Original Source: Business Tuts+
“Why did that happen? How can we make that happen? These two questions, both of them critically important in business settings, are essentially the same.
How can two such different questions be identical? After all, one involves analyzing a past event while the other involves planning for the future. The answer is simple: in both cases you’re asking the same basic question—that is: “what chain of events causes a particular outcome?” Whether you’re looking forward to plan a chain of events, or looking backward to better understand one, you can use the same tool: Cause and Effect Analysis.
Cause and Effect: Looking Back
Cause and Effect analysis is typically used to figure out why something went wrong. Your product is failing, your clients are frustrated, and you’re losing money. But why? After all, everything was fine up until three months ago. By analyzing the production process, you may be able to pinpoint the issues that are to blame. Once you’ve determined where the issues lie, you can address them—and institute policies to ensure that those same issues don’t arise again.
Cause and Effect analysis can also help you to replicate a positive outcome. For example, this month—for the first time ever—your team exceeded its sales goals. What went right? It’s easy to say “we got lucky,” but most of the time we make or at least encourage our own luck. So what were the elements that went into making this month’s sales calls so much more effective than before?..”
https://business.tutsplus.com/articles/get-started-with-cause-and-effect-analysis-using-a-fishbone-chart–cms-21178
Contributors: Open SourceCategories: Industry Articles, SIG U Resource
SRC Type: Benchmarking and Analysis, Procurement Operations