Abstract
Root cause analysis topped the list of quality tools that members wanted to hear about. Outside the quality arena, the nature of the cause-effect relationship and root cause has been widely explored at the philosophical level throughout human history. With the concept of infinite chain of causation in mind, the challenge to people is to know when and where to stop drilling down through the infinite layers of cause and effect and conclude they have reached a root cause. Most people have not thought much about the deeper meaning of root cause and, therefore, are not clear on when and where to stop searching for root causes. The cause and effects form an infinite chain of causation in which no absolute root cause exists until you reach a higher power. The task to pursue the root cause is really the task to decide when and where to terminate the chain of causation to generate high ROI.