RCA
Root Cause Analysis
A structured investigation into the underlying conditions that produced an unwanted outcome.
Plain English
Find why the problem was possible instead of only what broke.
In context
RCA examines technical and organizational contributors so teams can prevent recurrence without relying on blame.
Example
“The RCA identified a missing deployment safeguard.”
When you'll hear this
- post-incident review
- quality review
- operations
Common misunderstanding
A useful RCA rarely reduces a complex incident to one careless person.
Also known as
root cause analysis
Commonly used by
Related terms
Updated: 2026-08-25
