JS Tip 619: Root Cause Analysis Part Three
From the Leadership Workshops: Root Cause Analysis Part Three: Flowcharts
We’ve been talking about root cause analysis and the tools for finding the root causes of problems.
So far, we talked about “The Five Whys” and Fishbone Diagrams
This week, in the last part of our series, we’ll talk about flowcharts.
Flowcharts help you visualize a process to better solve a problem within the process.
You can hand-draw a flowchart (as has been done for years), but it works best with a computer program: Microsoft Visio. Miro. Gliffy. Creately.
We’ve included a sample flowchart below.
Creating the Flowchart
Divide the process into parts. Sections. List the sections vertically on the left side of the chart.
Write the first task in a box on the line for the first section.
Track the flow of the process with more boxes.
Link—connect—the boxes.
Show decision points with diamonds.
Using the Flowchart
Use the flowchart to identify bottlenecks or holes in the process. It’s visual and thus visible.
The Advantages
It shows linear relationships. First this, then this.
It shows decision points and alternate courses.
It’s interactive. You can play with it. You can move things around.
The Disadvantages
It overwhelms quickly. Pow!
It’s interactive. It’s limited to the computer screen.
We love this stuff.
Next week, we’ll move to something else.
