A root-cause analysis tool engineers couldn't afford not to master.

I have used several root-cause analysis tools and problem solving methodology over the years as an engineer and a manager.?In semicon manufacturing industry, several well-known tools are fishbone diagram, also called Ishikawa diagram, 8D problem solving, 5Whys, FMEA, DMAIC, among others.?These are all very practical and useful tools that enable organisations to expedite troubleshooting process and improvement projects in both cost and quality that would translate to speed to market and PnL ultimately. ?

Today I would like to shed light on a lesser known tool (to some) called Is Is-Not analysis.?Some may have heard about it but may not be able to grasp its practicality.?I first learnt about it many years back when I just started as a process engineer and has?sharpen the saw over the years.?Is Is-Not analysis has helped me and my team, most of the time, to accurately zoom down onto the direction of root-cause analysis.?

Is Is-Not is not a holy grail solution.?One got to have knowledge of the subject matters.?It works best in a small of 3-4.?It is an iterative process.?To put it simply, it resembles a filtering and elimination exercise accomplished by asking relevant Is and Is-not questions.?Imagine attempting to solve a puzzle with hundreds of pieces. If one were to try each piece individually to fit into the picture, it would consume an enormous amount of time and effort.

Why Is Is-Not is such a powerful methodology? “A problem well-understood is a problem half-solved” - Charles Kettering, General Motor. ?Is Is-Not is needed and applied during diagnosis phase of problem solving.? Imagine sending your car to two different workshop.?One performs good diagnosis and the other performs trial-and-error troubleshooting.?You could pretty much guess the result of how well your car problem is being attended.

Please click "like" if you have used Is Is-Not analysis before. Thank you.