Getting to the root cause of a problem is hard. There I said it! There are lots of reasons why assessing what is causing a problem is so difficult but I'll boil it down to 3 key points:
1) We first have to understand the symptom we are trying to fix. Easy right! The symptom itself might be quite complex and can vary wildly depending on who's perspective you are looking at. To get to the root cause, you first need to understand what problem you are actually trying to solve and who you are solving it for.
2) We have to set aside our assumptions. Everyone always "knows" what the problem is...someone in a different team isn't doing something their supposed to do, the software is glitchy, the process isn't fit for purpose etc. But, to truly understand the root cause of a problem we have to set aside these assumptions. Looking across the entire process means you'll need to bring different teams into the conversation and not just look at your silo. Data is also your friend here - while your "gut" might help point you in a direction you need data and the insights it brings to truly understand where things might be breaking down. There is lots of training available on things like Lean Six Sigma that can help you use data to assess root causes.
3) Complexity of the root cause. Sometimes you have to go way back down the chain to truly understand a root cause and you may actually be looking for something that is missing completely rather than something that is broken. Equally, it could be a number of different factors interacting that is creating the issue. Continually delving deeper, looking at the data and using questions, will help you get to the true crux of the issue.
The good news is, there is lots of help out there. The Business Change Hub offers a range of templates to help you in your root cause assessments including Fishbone and Interrelationship diagrams. There is also lots of training available including that provided by Catalyst Consulting.
Other useful blogs to take a look at include:
Don't forget, you can always get in touch to find out more about the support that The Business Change Hub can offer.
