Root Cause Analysis¶
When there is an issue it can be difficult to get beyond immediate symptoms,
Without a thorough analysis the underlying causes are too often neglected.
Tackling the symptoms rather than the underlying causes results in fixing the same kinds of issues over and over again.
This is often referred to as “fire-fighting”.
Root Cause Analysis (RCA) is a widely used technique that helps people get beyond the symptoms of a problem and reveal the, often hidden, and multiple root causes.
RCA is built on the principle that causal relationships exist for all events. By understanding these we can move beyond the symptoms and address the root causes at source.
Causes can be complex
When multiple causes are contributing to the issue, consider which of those issues would make the most significant impact if addressed.
WIP
RCA Processes¶
There are a variety of Root Cause Analysis processes to choose from:
- Five Whys iterative interrogative technique to explore cause and effect relationships
- FMEA
- Ishikawa
- Sologic can be applied to any problem, is quick to learn, logical and scalable
- Root Cause Analysis: A quick guide - ProjectManager
- What is a root cause analysis? - IBM
Root Cause Analysis - Wikipedia