aj-geddes/root-cause-analysis
skills/root-cause-analysis/SKILL.md
Conduct systematic root cause analysis to identify underlying problems. Use structured methodologies to prevent recurring issues and drive improvements.
$ install --global
skillsauthnpx skillsauth add aj-geddes/useful-ai-prompts root-cause-analysisInstall this skill globally with one command. Works with Claude Code, Cursor, and Windsurf.
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Last scanned: Apr 2, 2026, 3:06 AM64.4s8 files scanned
SKILL.md
- name:
- root-cause-analysis
- description:
- >
Root Cause Analysis
Table of Contents
- Overview
- When to Use
- Quick Start
- Reference Guides
- Best Practices
Overview
Root cause analysis (RCA) identifies underlying reasons for failures, enabling permanent solutions rather than temporary fixes.
When to Use
- Production incidents
- Customer-impacting issues
- Repeated problems
- Unexpected failures
- Performance degradation
Quick Start
Minimal working example:
Example: Website Down
Symptom: Website returned 503 Service Unavailable
Why 1: Why was website down?
Answer: Database connection pool exhausted
Why 2: Why was connection pool exhausted?
Answer: Queries taking too long, connections not released
Why 3: Why were queries slow?
Answer: Missing index on frequently queried column
Why 4: Why was index missing?
Answer: Performance testing didn't use production-like data volume
Why 5: Why wasn't production-like data used?
Answer: Load testing environment doesn't mirror production
Root Cause: Load testing environment under-provisioned
Solution: Update load testing environment with production-like data
Prevention: Establish environment parity requirements
Reference Guides
Detailed implementations in the references/ directory:
| Guide | Contents | |---|---| | The 5 Whys Technique | The 5 Whys Technique | | Systematic RCA Process | Systematic RCA Process | | RCA Report Template | RCA Report Template | | Root Cause Analysis Techniques | Root Cause Analysis Techniques | | Follow-Up & Prevention | Follow-Up & Prevention |
Best Practices
✅ DO
- Follow established patterns and conventions
- Write clean, maintainable code
- Add appropriate documentation
- Test thoroughly before deploying
❌ DON'T
- Skip testing or validation
- Ignore error handling
- Hard-code configuration values
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