In root cause analysis, what is the visible problem called before the underlying cause is identified?

• A. The effect
• B. The trigger
• C. The issue
• D. The symptom

Answer: (D)

In root cause analysis, the visible problem before the underlying cause is identified is the symptom. It’s the observable sign that something isn’t right—like a malfunction, error message, outage, or defect—that prompts the investigation. The root cause is the deeper reason behind the symptom, which you uncover by exploring why the symptom occurred. The other terms don’t fit as precisely: an effect is a consequence in a cause‑and‑effect chain, a trigger is an initiating event, and an issue is a general problem label—none capture the idea of the observable sign that starts the analysis as clearly as “symptom.”