Root Cause Analysis

Root cause analysis (RCA) is a structured way of finding the real underlying reason a problem happened, rather than just fixing the surface symptom. Instead of mopping the floor again, it keeps asking why until it finds the leaking pipe, so the same issue stops coming back.

A common version is simply asking why five times in a row, each answer leading to the next question. Root cause analysis matters because treating symptoms is expensive and endless, while fixing the true cause once often removes a whole family of repeat problems.