a selection of creative games used by Silicon Valley’s top-performing businesses to develop groundbreaking products and services.
This collection of resources, plucked from the minds of founders and CEOs like Jeff Bezos and Steve Jobs, allows you to tap into the potentially genius ideas lying dormant in the minds of your employees.
26. Four-Step Sketch
The Four-Step Sketch is a visual brainstorming that provides an alternative to traditional discussion-based ideation techniques.
This methodology requires prior discussion to clarify the purpose of the activity. Imagine you’re on a startup retreat , for example, and your team is taking part in a design sprint or hackathon.
Once you’ve brainstormed a list of ideas with your team, participants can look at the suggestions and take down any relevant notes. They then take these notes and turn them into rough sketches that resemble the idea.
Then, as a warm-up, give each participant eight minutes to produce eight alternative sketches (eight minutes per sketch) of the idea. These ideas are not to be shared with the group.
Finally, participants create new sketches based on their favourite ideas and share them with the group. The group can then vote on the ideas they think offer the best solution.
27. 15% Solutions
15% Solutions is a problem-solving strategy for motivating and inspiring your employees. By encouraging your team to gain small victories, you pave the way for bigger changes.
First, ask your participants to think about things they can personally do within the confines of their role.
Then, arrange your team into small groups of three to four and give them time to share their ideas and consult with each other.
This simple problem-solving process removes negativity and powerlessness and teaches your team to take responsibility for change.
9 Problem-solving tools for gathering and selecting ideas
Problem-solving tools support your meeting with easy-to-use graphs, visualisations and techniques.
By implementing a problem-solving tool, you break the cycle of mundane verbal discussion, enabling you to maintain engagement throughout the session.
28. Fishbone Diagram
The Fishbone Diagram (otherwise known as the Ishikawa Diagram or Cause and Effect Diagram), is a tool for identifying the leading causes of a problem. You can then consolidate these causes into a comprehensive “Problem Statement.”
The term “Fishbone Diagram” is derived from the diagram’s structure. The problem itself forms the tail, possible causes radiate from the sides to form the fish skeleton while the final “Problem Statement” appears as the “head” of the fish.
Example: A fast-food chain is investigating the declining quality of their food. As the team brainstorms potential causes, they come up with reasons like “poorly trained personnel”, “lack of quality control”, and “incorrect quantity of spices.” Together with other causes, the group summarises that these problems lead to “bad burgers.” They write this as the Problem Statement and set about eliminating the main contributing factors.
29. The Problem Tree
A Problem Tree is a useful tool for assessing the importance or relevance of challenges concerning the core topic. If you’re launching a new product, for example, gather your team and brainstorm the current issues, roadblocks and bottlenecks that are hindering the process.
Then, work together to decide which of these are most pressing. Place the most relevant issues closer to the core topic and less relevant issues farther away.
30. SQUID Diagram
The Squid Diagram is an easy-to-use tool that charts the progress of ideas and business developments as they unfold. Your SQUID Diagram can remain on a wall for your team to add to over time.
- Write down a core theme on a sticky note such as “customer service” or “Innovation”—this will be the “head” of your SQUID.
- Hand two sets of different coloured sticky notes to your participants and choose one colour to represent “questions” and the other to represent “answers.”
- Ask your team to write down questions pertaining to the success of the main topic. In the case of “Innovation,” your team might write things like “How can we improve collaboration between key stakeholders?”
- Then, using the other coloured sticky notes, ask your team to write down possible answers to these questions. In the example above, this might be “Invest in open innovation software.”
- Over time, you’ll develop a spawling SQUID Diagram that reflects the creative problem-solving process.
31. The Speed Boat
The Speed Boat Diagram is a visual metaphor used to help your team identify and solve problems in the way of your goals.
Here’s how it works:
- Draw a picture of a boat and name it after the core objective.
- With your team, brainstorm things that are slowing progress and draw each one as an anchor beneath the boat.
- Discuss possible solutions to each problem on the diagram.
This is an easy-to-use tool that sparks creative solutions. If you like, your team can assign a “weight” to each anchor which determines the impact each problem has on the end goal.
32. The LEGO Challenge
LEGO is an excellent creative-thinking and problem-solving tool used regularly by event facilitators to help teams overcome challenges.
In our article 5 and 10-minute Team-Building Activities , we introduce Sneak a Peek —a collaborative team-building game that develops communication and leadership skills.
