Root Cause Analysis: If You Hit a Roadblock, Bring in Some of Whys’ Close Relatives

At times digging into the true root cause of an incident or problem can be frustrating.  Process improvement experts are taught to ask the “Five Whys” until you get to root cause.  That’s great in theory but when you and the team of subject matter experts dig through information to get to root cause, you will sometimes hit a roadblock.

To get over that hurdle, I picked up a suggestion from a production editor when I worked for a large publication many years ago.  In one meeting where a cross-functional team was at work to find the root cause of a problem, we weren’t making any progress toward root cause.  He suggested we ask some of the other “Ws” journalists ask: Who, What, When, Where, Which, How and If.  The production editor noted the root cause analysis framework is similar to the technique a reporter uses to cover a news story.

It worked brilliantly and I have used it ever since.  We asked who was the operator when the incident occurred?  We got their names and recognized they weren’t the regulars on that machine.  That triggered another ‘Why weren’t the regular operators performing the task?” The flu was making the rounds and one was involved in a fender bender on their way to work that day.  We were off, back on track, and eventually got to the true root cause.

   So when asking Why no longer seems to get the team any closer to root cause, invite some of Whys’ other relatives to the table.  You will find they will help you and their kinsman through temporary barriers and continue down the path to root cause.  They work as journalists have known for a long time.