The purpose of a root cause analysis is to identify the best solutions
Facilitator Tip #1:
Many organizations believe that root cause analysis is about finding the root cause, the one thing that caused the problem. The belief is that eliminating the root cause eliminates the problem. This root cause logic seems reasonable, but it’s flawed. All of the causes of an incident are required for the incident to occur, not just the root cause. Controlling any one of the causes in the analysis will only have some impact on the incident. The root should be thought of a system of causes. It’s the underlying network of causes that collectively created the incident. Too often organizations get fixated on one cause and stop the investigation too early with favorites like human error, procedure not followed, training inadequate, design or equipment failure. The role of the facilitator is to lead the group through a complete investigation to find best solutions.