33. The Three W’s: What? So What? Now What?
Teams aren’t always aligned when it comes to their understanding of a problem. While the problem remains the same for everyone, they might have differing opinions as to how it occurred at the implications it had.
Asking “ What? So What? Now What?” Helps you to understand different perspectives around a problem.
It goes like this:
- Alone or in small groups, ask your employees to consider and write What happened. This should take between five and 10 minutes.
- Then ask So What? What occurred because of this? Why was what happened important? What might happen if this issue is left unresolved?
- Finally, ask your team Now What? What might be a solution to the problem? What actions do you need to take to avoid this happening again?
This approach helps your team understand how problems affect individuals in different ways and uncovers a variety of ways to overcome them.
34. Now-How-Wow Matrix
Gathering ideas is easy—but selecting the best ones? That’s a different story.
If you’ve got a bunch of ideas, try the Now-How-Wow Matrix to help you identify which ones you should implement now and which ones should wait until later.
Simply draw a two-axis graph with “implementation difficulty” on the Y axis and “idea originality” on the X axis. Divide this graph into quadrants and write “Now!” in the bottom left panel, “Wow!” in the bottom right panel, and “How?” in the top right panel. You can leave the top left panel blank.
Then, take your ideas and plot them on the graph depending on their implementation difficulty and level of originality.
By the end, you’ll have a clearer picture of which ideas to ignore, which ones to implement now, and which ones to add to the pipeline for the future.
35. Impact-Effort Matrix
The Impact-Effort Matrix is a variation of the Now-How-Wow Matrix where the Y axis is marked “Impact” and the X axis is marked “Effort.”
Then, divide the graph into quadrants and plot your ideas.
- Top left section = Excellent, implement immediately
- Top right section = Risky, but worth a try
- Bottom left section = Low risk, but potentially ineffective
- Bottom right section = Bad idea, ignore
The Impact-Effort Matrix is a simple way for your team to weigh the benefits of an idea against the amount of investment required.
36. Dot Voting
Once you’ve gathered a substantial list of ideas from your employees, you need to sort the good from the bad.
Dot voting is a simple tool used by problem-solving facilitators as a fast and effective way for large groups to vote on their favourite ideas . You’ll have seen this method used in problem-solving methods like Flip It! and Lightning Decision Jam .
- Participants write their ideas on sticky notes and stick them to the wall or a flipchart.
- When asked, participants draw a small dot on the corner of the idea they like the most.
- Participants can be given as many votes as necessary.
- When voting ends, arrange the notes from “most popular” to “least popular.”
This provides an easy-to-use visual representation of the best and worst ideas put forward by your team.
Give your problems the attention they deserve at an offsite retreat
While working from home or at the office, your team is often too caught up in daily tasks to take on complex problems.
By escaping the office and uniting at an offsite location, you can craft a purposeful agenda of team-building activities and problem-solving sessions. This special time away from the office can prove invaluable when it comes to keeping your business on track.
If you have problems that need fixing (who doesn’t?), reach out to Surf Office and let us put together a fully-customised offsite retreat for you.
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Are you organising a company retreat and want to make sure you have all the costs under the control? Get a copy of our free Budget Calculator spreadsheet.
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Prepare stocks soups and sauces
SITHCCC007 Prepare stocks soups and sauces Version: V1 1 of 38 KFQ Partners Pty Ltd RTO ID: 21996 | CRICOS: 02999J Student Assessment SITHCCC007 Prepare stocks soups and sauces SITHCCC007 Prepare stocks soups and sauces Version: V1 2 of 38 KFQ Partners Pty Ltd RTO ID: 21996 | CRICOS: 02999J This page is intentionally left blank SITHCCC007 Prepare stocks soups and sauces Version: V1 3 of 38 KFQ Partners Pty Ltd RTO ID: 21996 | CRICOS: 02999J ASSESSMENT RECEIPT FORM
NOTE: 1. This form must be stapled on top of the Assessment Workbook upon submission. 2. This Assessment Receipt Form must be dated and signed in.
