Root Cause Analysis - systemic process to find the fundamental cause of a result.
In order to improve the system effectively the root cause of problems must be addressed not merely the proximate cause of the problem. The use of Root Cause Analysis is an attempt to find the root cause of the problem rather than viewing a symptom of the root cause as the cause. Then a solution that will improve the system most effectively can be developed address the root cause rather than just one symptom of that root cause.
One approach is to keep asking why until it seems like the root cause has been reached, a rule of thumb is to ask why at least 5 times. Also see related terms for more tools to aid in finding the root cause.