Root Cause Analysis

Look beyond the first explanation

After an online shop’s checkout fails, the team records when it happened, how customers were affected, and how service was restored. It asks why the problem reached customers and why it was not caught sooner.

A code mistake may have triggered the failure, but missing tests or unclear responsibilities may also have played a part. The review looks at all these factors instead of blaming one person.

Make changes that help

The team records its root cause analysis (RCA) in a postmortem, a written review of the problem. It lists the evidence and a few changes, such as adding a test or improving an alert. The team assigns someone to each change so it gets done.