
20 Root Cause Analysis: Improving Performance for Bottom-Line Results
Problem solving comes the closest to meeting the RCA criteria. Problem solving
usually is team based, plus it employs the use of a structured tool(s). Some of these
tools may be cause-and-effect based; some may not be. Problem solving oftentimes
falls short of the RCA criteria because it does not require evidence to back up what
the team members hypothesize. When assumption is permitted to y as fact in a
process, it is not RCA. Figure2.1 is a quick-reference guide to what the norms are
for these types of analytical approaches.
The acceptance of common brainstorming tech