Root cause, not convenient blame
Symptoms are loud; real causes are quiet. Frameworks organize ideas — proof and alternatives are what make an RCA survive review.
Symptoms
Noisy, many, visible
Root cause
One story that fits the evidence
ObserveHypothesizeEliminateValidateRecord
Concept
What’s happening
- Everyone sees symptoms — errors, latency, angry users.
- The root cause is inferred: it should explain every symptom and survive evidence.
- Teams often stop at the first story that “feels right” — that’s not the same as validated.
Pattern
How weak RCA unfolds
- Pick a familiar framework → fill in boxes quickly.
- Converge on a plausible cause → move to the fix.
- Skip recording rejected paths → later, nobody can replay the logic.
- Ship the fix → knowledge of why it worked stays in heads, not in the record.
Application
How CADS strengthens RCA
Tie reasoning to the work as it happens:
- Decisions — capture root-cause and corrective-action thinking as first-class objects
- Timeline — see evaluations, updates, and agreements in order — your audit of the mind
- Entries — add evidence and nuance so “why we ruled X out” doesn’t disappear
Ready to apply this?
Start a decision in CADS →