A project can be tricky and prone to risk and challenges. But if the challenges are filtered and isolated to investigate about, the course of managing the project becomes a glitch-free road. This is why the root-cause analysis is essential to improve the turnaround time. 

Root-Cause Analysis (RCA):

A short for RCA, the Root-Cause Analysis is a method to filter the exact cause(s) of a problem, its causes and where it originates from. In short, it’s an evidence-based method. However, it does not directly provide with the solution to fix it. But, the isolated problem, when it happened, its whereabouts and why it happened indirectly present a crystal clear idea of how to overcome it. Upon understanding all these concern areas, unlocking the ways to resolve the matter is like a walkover. Thereby, prospective loss and the occurrence of such instances can be eliminated.

Let’s say, a data processing organisation got an extortion call through a malware attack. The networking manager would, however, carry out security measures and practices almost every day. But, an employee unknowingly clicked the phishing bait in his email when he was working out using a Wi-Fi of the cafeteria. The networked systems consequently got frozen in a wink.

In short, the root-cause analysis is about isolating all these factors of a business problem:

·         What-Malware Attack

·         When-During Office Hours

·         Where-In cafeteria (a public network)

·         How-Accessing an insecure public network

·         Why- No security when the system accesses a public Wi-Fi

Necessity

The cycle of a business operation has many aspects. These aspects are also sub-categorised. These sub-divisions & hierarchy of work, profiles and operations create a complex structure, which is often a big challenge to monitor and go through on a go. This is where the root-cause analysis method comes to rescue. Instead of overlooking the pan business operations, the project manager deeply digs and comes out with the concrete reasons of downfalls.

Benefits

1.       Accelerate internal process efficiency

2.       Quick the turnaround time of deliverables

3.       Define a sustainable solution to the problem

4.       Improve capabilities and  team performance

5.       Identify the accurate cause of the business problem

6.       Strengthen bond with customer via improved satisfaction

7.       Boost confidence by supporting the solution with the facts

How do you do root-cause analysis?

This project management analysis is dedicated to see the business activities through an enhanced analytical lens. Thereby, you could spot the trouble areas or the data management challenges that need the initiation to prevent their recurrence. 

Make sure that the problems are not hypothetical or such that nobody has a clear insight about.

Preparation:

1.       Identify & isolate the problem:  Pick up the factors that have hampered the organisation in hitting their goals. Choose the ones that are frequently hurdling. If it’s a small issue and happened just once, avoid it.

·         Find the significance of the problem in the context of the business.

·         Agree upon the end result.

2.       Assign: Upon determining the problem, select the authorized person who is in the know about that problem and possesses all capabilities to solve it.

·         Filter the talent who has authority to decide about & take action.

·         Entrust him with the task of the root-cause analysis.

3.       Plan: The deep analysis requires blueprinting before taking a step ahead. It needs to premeditate:

·         How many persons should be there to carry out this analysis?

·         How many hours does one take to complete it?

·         How many problems should be restricted per session?

4.       Meet: Host a meeting to explain how the RCA will be done. Make sure that you have:

·         Prepared a checklist of ‘to-do’ tasks

·         Defined the problems

·         Created a cause and effect chart

·         Determined the effective solutions

5.       Define problems: The business problem should be aligned around these queries:

·         What is the problem?

·         When did it occur?

·         Where did it occur?

·         What is its significance?

·         What has been the loss for the organization?

6.       Graphical presentation of problems: The graphical presentation refers to the “Cause and Effect Chart” which leaps through these points sequentially:

·         Start with “Why this happened” in a box.

·         Create a vertical column, stating the contextual problems.

·         Keep those contextual points in between 2 and 5 causes.

·         Ask ‘why’ about every cause.

·         After 4 to 7 levels, get to the point where nobody knows the answer.

·         Catch a good insight over all points.

7.       Identify effective solution: The effective solutions should stick around these criteria:

·         Prevent recurrence

·         Control the involved groups

·         Set & meet the RCA goals

8.       Report: It is crucial to intimate the participants about completion and checking the content. If it needs corrections, forward it to the concerned person in the hierarchy of the RCA. Once the correction is all done, send it to the strategy makers who are responsible for business intelligence. Hand over the project to its head for further action in the organisation.