Purpose
The purpose of Causal Analysis and Resolution (CAR) is to identify causes of defects and other problems and take action to prevent them from occurring in the future.
Introductory Notes
The Causal Analysis and Resolution process area involves the following:
· Identifying and analyzing causes of defects and other problems
· Taking specific actions to remove the causes and prevent the occurrence of those types of defects and problems in the future
Causal analysis and resolution improves quality and productivity by preventing the introduction of defects into a product. Reliance on detecting defects after they have been introduced is not cost effective. It is more effective to prevent defects from being introduced by integrating causal analysis and resolution activities into each phase of the project.
Since defects and problems may have been previously encountered on other projects or in earlier phases or tasks of the current project, causal analysis and resolution activities are a mechanism for communicating lessons learned among projects.
The types of defects and other problems encountered are analyzed to identify any trends. Based on an understanding of the defined process and how it is implemented, the root causes of the defects and the future implications of the defects are determined.
Causal analysis may also be performed on problems unrelated to defects. For example, causal analysis may be used to improve quality attributes such as cycle time. Improvement proposals, simulations, dynamic systems models, engineering analyses, new business directives, or other items may initiate such analysis.
When it is impractical to perform causal analysis on all defects, defect targets are selected by tradeoffs on estimated investments and estimated returns of quality, productivity and cycle time.
A measurement process should already be in place. The defined measures can be used, though in some instances new measures may be needed to analyze the effects of the process change.
Refer to the Measurement and Analysis process area for more information about establishing objectives for measurement and analysis, specifying the measures and analyses to be performed, obtaining and analyzing measures, and reporting results.
Causal Analysis and Resolution activities provide a mechanism for projects to evaluate their processes at the local level and look for improvements that can be implemented.
When improvements are judged to be effective, the information is extended to the organizational level.
Refer to the Organizational Innovation and Deployment process area for more information about improving organizational level processes through proposed improvements and action proposals.
The informative material in this process area is written with the assumption that the specific practices are applied to a quantitatively managed process. The specific practices of this process area may be applicable, but with reduced value, if this assumption is not met.
See the definitions of “stable process” and “common cause of process variation” in the glossary.
Related Process Areas
Refer to the Quantitative Project Management process area for more information about the analysis of process performance and the creation of process capability measures for selected project processes.
Refer to the Organizational Innovation and Deployment process area for more information about the selection and deployment of improvements to organizational processes and technologies.
Refer to the Measurement and Analysis process area for more information about establishing objectives for measurement and analysis, specifying the measures and analyses to be performed, obtaining and analyzing measures, and reporting results.
Specific Goal and Practice Summary
SG 1 Determine Causes of Defects
SP 1.1 Select Defect Data for Analysis
SP 1.2 Analyze Causes
SG 2 Address Causes of Defects
SP 2.1 Implement the Action Proposals
SP 2.2 Evaluate the Effect of Changes
SP 2.3 Record Data
SG 1 Determine Causes of Defects
Root causes of defects and other problems are systematically determined.
A root cause is a source of a defect such that, if it is removed, the defect is decreased or removed.
SP 1.1 Select Defect Data for Analysis
Select the defects and other problems for analysis.
Typical Work Products
1. Defect and problem data selected for further analysis
Subpractices
1. Gather relevant defect or problem data.
Examples of relevant defect data may include the following:
· Defects reported by the customer
· Defects reported by end users
· Defects found in peer reviews
· Defects found in testing
Examples of relevant problem data may include the following:
· Project management problem reports requiring corrective action
· Process capability problems
· Process duration measurements
· Earned value measurements by process (e.g., cost performance index)
· Resource throughput, utilization, or response time measurements
Refer to the Verification process area for more information about work product verification.
Refer to the Quantitative Project Management process area for more information about statistical management.
The purpose of Causal Analysis and Resolution (CAR) is to identify causes of defects and other problems and take action to prevent them from occurring in the future.
Introductory Notes
The Causal Analysis and Resolution process area involves the following:
· Identifying and analyzing causes of defects and other problems
· Taking specific actions to remove the causes and prevent the occurrence of those types of defects and problems in the future
Causal analysis and resolution improves quality and productivity by preventing the introduction of defects into a product. Reliance on detecting defects after they have been introduced is not cost effective. It is more effective to prevent defects from being introduced by integrating causal analysis and resolution activities into each phase of the project.
Since defects and problems may have been previously encountered on other projects or in earlier phases or tasks of the current project, causal analysis and resolution activities are a mechanism for communicating lessons learned among projects.
The types of defects and other problems encountered are analyzed to identify any trends. Based on an understanding of the defined process and how it is implemented, the root causes of the defects and the future implications of the defects are determined.
Causal analysis may also be performed on problems unrelated to defects. For example, causal analysis may be used to improve quality attributes such as cycle time. Improvement proposals, simulations, dynamic systems models, engineering analyses, new business directives, or other items may initiate such analysis.
