PES University Hosts BTalk #37 on Structured Troubleshooting

The Department of BBA and BBA Business Analytics organized BTalk #37 on February 25, 2026 at AUDI 1A, GJB Block, featuring Prashanth Kumar, Head of Commercial Digital India at Volvo Cars. The session titled “BREAK, ANALYZE, SOLVE: The Power of Structured Troubleshooting” offered students an in‑depth understanding of how structured thinking shapes effective business decision‑making.

Prashanth Kumar began the session with an interactive discussion, encouraging students to think critically about real business challenges. Using a simple poll about a café experiencing a 30% drop in sales, he highlighted a powerful insight — most businesses fail because they try solving the wrong problem. He emphasized that business problems are often emotional, political, and incomplete in data, making structured thinking essential.

He introduced a 6‑step Structured Troubleshooting Model:

• Define the real problem
• Break it down
• Identify root causes
• Generate options
• Decide with data
• Execute and reflect
   

Using a retail case study, he demonstrated how business issues can be broken into measurable components using the equation:
Revenue = Traffic × Conversion Rate × Average Bill Value

The talk also introduced practical tools such as SWOT Analysis, the 5 Whys, Pareto Principle, Decision Matrix, Customer Journey Mapping, and Root Cause Analysis. Prashanth concluded by emphasizing that every high‑paying career is fundamentally a problem‑solving role, and mastering structured troubleshooting can give students a strong competitive edge.

The event saw enthusiastic participation from students and was supported by the BTalk organizing team, who managed ideation, logistics, anchoring, design, coordination, and technical support.