Tips to Apply Root Cause Analysis for Software Quality

Root Cause Analysis (RCA) is an approach used in software quality to identify the root causes of bugs or issues and address them instead of treating the symptoms. In this article, Mush Honda explains that RCA can be applied to end user feedback as well as software defects during software testing and provides some tips on how to apply RCA.

When a software defect is identified in the production or live environment, there’s always a rush to fix it and get things working as expected again. People are so focused on resolving the issue that they often forget about finding the cause. By applying Root Cause Analysis (RCA) to software defects, you can go beyond simply treating the symptoms and uncover the root of your problem. If you fail to address the root cause, there’s a good chance that you’ll get stuck in a recurring pattern of defects, fixing symptoms, but never finding the source.