When it is impractical to perform causal analysis on all defects, defect targets are selected by tradeoffs on estimated investments and estimated returns of quality, productivity and cycle time.
A measurement process should already be in place. The defined measures can be used, though in some instances new measures may be needed to analyze the effects of the process change.
Refer to the Measurement and Analysis process area for more information about establishing objectives for measurement and analysis, specifying the measures and analyses to be performed, obtaining and analyzing measures, and reporting results.
Causal Analysis and Resolution activities provide a mechanism for projects to evaluate their processes at the local level and look for improvements that can be implemented.
When improvements are judged to be effective, the information is extended to the organizational level.
Refer to the Organizational Innovation and Deployment process area for more information about improving organizational level processes through proposed improvements and action proposals.
The informative material in this process area is written with the assumption that the specific practices are applied to a quantitatively managed process. The specific practices of this process area may be applicable, but with reduced value, if this assumption is not met.
See the definitions of “stable process” and “common cause of process variation” in the glossary.
Related Process Areas
Refer to the Quantitative Project Management process area for more information about the analysis of process performance and the creation of process capability measures for selected project processes.
Refer to the Organizational Innovation and Deployment process area for more information about the selection and deployment of improvements to organizational processes and technologies.
Refer to the Measurement and Analysis process area for more information about establishing objectives for measurement and analysis, specifying the measures and analyses to be performed, obtaining and analyzing measures, and reporting results.
Specific Goal and Practice Summary
SG 1 Determine Causes of Defects
SP 1.1 Select Defect Data for Analysis
SP 1.2 Analyze Causes
SG 2 Address Causes of Defects
SP 2.1 Implement the Action Proposals
SP 2.2 Evaluate the Effect of Changes
SP 2.3 Record Data
SG 1 Determine Causes of Defects
Root causes of defects and other problems are systematically determined.
A root cause is a source of a defect such that, if it is removed, the defect is decreased or removed.
SP 1.1 Select Defect Data for Analysis
Select the defects and other problems for analysis.
Typical Work Products
1. Defect and problem data selected for further analysis
Subpractices
1. Gather relevant defect or problem data.
Examples of relevant defect data may include the following:
· Defects reported by the customer
· Defects reported by end users
· Defects found in peer reviews
· Defects found in testing
Examples of relevant problem data may include the following:
· Project management problem reports requiring corrective action
· Process capability problems
· Process duration measurements
· Earned value measurements by process (e.g., cost performance index)
· Resource throughput, utilization, or response time measurements
Refer to the Verification process area for more information about work product verification.
Refer to the Quantitative Project Management process area for more information about statistical management.
2. Determine which defects and other problems will be analyzed further.
When determining which defects to analyze further, consider the impact of the defects, their frequency of occurrence, the similarity between defects, the cost of analysis, the time and resources needed, the safety considerations, etc.
Examples of methods for selecting defects and other problems include the following:
· Pareto analysis
· Histograms
· Process capability analysis
SP 1.2 Analyze Causes
Perform causal analysis of selected defects and other problems and propose actions to address them.
The purpose of this analysis is to develop solutions to the identified problems by analyzing the relevant data and producing action proposals for implementation.
Typical Work Products
1. Action proposal
Subpractices
1. Conduct causal analysis with the people who are responsible for performing the task.
Causal analysis is performed, typically in meetings, with those people who have an understanding of the selected defect or problem under study. The people who have the best understanding of the selected defect are typically those responsible for performing the task.
Examples of when to perform causal analysis include the following:
· When a stable process does not meet its specified quality and process-performance objectives
· During the task, if and when problems warrant a causal analysis meeting
· When a work product exhibits an unexpected deviation from its requirements
Refer to the Quantitative Project Management process area for more information about achieving the project’s quality and process-performance objectives.
2. Analyze selected defects and other problems to determine their root causes.
Depending on the type and number of defects, it may make sense to first group the defects before identifying their root causes.
Examples of methods to determine root causes include the following:
· Cause-and-effect (fishbone) diagrams
· Check sheets
3. Group the selected defects and other problems based on their root causes.
Examples of cause groups, or categories, include the following:
· Inadequate training
· Breakdown of communications
· Not accounting for all details of a task
· Making mistakes in manual procedures (e.g., typing)
· Process deficiency
4. Propose and document actions that need to be taken to prevent the future occurrence of similar defects or other problems.
Examples of proposed actions include changes to the following:
· The process in question
· Training
· Tools
· Methods
· Communications
· Work products
Examples of specific actions include the following:
· Providing training in common problems and techniques for preventing them
· Changing a process so that error-prone steps do not occur
· Automating all or part of a process
· Reordering process activities
· Adding process steps to prevent defects, such as task kickoff meetings to review common defects and actions to prevent them
An action proposal usually documents the following:
· Originator of the action proposal
· Description of the problem
· Description of the defect cause
· Defect cause category
· Phase when the problem was introduced
· Phase when the defect was identified
· Description of the action proposal
· Action proposal category
SG 2 Address Causes of Defects
Root causes of defects and other problems are systematically addressed to prevent their future occurrence.
