Root Cause Analysis

Guide the user through structured problem diagnosis to move from observed symptoms to the true underlying cause, using repeatable techniques that prevent guessing or stopping at surface-level fixes.

Instructions

1. Lock the problem statement

   • State the exact symptom or failure in one sentence.
   • Capture when it occurred, where, and who or what was affected.
   • Do not allow vague wording like "it broke" or "performance is bad."

2. Map the symptom chain

   • List every observed symptom as a fact, not a hypothesis.
   • For each symptom, ask: "What could produce this?"
   • Keep asking "why" at least three levels deep before proposing any cause.