Core Features
RCA Map provides a comprehensive suite of features designed to make root cause analysis intuitive, efficient, and thorough. This guide explores each major feature in depth.
Investigation Map
The heart of RCA Map is the interactive map that visualizes your entire investigation as a hierarchical structure.
Item Types
RCA Map uses four distinct item types, each with a specific purpose in the investigation flow:
1. Incident Item (Starting Point)
Purpose: The starting point of every investigation
Characteristics:
- Always the beginning of the investigation
- Contains the problem statement
- One per investigation
- Cannot be deleted
Example: “Delivery trucks arriving late to morning routes”
2. Why Items (Questions)
Purpose: Probe deeper into causes
Characteristics:
- Always phrased as questions
- Should end with ”?”
- Items under it are “Reason” items
- Can have multiple at the same level
Example: “Why are the trucks arriving late?“
3. Reason Items (Answers)
Purpose: Provide evidence-based answers
Characteristics:
- Answer the previous “Why” question
- Based on facts and evidence
- Can have more “Why” questions under them (deeper investigation)
- Can have “Action Item” items under them when root cause is identified
Example: “Traffic delays on Route 9 during rush hour”
4. Action Item Items (Solutions)
Purpose: Define concrete prevention steps
Characteristics:
- Always final items (nothing under them)
- Actionable and specific
- Assigned to root causes
- Focus on prevention, not just fixes
Example: “Adjust departure time from 7 AM to 6:30 AM to avoid rush hour”
Tree Interaction
Navigation:
- Zoom: Use mouse wheel or trackpad pinch
- Pan: Click and drag on empty canvas space
- Select: Click any item to view details
- Edit: Click on an item’s text to edit (after approval)
Visual Feedback:
- Solid border: Approved, permanent items
- Dashed border: AI suggestions awaiting approval
- Highlighted: Selected item
- Connected: Lines show relationships between items
Pro Tip: The investigation map automatically arranges items as you add them. You don’t need to worry about positioning.
AI-Powered Suggestions
The AI assistant provides intelligent suggestions to guide your investigation forward. These appear as semi-transparent items with dashed borders. You can approve or reject these suggestions. You can also modify the text before or after accepting them.
The AI only suggests reasons when there’s supporting evidence in your comments. If it asks clarifying questions, provide more context!
Suggestions improve as you:
- Provide more context in comments
- Share specific details and observations
- Mention timelines and recent changes
- Describe symptoms in detail
Commenting System
The commenting system allows you to discuss your investigation, provide context, and collaborate with the AI assistant.
- Each item in your investigation can have its own comment threads
- Threads keep related discussions together
- Comments and replies are nested for easy reading
- Threads can be marked as resolved when discussion is complete
- The AI assistant will often create threads on items in the investigation to gather more context.
Export Functionality
Share your completed investigations with stakeholders through document exports. The document includes a summary of the investigation, root causes and action items.
Export Formats: Microsoft Word (.docx) and PDF
How to Export
- Click the “Export” button in the header
- Choose “Export as Word” or “Export as PDF”
- Browser downloads the file automatically
- Filename includes map title and date