problem.so Solve today’s problem

Root Cause Category Map

Capture competing explanations in four categories, then turn the map into a short investigation plan. The tool prevents the first plausible cause from becoming the only cause considered.

What this tool preservesYour inputs, calculation, and assumptions remain visible together.

Your result will appear here

Complete the inputs, then use the button to calculate or organize the result.

Why map causes before investigating?

Method: A cause map widens the candidate set before evidence narrows it. Categories are prompts for coverage, not proof that every category contains a cause.

Map competing cause mechanisms

  1. State the failure without assigning blame.
  2. Add one plausible mechanism to each relevant category.
  3. Write an observation that would support or weaken each mechanism.
  4. Collect the cheapest discriminating evidence first.

Separate a queue problem into testable branches

For repeated checkout delays, process may include approval steps, tools may include a slow terminal, environment may include peak traffic, and people may include training gaps. Queue timestamps can separate several of these explanations.

Categories organize hypotheses, not findings

Choose evidence that separates explanations

The strongest next observation is not the one that adds the most detail. It is the one that different hypotheses predict differently. Timestamps may separate peak-load delay from a constant configuration problem, while another interview that repeats the symptom may leave both explanations equally plausible.

Empty categories are acceptable. The goal is coverage of plausible mechanisms, not visual balance. Retire a branch when evidence conflicts with a necessary prediction and record why it was removed.

Boundary of the result

A populated box is not a verified cause. Keep hypotheses and findings visibly separate.

Continue with the method

Use the root cause analysis guide and the fishbone diagram article and the urgent and important priority matrix to move from a quick result to a complete reasoning process.