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Facilitation Skills
RealityCharting® will create an action item report for you if there is a
question mark in the evidence box, which is the default condition, and
More Information Needed is given as an end point in a cause chain.
Assign responsibilities in the action item report and send it to all
responsible players. Decide when to reconvene, and dismiss the team
until then.
While evidence can be added at anytime as you go through the
Realitychart, it is often best to wait until after you have most causes
identified. If evidence is not available, develop a plan to obtain the
supporting data.
Complete the Realitychart as best you can. Remember it is impossible
to know all the causes. Problem significance will help you to know how far
to go with baby steps or termination of the cause chains. Time constraints
may also limit exploration, but don’t dwell on this. Your purpose is to
find a creative solution that meets your goals and objectives and if you
accomplish that then you have accomplished what you set out to do.
When you get to the solutions stage and you cannot find an effective
solution, then work on the chart some more. This is common.
If storytelling erupts, let it go as long as you are getting causes out
of the story. As soon as it digresses into who did what at such-and-such a
time at such-and-such a place, stop it and get back into the Square One
Loop.
Make sure not to stop too soon on each cause path. Before you decide
to stop, look at the last cause in each cause path and try to ask why two
more times. If you end up in “la-la land,” then you know you went too far. If
you get good answers, keep going. The most common tendency is to stop
at categorical causes like “Training Less Than Adequate,” or “Maintenance
Less Than Adequate.” Another common stopping point is “Procedures Not
Followed.” These are categories, not causes, and they must be explained in
more detail. Sometimes it helps to ask, “What do you mean by ‘less than
adequate’ or ‘not followed’”
Refrain from discussing solutions and root causes while you are
constructing the Realitychart.
Identify Solutions
Once you have decided to stop adding causes to your chart and you
have completed Wizard Step 2 in RealityCharting®, either print the chart
or use an overhead screen and begin to brainstorm solutions with all key
stakeholders. This can be done electronically or in a meeting. The meeting
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