Root Cause Analysis

Foreword

Acknowledgements and Thanks

Day 1

1. Understanding the Landscape
2. Overcoming Skepticism
3. Myth vs. Reality
4. The Distinction That Matters
5. Why This Gets Teams Into Trouble
6. Why QA Gets Labelled a Bottleneck
7. A Quick Bottleneck Reality Check
8. Misunderstanding: The Problem and Outcome Solution
9. The False Sense of Accomplishment
10. The Outcome
11. Why Root Cause Analysis Matters

Hand Picked

1. Why RCA Matters
2. Navigating Challenges
3. Example: Software (High Defect Rates)
4. A Month Later
5. The Shift Left Debate
6. Retrospective Events
7. Methodologies and Metrics
8. Continuous Improvement and Value
9. Providing Value
10. Efficiency and Output
11. Closing Thoughts
12. What John Learned

Getting Started

1. The Importance of Information Gathering
2. Types of Data
3. Turning Information into a Metrics Program
4. Establishing a Metrics Program
5. Key Components of a Metrics Program
6. Effective Reporting
7. Why a Metrics Program Matters (In RCA Terms)
8. What Metrics Do (and Don’t Do)
9. Understanding RCA
10. A Fully Functioning RCA
11. Monitoring and Tracking
12. What John Learned

The Gathering

1. Time to Roll Up the Sleeves
2. Key Steps in Implementation
3. Navigating Processes
4. Clouding of Judgment
5. Example: Software (Testing Isn’t the Problem)
6. Avoiding the Problem
7. Key Strategies for Navigating Processes
8. IDEAL Flow
9. What John Learned
10. A Note on Self-Confirming Stories
11. What John Learned
12. What to Watch For in the First 30 Days

Define Value

1. Value: The Why
2. And That’s When John Got Uneasy
3. Key Steps to Overcome Complacency
4. Now, We Are in the Thick of Things
5. Baseline Available Data
6. Using Baseline Data Effectively
7. Inspiration for Moving Forward
8. What John Learned

What To Track

1. Metrics That Support RCA (Without Creating Noise)
2. A Quick Warning (Before We Start)
3. What Should We Track?
4. The Three Questions Your Metrics Must Answer
5. Valuable Metrics (Selection Criteria)
6. Definitions: Defects and Related Terms (IEEE)
7. A Reusable Metric Definition Template (Use This for Everything)
8. Don’t Stop at Defects
9. Data Availability: Was It Centrally Located?
10. Centralized Data Management
11. Remember: Real-Time Isn’t Always the Goal
12. Usability: Is the Data Actually Useful?
13. Can It Tell a Story? (Decision Story, Not Marketing Story)
14. Is More Data Needed?
15. Starter Metric Sets (Pick One and Adapt)
16. Defects and Time (Two Metrics Almost Everyone Can Start With)
17. Closing Thoughts
18. Key Takeaways

What’s The Story, Morning Glory?

1. What “Story” Means in RCA
2. Getting the Information that Leads to Higher Value
3. A Practical Way to Think About “High-Value” Information
4. Spotlight
5. Something was missing.
6. The Real Lesson
7. Presenting the Findings
8. Key Strategies for Effective Storytelling
9. Do You Know Your Audience?
10. Understanding Audience Preferences
11. Effective Use of Visual Aids
12. Strategies for Engaging Presentations
13. Supporting Cast
14. Roles Needed for a Successful RCA Program
15. Why This Diversity Matters
16. What John Learned
17. Closing Thoughts

When Should I Do A Detailed Root Cause?

1. What “Worth the Disruption” Actually Means
2. Questions to Consider
3. A Practical Rule of Thumb
4. Steps Taken
5. Symptom Analysis
6. Cause Identification
7. Solution Development
8. Outcome
9. We Found Something. Now What?
10. The Middle Path (What It Looks Like in Practice)
11. How Can We Fix It?
12. Steps to Fix the Issue
13. Select the Best Alternative
14. Test the Alternative
15. Non-Conformance (When Compliance Matters)
16. Cost of Fixing the Process vs. Dealing with the Symptom
17. Other Ways to Get There
18. Inspiration for Problem Solving
19. Closing Thoughts

RCA Discovery Tools

1. How to Choose the Right Tool (Quick Guide)
2. Cause and Effect Diagram (Ishikawa) — Examples and How to Use It
3. A Note on Collaboration (Instead of a Manifesto Detour)
4. Affinity Diagram
5. After the Storm (Turning Priorities into Action)
6. Involvement
7. Feedback Loops
8. There Are More Tools Than These
9. Closing Thoughts

Solution Discovery

1. Collaborative Solution Session
2. Countermeasures, Not Comfort
3. HR Changed the Quality of the Questions
4. Crafting a Compelling Presentation
5. Key Components of the Presentation
6. Securing Leadership Approval
7. Leadership approved the path forward.
8. The Silver Lining
9. Closing Thoughts
10. One Voice - One Story
11. Unified Message
12. Proposed Solutions and Cost-Benefit Analysis
13. Refining the Presentation
14. Root Cause Review
15. Engaging Stakeholders (When to Pull People In)
16. Regularly Scheduled Meetings
17. Guidelines for Productive Dialogue
18. ISO 9001
19. Retrospectives
20. Rules for Effective Meetings
21. Decision Tools (When You Need Help Choosing)
22. Closing Thought

The Meeting

1. What’s the Story?
2. The Golden Circle (A Simple Spine for the Story)
3. Telling the Story
4. Comparative View
5. Value
6. Closing the Loop (Back in the Meeting)

Closing the Meeting

1. Empowering Voices
2. Making Decisions
3. Preparation for Decision-Making Meetings (The Decision Pack)
4. Questions Leadership Will Ask (Be Ready)
5. Efficient Meeting Structure
6. The Decision (Made in the Room)

Understanding Complexity

1. Beware of “Common Sense” Solutions
2. Avoid Blame Games
3. Telling the Wrong Story (How Metrics Programs Go Sideways)
4. Avoiding Pitfalls and Misconceptions
5. Are We Done?

Appendix

1. Appendix A: RCA Quickstart (Field Guide)

Bibliography