RCA — Root cause analysis in real life

As a software developer, after every production issue/downtime that you face you are expected to write a RCA. A RCA, root cause analysis is supposed to state the cause that resulted in the issue, things that could have been done to avoid the issue and actions that can be taken to prevent the issue from happening in future.

A typical RCA doc contains these key things:

• The issue description -> this details the issue.

• The Root cause - the main cause of the issue is described in detail.

• The timeline -> which mentions when did it happen, when was it reported and when was it resolved etc.

• The 5 whys -> to drill down deeper into the issue by asking whys (things like why was the issue caused, why was it not caught while testing etc)

• Action items -> Steps to be taken to prevent it in future

How I have started applying it in my real life?

Completely irrelevant from software engineering context, I have applied RCA in real life.

I have real weight gain issues. If I eat properly 3 times, breakfast, lunch and dinner, I start gaining weight. So I had stopped eating dinner and lost weight. But when I go home or with friends cant really avoid eating the most social meal of the day, dinner. So I gain back weight. This kept happening for almost 8 years until I decided to apply RCA to my problems. It was important to find the root cause and to ask the whys in this case too. Found out my root cause was metabolism, I had a f***ed up metabolism. So I had to fix that. So started working with a diet coach and started working out.

I wrote the GMAT thrice already. Every time I wrote the exam and didnt get the desired marks, I analysed the root cause and listed the action items. This helped me score a little better every time.

Without finding the root cause of your issues, it is difficult to avoid the issue in future. You can make the same mistake again and as Tony Ferguson Quotes

“I never make the same mistake twice”

To not make the same mistake again, drill down and write RCAs for your failures. Believe me its useful.

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