================================= Tear Here =========================== Students must retain this as a Record of Submission. Unit Code & Description: SITHCCC007 Prepare stocks soups and sauces
SITHCCC007 Prepare stocks soups and sauces Version: V1 4 of 38 KFQ Partners Pty Ltd RTO ID: 21996 | CRICOS: 02999J This page is intentionally left blank SITHCCC007 Prepare stocks soups and sauces Version: V1 5 of 38 KFQ Partners Pty Ltd RTO ID: 21996 | CRICOS: 02999J INTRODUCTION This assessment booklet and tools has been designed for students undertaking face to face mode of study to provide information before students take assessments and contains assessment tools to assess the skills and knowledge required from students to be deemed competent in this unit. This booklet might not be suitable for students taking other modes of study e.g. online or work based. Please read all the information given to you by the assessor and when you receive this assessment booklet. If you do not understand any part of this booklet, please inform your assessor/trainer. This unit describes the performance outcomes, skills and knowledge required to prepare various stocks, sauces and soups following standard recipes. It requires the ability to select and prepare ingredients, and to use relevant equipment and cookery and food storage methods. The unit applies to cooks working in hospitality and catering organisations. This could include restaurants, educational institutions, health establishments, defence forces, cafeterias, kiosks, cafes, residential caterers, in flight and other transport caterers, event and function caterers. It applies to individuals who work with very little independence and under close supervision and guidance of more senior chefs. They follow predefined organisational procedures and report any discrepancies to a higher-level staff member for action. No occupational licensing, certification or specific legislative requirements apply to this unit at the time of publication. Purpose of assessment The purpose of assessment is to determine competency in the unit SITHCCC007 Prepare stocks soups and sauces. Elements 1. Select ingredients. 2. Select, prepare, and use equipment. 3. Portion and prepare ingredients. 4. Prepare stocks, sauces, and soups. 5. Present and store stocks, sauces, and soups Performance evidence Evidence of the ability to complete tasks outlined in elements and performance criteria of this unit in the context of the job role, and: follow standard recipes to prepare each of the following stocks: – brown beef stocks – chicken stocks – fish stocks – vegetable stocks SITHCCC007 Prepare stocks soups and sauces Version: V1 6 of 38 KFQ Partners Pty Ltd RTO ID: 21996 | CRICOS: 02999J prepare the above stocks for use in different recipes: – within commercial time constraints and deadlines – reflecting required quantities to be produced – following procedures for portion control and food safety practices when handling and storing different food types – responding to special customer requests and dietary requirements follow standard recipes, from a range of cultural backgrounds, to prepare each of the following: – sauces: o béchamel o chicken and fish velouté o coulis o demi glacé o hollandaise or béarnaise o jus o mayonnaise based sauces o tomato based sauces soups both hot and cold: – clear – broth – purée – cream prepare the above sauces or soups for at least six different customers: – within commercial time constraints and deadlines. – reflecting required quantities to be produced. – following procedures for portion control and food safety practices when handling and storing different food types. – responding to special customer requests and dietary requirements. Knowledge Evidence Demonstrated knowledge required to complete the tasks outlined in elements and performance criteria of this unit: culinary terms and trade names for ingredients commonly used in the production of different stocks, sauces and soups relating to: – convenience products – thickening agents contents of stock date codes and rotation labels and their implication for food quality standards characteristics of stocks, sauces and soups listed in the performance evidence: – appearance and presentation – classical and contemporary variations – dishes to which they are matched – freshness and other quality indicators SITHCCC007 Prepare stocks soups and sauces Version: V1 7 of 38 KFQ Partners Pty Ltd RTO ID: 21996 | CRICOS: 02999J – nutritional value – preparation methods – production and cooking durations – service style – taste – texture derivatives of base stocks and sauces mise en place requirements for stocks, sauces, and soups appropriate environmental conditions for storing stock, sauces, and soups products to: – ensure food safety – optimise shelf life safe operational practices using essential functions and features of equipment used to Prepare Stocks, sauces, and soups. Competency Requirements To be judged competent in this unit, you will be required to demonstrate all indicators which are shown in the Marking Guide (assessor’s document). You must satisfactorily complete all assessment tasks to be Competent (C) in the unit. Students with unsatisfactory completion of any of the assignment tasks will be deemed Not Yet Competent (NYC). Assessors will ensure that the evidence collected meets the requirements of the Rules of Evidence (authentic, current, sufficient and valid) prior to entering results into the competency record sheet. Students unsuccessful at achieving “Satisfactory” for any assessment at the first attempt will be given two additional opportunities for reassessment. If the student is still deemed Not Yet Competent (NYC) after two reassessments in a unit of competency student will be required to re-enrol in the unit of competency as per the scheduled delivery of the course. For further details, refer to AIE Training and assessment policy and procedure. Outline of evidence to be collected You must submit the following evidence to be marked competent for this unit. Your assessor will ensure that the evidence submitted meets the Rules of Evidence which are valid, sufficient, current and authentic.
