How to Perform a Root Cause Analysis, with Definition, Examples, and Techniques

How to Perform a Root Cause Analysis, with Definition, Examples, and Techniques

Root cause analysis is best grasped by considering everyday issues. We seek medical attention to determine the cause of our illness if it causes us to be nauseous at work. In the event that our car stops working, we will have it diagnosed by a professional mechanic. We will investigate the root cause of any areas of under or overperformance in our company. Simply treating the underlying cause of each symptom would solve all of these situations. We might just stay at home with a bucket if we can’t stop puking there. We might just leave our broken automobiles at home and use the bus to get around instead. However, many remedies focus just on the signs and symptoms rather than investigating the root causes, such as a stomach infection that needs medication or a broken automobile alternator that needs repair. A root cause analysis is the only way to get to the bottom of a problem and figure out how to remedy it.

Definition of Root Cause Analysis

Finding the underlying reasons for issues is the first step in doing an effective root cause analysis (RCA). The premise of RCA is that it is preferable to systematically prevent and solve fundamental issues rather than treat symptoms and respond to emergencies as they arise. There is a wide range of principles, methods, and tools that can be used in root cause analysis to get to the bottom of what’s going on. By delving further into the root causes of an issue, RCA can pinpoint which steps in a process or which parts of a system were at fault.

Basic Values

Effective root cause analysis is guided by a few fundamental concepts, some of which should be obvious. These will not only improve the quality of the study but also help the analyst win over skeptical stakeholders, clients, or patients.

• Don’t only treat the symptoms; instead, go deep to find and fix the actual reasons
• It’s important to treat symptoms, even if it’s just for A temporary respite
• Understand that there are likely several underlying factors at play
• How and why something happened should be prioritized over who did it
• To back up claims of root causes, it’s important to use a systematic approach and show proof of a cause-and-effect link
• Give readers enough data to determine what needs to be done to fix the situation
• Take into account future prevention strategies for a root cause

As the aforementioned guidelines show, we need to adopt an all-encompassing and holistic perspective while investigating root causes and underlying problems. We need to go deeper to find the cause, but we also need to provide people with the information they need to take some kind of meaningful action. Don’t forget that useful analysis is good analysis.

Aims and advantages of doing a root cause analysis

Finding the underlying reason for a problem or occurrence is the primary objective of any root cause analysis. The second objective is to learn all we can about the main cause and the problems it’s causing and how to cure them, make do, or otherwise adapt. The final objective is to use the findings of this research to systematically avoid similar situations in the future and to replicate the results that have already been achieved. The third objective of RCA is significant since the quality of the analysis depends on the decisions that are made as a result of that analysis. Using RCA, we can make changes to fundamental aspects of a process or system in order to forestall such issues. Root cause analysis may propose that a football player use a helmet to prevent future concussions rather than simply treat the symptoms. It may seem fruitful to treat the symptoms one at a time. The appearance of progress is enhanced by the resolution of numerous issues. Unfortunately, the same issue will likely arise again and again until we identify its true source. An editor at a news outlet won’t just go through and insert every missing Oxford comma; instead, she’ll teach her staff how to use them correctly going forward.

Root cause analysis: how to do it well, with tried and true methods

This is by no means an exhaustive list of the techniques and tactics available for use in root cause analysis. The methods described below are among the most popular and widely applied ones.

The 5 Whys method is widely used as a tool in determining the source of a problem. One alternative is to compare it to a toddler’s persistent nagging. You should always ask “Ok, but WHY?” after receiving a response to a “Why?” question. Children’s ability to get to the bottom of problems is underrated. It is generally accepted that asking five WHY questions can help us get to the bottom of most problems, but in reality, we may only need two or, we may need fifty. The 5 Whys method is widely used as a tool in determining the source of a problem. One alternative is to compare it to a toddler’s persistent nagging. You should always ask “Ok, but WHY?” after receiving a response to a “Why?” question. Children’s ability to get to the bottom of problems is underrated. It is generally accepted that asking five WHY questions can help us get to the bottom of most problems, but in reality, we may only need two, or we may need fifty. Consider, again, the concussion in football that we discussed earlier. The first issue that our player will offer is this: “Why do I have such a horrible headache?” Let’s start with the first of our WHYs. Because I can’t see clearly, this is the first possible response. My second query is this: why are you so hazy? Why? because I fell and smacked my head. The third motivating question is this: why did you bang your head? Answer 3: I was knocked to the ground and struck my head. As for the fourth, why did it hurt so much to fall to the ground? The fourth reason is that I had no protection on my head. One more time: Why the hell didn’t you have a helmet on? Lastly, because our locker room didn’t have enough helmets. Aha. After answering these five questions, it becomes clear that the lack of helmets was the primary cause of the concussion. The future could bring fewer of these concussions if every football player wears a helmet. Of course, wearing helmets doesn’t make us impervious to head trauma. Don’t take any chances, okay? The 5 Whys can help you avoid making any hasty judgments. When searching for solutions, it helps to break down inquiries into smaller chunks so that you may obtain more specific and precise information. One hopes that the answer to the last “why” will point to a broken process that can be repaired.

