ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Root cause analysis

Root cause analysis is a process used to identify the main cause of a problem. It is like detective work - it's all about investigating a problem, looking at the different clues and gathering evidence, until you find the actual cause of the problem. For example, if you left your laptop in the rain, the root cause of the problem could be the rain. The root cause is the thing that set the problem in motion and made it happen.