SITHCCC007 Prepare stocks soups and sauces Version: V1 8 of 38 KFQ Partners Pty Ltd RTO ID: 21996 | CRICOS: 02999J Assessment Tasks and Instructions
SITHCCC007 Prepare stocks soups and sauces Version: V1 9 of 38 KFQ Partners Pty Ltd RTO ID: 21996 | CRICOS: 02999J
I agree to the adjustments applied to this assessment Signature Date 2. Assessor to complete I agree the adjustments applied to this assessment are reasonable Name Signature Date SITHCCC007 Prepare stocks soups and sauces Version: V1 10 of 38 KFQ Partners Pty Ltd RTO ID: 21996 | CRICOS: 02999J Assessment Guidelines
SITHCCC007 Prepare stocks soups and sauces Version: V1 11 of 38 KFQ Partners Pty Ltd RTO ID: 21996 | CRICOS: 02999J
SITHCCC007 Prepare stocks soups and sauces Version: V1 12 of 38 KFQ Partners Pty Ltd RTO ID: 21996 | CRICOS: 02999J jeopardy the integrity of the assessment, your assessor will let you know if this is the case. Unless the assessment task specifically allows pair work or group activities such as brainstorming, you must submit your own original work and must not copy the work of other students. Plagiarism is unacceptable in AIE. You can submit your assessment tasks through the learning management system (if applicable) or hand in hard copies in the classroom.
Note for students: If you are dissatisfied with an assessment outcome, you may appeal the assessment decision. In the first instance, you are encouraged to appeal informally by contacting the assessor and discussing the matter with them. If you are dissatisfied with the outcome of such discussion, you may appeal further to either the course coordinator and/or Head of Department. If you are still dissatisfied, you may appeal formally and in writing to have the result reviewed. For more information, refer to the: Training and Assessment Policy & procedures, and Complaints and Appeals Policy and Procedures.
SITHCCC007 Prepare stocks soups and sauces Version: V1 13 of 38 KFQ Partners Pty Ltd RTO ID: 21996 | CRICOS: 02999J Assessment 1: Assignment Your task You are required to complete all questions and tasks for this portfolio. All tasks and exercises are based on the theory content and recipes contained in your workbook/ online unit. 1. List all essential equipment and utensils required for the preparation, production and service of stocks, sauces and soups and explain the use of each item.
2. Provide 3 examples each, for brown, white and miscellaneous stocks, and list the cooking times which apply the quality signs for good stock
SITHCCC007 Prepare stocks soups and sauces Version: V1 14 of 38 KFQ Partners Pty Ltd RTO ID: 21996 | CRICOS: 02999J 3. What are the points of care which must be applied when preparing stocks?
4. List the production steps for each of the following types of stock:
5. Provide an overview over the different types of glazes, the production method for a glaze and the required procedures to provide for a product which is free of impurities.
6. Provide 3 examples each for, thickeners based on fats, and thickeners based on starches. Explain how these are used in the preparation of soups and sauces including points of care to ensure a quality product. SITHCCC007 Prepare stocks soups and sauces Version: V1 15 of 38 KFQ Partners Pty Ltd RTO ID: 21996 | CRICOS: 02999J
7. What are the methods to solve problems relating to stocks which are bitter, cloudy, lacking colour or lacking flavour?
8. What are the critical hygiene and food safety aspects which must apply when selecting ingredients for stocks and sauces, as well as preparing, cooling and storing stocks including the provisions for labelling?
9. List the classification for soups and provide 2 menu examples for each with an appropriate service vessel for service and accompaniment or garnish (no repetition of garnish or accompaniment).
SITHCCC007 Prepare stocks soups and sauces Version: V1 16 of 38 KFQ Partners Pty Ltd RTO ID: 21996 | CRICOS: 02999J 10. Select 1 example from the soups you have listed in Question 9 and write and adjust the ingredients for the recipe to yield 10 serves, using the attached recipe template. Include the production method on the recipe card. 11. List the production steps for a Consommé, including points of care.
