D4 - Determine the root cause

At this point, the team has been defined, the problem has been thoroughly described, and any containment actions have been put in motion. Now, you can begin to delve deeper into the reason for the issue in the first place. This is the first step in determining how to prevent the issue from recurring. As you do this, fill out all relevant information in the D4 – Identify Problem Root Causes section in the main 8D Report tab.

1. Click Edit.

2. In the D4 – Identify Problem Root Causes section, enter information as required:

   • Root Cause Description – Describe the root cause of the issue.

     Note: This field is required before the workflow can proceed.

   • Root Cause Category – Click to select the category that best describes the root cause.

   • Root Cause Summary – Summarize the root cause for easy understanding by others who may want to review past issues.

3. Click Save.

Once the root cause analysis has been completed, you can proceed to the next phase.

• Click the Return transition if further containment actions are required.
• Click the Proceed to D5 Corrective Actions Development transition to move to the D5 phase.