5 Why RCA Tool — Evidence-Led Root Cause Analysis

This is an internal operations build, not paid client work.

Root-cause discussions often stop too early: the first plausible explanation becomes the answer, assumptions become facts and the countermeasure treats the symptom rather than the underlying mechanism.

a clear problem statement

a visible causal chain through successive why questions

separation of evidence from assumption

space to challenge unsupported causal steps

a route from supported cause to practical countermeasure

The tool deliberately slows down premature certainty. Each step in the causal chain should be explainable and supported before the analysis moves forward.

This is the same evidence discipline I use in workflow diagnostics: facts, evidence, assumptions, inferences and unknowns should not be blended together.

This is a method and artefact case study. It does not claim client results, formal regulated RCA assurance or quantified savings.