12. List the classifications for sauces and provide 3 examples for each.
13. List the production steps for a Jus.
SITHCCC007 Prepare stocks soups and sauces Version: V1 17 of 38 KFQ Partners Pty Ltd RTO ID: 21996 | CRICOS: 02999J 14. List 3 derivative sauces which can be produced from sauce Demi-glace with their main ingredients.
15. List 2 derivative sauces which can be produced from sauce Béchamel, with their main ingredients.
16. What is the production method for a Velouté?
17. Provide 3 examples for derivative sauces which can be produced from each, fish velouté, chicken velouté and veal velouté.
SITHCCC007 Prepare stocks soups and sauces Version: V1 18 of 38 KFQ Partners Pty Ltd RTO ID: 21996 | CRICOS: 02999J 18. What are the basic ingredients of sauce mayonnaise? List the preparation steps and provide 2 examples for derivative sauces (and ingredients used), that can be produced from sauce mayonnaise.
19. How do the ingredients and production steps for a sauce Hollandaise and sauce Béarnaise differ? Provide 3 derivative examples which can be produced from each Sauce.
20. What are the correct hygienic procedures to reconstitute sauces and soups whilst ensuring the correct consistency and flavour?
21. List 3 different convenience products for stocks, sauces and soups and explain how these are used. What could be done to enhance convenience products in terms of flavour and presentation? Examples for different convenience products for stocks, sauces and soups SITHCCC007 Prepare stocks soups and sauces Version: V1 19 of 38 KFQ Partners Pty Ltd RTO ID: 21996 | CRICOS: 02999J
22. List 3 food safety aspects which must be considered during the production of soups stocks and sauces to ensure food safety and a clean workplace during and post production:
SITHCCC007 Prepare stocks soups and sauces Version: V1 20 of 38 KFQ Partners Pty Ltd RTO ID: 21996 | CRICOS: 02999J ASSESSMENT 2 – Multiple Questions Your task: Answer the following question. Question 1: Provide 5 soup classifications: 1. __________ 2. __________ 3. __________ 4. __________ 5. __________ Question 2: Connect the production steps for consommé into correct order:
Question 3: Connect the production steps for purée soups into correct order:
Question 4: Identify the examples of purée soups: (Tick the correct answers)
Question 5: Connect the production steps for bisques in correct order:
SITHCCC007 Prepare stocks soups and sauces Version: V1 21 of 38 KFQ Partners Pty Ltd RTO ID: 21996 | CRICOS: 02999J
Question 6: Connect the sauce classification to the correct menu examples:
Question 7: Connect the preparation steps for a jus in correct order:
Question 8: Connect the preparation steps for a modern demi-glace in correct order:
SITHCCC007 Prepare stocks soups and sauces Version: V1 22 of 38 KFQ Partners Pty Ltd RTO ID: 21996 | CRICOS: 02999J Question 9: Connect the classical derivative sauce from sauce demi-glace to the correct ingredients:
Italian sauce Italienne) Question 10: Connect the correct roux used for the production of the following master sauces:
Question 11: Connect the classical derivative sauce from sauce Béchamel to the correct ingredients: Soubise sauce
Soubise) Béchamel sauce with chopped, cooked onions, Mustard sauce (sauce moutarde) Question 12: Connect the classical derivative sauce from different veloutés to the correct ingredients:
Question 13: (Answer true or false in space provided)
SITHCCC007 Prepare stocks soups and sauces Version: V1 23 of 38 KFQ Partners Pty Ltd RTO ID: 21996 | CRICOS: 02999J
Question 14: Connect the classical derivative sauce from sauce Hollandaise and sauce Béarnaise to the correct ingredients:
Question 15: Nutritional aspects which must be considered when preparing soups for customers include: (Answer true or false in space provided)
Question 16: What are the correct procedures for reconstituting, soups, stocks and sauces? (Tick the correct box indicating true or false)
SITHCCC007 Prepare stocks soups and sauces Version: V1 24 of 38 KFQ Partners Pty Ltd RTO ID: 21996 | CRICOS: 02999J
Question 17: A good stock should have the following characteristics: (Tick the correct answers)
Question 18: Connect the stock to the correct approximate cooking times:
Question 19: The following are points of care for the production of quality stocks: (Tick the correct answers)
Question 20: The following statements relating to the property of glazes and its production are: (Answer true or false in space provided)
SITHCCC007 Prepare stocks soups and sauces Version: V1 25 of 38 KFQ Partners Pty Ltd RTO ID: 21996 | CRICOS: 02999J
Question 21: The following statements for the variety and use of convenience products for stocks, sauces and soups are: (Answer true or false in space provided)
Question 22: What are the correct procedures for the hygienic preparation and storage of stocks, sauces and soups to prevent contamination? (Tick the correct box indicating true or false)
Question 23: The following provisions for the evaluation, presentation and service of soups are: (Answer true or false in space provided)