Projects operating according to a well-defined process will systematically analyze the operation where problems still occur and implement process changes to eliminate root causes of selected problems.
SP 2.1 Implement the Action Proposals
Implement the selected action proposals that were developed in causal analysis.
Action proposals describe the tasks necessary to remove the root causes of the analyzed defects or problems and avoid their reoccurrence.
Only changes that prove to be of value should be considered for broad implementation.
Typical Work Products
1. Action proposals selected for implementation
2. Improvement proposals
Subpractices
1. Analyze the action proposals and determine their priorities.
Criteria for prioritizing action proposals include the following:
· Implications of not addressing the defects
· Cost to implement process improvements to prevent the defects
· Expected impact on quality
2. Select the action proposals that will be implemented.
3. Create action items for implementing the action proposals.
Examples of information provided in an action item include the following:
· Person responsible for implementing it
· Description of the areas affected by it
· People who are to be kept informed of its status
· Next date that status will be reviewed
· Rationale for key decisions
· Description of implementation actions
· Time and cost for identifying the defect and correcting it
· Estimated cost of not fixing the problem
To implement the action proposals, the following tasks must be done:
· Make assignments
· Coordinate the persons doing the work
· Review the results
· Track the action items to closure
· Person responsible for implementing it
· Description of the areas affected by it
· People who are to be kept informed of its status
· Next date that status will be reviewed
· Rationale for key decisions
· Description of implementation actions
· Time and cost for identifying the defect and correcting it
· Estimated cost of not fixing the problem
To implement the action proposals, the following tasks must be done:
· Make assignments
· Coordinate the persons doing the work
· Review the results
· Track the action items to closure
Experiments may be conducted for particularly complex changes.
Examples of experiments include the following:
· Using a temporarily modified process
· Using a new tool
Action items may be assigned to members of the causal analysis team, members of the project team, or other members of the organization.
4. Identify and remove similar defects that may exist in other processes and work products.
5. Identify and document improvement proposals for the organization’s set of standard processes.
Refer to the Organizational Innovation and Deployment process area for more information about the selection and deployment of improvement proposals for the organization’s set of standard processes.
SP 2.2 Evaluate the Effect of Changes
Evaluate the effect of changes on process performance.
Refer to the Quantitative Project Management process area for more information about analyzing process performance and creating process capability measures for selected processes.
Once the changed process is deployed across the project, the effect of the changes must be checked to gather evidence that the process change has corrected the problem and improved performance.
Typical Work Products
1. Measures of performance and performance change
· Using a temporarily modified process
· Using a new tool
Action items may be assigned to members of the causal analysis team, members of the project team, or other members of the organization.
4. Identify and remove similar defects that may exist in other processes and work products.
5. Identify and document improvement proposals for the organization’s set of standard processes.
Refer to the Organizational Innovation and Deployment process area for more information about the selection and deployment of improvement proposals for the organization’s set of standard processes.
SP 2.2 Evaluate the Effect of Changes
Evaluate the effect of changes on process performance.
Refer to the Quantitative Project Management process area for more information about analyzing process performance and creating process capability measures for selected processes.
Once the changed process is deployed across the project, the effect of the changes must be checked to gather evidence that the process change has corrected the problem and improved performance.
Typical Work Products
1. Measures of performance and performance change
Subpractices
1. Measure the change in the performance of the project's defined process as appropriate.
This subpractice determines whether the selected change has positively influenced the process performance and by how much.
An example of a change in the performance of the project’s defined design process would be the change in the defect density of the design documentation, as statistically measured through peer reviews before and after the improvement has been made. On a statistical process control chart, this would be represented by a change in the mean.
2. Measure the capability of the project's defined process as appropriate.
This subpractice determines whether the selected change has positively influenced the ability of the process to meet its quality and process-performance objectives, as determined by relevant stakeholders.
An example of a change in the capability of the project’s defined design process would be a change in the ability of the process to stay within its process-specification boundaries. This can be statistically measured by calculating the range of the defect density of design documentation, as collected in peer reviews before and after the improvement has been made. On a statistical process control chart, this would be represented by lowered control limits.
SP 2.3 Record Data
Record causal analysis and resolution data for use across the project and organization.
Data are recorded so that other projects and organizations can make appropriate process changes and achieve similar results.
Record the following:
· Data on defects and other problems that were analyzed
· Rationale for decisions
· Action proposals from causal analysis meetings
· Action items resulting from action proposals
· Cost of the analysis and resolution activities
· Measures of changes to the performance of the defined process resulting from resolutions
Typical Work Products
1. Causal analysis and resolution records
