# Write a root cause analysis report: prompt chain Turn your rough notes on a problem that happened into a root cause analysis report that separates what happened from direct causes, contributing factors and possible root causes, with each cause tied to evidence in your notes and a fix for each possible root cause. **Made for:** Supervisors, project and site administrators, quality leads, customer service leads and office managers who have to explain a problem and propose fixes. ## Before you start Have these ready: - **Your notes on the problem** (required): Paste what you know, in any order, with times or dates where you have them. Include what happened, what you were told, and what has been tried. Paste only what your organization lets you put into an AI tool. **How to use this chain** 1. Open a new chat in any AI assistant. 2. Copy the Step 1 prompt, replace every [PASTE HERE: ...] slot with your material, and send it. 3. Keep each answer: later steps ask you to paste it in. Run each step in the same chat or a new one; a new chat keeps steps from blurring together. 4. After a step that has a check, run the check before you move on. ## Step 1: List what happened in order Pick out each event from the notes, quoted word for word, so the analysis starts from fixed facts. Copy this prompt: ````text You are a careful analyst who writes down what happened and nothing more. Your task is to list every event in the notes below, in the order it happened. The notes: [PASTE HERE: Your notes on the problem] Rules: - An event is something that happened or was done. Do not list opinions, guesses or reasons as events. - Quote each event from the notes word for word, as short as you can. Do not correct it and do not reword it. - In the When column, give the time or day exactly as the notes give it. If the notes give none, write not stated. Do not work out or guess a time. - One row for each separate event. Do not merge two events and do not add one the notes do not have. Return one markdown table and nothing else: | # | When | Event (quote) | ```` **You get back:** A numbered table of events in order, each quoted from your notes. **Check after Step 1: Every event is quoted word for word from your notes** Check by eye: Each quote in the Event (quote) column appears in the your notes on the problem, with shortened fragments in the same order. If it does not pass: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it. ## Step 2: Sort each possible cause by how well the notes support it Find each reason the notes give for the problem and mark it as a direct cause, a contributing factor, a possible root cause, or unproven, and show what in the notes supports it. Copy this prompt: ````text You are a fair-minded analyst who asks why a problem happened without blaming a person. Your task is to list every reason the notes give or suggest for the problem, and sort each one. The notes: [PASTE HERE: Your notes on the problem] The events already listed: [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 1 (List what happened in order)] Rules: - Quote each reason from the notes word for word, as short as you can. One row for each reason. If there are none, write one row with none in the Reason column. - Level must be exactly one of: direct cause, contributing factor, possible root cause, unproven, none. - Use direct cause for the thing that immediately led to the problem. Use contributing factor for a condition that made it worse or more likely. Use possible root cause for a gap in a process, a form, a rule or a tool that, if fixed, would stop the problem coming back. Use unproven for a guess, a belief or a claim about a person that the notes do not back with an event. - A claim that a person should have known or tried harder is always unproven. Do not make a person the root cause. - In the Support column, quote the event or fact in the notes that backs the reason, or write none in the notes. Do not invent support. Return one markdown table and nothing else: | # | Reason (quote) | Level | Support (quote) | ```` **You get back:** A table of reasons sorted by level, each with the support the notes give. **Check after Step 2: Each level is one of the five allowed words** Check by eye: Every row of the table has one of "direct cause", "contributing factor", "possible root cause", "unproven" or "none" in the Level column. If it does not pass: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it. ## Step 3: Draft the report Write the report from the events and the sorted reasons only, with a fix for each possible root cause. Copy this prompt: ````text You are an experienced quality and operations writer who produces plain root cause reports. Your task is to write a root cause analysis report from the notes, the events and the sorted reasons below. The notes: [PASTE HERE: Your notes on the problem] The events: [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 1 (List what happened in order)] The sorted reasons: [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 2 (Sort each possible cause by how well the notes support it)] Rules: - Use these headings in this order: Summary, What Happened, Direct Cause, Contributing Factors, Possible Root Causes, Fixes, What We Do Not Know. - Summary is two or three sentences of fact. What Happened lists the events from the events table, one line each. - Under Possible Root Causes, use only reasons marked possible root cause and begin with: These are possible root causes, not confirmed ones. - Do not name a person as a cause. Write about roles, forms, rules and tools. - Under Fixes, write one fix for each possible root cause, with an owner role from the notes. If the notes name no role, write Owner: role to be set. Do not invent a role. For the date, use only a date in the notes. If the notes give none, write date to be set. Do not invent a date or a number. - Under What We Do Not Know, list each reason marked unproven, in neutral words, and what a person should check to find out. - Use no number that the notes do not have. - End with exactly this line: Check this report with the people who were there before you share it. Return the report in markdown and nothing else. ```` **You get back:** A root cause analysis report with the direct cause, contributing factors, possible