SITHCCC007 Prepare stocks soups and sauces Version: V1 26 of 38 KFQ Partners Pty Ltd RTO ID: 21996 | CRICOS: 02999J
Question 24: Connect the suitable rectification to the relevant problem with stocks:
Brown more bones and roast additional mirepoix, follow Question 25: The process of assembling and preparing ingredients as mise en place for producing stocks, sauces and soups includes: (Tick the correct box indicating true or false)
SITHCCC007 Prepare stocks soups and sauces Version: V1 27 of 38 KFQ Partners Pty Ltd RTO ID: 21996 | CRICOS: 02999J
Question 26: Common methods used to determine the required ingredients and requisition of commodities for the production of stocks, sauces and soups include: (Tick the correct box indicating true or false)
Question 27: Connect the factor which will affect the choice of equipment for preparing food items to the relevant reason:
SITHCCC007 Prepare stocks soups and sauces Version: V1 28 of 38 KFQ Partners Pty Ltd RTO ID: 21996 | CRICOS: 02999J
Question 28: The common Work Health and Safety and Hygiene requirements for using equipment include: (Answer true or false in space provided)
Question 29: To ensure safe temperatures and hygiene procedures during production, storage and service of soups you need to consider the following aspects: (Tick the correct answers)
Question 30: Use your calculator to calculate the required quantities for 11 portions:
SITHCCC007 Prepare stocks soups and sauces Version: V1 29 of 38 KFQ Partners Pty Ltd RTO ID: 21996 | CRICOS: 02999J
Question 31: (Tick the correct box indicating true or false)
SITHCCC007 Prepare stocks soups and sauces Version: V1 30 of 38 KFQ Partners Pty Ltd RTO ID: 21996 | CRICOS: 02999J ASSESSMENT 3 – Practical Observation INSTRUCTIONS Your assessor will do the following: Observe you in AIE kitchen, preparing and producing a range of stocks soups and sauces using various cooking methods and preparation techniques. Provide a range of recipes and ingredients. Use the checklist to observe while you use a range of preparation techniques and cooking methods. Use the checklist in conjunction with Observation checklist below. Observe you over a period while you learn and use various skills/tasks. Observe you while preparing stocks soups and sauces for at least six different customers during multiple sessions. Ensure that you can consistently perform all tasks multiple times satisfactorily. Decide when you are competent at all tasks. You are required to do the following You must demonstrate preparation of a range of stocks soups and sauces using various cooking methods and preparation techniques in AIE kitchen. Prepare recipes using all types of stocks soups and sauces listed at least once. Prepare stocks soups and sauces for at least six different customers. Use standard recipe for the session menu. Consistently perform all tasks multiple times satisfactorily. Your Tasks: You are required to prepare a menu example for each of the recipe categories set out below. Your trainer will provide you with specific recipes for each instance. The criteria overleaf provide an overview of the criteria which will be observed during each instance for each preparation or as instructed. SITHCCC007 Prepare stocks soups and sauces Version: V1 31 of 38 KFQ Partners Pty Ltd RTO ID: 21996 | CRICOS: 02999J Checklist
SITHCCC007 Prepare stocks soups and sauces Version: V1 32 of 38 KFQ Partners Pty Ltd RTO ID: 21996 | CRICOS: 02999J
SITHCCC007 Prepare stocks soups and sauces Version: V1 33 of 38 KFQ Partners Pty Ltd RTO ID: 21996 | CRICOS: 02999J Practical Session 1 Dishes Prepared: (List all dishes prepared in this session) ___________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Date: _______________________
SITHCCC007 Prepare stocks soups and sauces Version: V1 34 of 38 KFQ Partners Pty Ltd RTO ID: 21996 | CRICOS: 02999J
SITHCCC007 Prepare stocks soups and sauces Version: V1 35 of 38 KFQ Partners Pty Ltd RTO ID: 21996 | CRICOS: 02999J Practical Session 2 Dishes Prepared: (List all dishes prepared in this session) ___________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Date: _______________________
SITHCCC007 Prepare stocks soups and sauces Version: V1 36 of 38 KFQ Partners Pty Ltd RTO ID: 21996 | CRICOS: 02999J
SITHCCC007 Prepare stocks soups and sauces Version: V1 37 of 38 KFQ Partners Pty Ltd RTO ID: 21996 | CRICOS: 02999J
SITHCCC007 Prepare stocks soups and sauces Version: V1 38 of 38 KFQ Partners Pty Ltd RTO ID: 21996 | CRICOS: 02999J Final Assessment Record
ASSESSMENT 1 SITHCCC007 Prepare Stocks Sauces and Soups
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For a hot stock add whisked egg whites into the boiling stock and whisk thoroughly. Bring the liquid back to a simmer and the egg white will attract the impurities and float to the top Stock lacks flavour Discard any blackened bones or vegetables prior to cooking the stock, otherwise the bitterness will increase as the stock reduces.
