Page 23 - Straight Talk On Project Management IV

what happened, when, where, how and why. Using this information, you can decide how best to fix
the problem.

There are many ways to go about performing RCA on an IT Project, like this five-stage approach:

1 - Identify the ACTUAL problem.

Your first step should be to work out what the actual issue is. The real problem!! So, not the rain or
the river bursting its bank, these are beyond your control but the river water getting into the pub -
that's your problem! In an IT Project RCA you also need to document exactly what occurred. What
was its impact, where, when and how did it start, who is involved, who is affected? At this early
identification stage, it is so important to be clear and accurate, as thorough documentation of what
your problem is will help you analyse and address it.

2 - Identify the root cause.

Using the information gathered when you identified what your problem is, your second step is to
drill down and establish the root cause. By tracking your issue as far back as possible, you can more
clearly identify the specific agent that triggered it! There are a number of Root Cause Analysis tools
… fishbone diagrams, Pareto charts, Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA), scatter diagrams are
among the most popular … but there are other tools that help isolate the cause of your problem -
you will find which works best for you!

3 – Assign your resources

To be able to fix your issue, it's crucial that the right people and other resources are identified,
assigned and allocated to, firstly, analyse your assessment of the situation and then figure out and
implement a solution.

This is great stage to identify whether you have the correct resources to address your challenge and,
if you don’t, call your Project Management as a Service (PMaaS) partner!!

4 – Implement Your Solution

Identify the BEST corrective action and implement it. Once you have nailed the root cause of the
issue then you must decide how to proceed.

Can you prevent it happening again? If it does happen again what will be your response? Who will be
involved? What steps will be taken? Can you run test scenarios to assess the effectiveness of your
solution?

5 – Verification - measure your results.

You should assess your results as soon as you can after implementing any corrective measure. The
sooner you can confirm that the root cause of your issue has been fixed, the better! If it hasn’t been
addressed, you can make any necessary adjustments at this stage too!

Great questions to ask at this stage include: