Root Cause Pattern — Subagents

Pattern: Root Cause
Component: subagents.md
Version: 1.1 | Updated: 2026-07-16

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Subagent	Role	When invoked	Output
Timeline Builder	Builds UTC chronology from primary sources	Start	Timeline table + gap markers
Five Whys Facilitator	Drives questions to systemic condition	After shared timeline	5 Whys table + one root sentence
Detection Gap Analyst	Explains time-to-detect and missed signals	After root cause	Detection checklist + gaps
Action Scrubber	Rejects vague/ownerless/undated actions	Before FINAL	Pass/fail + rewrite suggestions

Timeline Builder contract

• Prefer primary sources with timestamps over memory
• Label inferences separately from observed events
• Do not delete inconvenient events

Five Whys Facilitator contract

• Stop at systemic investment/design/process conditions — not “human error”
• Enforce single root cause; park extras as contributing factors
• If stuck on “someone forgot,” ask what system allowed forgetting to matter

Detection Gap Analyst contract

• Compute time-to-detect from first bad signal to human awareness
• Answer the four monitoring checkboxes from the SDLC prompt
• Propose concrete alert definitions when gaps exist

Action Scrubber contract

• Fail any action without owner or due date
• Fail “improve monitoring/docs” without specifics
• Fail personal blame actions masquerading as remediation