Causal Analysis is to find causes that you can treat rather than treating symptoms. It provides the real reason why things happen and allows focused change activity.

A root cause is the basic reason why something happens and can be quite distant from the original effect.

Sources of information for causal analysis: Causal Analysis are triggered through one or more of the following ways:
• Reviews / Testing
• Audits of the quality system/projects
• Management Review Meetings
• Maintaining the quality system and deviations sought
• Customer complaints
• Problems / issues encountered at the project and organizational levels.

The goals of causal analysis are:

- To identify critical problem areas in a systematic way.
- Investigate and determine the root cause(s) of the nonconformance and document the root cause(s)
- Determine a plan to eliminate the root cause(s) of the nonconformance, taking into consideration the magnitude of the problem and the risk involved

1. Identify Crtical problems: The individual or team that encounters the problems shall organize a brainstorming meeting to identify the causes for the problem(s). Participants at the meeting shall include the individual or team that encounters the problem(s), experts in the domain and representatives of the Quality team and the Defect Prevention Analyst of the project. The lists of problem areas are determined, based on their impact on the performance of the team.

2. Identify causes and root causes: During the meeting, the participants define (or redefine if necessary) the problem for a precise understanding. Following this, brainstorming shall identify the possible causes of the problem. The causes of the problem shall also be prioritized and root causes are identified after eliminating others, the root cause of the problem is then documented appropriately.

The defect prevention group analyzing the problem shall use a combination of one or more of the following to identify the critical problem, possible causes and root causes:

Pareto analysis to seek out the vital few causes / characteristics known to contribute to the problem(s). Pareto Analysis is used to prioritize and attack the various causes that contribute to the problem so that the effect of the action taken would result in substantial improvement. Pareto Analysis is extensively used where quantitative data is available.

Cause-and-Effect Diagram or “Fishbone” diagram to visualize, clarify, link, identify and classify possible causes of a problem. Using Cause and Effect Diagram, a root cause analysis (WHY-WHY analysis) is done which helps in taking appropriate corrective action, to prevent the recurrence of the root cause, in future. The Cause and Effect Analysis is a qualitative technique and requires the involvement of team members since brainstorming will be used in conjunction with this tool.

3. Identify Corrective action: The participants of the meeting propose and discuss possible mitigation methods or strategies to correct the problem as well as to prevent the problem from occurring in future.The participants shall also decide on responsibilities assigned for acting on the action items identified, along with any risk perceived and target date for closure. The action items are tracked to closure and follow-up takes place during subsequent meetings.

Performing Causal analysis and preventive actions across the Organization: Causal analysis and appropriate preventive actions are performed at the following levels across the organization:
• Project / Work Group
• Organization

Project Level: The scope of a causal analysis at a project level is to identify critical problem areas with respect to Defects and Issues.

The project team members meet periodically to track the performance of the defects and issues along with the inputs given by the team members.

Based on the discussion, the team identifies, suitable intervals on a planned, as well as an event driven basis to perform causal analysis and determine suitable corrective actions and follow it up to closure. Causal analysis is performed at the end of a phase or once in a month, whichever is earlier. In cases where Phases overlap, Causal analysis for the current phase will be done before the start of the succeeding phase.

The team shall also track the effectiveness of such corrective actions periodically.
In order to support and prevent problems, the team shall initiate discussions and identify a suitable plan along with appropriate methods to prevent problems, as needed. The team shall also periodically, review the performance of such activities and identify suitable corrective actions.

Significant points resulting from these meetings shall be recorded and the minutes of meeting are circulated to all members of the project team. The Project Manager assigns responsibilities for any action items that arise and tracks the action items to closure. During project team meetings the entire project team shares their experiences with a view to identifying causes of problems that have occurred and to prevent known problems from recurring. Project Managers also use weekly project status reports to escalate problems to the department head.

The Project Managers shall also meet with the practice head / Delivery Head regularly. Project teams will also meet regularly at a periodicity defined in the project plan. These meetings discuss:

• Project progress
• Achievements of the project thus far
• Forthcoming project activities
• Distribution of responsibilities for forthcoming tasks

Workgroup Level: The heads of various workgroups shall schedule departmental meetings in order to

• Share information about departmental activities
• Share important and non-confidential news about happenings in the organization
• Address problems/Issues faced by the department as a whole.
• Identify and discuss relevant root causes
• Identify and follow-up appropriate corrective actions assigned

Departmental meetings shall serve as a forum for members of a department to share experiences and to discuss problems with a view to finding solutions and to prevent problems from recurring by discussions and causal analysis. One of the team members shall record significant points thrown-up during such meetings. The workgroup head shall assign responsibility for these action items and track the action items to closure.

Organizational Level: The heads of the various workgroups in the organization along-with the President, shall meet at regular intervals during SIR’s to discuss departmental issues and activities. These meetings will be held at least at monthly intervals and as required more frequently. During such meetings, the participants

• Discuss common issues and problems facing the work group.
• Share key information regarding work group activities.
• Attempt to resolve any pending inter-departmental interface problems.
• Discuss customer complaints of a critical nature affecting the entire organization.
• Share information regarding problems and preventive actions.

Minutes of the meetings shall be recorded and circulated to all participants. The workgroup head assigns responsibility for action items that are identified. The department heads, in turn, convey this information to the employees in the department during departmental meetings.

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