Another Example of Why 5-Why’s / Fishbone Diagrams are Bad Root Cause Analysis Systems
Posted bySee this link for an example of 5-Why’s applied to a problem:
http://www.reproline.jhu.edu/English/6read/6pi/ppt/maqpi/gifs/slide17.gif
I’m not posting this as a particularly bad example of 5-Whys. Rather it is a rather typical example of 5-Whys.
If that isn’t bad enough, look at this Fishbone Diagram:
http://www.reproline.jhu.edu/English/6read/6pi/ppt/maqpi/gifs/slide16.gif
Any TapRooT® User who views this example will know how much is missing from either root cause analysis.
But others may think that the answers presented are OK – maybe even way better than their current analysis.
That’s why I shake my head when someone mentions 5-Whys or Fishbone Diagrams as a root cause analysis tools. It appears to be better but it just leads people down the road to the same old ineffectice answers that they always seem to get. It doesn’t get people beyond their current thinking.
Category: Root Causes
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It seems to me you are knocking the opposition such as 5 why’s etc without giving concrete examples of how Taproot is a better system. You show a fishbone diagram but don’t explain what the problem with the diagram is and how Taproot would have come up with a different answer or solution.
Comment by Sean - Ireland — December 8, 2009 @ 5:17 am
Thanks for your comment.
I’ve always hesitated pointing out the flaws in bad root cause systems because people might say … “You are just knocking the competition.”
But I have seen so many bad applications of 5-Whys and Fishbone Diagrams that I just couldn’t hold my tongue any more.
For more discussion of WHY the techniques don’t work, see:
http://www.taproot.com/wordpress/2009/08/26/more-bad-root-cause-analysis-advice/
For an example of how TapRooT® works see:
http://www.taproot.com/blog/Using%20the%20TapRooT®%20System.pdf
To really see for yourself how TapRooT® compares to any system you currently use, attend one of our public TapRooT® Courses held around the world. I would suggest the 5-Day if you are primarily responsible to investigating problems at your site. For the schedule, see:
http://www.taproot.com/courses.php
These courses come with a guarantee:
Attend a TapRooT® Course. Go back to work and apply what you have learned. If you don’t find root causes that you previously would have overlooked and if you, and your management, don’t agree that you are developing much more effective corrective actions, just return the course materials/software and we will refund the entire course/software fees.
That’s how confident we are that you will see how much more effective TapRooT® is at solving problems.
So, when I see people failing to solve problems that could cost someone their life, could cause environmental damage, could cause people to lose their jobs (due to poor quality, high costs, or schedule delays), … I just can’t stay quiet. It has become a personal quest for me. I can’t allow root cause analysis malpractice to exist unchallenged.
Comment by Mark Paradies — December 8, 2009 @ 2:49 pm