REPLY Definition of root cause (SD6794)

[SDMAIL BalaporiaZ]

Posted by  BalaporiaZ at schneider.com

Good conversation and interesting perspectives, as always.  Two thoughts to
add.  Not sure yet how / if they come together.

Thought 1
=========
I admire the quest for a definition of root cause.  But I think it is less
about better definition and more about good judgement.   I would suggest
that "root cause(s)" is more of a concept than a goal.  For example, I
don't take the "ask why 5 times" too literally.  I don't think there is a
scientific basis for the number 5 (is there?), but it is still a good
practical upper bound.

Thought 2
=========
The main thing I got from my excellent but very compact SD education is
that the root cause of almost all our problems is the lack of a good shared
mental model.  The most important model of the real world problem isn't the
abstraction that is captured in equations. It's the abstraction that sits
between our ears.  So regardless of how good the analysis is, if it doesn't
change my behavior then I become the root cause of the problem.   People
don't act in accordance with the output of simulation models, they act in
accordance with their beliefs.  I think that is as root cause as it gets.
This is not new to anyone on this list but it seemed like a fundamental
point that had not been raised.

Cheers.

Zahir Balaporia
Director, Decision Engineering
Schneider National, Inc.
Posted by  BalaporiaZ at schneider.com
posting date  Fri, 7 Mar 2008 14:13:58 -0600