1. Root Cause Analysis
PACTA PIL
October 19, 2010

2. What impacts Occupational Competency?

3. What are indicators of Occupational Competency?

4. Types of Data a la Bernhardt – Indicators & Impacts
New Castle Area SD Administrator's Retreat
August 12, 2004
Types of Data a la Bernhardt – Indicators & Impacts
Demographics
School Processes
Student Learning
Perceptions
Shula Nedley, Ph.D. Data In Action

5. Types of Data a la Bernhardt – Indicators & Impacts
New Castle Area SD Administrator's Retreat
August 12, 2004
Types of Data a la Bernhardt – Indicators & Impacts
Demographics
School Processes
Student Learning
Perceptions
Impacts
Impacts and Indicators
Impacts and Indicators
Indicators
Shula Nedley, Ph.D. Data In Action

6. Why all this data?
“Root Cause Analysis”

7. Rule #1 – no blaming others The Blame Poem

8. Root Cause Analysis (Paul Preuss)
Definition – the deepest underlying cause, or causes, of positive or negative symptoms within any process that if dissolved would result in elimination, or substantial reduction, of the symptom.
Root cause analysis eliminates patching and wasted effort.
Root cause analysis conserves scarce resources.
Root cause analysis induces discussion and reflection.

9. How do you know you’ve ‘found’ the root cause?
You run into a dead end asking what caused the proposed root cause.
Everyone agrees that this is a root cause.
The cause is logical, makes sense, and provides clarify to the problem.
The cause is something that you can influence and control.
If the cause is dissolved, there is realistic hope that the problem can be reduced or prevented in the future.

10. “School improvement teams and others using root cause analysis often wonder when to stop seeking cause and make the decision that sufficient data and effort have been used to arrive at a reasonable root. This is often a judgment call that will improve with experience. Often, the lack of data and the pressures of time frustrate the effort and force it to halt at a level below the surface symptom, but perhaps not as deep as it must ultimately go.”
(Preuss 2003)

11. Root Cause Analysis – prerequisites
Key Indicators of Student Success
Measures of each indicator
Desired Ideal Condition of the indicator (e.g., X% of students scoring at or above the competent level)
Gap between the desired ideal condition and the present condition
Is this gap a priority issue?
Goal statement
Search for Root Cause
Possible strategies for improvement

12. Root Cause Processes Questioning the Data The Diagnostic Tree
The Five Whys
Force Field Analysis
Throughout each process, reflect back on to your list of impacts and indicators

13. Questioning Data “What do you see?”
“What questions do you have about what you see?”
Questioning the Data a la Dr. Shula:
What do you see? – JUST THE FACTS
What are you thinking/feeling/believing about what you see?
What other data or data analyses might shed more light on the issue?

14. Decrease in % Competent
Carpentry
Hyp 1
Hyp 2
Auto Tech
Hyp 3
The Diagnostic Tree
The “Red Flag” event or priority issue
Location Level
Hypotheses Level
Consistent decrease in the % of students scoring competent on some NOCTI exams
Location – Carpentry and Auto Tech
Hypotheses – Is this related to a changing student population? Curriculum? Instruction? System Processes? Organizational Culture?

15. The Five Whys Why? Team: Why do we have so many class tardies?
Students: Because we do not have enough time.
Team: Why don’t you have enough time to get from one class to another?
Students: Because 4 minutes isn’t enough time to get from one end of the building to the next and go to locker or rest room.
Team: Why only 4 minutes?
Principal: Because we wanted to reduce the time that students were in the halls.
Team: Why did we want to reduce the hall time?
Principal: Because we wanted to reduce disciplinary problems.
Team: Why did we want to reduce disciplinary problems?
Principal: We wanted to improve school safety and climate.

16. Force Field Analysis Driving Forces and Restraining Forces
Driving Forces apply pressure to move in a direction of change
Restraining Forces apply pressure to remain in place
Either the driving forces have to be increased or the restraining forces have to be decreased.

17. Observation and Reflection
What are you seeing?
JUST THE FACTS!
What are you thinking about the results? What’s ‘causing’ these results?
More females are proficient than males.
Over the past three years, the percent of students reaching competency has increased.
The percent correct on the performance portion has increased over the past three years.
Students don’t arrive at ‘my program’ with the needed prerequisite skills.
Reading and math support programs are lacking.
The sending schools aren’t sending the ‘right’ students.

22. Root Cause Analysis Reflect back on your impacts and indicators
Are there impacts that you didn’t consider that may be a root cause?
Are their indicators that should be examined that are indicative of the potential root cause?
More data to collect?

23. Carpe Datum!!