Process / pipelineQuality tools
Root Cause Analysis
Root Cause Analysis (RCA) is a structured, systematic method for identifying the fundamental causes of defects, failures, or undesirable outcomes rather than treating surface-level symptoms. Popularised by Japanese quality engineer Kaoru Ishikawa in the 1960s–1980s, and formally codified in his 1986 Guide to Quality Control, RCA combines the Ishikawa (fishbone) diagram with the iterative 5 Whys questioning technique to trace causal chains back to their origin.
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Sources
- Ishikawa, K. (1986). Guide to Quality Control (2nd ed.). Asian Productivity Organization. ISBN: 978-92-833-1036-7