Root cause analysis, or RCA, is a structured investigation into the conditions and decisions that allowed an incident to occur or continue.
A useful RCA distinguishes:
- Confirmed facts from assumptions
- The initiating cause from contributing conditions
- Detection and response gaps
- Technical causes from process or ownership gaps
- Corrective actions from longer-term improvements
RCA should improve the system rather than focus only on individual blame. It should be based on a reliable incident timeline, evidence, decisions, and known uncertainty. Each action should have an owner, target date, and way to verify completion.
Read Root Cause Analysis for SMBs: How Deep Is Deep Enough? for a practical level of detail.