Moving from Theory to Cause - Why? ...Why? ... Why? …
Advice from Randy Johns, Vice President
Many organizations have embraced the methodologies and tools of Lean and Six Sigma. The heart of Lean and Six Sigma improvement is the project team and its ability to uncover causes of variation and process failures. Tools that support those teams by helping locate and prove the causes of this variation are very important.
Lean Six Sigma, as deployed by Juran, includes a process evaluation tool that examines past projects for effectiveness and results. This review of “lessons learned”, as Dr. Juran has described the activity in his Trilogy®, is meant to uncover opportunities for improvement, as well as key success factors in executing projects.
Lessons gleaned from review of completed projects and from observation of teams in action indicate that the development of an effective cause and effect analysis often presents a challenge to project teams. Juran’s Six Sigma training provides a thorough treatment of the creation and use of a diagram to visualize the cause and effect relationships (Cause-Effect Diagram, 5 Whys and the FMEA). This training includes processes for generating theories, organizing theories, arranging theories in cause-effect relationships, validating the final diagram, selecting theories to be tested, and then proving root causes.
In many cases project teams use a software tool to create the final C-E diagram. Ideally, the adoption of a software tool should meet several criteria so that it reduces variation and supports root-cause determination:
- The same tool should be used by all teams in the organization so that communication and learning are easier and variation is lower.
- The tool should be easy and intuitive to use so that that it is an actively used tool during the project, not just a cosmetic display for presentations.
- The tool itself should reinforce the fundamentals of cause-effect analysis:
- Assure that the entries are statements of theories of cause.
- Encourage users to continue asking “why” until a potential root-cause is reached.
- Support selection of theories for testing.
- Track results of theory tests
- Reminders, tips, and process checks.
Recently I had the opportunity to observe the use of the software tool RealityCharting®. It satisfied many of these criteria and helped the teams reduce variability within their root cause analysis. Here is a screenshot from the application.
From observing this tool in use and using the free trial, I can make some interesting observations:
- Although the software tool does not create the recognized fishbone C-E diagram, its modified fault tree diagram format can be an advantage when used in some disciplines such as engineering, where fault tree usage may be more prevalent.
- The layout allows internal project team advisors or consultants to assess immediately the depth of analysis on the current problem.
- The software tool inserts the phrase “caused by” between successive levels emphasizing for teams the expected cause-effect relationship.
- The tool expects the team to insert examples of objective evidence to support the listed theory reinforcing the idea that these are theories to be proven.
- The tool requires the team to identify the nature of the item at the end of the causal chain or at the point where the causal chain is to be broken and corrective action taken.
While most of these concepts are typical topics in Lean Six Sigma or Root Cause Corrective Action training, practice teams will often short cut this analysis, not focusing on the need to convert listed theories into proven causes using data and information. Also, when team members experience long time periods between training and eventual use of the cause and effect analysis, this tool can reduce that time effect through its guided interaction with the team.
With this tool, the creation of the diagram is responsive and interactive, allowing real-time feedback from team members. It also supports the creation of a final report ready for distribution. In addition, the final diagram is a live document that can be updated as the project progresses.
Since we are looking for the answer to Why? (..why?..why?..), these are welcome benefits that should increase the effectiveness of cause-effect visualizations which are so critical to the success of projects.
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