For post-incident follow-up, within what window should a root-cause analysis plan be communicated?

• A. Immediately within minutes
• B. After regulatory approval
• C. Within days to weeks, depending on the scope
• D. After a year

Answer: (D)

Communicating the root-cause analysis plan in a timely window is essential so that the investigation can be guided effectively, data collection can be focused, and corrective actions can be planned without unnecessary delay. The best practice is to share the RCA plan within days to weeks after the incident, with the exact timeframe depending on how broad the scope is and how much information is available. This balance allows investigators to lay out the approach, identify data needs, assign roles, and outline initial milestones while not slowing down remediation. Sharing immediately within minutes isn’t practical because it wouldn’t reflect the necessary data gathering, waiting for regulatory approval before sharing can stall action, and delaying until after a year postpones needed fixes and could risk ongoing reliability issues.