When we understand our goal , we can identify the issues which are preventing us from reaching that goal. These issues are usually symptoms of underlying problems, rather than the cause. To tackle the root cause we can use a Current Reality Tree to follow the cause-effect-cause links until we identify one core problem.

Let’s look at the problems our friends Tim and Lex are having; by examining their current reality we may be able to identify the core problem which has led to it.

Lex and Tim’s problems

Lex and Tim are in a perilous situation, with the following negative elements:

• Lex and Tim are hiding from velociraptors in a kitchen
• Lex and Tim are alone
• The power has been out across the park
• Someone (A lawyer named Gennaro) was eaten by a Tyrannosaurus Rex
• People are extremely frightened

You may recognise this from the little known 1993 film Jurassic Park . If you haven’t got around to watching this movie, then be warned spoilers abound in this analysis, so head off to your favourite streaming service and watch.

Cause of Effects

We refer to the problems as Undesirable Effects or UDEs for short. Often there can be direct cause-effect links between the UDE, in other cases, there can be a chain of cause-effect links.

The most immediate issue for Lex and Tim is the velociraptors, and that has itself been caused somewhat by them being left alone. This is not the only contributing factor though. The other factor was that the velociraptors have made their way into the visitors centre where they were alone.

More effect-cause links can be made for these effects until we get to a common cause of these two issues. The common cause for these items is yet another UDE, the fact that the power was out across the park:

If we review the other UDE which were listed, they don’t directly relate to our common cause. Both events occurred long before the power went out across the park. Let us examine the cause-effect relationships further.

The lawyer being eaten by a T-Rex is a significant cause for the fear, although there are other broader causes we will see later. What caused Gennaro to be eaten? He was hiding away from the T-Rex in a toilet, but the T-Rex came crashing through the toilet and exposed him. Thus Gennaro was eaten.

The causes of those effects are shown here:

Notice we haven’t found a common cause yet, so we must continue to dig into the cause-effect relationships. The lowest identified causes so far may be related to the power outage, but again, these events occurred earlier in the film, so there must be more to it.

We also haven’t identified additional causes for people being frightened. I don’t want to diminish the severity of loss of life, but it is not sufficient for the continued state of fear.

When we continue to analyse these effects, we see that Gennaro’s reaction to events was, in fact, a cause of his demise. Strong lessons indeed, and a reminder that examining consequences of our actions is critical to avoid unintended undesirable effects.

Dinosaurs are the present danger which is leading to the continued state of fear, and several key systems have gone offline which caused much of these painful events:

Now we are starting to home in on the common cause. The systems being offline are related to the power being out, so let’s revisit that effect and continue to dig.

Finding the root cause

Dennis Nedry disabling the key park systems seems to have caused most of the problems, but we haven’t quite found a root cause. The cause-and-effect relationships for why Dennis would do such a reckless thing will shed light on the situation.

We notice that the earlier effect we identified of dinosaurs roaming the park is caused by an earlier item, the electric fence not working. To avoid this sprawling over the diagram, a connector has been added (001) to show a link exists.

We have put in a fair amount of work so far, but the reward is here. The cause-effect links have been made, and we are in a position to understand the true causes of the problems we identified. By repeatedly asking ourselves “what caused this to happen?”, we have been able to fully understand our situation.

Most of the danger stems from the given condition that dinosaurs were extinct. This is a cause, but it is generally assumed to be known by all, but we call it out explicitly here because of the impact it has.

The other cause we come to, our core problem is that excessive risks were taken for financial gain. This is both due to the money to be made from exhibiting an extinct species, and the black market value of such species.

The whole Tree

It is often the case that a Current Reality Tree is a large diagram. We have built it up slowly from each of the UDE, so we see how it is made up of sets, or branches, of related events. Each of these branches converges on the core problem we identified.

The whole Current Reality Tree looks as follows:

Addressing the cause

As is the case for Lex and Tim here, you may need to immediately address one of the symptomatic undesirable effects, rather than take a look at the root cause. Lex and Tim may not have been overly concerned with preventing the negative effects of financial corruption and associated risky behaviours whilst they were hiding in the kitchen. Ultimately Lex and Tim escaped their dangers without addressing the root cause we identified.

If we are determined to ensure this doesn’t happen again , and again , and again , and again , we will need to find a solution to the core problem. A core problem is often not addressed because there is a core-conflict which re-enforces the negative effect. Goldratt encourages us to identify these, and when we resolve the conflict we can create the significant improvements we seek.

Next time we will take a look at conflict resolution clouds which help address a core problem once identified.

In the meantime, you could reach out to me on LinkedIn or Twitter and share your thoughts on my analysis.