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
- Background: Why this problem matters (context, business impact)
- Current Condition: What's happening now (data, metrics, examples)
- Goal/Target: What success looks like (specific, measurable)
- Root Cause Analysis: Why problem exists (use 5 Whys or Fishbone)
- Countermeasures: Proposed solutions addressing root causes
- Implementation Plan: Who, what, when, how
- 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): │
│ 5. Optimize slow queries (add indexes) │
│ 6. Implement connection pooling best practices doc │
│ 7. Add automated test for connection leaks │
│ │
│ Long-term (1 Month): │
│ 8. Migrate to connection pool library with auto-release │
│ 9. Add linter rule detecting missing .finally() │
│ 10. Create PR checklist for resource management │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 6. IMPLEMENTATION PLAN │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Week 1 (Nov 14-18): │
│ • Day 1-2: Audit & fix connection leaks [Dev Team] │
│ • Day 2: Increase pool size, add timeout [DevOps] │
│ • Day 3: Set up monitoring [SRE] │
│ • Day 4: Test under load [QA] │
│ • Day 5: Deploy to production [DevOps] │
│ │
│ Week 2 (Nov 21-25): │
│ • Optimize identified slow queries [DB Team] │
│ • Write best practices doc [Tech Writer + Dev Lead] │
│ • Create connection leak test [QA Team] │
│ │
│ Week 3-4 (Nov 28 - Dec 9): │
│ • Evaluate connection pool libraries [Dev Team] │
│ • Add linter rules [Dev Lead] │
│ • Update PR template [Dev Lead] │
│ │
│ Dependencies: None blocking Week 1 fixes │
│ Resources: 2 developers, 1 DevOps, 1 SRE │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 7. FOLLOW-UP │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Success Metrics: │
│ • Zero downtime incidents (monitor 4 weeks) │
│ • Pool usage stays <80% during peak │
│ • No connection leaks detected │
│ • Response time <200ms p95 │
│ │
│ Monitoring: │
│ • Daily: Check pool usage dashboard │
│ • Weekly: Review connection leak alerts │
│ • Bi-weekly: Team retrospective on progress │
│ │
│ Review Dates: │
│ • Week 1 (Nov 18): Verify immediate fixes effective │
│ • Week 2 (Nov 25): Assess optimization impact │
│ • Week 4 (Dec 9): Final review, close A3 │
│ │
│ Prevention: │
│ • Add connection handling to onboarding │
│ • Monthly audit of resource management code │
│ • Include pool metrics in SRE runbook │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Example 2: Security Vulnerability in Production
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
A3 PROBLEM ANALYSIS
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
TITLE: Critical SQL Injection Vulnerability
OWNER: Security Team Lead
DATE: 2024-11-14
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 1. BACKGROUND │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ • Critical security vulnerability reported by researcher │
│ • SQL injection in user search endpoint │
│ • Potential data breach affecting 100K+ user records │
│ • CVSS score: 9.8 (Critical) │
│ • Vulnerability exists in production for 6 months │
│ • Similar issue found in 2 other endpoints (scanning) │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 2. CURRENT CONDITION │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Vulnerable Code: │
│ • /api/users/search endpoint uses string concatenation │
│ • Input: search query (user-provided, not sanitized) │
│ • Pattern: `SELECT * FROM users WHERE name = '${input}'` │
│ │
│ Scope: │
│ • 3 endpoints vulnerable (search, filter, export) │
│ • All use same unsafe pattern │
│ • No parameterized queries │
│ • No input validation layer │
│ │
│ Risk Assessment: │
│ • Exploitable from public internet │
│ • No evidence of exploitation (logs checked) │
│ • Similar code in admin panel (higher privilege) │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 3. GOAL/TARGET │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ • Patch all SQL injection vulnerabilities within 24 hours │
│ • Zero SQL injection vulnerabilities in codebase │
│ • Prevent similar issues in future code │
│ • Verify no unauthorized access occurred │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 4. ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ 5 Whys: │
│ Problem: SQL injection vulnerability in production │
│ Why 1: User input concatenated directly into SQL │
│ Why 2: Developer wasn't aware of SQL injection risks │
│ Why 3: No security training for new developers │
│ Why 4: Security not part of onboarding checklist │
│ Why 5: Security team not involved in development process │
│ │
│ Contributing Factors (Fishbone): │
│ • Process: No security code review │
│ • Technology: ORM not used consistently │
│ • People: Knowledge gap in secure coding │
│ • Methods: No SAST tools in CI/CD │
│ │
│ ROOT CAUSE: Security not integrated into development │
│ process, training gap │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 5. COUNTERMEASURES │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Immediate (24 Hours): │
│ 1. Patch all 3 vulnerable endpoints │
│ 2. Deploy hotfix to production │
│ 3. Scan codebase for similar patterns │
│ 4. Review access logs for exploitation attempts │
│ │
│ Short-term (1 Week): │
│ 5. Replace all raw SQL with parameterized queries │
│ 6. Add input validation middleware │
│ 7. Set up SAST tool in CI (Snyk/SonarQube) │
│ 8. Security team review of all data access code │
│ │
│ Long-term (1 Month): │
│ 9. Mandatory security training for all developers │
│ 10. Add security review to PR process │
│ 11. Migrate to ORM for all database access │
│ 12. Implement security champion program │
│ 13. Quarterly security audits │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 6. IMPLEMENTATION PLAN │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Hour 0-4 (Emergency Response): │
│ • Write & test patches [Security + Senior Dev] │
│ • Emergency PR review [CTO + Tech Lead] │
│ • Deploy to staging [DevOps] │
│ │
│ Hour 4-24 (Production Deploy): │
│ • Deploy hotfix [DevOps + On-call] │
│ • Monitor for issues [SRE Team] │
│ • Scan logs for exploitation [Security Team] │
│ • Notify stakeholders [Security Lead + CEO] │
│ │
│ Day 2-7: │
│ • Full codebase remediation [Dev Team] │
│ • SAST tool setup [DevOps + Security] │
│ • Security review [External Auditor] │
│ │
│ Week 2-4: │
│ • Security training program [Security + HR] │
│ • Process improvements [Engineering Leadership] │
│ │
│ Dependencies: External auditor availability (Week 2) │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 7. FOLLOW-UP │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Success Metrics: │
│ • Zero SQL injection vulnerabilities (verified by scan) │
│ • 100% of PRs pass SAST checks │
│ • 100% developer security training completion │
│ • No unauthorized access detected in log analysis │
│ │
│ Verification: │
│ • Day 1: Verify patch deployed, vulnerability closed │
│ • Week 1: External security audit confirms fixes │
│ • Week 2: SAST tool catching similar issues │
│ • Month 1: Training completion, process adoption │
│ │
│ Prevention: │
│ • SAST tools block vulnerable code in CI │
│ • Security review required for data access code │
│ • Quarterly penetration testing │
│ • Annual security training refresh │
│ │
│ Incident Report: │
│ • Post-mortem meeting: Nov 16 │
│ • Document lessons learned │
│ • Share with engineering org │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Notes
- A3 forces concise, complete thinking (fits on one page)
- Use data and facts, not opinions or blame
- Root cause analysis is critical—use
/whyor/cause-and-effect - Countermeasures must address root causes, not symptoms
- Implementation plan needs clear ownership and timelines
- Follow-up ensures sustainable improvement
- A3 becomes historical record for organizational learning
- Update A3 as situation evolves (living document until closed)
- Consider A3 for: incidents, recurring issues, major improvements
- Overkill for: small bugs, one-line fixes, trivial issues