Root Cause Analysis Flashcards
7 cards from real Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt Certification practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Root Cause Analysis flashcards as text
Which of the following is a key limitation of the 5 Whys technique?
Answer: It can lead different teams to different root causes for the same problem
The 5 Whys is subjective, so different teams may follow different causal chains and arrive at different root causes.
In root cause analysis, a 'symptom' is best defined as:
Answer: An observable sign that a problem exists, not the cause itself
A symptom is the visible evidence of a problem; effective RCA digs beneath symptoms to find the underlying cause.
A Pareto chart shows that 80% of customer complaints come from 3 defect types. How does this support root cause analysis?
Answer: It prioritizes which defects to investigate first for maximum impact
A Pareto chart applies the 80/20 rule to prioritize the most significant defects so RCA efforts target the highest-impact problems.
Which action would you take FIRST when starting a root cause analysis?
Answer: Clearly define and scope the problem statement
A clear, well-scoped problem statement is essential before any analysis begins, ensuring the team investigates the right issue.
The '6 M's' used in fishbone diagrams for manufacturing processes include Machine, Method, Material, Man, and Measurement. What is the sixth 'M'?
Answer: Mother Nature (Environment)
The sixth M is Mother Nature or Environment, which covers external environmental conditions that can affect a process.
A team identifies that inadequate training is a root cause of process errors. This finding most directly belongs to which phase of DMAIC?
Answer: Analyze
Root cause identification occurs in the Analyze phase of DMAIC, where data is studied to understand why problems occur.
Which of the following scenarios would BEST validate that a root cause has been correctly identified?
Answer: When the root cause is removed, the problem stops occurring
True validation of a root cause is demonstrated when eliminating it results in the problem no longer occurring.