Cloudy stock: Simmer, then stir in some egg whites. Bitter stock: Remove the blackened bones and veggies before reheating. Lacks of colour: Slice a mirepoix also referred to as a mixture of sautéed chopped vegetables, then roast it till golden brown, and add tomato paste then sauté it several times.
What are the methods to solve problems relating to stocks which are bitter, cloudy, lacking colour or lacking flavour? Discussion You must be signed in to discuss. Video Transcript What are the methods to solve problems relating to stocks which are bitter, cloudy, lacking, color or lacking flavour for stocks that are bitter?
Prevent out-of-stocks with accurate forecasting 2. Identify and fix a broken assortment 3. Optimize unbalanced allocation 4. Automate your replenishment with AI 5. Optimize your safety stock 6. Be proactive about inter-store transfers 7. Use pricing as a lever to sculpt demand How leading retailers fix out-of-stocks
1.What are the methods to solve problems relating to stocks which…1. What are the methods to solve problems relating to stocks which are bitter, cloudy, ... All the personal information is confidential and we have 100% safe payment methods. We also guarantee good grades . LET THE PROFESSIONALS WRITE YOUR PAPER!
What are the methods to solve problems relating to stocks, which are bitter, cloudy, lacking colour, or lacking flavour? What are the critical hygiene and food safety aspects, which must apply when selecting ingredients for stocks and sauces, as well as cooling and storing stocks including the provisions for labelling?
What are the methods to solve problems relating to stocks which are bitter, cloudy, lacking colour or lacking flavour? What are the critical hygiene and food safety aspects which must apply when selecting ingredients for stocks and sauces, as well as preparing, cooling and storing stocks including the provisions for labelling?
Use a fine-mesh strainer, and consider lining it with cheesecloth to catch even more food particles and bits of fat. But really, unless you're making a consommé or other recipe that requires a pristine-looking stock, it's okay if your stock is a little bit cloudy.
What are the methods to solve problems relating to stocks which are bitter, cloudy, lacking colour or lacking flavour? What are the critical hygiene and food safety aspects which must apply when selecting ingredients for stocks and sauces, as well as preparing, cooling and storing stocks including the provisions for labelling?
6. Use analogies to solve complex problems. Sometimes, solving a different problem can help you uncover solutions to another problem! By stripping back a complex issue and framing it as a simplified analogy, you approach a problem from a different angle, enabling you to come up with alternative ideas.
What are the methods to solve problems relating to stocks which are bitter, cloudy, lacking colour or lacking flavour? Problem : Solution: Stock is cloudy: Stock is bitter: Stock lacks colour: Stock lacks flavour: 8. What are the critical hygiene and food safety aspects which must apply when selecting
Answer (1 of 18): Bitter mouth after a fever? Do you mean to say Bitter during a feverish period? I dare say that it would only be wishful thinking to cure bitter mouth when the underlying cause of the fever is not dealt with. The commonest condition with this description is Malaria Fever. Yea...
This video is good for students on their modular and online distance learning on their self-study at home. You will learn from this how to solve problems rel...
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