Analyse Problem

A3 Problem Analysis

Apply A3 problem-solving format for comprehensive, single-page problem documentation and resolution planning.

Description

Structured one-page analysis format covering: Background, Current Condition, Goal, Root Cause Analysis, Countermeasures, Implementation Plan, and Follow-up. Named after A3 paper size; emphasizes concise, complete documentation.

Usage

/analyse-problem [problem_description]

Variables

• PROBLEM: Issue to analyze (default: prompt for input)
• OUTPUT_FORMAT: markdown or text (default: markdown)

Steps

1. Background: Why this problem matters (context, business impact)
2. Current Condition: What's happening now (data, metrics, examples)
3. Goal/Target: What success looks like (specific, measurable)
4. Root Cause Analysis: Why problem exists (use 5 Whys or Fishbone)
5. Countermeasures: Proposed solutions addressing root causes
6. Implementation Plan: Who, what, when, how
7. Follow-up: How to verify success and prevent recurrence

A3 Template

═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
                    A3 PROBLEM ANALYSIS
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

TITLE: [Concise problem statement]
OWNER: [Person responsible]
DATE: [YYYY-MM-DD]

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 1. BACKGROUND (Why this matters)                            │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ [Context, impact, urgency, who's affected]                  │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 2. CURRENT CONDITION (What's happening)                     │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ [Facts, data, metrics, examples - no opinions]              │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 3. GOAL/TARGET (What success looks like)                    │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ [Specific, measurable, time-bound targets]                  │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 4. ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS (Why problem exists)                 │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ [5 Whys, Fishbone, data analysis]                           │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 5. COUNTERMEASURES (Solutions addressing root causes)       │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ [Specific actions, not vague intentions]                    │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 6. IMPLEMENTATION PLAN (Who, What, When)                    │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ [Timeline, responsibilities, dependencies, milestones]      │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 7. FOLLOW-UP (Verification & Prevention)                    │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ [Success metrics, monitoring plan, review dates]            │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

Examples

Example 1: Database Connection Pool Exhaustion

═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
                    A3 PROBLEM ANALYSIS
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

TITLE: API Downtime Due to Connection Pool Exhaustion
OWNER: Backend Team Lead
DATE: 2024-11-14

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 1. BACKGROUND                                                │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ • API goes down 2-3x per week during peak hours             │
│ • Affects 10,000+ users, average 15min downtime             │
│ • Revenue impact: ~$5K per incident                         │
│ • Customer satisfaction score dropped from 4.5 to 3.8       │
│ • Started 3 weeks ago after traffic increased 40%           │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 2. CURRENT CONDITION                                         │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Observations:                                                │
│ • Connection pool size: 10 (unchanged since launch)         │
│ • Peak concurrent users: 500 (was 300 three weeks ago)      │
│ • Average request time: 200ms (was 150ms)                   │
│ • Connections leaked: ~2 per hour (never released)          │
│ • Error: "Connection pool exhausted" in logs                │
│                                                              │
│ Pattern:                                                     │
│ • Occurs at 2pm-4pm daily (peak traffic)                    │
│ • Gradual degradation over 30 minutes                       │
│ • Recovery requires app restart                             │
│ • Long-running queries block pool (some 30+ seconds)        │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 3. GOAL/TARGET                                               │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ • Zero downtime due to connection exhaustion                │
│ • Support 1000 concurrent users (2x current peak)           │
│ • All connections released within 5 seconds                 │
│ • Achieve within 1 week                                     │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 4. ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS                                       │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ 5 Whys:                                                      │
│ Problem: Connection pool exhausted                          │
│ Why 1: All 10 connections in use, none available            │
│ Why 2: Connections not released after requests              │
│ Why 3: Error handling doesn't close connections             │
│ Why 4: Try-catch blocks missing .finally()                  │
│ Why 5: No code review checklist for resource cleanup        │
│                                                              │
│ Contributing factors:                                        │
│ • Pool size too small for current load                      │
│ • No connection timeout configured (hangs forever)          │
│ • Slow queries hold connections longer                      │
│ • No monitoring/alerting on pool metrics                    │
│                                                              │
│ ROOT CAUSE: Systematic issue with resource cleanup +        │
│             insufficient pool sizing                         │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 5. COUNTERMEASURES                                           │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Immediate (This Week):                                       │
│ 1. Audit all DB code, add .finally() for connection release │
│ 2. Increase pool size: 10 → 30                              │
│ 3. Add connection timeout: 10 seconds                       │
│ 4. Add pool monitoring & alerts (>80% used)                 │
│                                                              │
│ Short-term (2 Weeks):                                        │