Over the last three weeks, I’ve talked about ways to improve your root cause analyses. But a root cause analysis is just one step — albeit the most important step — in the whole process of problem-solving. Now that we’ve discussed it in some detail, let’s back up to look at the whole cycle from beginning to end.
There are several different tools or methods to formalize solving a problem. The one I’m going to describe is called an 8D. The name is an abbreviation of “eight disciplines,” although “eight steps” might have been just as good a name. It does, in fact, unfold in eight steps, and it is a systematic way to cover all the bases when you want to make sure that a problem is completely solved.
When do you use an 8D?
Because an 8D is thorough and systematic, it can also be time-consuming. So you probably won’t want to use it for every single problem that comes along. But pick and choose the problems where you really need a thorough solution — where it is really important that you guarantee it will never happen again.
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