Vendor Management Spotlight #4: Root Cause Analysis in Managing Vendors
By Kalyan Obalampalli
When there's a major deviation, what's the first thing we ask?
Why did this happen?
Then we ask again.
And again.
Until we hit the root.
We don't just stop at "Site messed up."
We ask:
Was the protocol confusing?
Was the training unclear?
Did we catch it too late?
Because we know — if we don't figure it out, it's going to happen again.
So here's a question:
Can we do the same when a vendor blows a deadline?
Or when the budget suddenly jumps $500K?
We could say: "They didn't follow the plan."
But maybe the plan had gaps.
Maybe the assumptions were off.
Maybe we missed a signal.
For example, asking "5 Whys" when a vendor misses a timeline:
Why missed timeline?
Not enough resources.
Why not enough resources?
Effort was underestimated.
Why underestimated?
Scope wasn't clear.
Why unclear scope?
Old RFP was reused.
Why reused?
Short on time.
That's what RCA gives us — not a place to assign blame, but a way to see what we'd otherwise overlook.
Side note: This works great in Clin Ops.
In relationships? Not so much.
I tried with my spouse.
Didn't end well.
I learned my lesson. I just nod and say, "You're right."
Much faster.