Week $1$: Assignment $1-$ Root Cause Analysis of Success

Due

Sunday by $11$:$59pm$

Points

$100$

Submitting

a file upload

Assignment Aim: This assignment gives you practice in using an often under$-$used, but very effective tool: the root cause analysis of success. This is a tool you can use with others in organizations in the future.

More often than not, we conduct root$-$cause analyses of our failures in organizations, examining all the reasons why something did not work, and we leave our successes as mysteries that we do not study and unpack. Yet, in order to be able to learn from, accelerate, and scale$-$up successes, we need to examine them and understand the conditions that fostered success so that we can do more of those things in the future. To help you build your POB toolbox, you will conduct a root cause analysis of a success you have had in your own organizational history. To do this, follow these $3$ steps:

Step $1$

Select a specific experience in your organizational history that stands out as a successful moment for you. This could be the same example you used in your introduction discussion or another one. It can be a successful team project, a solo project you did, or anything that you feel was a successful project you were a part of$.$

Step $2$

Reflect on your experience and ask yourself the following questions:

What were the factors that enabled this success?

What did I do specifically that helped make this project successful?

What did others do that helped make this project successful?

If I were to do this project again, what would I make sure to do the same because it really helped things go well?

If it is helpful, feel free to use this worksheet from Champlain's Cooperrider Center for Appreciative Inquiry, darr to think through the different elements that supported your success.

Step $3$

Write a $3-4$ page, double$-$spaced, and $12-$point font reflection that captures your