Which quality tool is used to perform Root Cause Analysis?

Which quality tool is used to perform Root Cause Analysis?

• A. Fishbone Diagram
• B. Flow Chart
• C. Checksheets
• D. Pareto Chart

Answer: (A)

Root cause analysis aims to uncover the underlying contributors to a problem, not just what happened. The Fishbone Diagram, also known as an Ishikawa diagram, is built for this purpose because it organizes potential causes into major categories and lays them out in a cause-and-effect structure. This visual map helps a team brainstorm, trace symptoms back to deeper issues, and identify actionable root causes to address. You can also pair it with the 5 Whys technique to drill further into each cause as needed. Flow charts show the sequence of steps in a process, which helps understand flow but isn’t primarily focused on uncovering root causes. Checksheets are used to collect data in a simple, repeatable way. Pareto charts prioritize problems by frequency or impact, but they don’t map causes and their relationships. So the Fishbone Diagram is the best fit for performing Root Cause Analysis.

Root cause analysis aims to uncover the underlying contributors to a problem, not just what happened. The Fishbone Diagram, also known as an Ishikawa diagram, is built for this purpose because it organizes potential causes into major categories and lays them out in a cause-and-effect structure. This visual map helps a team brainstorm, trace symptoms back to deeper issues, and identify actionable root causes to address. You can also pair it with the 5 Whys technique to drill further into each cause as needed.

Flow charts show the sequence of steps in a process, which helps understand flow but isn’t primarily focused on uncovering root causes. Checksheets are used to collect data in a simple, repeatable way. Pareto charts prioritize problems by frequency or impact, but they don’t map causes and their relationships. So the Fishbone Diagram is the best fit for performing Root Cause Analysis.