Decision Making: Root Cause Analysis in brief

To get to the core of a problem, perform a root cause analysis. 

This is a process in which you repeatedly make a statement of fact and ask the question: "Why? 

For example, the CEO of  pizza chain noticed that he was losing sales because his home deliveries were slower than competitors. 

suggestions that they invest in a fleet of delivery vehicles to solve this problem. 

Instead of jumping to this conclusion, the manager asks: "Our pizza deliveries are slow. Why?

 Our delivery associates drive old cars that are in poor condition. Why?

 They can't afford repairs or newer cars. Why? 

They don't have the money. Why? 

Their pay is too low." Through this process, he realizes that the older, poorly maintained vehicles were a symptom of lower wages than those competitors paid.

Root-cause analysis can work well for an individual, a small group, or in brainstorming sessions.

A tool that can help you perform such an analysis is called a fishbone diagram. 

As the following illustration demonstrates, every fishbone diagram will look a little different depending on the particular problem being solved.