Root Cause Pattern — Failures

Pattern: Root Cause
Component: failures.md
Version: 1.2 | Updated: 2026-07-29

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Purpose

Recover when the Root Cause pattern is misapplied — without abandoning the gate.

Failure → detection → recovery

Failure	Detection	Recovery
Narrative only	No citations	Rebuild timeline from GitHub/Sentry/Datadog
Closed cold	No owners	Reopen; assign due dates
Detector missing	Defect returns	Add failing test or alert before close
Mid-RCA monitor edit	Baseline lost	Restore pre-fix queries; continue

Escalation from Root Cause failures

• Security-class impact during Root Cause → Security skill + human security owner
• Production SEV while misusing Root Cause → Hotfix containment first
• Learning after Root Cause containment → Root Cause

Do not

• Skip the Root Cause human gate “just this once” after a failure
• Delete Root Cause evidence to hide a bad run
• Replace Root Cause with unstructured chat under pressure

Related

• Checklist
• Enterprise notes
• Example

Changelog

• 1.2 (2026-07-29): Root Cause failure recovery table and escalation paths expanded.