Friday, March 25, 2011

Its Time...

"We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” – said Walt Disney.
 So…what do you do when you have to tread a new path, and ITS TIME for a handover?
Identify a successor
Train your successor
Share work with your successor while front-ending activities
Tell all stakeholders
Induct the person formally; let him/her manage Normal Scenarios while you remain in the background
Move in to manage exceptions, if needed
Exit when you are not needed to manage the exceptions

Thursday, January 27, 2011

A Case for Causal Analysis

What is Causal Analysis ?
As the name indicates, it is a process to analyze and find out what caused a problem/issue, and take actions to prevent recurrence. The basic principle is to find out the root causes for the problem, not the symptoms, and treat those root causes. This is also called Root Cause Analysis (RCA).

The term Causal Analysis and Resolution (CAR) is one of the processes that a CMMi level 5 mature organization needs to follow. It aims at:
·         Identifying and analyzing causes of defects and other problems
·         Taking specific actions to remove the causes and prevent the recurrence of those types of defects and problems
It is a science as well as an art.

Why CAR?
·         We need a systematic way to boil down on the root of problems
·         We need a trigger to find out process problems - thus aiding in process improvement
·         To spread the word about what went wrong, why it went wrong (root causes) – thus help prevent recurrence of the problem
·         We need a process in place to ensure continuous process improvement

How to find out root causes - 5 Whys method
The trick with root cause analysis is to keep finding out why the problem occurred till we narrow down on the root cause(s). For e.g.:
  • My car will not start. (the problem)
  1. Why? - The battery is dead. (first why)
  2. Why? - The alternator is not functioning. (second why)
  3. Why? - The alternator belt has broken. (third why)
  4. Why? - The alternator belt was well beyond its useful service life and has never been replaced. (fourth why)
  5. Why? - I have not been maintaining my car according to the recommended service schedule. (fifth why, a root cause)
  6. Why? - Replacement parts are not available because of the extreme age of my vehicle.(sixth why, optional footnote)
We can go on asking ‘why’ further but the theory is that after asking 5 Whys we generally get to the root cause.  The root cause will generally point to a process not working well. The root causes can be represented as a Fish-bone/Ishikawa/Cause-And-Effect diagram (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fishbone_diagram). Once we zero in on the root causes, we can think of actions to prevent recurrence of the problem.
Action proposal to prevent recurrence: Maintain my car according to the recommended service schedule.
Hence, the goal of root cause analysis is Defect Prevention.

How do we do CAR ?
1.       Do Root Cause Analysis (RCA)
a.       Define the problem – e.g. defects occurring in the project affect quality
b.      Gather data – e.g. number of defects in each phase
c.       Ask why and find out the root causes for each problem
d.      Identify doable corrective actions that will prevent recurrence
2.       Implement the actions
3.       Repeat step 1 and check for repeating root causes

Points to note:
·         Be careful not to confuse symptoms with root causes
·         Have it done by the people who worked on the project, not by anyone external
·         Do it by discussion as a team, rather than in silos by a team member
What are the challenges?
·         “This is great, but I don’t have the time for it”
when somebody says “I haven’t got time to do this”, what they are really saying is “what you are asking me to do is lower priority than the things that I am currently doing”. Changing this sense of priorities is one of the imperatives for successful CAR implementation. After all, “If you haven’t got time to stop these failures from recurring, how are you going to find the time to keep fixing them?”
·         Unwillingness to tackle the bigger issues
some action proposals might not be within the team’s control. These are typically solutions that require changes at an organization level. They need more time, effort and management clout to implement. Often, since the team doing root cause analysis consists of lower level personnel, they are reluctant to identify and recommend such actions.
·         Fear of being blamed for the errors
People often come across root causes pointing to errors of omission. In such a case, it is very easy to slip into the ‘blame game’ and recommend disciplinary or retraining actions.
How can we work around the challenges?
·         Have a skilled facilitator to guide the CAR discussion
·         Ensure that the action proposals are achievable/within the team’s control
·         Ensure that Senior management supports the implementation of recommendations dealing with organizational causes
·         Understand that nobody is immune from omissions. Instill the culture of proactive CAR.