There’s a myth in the engineering community that every problem can be broken down to a single “root cause.”
Overall, I agree with the mindset. Root cause analysis helps us to look past symptoms so the true problem can be identified and addressed.
But in complex situations, it isn’t realistic to assume that a problem can be broken down to a single cause.
Take my basement as an example.
I’ve had a problem with moisture coming through the walls, so I’ve been investigating different potential causes and implementing countermeasures in an attempt to fight the moisture.
I’ve talked with a few different people who, without doing any research into my specific situation, insisted that I need to spend thousands of dollars to install a sump pump or a drain tile system.
They say that my problem is that I have no way to deflect water that comes through my basement walls.
But I think that form of problem-solving is oversimplified.
After researching the problem in more detail, I’ve determined that there are three main factors causing my problem:
- Water reaches my basement walls
- The basement walls let the water through
- There is no way to remove the water once it comes through
The sump pump/drain tile solution addresses the third problem. But that’s only one of the three potential roots.
What if there’s an easier solution?
After a careful review of the specific situation for my house, I realized that one of my downspouts was depositing water right next to the house, and the ground in that area was sloped towards the house, creating an ever-present puddle next to the house. Obviously, this isn’t good.
And it just so happened that the moisture problem in the basement is directly next to this puddle.
So I’m starting by addressing something other than the true “root” of the problem.
If that doesn’t work, sure I’ll consider moving on to more drastic measures. But in a situation as complicated as moisture in the basement, it’s silly to restrict ourselves to one cause.
-Brandon