Root Cause Analysis (RCA)

What Is Root Cause Analysis (RCA)

Root Cause Analysis (RCA) is a systematic process for identifying the fundamental cause of an incident or problem. It involves investigating beyond immediate symptoms to discover the underlying issues that, when corrected, prevent similar incidents from recurring.

Why Is Root Cause Analysis Important

RCA prevents future incidents by addressing underlying issues rather than symptoms. It transforms incidents into learning opportunities, improves system reliability, and reduces downtime. Effective RCA leads to meaningful improvements in processes, technology, and training.

Example Of Root Cause Analysis

After a payment system outage, an RCA reveals that the incident started with a network configuration change. Further analysis shows the root causes were inadequate change management processes and missing automated tests for network changes.

How To Conduct Root Cause Analysis (RCA) With Spike

• Open the incident in Spike and review the timeline and all related alerts
• Use the incident notes and comments to document findings as you investigate
• Assign the incident to the right team or expert for deeper analysis
• Add a post-incident review to capture the root cause, actions taken, and lessons learned
• Share the RCA report with your team for future reference

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