root causes, fixes and what is not yet known. **Check after Step 3: No number appears that your notes do not have** Check by eye: Every number in the answer also appears somewhere in at least one of "your notes on the problem"; this does not check what each number means. If it does not pass: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it. ## Step 4: Add the count and the reminder Add a count of the reasons at each level and keep the reminder as the last line, changing nothing else. Copy this prompt: ````text You are a copy editor who adds a line and changes nothing else. Your task is to add a count line to the report below. The report: [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 3 (Draft the report)] The sorted reasons: [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 2 (Sort each possible cause by how well the notes support it)] Rules: - Start the answer with one line that begins "Counts:" and gives the number of reasons marked direct cause, contributing factor, possible root cause and unproven, taken from the table. - Then give the report exactly as written. Do not change a word, number or heading. - Keep the closing line "Check this report with the people who were there before you share it." as the very last line. Return markdown in this form and nothing else: Counts: (the counts) (the report) Check this report with the people who were there before you share it. ```` **You get back:** The report with a count line and the reminder. **Check after Step 4: The reminder to check with the people who were there is in the final text** Check by eye: The answer contains the text fragment "Check this report with the people who were there before you share it." (including inside a longer word). If it does not pass: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it. ## Final checks Run these on the finished result. **Final check 1: No person is named as a cause** Open a new chat (so the check is not swayed by the work) and paste this check prompt: ````text You are a careful reviewer. You do not fix or rewrite the work; you only decide whether it passes one check. The check: No person is named as a cause Read the report. Does any line name a person, or say a person should have known or tried harder, as a cause? Answer FAIL and quote each place where one does. Wording about a role, a form, a rule or a tool is fine. The work to check (the answer from Step 4 (Add the count and the reminder)): [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 4 (Add the count and the reminder)] Reply with exactly PASS or FAIL on the first line. On the second line, say in one sentence why. If it fails, name the exact item or line that fails. Do not add anything else. ```` If it does not pass: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it. **Final check 2: Every possible root cause has support in the notes** Open a new chat (so the check is not swayed by the work) and paste this check prompt: ````text You are a careful reviewer. You do not fix or rewrite the work; you only decide whether it passes one check. The check: Every possible root cause has support in the notes Look at the rows below marked possible root cause. Does each one have a real quote in the Support column, not none in the notes? Answer FAIL and quote each one that has no support. The sorted reasons: [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 2 (Sort each possible cause by how well the notes support it)] The work to check (the answer from Step 4 (Add the count and the reminder)): [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 4 (Add the count and the reminder)] Reply with exactly PASS or FAIL on the first line. On the second line, say in one sentence why. If it fails, name the exact item or line that fails. Do not add anything else. ```` If it does not pass: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it. **Final check 3: Every possible root cause has a fix** Open a new chat (so the check is not swayed by the work) and paste this check prompt: ````text You are a careful reviewer. You do not fix or rewrite the work; you only decide whether it passes one check. The check: Every possible root cause has a fix Count the possible root causes in the report and the fixes under Fixes. Is there one fix for each? Answer FAIL and quote each possible root cause that has no fix. The work to check (the answer from Step 4 (Add the count and the reminder)): [PASTE HERE: the answer from Step 4 (Add the count and the reminder)] Reply with exactly PASS or FAIL on the first line. On the second line, say in one sentence why. If it fails, name the exact item or line that fails. Do not add anything else. ```` If it does not pass: Run the step once more, and add what was wrong to the end of the prompt. If it still does not pass, fix it by hand and make a note of it. **Final check 4: A person who was there reads it before it is shared** Ask yourself: Ask someone who was there to read the report and say whether the events match what they remember. Check that every possible root cause is one you could test, and that no fix is promised that your team has not agreed to. If it goes outside your organization, have your manager or legal lead read it first. A root cause is only confirmed when people have checked it. If it does not pass: Carry on, but write down the problem so whoever uses the result knows about it. ## What you end up with - A root cause analysis report with the events, the direct cause, contributing factors, possible root causes, fixes and what is not yet known. - A table that sorts each reason by level and shows the support the notes give. ## Changing this chain - This template helps you write a first draft. A possible root cause is a lead to test, not a finding. People who were there confirm it. - Paste only notes your organization lets you put into an AI tool. Leave out names, health details and other personal information. - If the report will go to a client, or a claim or complaint is possible, have your manager or legal lead read it first. The report describes causes and fixes; it does not accept fault. - If your organization has its own report form, run this template on your notes first, then copy the checked text into your form. --- From Logic Lab (logiclabhq.com). Free to use and adapt, with credit.