RCA Mechanism

Updated on 28 Mar 2025
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Root Cause Analysis (RCA) is a mechanism to uncover the underlying causes of Problem Records to prevent their recurrence. It involves a systematic process of data collection, problem identification, causal factor charting, and root cause identification, using methods such as the 5 Whys analysis. The 5 Whys technique aids RCA by prompting repeated "why" questions to uncover a problem's root cause. This approach addresses root causes, enabling lasting solutions that improve system reliability and customer satisfaction while fostering continuous improvement.

Let us explore the following Use Case for the 5 Why analysis!

Use Case

User Persona: Application DesignerAnalyst

Solution

NovaTech has been experiencing intermittent downtime on its customer portal, causing slow performance and delays in ticket submissions. As a result, users are frustrated, and there have been increased complaints about the portal's usability.

To address the issue, the Administrator activates the 5 Whys widget within the problem management module. This feature helps the analyst investigate the root cause by prompting them to ask a series of “Why” questions. Through this structured inquiry process, the analyst uncovers the underlying cause of the downtime and identifies an appropriate remediation strategy to resolve the issue and prevent future occurrences.

Enable 5 Why Widget in Form Designer

The 5 Why widget must be added in the Manage Problem Records Admin Form through the Form Designer.

To enable the 5 Why widget, perform the following steps:

Navigate to Service Management > Design Studio > Module > Problem > Form Designer.
The list of Forms created for the Problem Management module is displayed.
Open the Manage Problem Records form. Click Publish to update the form's status to Maintenance.
Click Design Form.
Click Widgets, drag and drop the 5 Why widget into the RCA tab.

Figure: 5 Why
Click Next and Publish the form.

5 Why in Problem Record

The 5 Why widget appears on the RCA tab while creating a new Problem Record. While creating a Problem Record Analysts and Admins can choose Methodology as 5 Why analysis.

To create a new Problem Record using 5 Why analysis, perform the following steps:

Navigate to Service Management > Problem > Manage Problem Records > New.
Enter all the mandatory details for the Problem Record.
Click the RCA tab and select the 5 Why from the Methodology dropdown.

Figure: Methodology
The 5 Why analysis is displayed.

Figure: 5 Why analysis

The following table lists the fields available in the 5 Why section.

Field	Description
Problem Statement	The symptom of the Problem Record is auto updated as the Problem Statement. For example: If the symptom of the Problem Record is Slow performance of the Customer Portal, then the Problem Statement is same as the symptom.
Why	Specify the reason why the problem occurred.
Description	Click the Description icon to enable the description box for each Why.
Delete	Click the Delete icon to delete the Why statement.
Add	Click the Add icon to add multiple Why statements.

Click Save to submit the Problem Record.

After the created Problem Record is approved or moved to any further status from approved, the Remediation tab is displayed in the 5 Why analysis. Remediation refers to the actions taken to address and fix the root cause identified through the process. Remediation is available for every Why statement.

Figure: Remediation

The following table lists the fields available in the Remediation section.

Field	Description
Cause	Specifies the cause identified for the corresponding Why statement for the Problem Record.
Description	This field offers an in-depth explanation of the identified cause, clarifying how it directly contributed to the issue. It provides valuable insights into the problem, facilitating effective remediation planning.
Action Owner*	Select the action owner for the cause. The dropdown menu displays the names of the analysts.
Status*	Select the status of the cause such as New In Progress, Pending No solution available, etc.
Target Completion Date	Select the target completion date for the mentioned cause.
Attachment	Attach the attachments related to the cause.
Remediation	Specify the details of the remediation related to the cause.
Remarks	Specify any additional remarks.

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Overview

Table of contents

Enable 5 Why Widget in Form Designer
5 Why in Problem Record