What is it?
Problem analysis
is a technique which can enable you to think logically and find root
causes of differences - positive or negative - in standards of performance
within a management or work process.
When to use it
- There is a change
in an expected process,
- The cause of
the change is unknown,
- The cause of
the change has to be known for effective action to be taken
What does it achieve?
Problem analysis
provides the skills needed to explain any situation or process, in which
an expected level of performance has not been reached and in which the
cause of the unacceptable performance is not known. It provides a method
of testing for the most probable cause of a change and then verifying
the cause of that change.
When a problem exists
within a process, invariably, it requires a group of people with different
expertise to get together and solve the problem. Problem analysis enables
people to approach the problem as a team to determine the root cause(s).
Key steps
- Define the problem
- Describe the
problem - is/is not
- Distinctive features
- Determine change
- Generate possible
causes
- testing for most
likely causes
- Verifying the
root cause(s)