What is Root Cause Analysis (RCA)?
Root cause analysis (RCA) is a problem-solving technique that involves identifying the real cause of a problem rather than just solving its symptoms. This article will guide you on everything to know about root cause analysis.
Overview of the Steps to Root Cause Analysis
Being a systematic and disciplined process, RCA identifies the problem and then traces it back to its source. Here are five steps to RCA.
Define the problem
When pinpointing a problem’s root cause, it’s crucial to understand what you’re looking for. You need to identify the problem and the factors contributing to it. A specific problem statement lets you quickly determine the scope and scale of the potential solution to implement.
Collect the data
Once you have a clear idea of the problem, it’s time to gather data. This includes everything relevant to the issue, like logs and screenshots to user interviews and system performance analysis. This information can help you determine the patterns of events that led to a problem.
Identify possible factors involved
With a good understanding of all the factors contributing to the problem, you can start looking for potential causes. Factors could be anything from hardware or software issues to human error.
Identify the root cause(s)
Once you’ve identified all the possible factors, it’s time to figure out which one is responsible for causing it. To identify the root cause, you will need to perform tests, compare results, and gather input from other stakeholders. While this can be challenging since it demands a lot of detective work, tracing the problem back to its source allows you to identify and fix it quickly.
Outline and implement solutions
After determining the root cause of the problem, it’s time to outline and implement a plan of action. This includes setting up system monitoring to track performance and identifying any necessary changes or upgrades.
Root Cause Analysis FAQs
What are the core principles of Root Cause Analysis (RCA)?
- Focus on the WHY and HOW, not WHO.
- Provide as much information on the root cause as possible.
- Determine how to prevent the root cause in the future.
- Don’t only address the symptoms; address the underlying problems.
- Understand that there may be—and frequently are—multiple underlying causes.
- Don’t discount the significance of treating symptoms for temporary relief.
- You need to be systematic when determining specific cause-and-effect evidence to support your claims about the root cause.
What are the goals of Root Cause Analysis (RCA)?
The main goals of Root Cause Analysis are to determine what happened, why it occurred, and how you can resolve it.
What are the benefits of Root Cause Analysis (RCA)?
- Helps identify the leading cause of defects.
- Lets you develop a systematic approach to problem-solving.
- Helps improve organizational performance.
Root Cause Analysis (RCA) Tools
Pareto chart
This bar chart identifies items that account for most of a problem’s effects.
The five whys
This approach helps identify why a particular action led to a problem instead of just listing the actions that led to the problem.
Scatter plot diagram
This graphical representation of data allows you to determine how different factors are related.
Fishbone diagram
A fishbone diagram helps identify how different parts of a system function together.
Fault tree analysis (FTA)
FTA is an approach that helps identify the most likely causes of a problem. Experts also use it to prioritize the repairs that need to be made.
Failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA)
FMEA is a tool that assesses the potential risks, defects, or failures associated with a particular process or system.