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Causal Table
What is it?
A Causal Table, also known as the Why-Because Technique, allows
you and your team to analyze the root causes of a problem.
Who uses it?
The team, the users, the manager, with participation from other staff--involvement of other staff can reduce tension that may arise during this type of exercise.
Why use it?
To determine the root causes of problems in your agency.
When to use it?
You can use a Causal Table as an important step in constructing a Cause-and-Effect Diagram. You can also use a Causal Table on its
own to help you analyze a problem.
How to use it:
- Create a chart (see example below):
- Tell the team that you will conduct two brainstorming sessions to find out the
team's ideas about the causes of a problem:
- The first time, the team brainstorms the evident or immediate causes of the problem (the why). List these under "Why" in the chart.
- The second time, the team analyzes each immediate cause by considering the
question "Why is this a problem? Because...." Write in the answers under
"Because" in the chart. This step will help the team determine the root
causes.
- End the analysis when you reach causes over which you have no control.
- The list of causes can now be grouped by relationships or common factors using an affinity technique.
- You can also illustrate graphically the causes grouped by relationships by using a cause-and-effect diagram.
Example:
Here is an example of using a Causal Table to analyze a problem.
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