Finding and resolving the root cause of any problem is a fundamental focus of problem solving and decision making. Quite a number of typical methodologies are available to do root cause analysis but regardless of the tool to be used, any process should include at least the following steps or sub processes:
- A well defined and agreed upon problem to be solved. This is a critical step in the process because this will determine the focus and often requires investigation and discussion to ensure alignment and common understanding. This may even require some upfront research and involvement of key knowledgeable resources. Only then a well defined problem statement could be formulated.
- The second step will be to gather as much relevant information as possible related to the problem defined. This could best be achieved by asking very specific questions and even facilitate responses to create mutual understanding. Questions focusing in more depth on the identity, the location and timing of occurrence often seem to provide valuable information to at least identify related workable possible causes of the problem. For this the correct stakeholders need to be involved.
- Following this step, it becomes possible to formulate possible causes to be further investigated. This investigation could take the form of testing possible causes against factual information gathered in step two. From this it will be possible to formulate assumptions to be tested and researched at a later stage. Testing viable hypothesis in proper research design could also be required depending on the nature of the assumptions. Depending on the nature of the initial problem this step could be very simple and easy or quite intensive to execute. It become quite important to ensure the most probable technical cause or combination of causes are identified and clearly defined in a cause and effect relationship.
- Once this has been done, it is possible to explore and formulate the most probable root cause and determine next steps. Usually, it is best practice to also perform some basic risk analysis at this stage to create awareness of possible consequences that could flow from this investigation.
From the above short description of the process, possible risk areas become quite clear. The following are a few critical ones that come to mind and are often experienced in practical situations:
Unclear or vague problem statements lead to much wasted time in debating and arguing the issue especially if the correct stakeholders are not involved. It also increases the risk of not focusing on the actual problem and could lead to several iterations of discussions. Lack of formulating and agreeing on the problem statement often pose a great risk to the process.- A second major risk is not surfacing the relevant information. Stakeholders usually have their own specific preferences and pre-set ideas and information and would like to push their point of view. This could lead to a discussion away from the focus of the process. Competent facilitation becomes a critical pre-requisite to keep the process on track. Information is always available provided the correct people are at the table for discussion. Lack of information or incorrect information impacts later stages of the process and may lead to rework and wasted time.
Unclear or vague problem statements lead to much wasted time in debating and arguing the issue especially if the correct stakeholders are not involved. It also increases the risk of not focusing on the actual problem and could lead to several iterations of discussions. Lack of formulating and agreeing on the problem statement often pose a great risk to the process.- A next risk often is during the testing and subsequent verification phase where resources are required to properly research findings from the testing phase. If this is neglected it ends up not identifying the most probable root cause, especially in more complex situations.
- Not doing a basic risk analysis may cause investigators to jump to next steps to quickly and miss opportunities to identify up stream or down stream possible effects and/or problems. This could delay effective action planning and resolving the problem.
Root cause analysis is a very powerful process and can deliver high return on investments when done in a structured professional way but it could easily become extended discussions causing frustration and ineffective end results at huge expense to the company.
