Root Causes Analysis for Beginners

We've discussed in many of our classes at USF how important it is to identify the "root cause" or the "actual cause" of any problem. It can be in a business process, DFD decomposition, or simply an everyday occurrence.

Scholars today need to take time and focus on quality, which I will talk about in much detail later, but really the first thing for improvement is identifying what needs to be improved--the root cause. The article, Root Cause Analysis for Beginners is short lesson and refresher on the description and step by step walk through of how you can identify the root cause,what to do with it and how to present it.

You will see on pg. 6 is the Root Cause map which illustrates how you can use the flowcharting technique we've learned earlier on to present results. Following that is the Root Cause Summary table which zooms in on each causal factor identified and listing the paths through which it flows in the root cause map and finally recommending ways to improve the process.


The article abstract:

Root cause analysis (RCA) is a tool to help identify what, how, and why an event occurred so that steps can be taken to prevent future occurrences. Additionally, RCA may be used to target opportunities for systemwide improvement. Root causes are specific underlying causes that can be reasonably identified, are within management’s control to remedy, and which generate effective recommendations to prevent recurrences. The RCA process involves data collecting, causal factor charting, root cause identification, and recommendation generation and implementation.

I am pretty certain that this will be useful to us in the future! Keep posted on quality!