Analysis of Events and Alterations

One effective approach to investigating potential causes is to examine the circumstances leading up to an occurrence in great detail. When there are numerous possible explanations, this technique comes in extremely handy. We don’t try to pinpoint the exact time anything went wrong but instead look at a larger time frame to better understand the bigger picture. The first step would be to compile a comprehensive list of all the factors that could have contributed to the occurrence. These should be used whenever there is a significant improvement, detriment, or neutral change. For the sake of argument, let’s say that we are analyzing an unusually successful sales day in New York City in order to figure out how to repeat it in the future. We would start by making a comprehensive inventory of all of the interactions we’ve had with each of our big clients, including any major events or shifts that may be relevant to our analysis. Second, we’d classify every development according to how much control we had over it. Internal, External, Owned, and Unowned are all useful categories to consider. Using the “Sales representative delivered a new slide presentation on social impact” (internal) and the “Last day of the quarter” (external) or “First day of Spring” (external) as examples, we might begin to categorize the various events that occurred on our fantastic sales day (external). Third, we’d examine each incident individually and determine if it was a coincidence, a cause, a factor, or a likely underlying cause. This is where much of the analysis takes place, and it’s also where you can employ methods like the 5 Whys. The fact that it was the end of the quarter, while certainly a contributing factor, was shown in our research to have had no bearing on the results. The Sales Lead for the region moved to a new apartment with a shorter commute, so she began arriving at client meetings 10 minutes earlier during the last week of the quarter. This was determined to be the most likely cause. The fourth step is to investigate potential causes and find ways to address them. Even though not everyone can pick up and move, our company has decided that if sales reps start showing up to customer meetings ten minutes early during the last week of the quarter, they may be able to repeat this root cause of success.

Relationships between causes and effects in order to find potential problems:

Creating a fishbone diagram, often known as an Ishikawa diagram, is another typical method. Following the various branches of a problem’s likely causes in this way can help us zero in on the root of the issue. It’s a lot like the 5 Whys, but with pictures instead of words. The typical procedure involves placing the issue at the center of the diagram (like the fish skeleton’s spine), followed by a list of potential causes that are then organized into subcategories and placed on branches emanating from the main line (the rib bones of the fish skeleton). Categories can be extremely general, covering topics as diverse as “people” and “environment.” We first aggregate the categories, then dissect them into their constituent pieces. Some possible root cause elements that could be considered under “people” are “leadership,” “staffing,” and “training.” We are getting closer to the root of the problem as we investigate and interrogate the various hypotheses about its origins. Using this technique, we can find connected components and potential causes while simultaneously eliminating irrelevant categories. Simplify things by giving some thought to the categories at the outset of diagram creation. In a Fishbone diagram, typical areas of focus include:

• Automaton (equipment, technology)
• Strategy (process)
• Constituents (including raw materials, consumables, and information)
• Man’s mental strength (physical or knowledge work)
• Evaluation (inspection)
• Mission Statement (purpose, expectation)
• Access to Capital or Position in the Organization (Leadership)
• Maintenance
• item (or service)
• Price
• Accolades (marketing)
• Involvement in a Methodical Procedure (systems)
• Human beings (personnel)
• Physical Proof
• Performance
• The context (place, environment)
• Suppliers
• Skills

Suggestions for Conclusive Root Cause Analysis

By posing questions, you can help us better understand the situation and find solutions. We will be more successful in identifying the underlying reason if we are able to narrow down and investigate all of the possible contributing factors. If we think we know what the problem is and what is causing it (rather than just another symptom), we can proceed to ask more specific questions. How come we can be so sure this is the real issue and not that? How do we get to the bottom of what’s causing this problem so it won’t flare up again? Try asking yourself “why?” “how?” and “so what does that mean here?” to get started.

Get a new perspective through working with others

Together, whether it’s just the two of us or a big group of coworkers, we can solve this problem more quickly and objectively with more perspectives. Getting other people’s perspectives can help us question our own preconceptions.

Analyses of causes will be planned in the future

It’s vital that we keep in mind the nature of the process when we conduct a root-cause analysis. Make some notes. Inquire about the analysis method itself. By trying it out in a controlled setting, you can determine whether a particular approach is optimal for your organization’s circumstances.

Don’t forget to conduct an RCA on your triumphs, too!

When anything goes wrong, root cause analysis is a great method for pinpointing why. We normally utilize RCA to diagnose issues, but it may be just as useful when trying to determine what led to a positive outcome. If we uncover the cause of success, overachievement, or early deadlines, it’s usually a good idea to investigate more. Using this kind of study, we may be able to extrapolate the elements that led to our success in one part of the business and apply them there.

Conclusion

Root cause analysis has become an important part of the world of business, and there’s a reason for this. When done correctly, it can help businesses pinpoint the source of a problem and prevent it from happening again. This can save an organization a lot of time, money, and heartache, which is why it’s important to learn the basics of root cause analysis. So what is root cause analysis? What are some examples of this process in action? Is there a certain process you should follow when conducting a root cause analysis? The answers to these questions and more are explored in our blog post.

About Enteros

​Enteros offers a patented database performance management SaaS platform. It proactively identifies root causes of complex business-impacting database scalability and performance issues across a growing number of RDBMS, NoSQL, and machine learning database platforms.