Root Cause Analysis¶
First course in Naming the Cause. Course 03 — 24 lessons across 7 modules.
The course in KCG's curriculum that builds diagnostic discipline: the ability to look past surface symptoms and identify the structural conditions that produce a problem.
Modules¶
| # | Module | Lessons |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Why Workplace Misunderstandings Happen | 01 Why workplace misunderstandings happen · 02 The cost of getting it wrong · 03 Building your diagnostic muscle |
| 2 | Causal Chains and Sequence Mapping | 04 Everything is connected · 05 Mapping the sequence · 06 Real-world chains: case studies |
| 3 | Asking the Right Questions | 07 The right questions change everything · 08 Questions for different contexts · 09 Asking without judgment |
| 4 | The Five Whys (and When to Stop) | 10 Choosing your problem · 11 The Five Whys and when to stop · 12 From analysis to action |
| 5 | Systems Thinking | 13 Systems vs. problems · 14 Feedback loops and time delays · 15 Leverage points and where to push · 16 Navigating emergence and unintended consequences |
| 6 | Designing the Intervention | 17 Designing the intervention · 18 Pilot, measure, iterate · 19 Scaling change without breaking the system · 20 Handling resistance |
| 7 | Organizational Archetypes and Strategy | 21 Organizational archetypes · 22 Scaling questions · 23 Cultural context · 24 From RCA to strategy |
Source: ~/Documents/GitHub/kcg-client-portal-courses/03-rca/
Signature practices¶
The curriculum is in the source course; this section names the practices and links to the lessons that teach them.
- The diagnostic prioritization matrix — prioritizes problems on impact × frequency to decide which deserve a full diagnostic; investing diagnostic energy in the wrong quadrant is the most common way the work gets wasted. See Diagnostic muscle; source: lesson
03-module-1-building-your-diagnostic-muscle.md. - The Five Whys with a stopping rule — asks "why" repeatedly until the answer is a structural condition the client can act on; the signature addition is the stopping rule (if the chain reaches outside the client's control, the chain has gone too far). See Five Whys; source: lesson
11-module-4-the-five-whys-and-when-to-stop.md. - The intervention sequence — identify → design → pilot → measure → scale — the framework refuses to leap from cause to scale without piloting; resistance is treated as data about the design, not as an obstacle. See Intervention point; source: lessons
17–20(module 6).
Source citations referenced in this course¶
- Grossman, D. (2011). The Cost of Poor Communications. SHRM/Holmes Report.
- Hall, E. T. (1976). Beyond Culture. (Cultural iceberg model.)
- Edmondson, A. C. (1999). Psychological safety and learning behavior in work teams.
- Heider, F. (1958). The Psychology of Interpersonal Relations. (Attribution theory.)
- Senge, P. M. (2006). The Fifth Discipline. (Systems thinking.)
- Ishikawa, K. (1985). What Is Total Quality Control? The Japanese Way. (Fishbone diagrams.)
- Covey, S. R. (1989). The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. (Impact/urgency matrix, adapted.)