Root Cause - Criticism

Criticism

In the arena of systems thinking, the idea of a line of cause and effect is disputed, in favour of the concept of causal loops. To quote Senge:

In systems thinking it is an axiom that every influence is both cause and effect. Nothing is ever influenced in just one direction.

In addition, in an article in Quality Progress by Mark Paradies (Under Scrutiny) explains the psychological and philosophical limitations of cause and effect, especially as it applies to 5-Whys. The biggest drawbacks mentioned are 1) that cause and effect does not help investigators go beyond their current knowledge, 2) that cause and effect leads to the problem of "confirmation bias," and 3) that the use of cause and effect tends to lead to "single cause" answers in an increasingly complex world.

Paradies would define a root cause as follows: "The most basic cause (or causes) that can reasonably be identified that management has control to fix and, when fixed, will prevent (or significantly reduce the likelihood of) the problem’s recurrence."

Some highly respected government investigation agencies do not routinely use the term "root cause", for example, the National Transportation Safety Board. See http://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/process.html