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¶ Root Cause Analysis
¶ What it is
A Root Cause Analysis identifies underlying causes in your Insight Statements or pain points.
¶ Why it is useful
The Root Cause Analysis challenges you to find the root causes for the insights you have discovered, which are the symptoms. For example, the root causes of pain points should be addressed to “treat” the symptoms.
¶ When to use it
Use the Root Cause Analysis to understand better the insights you have generated. Instead of only looking at the “symptoms” your research has revealed, you can identify the underlying root causes, especially if the insights were surprising or unexpected.
¶ How is it done
- Pick your top 3 - 5 Insight Statements or pain points from the FI-Matrix, based on your prioritisation or with input from stakeholders.
- For every prioritised Insight Statement or pain point:
- Reflect on the direct cause(s) of the symptom(s) captured in the Insight Statement or pain points and note them down.
- For the noted causes: Pick the 1-2 most important ones, reflect on their respective causes, and note them down.
- Repeat until further iterations reach no additional insights (typically 2-3 levels down).
- After identifying the root causes for every Insight Statement or pain point, review the design challenge/ brief, discard all that do not sit within the challenge, and note the rest.
¶ Do's & Don't
Do's
- Discuss each symptom and cause in the group and try to look at them from different points of view.
- A substantial root cause can be claimed to be primarily responsible for conditions that lead to the symptom.
- Relevant causes can have different origins - policies, structures, actions, decisions, touchpoints, feedback loops, narratives, etc.
¶ Tools needed
- Whiteboard (virtual)
- FI-Matrix with Insight Statements or pain points
- Paper, pen (virtual)
¶ Example
