Why do some problems seem so difficult to fix, and why do others seem to come out of nowhere, without warning? Why do we spend so much time putting out fires instead of strategically planning to prevent issues from arising in the first place? Why can allocating blame get in the way of finding the underlying reasons things haven't gone to plan? Why was the Titanic tragedy so bad and what lessons can we learn from it to this day? For readers who are already familiar with root cause analysis (RCA), as well as for those who are new to this powerful way of thinking, Beyond the Five Whys: Root Cause Analysis and Systems Thinking offers advice on how to get to the heart of what causes incidents and setbacks to occur, and how to maximise the chances of things going right in the first place. This book's title refers to one of the most popular RCA techniques: the 5 whys method. Whilst it can provide some useful insights, it often leads us to miss the bigger picture. That's why author James C. Paterson introduces the systems thinking approach to understanding root causes. With systems thinking, we can step back to see the subtle factors that may be contributing to a problem and gain clarity as to why you can do 99% of the right things and still end up with a catastrophic set back. The book also explains why some??'obvious' solutions to problems don't work and may even make things worse. Beyond the Five Whys contains a range of contributions from managers who have experienced setbacks and who have been prepared, often for the first time, to provide an 'inside story' of what can go wrong and why.

The book also distils a lot of practical advice from public inquiries, medicine, aviation, quality management and other sources, so readers have, in one volume, the essentials regarding these often poorly understood topics. This is a book to read if you are looking for a fresh perspective on why things don't go to plan and why sometimes we see similar things going wrong repeatedly; and suggests how to plan for success with more confidence. It contains additional material for those working in organisations who want to upgrade their current approach to Root Cause??Analysis.