AAOM Handbook

INTERNAL

AI.11 Brainstorm Potential Causes Context

Once a performance issue has been approved for investigation, and the team members selected, the next step is to identify the contributing/root cause(s) of the process issue. Generally a team of knowledgeable people can arrive at more potential causes of an issue quicker than one individual. Brainstorming is a technique that assists a team to identify a wide range of potential causes in a relatively short time. In order to brainstorm the issue effectively you must have a clear understanding of the system that is being studied and the measurement that is being used. To ensure that these are clearly understood by all of the participants it will be helpful to;  review or create a process flowchart for the system,  identify the source(s) of the data used in the measurement, and  identify how that data is processed to produce the measure. As the investigation progresses, the potential causes will be ranked tested and validated in order to arrive at the significant Contributing/Root Cause(s). This task is to develop the broadest possible list of possible causes without passing judgement on them. Purpose To identify all potential contributing causes to an issue Quantity One list of potential contributing causes to the issue. Quality A flowchart of the system being studied should be constructed only to the level of detail necessary to produce and adequate understanding of the issue. Too much detail may become confusing! Start with a simple flowchart and add detail if it becomes necessary. It is generally helpful to construct the flowchart by considering the transformation, transfer or storage steps within the system. The list of potential contributing causes is to contain potential causes, not potential solutions. Suggested causes that may be implausible or improbable should not be eliminated at this stage – that will occur later. Make the definition of the potential cause specific enough that you will remember what it was in several months time. Too often a few words are used and no-one knows what they meant a week later.

© McAlear Management Consultants 2007

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