Root Cause Analysis - Learning

Malfunctions and mistakes happen. It's all a natural part of a process. emotionally speaking - It can be unpleasant at times. How do you as a manager take it out of the equation? you change the terminology. It's not "debriefing" anymore, it's "learning".

practically speaking, there are two great methods to tackle this - the "5 why's" model, and the "fishbone" (Ishikawa) diagram;

"5 Why's" - State the problem and then state why does it happen. Once you answer all the why's you can understand what causes the problem - your root cause.

"Fishbone diagram" - State the problem and right 4 primary causes. Elaborate on each cause and once process is completed, root cause would be identified.

In summary;

• Define the problem
• Collect the data
• Identify possible factors
• Identify the root cause
• Recommend and implement the solution

Write the report based on the above. Keep a positive language.