Diagnose Hardware Root Causes

Purpose

Turn a vague hardware-performance concern into a testable causal model, prioritized root-cause hypotheses, validation experiments and engineering questions. Preserve the source's mechanical, materials, electrical and manufacturing viewpoints without pretending that four independent agents or specialists are present.

This is a diagnostic workflow, not proof of causation. Mark every proposed cause as observed, calculated, experimentally supported, contradicted or untested.

Use when

• a measured hardware parameter misses a requirement;
• the user asks for root-cause analysis, a causal tree or 5 Whys;
• thermal, structural, acoustic, electrical, EMC, materials or manufacturing mechanisms interact;
• teams need a multidisciplinary review and experiment plan;
• parameter improvements create engineering contradictions.

Do not use the tree alone for safety certification, failure-investigation sign-off or regulatory conclusions. Escalate safety-critical work to qualified engineers and applicable procedures.

Operating principles