ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS

Useful for all businesses - of any size or structure - here's a series of 10 articles based on original work by Ed Wells of Sologic, a global business specialising in Root Cause Analysis. Each article takes a theme, explores it and makes some valuable business observations that are well worth a read. The Just Audit team has taken part in Sologic training as part of ongoing professional development.

"Throughout all sectors and disciplines, Sologic provides the Root Cause Analysis methods, technology, and expertise to help organisations solve problems and reduce risk in a structured and collaborative way" (taken from Sologic's website).

PART 1

Problem solving is a team game

The key to problem solving is based in having a team who can share expertise, divide the work required and bring in understanding from each part of the business.

Part 4

Champion effectiveness above speed

There isn’t a day that goes by in which a problem, big or small, doesn’t arise and has to be solved.

Part 7

Don't play the blame game

Great organisations don’t confuse ‘blame’ with ‘accountability’.

Part 10

Practise effect reporting

Effective reports provide a strong case for change, they are streamlined, timely and engaging.

PART 2

Build the stamina to fail

Elevating negative information is the message of this article - realising that mistakes or failures are an integral part of a company’s development, equal in measure to its successes.

Part 5

Separate analysis from narrative

In recent years the lines between narrative (stories) and analysis (logic) have become increasingly blurred.

Part 8

Don't stop at just one single cause

Great organisations know that there is never one root cause, but many that combine simultaneously.

PART 3

Solve the right problems

The road to great problem-solving is littered with teams who failed because they either didn’t define their problem clearly or they chose to tackle the wrong problem.

Part 6

Look beyond what happened

Put a problem in context and look all around it. Don’t just look at a negative outcome of an action. Look at the action.

Part 9

Don't reply on a magic bullet

Businesses are made up of many moving parts and have multiple external influences, much of it largely out of our control. The magic bullet solution is as likely as finding a unicorn.