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TRACE Visual Investigation Report
Time · Records · Analysis · Causality · Evidence

TRACE – Visual Quality Investigation Timeline

TRACE reconstructs what happened before trying to explain why. Build a date- and time-based evidence map, distinguish facts from assumptions, identify the Last Known Good and First Known Bad states, and focus investigation effort on the changes and abnormalities inside the causal window.

T · Time-order events R · Record evidence A · Analyse abnormalities C · Connect relationships E · Establish explanation
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Timeline events
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Calendar days spanned
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Confirmed / verified evidence
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Abnormalities / changes
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Causal window
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Failures / escapes

How TRACE Works

Reconstruct reality first. Analyse causality second.
The central question: What changed between the last state we can confidently call good and the first state we can confidently call bad — and what objective evidence supports each step in that sequence?
TimePut events in chronological order
RecordCapture source and confidence
AnalyseSpot changes and abnormalities
ConnectLink related events and causal paths
EstablishVerify the explanation with evidence

Use full dates and times

Investigations can span minutes, days, weeks or months. TRACE sorts using the complete date/time but also allows approximate timing when precise records do not exist.

Separate fact from belief

Mark entries as Confirmed, Verified, Reported, Assumed or Unknown. An attractive timeline must never create false certainty.

Find the causal window

Identify Last Known Good and First Known Bad. Events between these markers deserve special scrutiny, particularly changes, excursions and unusual decisions.

Use multiple evidence streams

Capture product, process, equipment, material, people, environment, quality, change and decision events in one chronology.

Look for interactions

Quality failures often come from combinations rather than a single event. Link related events so the timeline shows a chain rather than isolated observations.

Verify after hypothesis

TRACE supports root-cause tools; it does not replace them. Use the reconstructed evidence to drive 5-Why, 8D, Ishikawa, fault tree or PROVE/PULSE validation activity.

Evidence confidence

✓ Verified

Objective evidence independently confirms the event or condition.

● Confirmed

Traceable record, log, traveller, test result or reliable direct evidence exists.

◐ Reported

A person or source reports the event, but objective corroboration is incomplete.

? Assumed / Unknown

A working assumption, estimated timing or unresolved information gap.

Typical event categories

ProcessChangeAbnormal conditionFailure / escapeInspection / verificationMaterialEquipmentPeopleEnvironmentDecision
Important: chronology demonstrates sequence and opportunity, not causation. A root-cause conclusion should still be verified against physical, technical or statistical evidence.

Investigation Definition

Define the problem before building the story

Add Timeline Event

New event

Event Quality Check

Good practice: use one event per meaningful occurrence. If a card contains several things that happened at different times, split it into separate events so the chronology remains defensible.

Visual Timeline

Events are always sorted chronologically. Filter controls change the view, not the underlying investigation record.
FailureAbnormalChangeVerificationOther event
Add events or load the example to build the timeline.

Event Register

IDDate / timeEventCategoryTrackConfidenceSignificanceMarkerEvidence / sourceActions

Investigation Analysis

Sequence ≠ causation

Causal Window Focus

Evidence Gaps & Investigation Prompts

Track / Stream Distribution

Investigator Conclusion

TRACE Investigation Report

Generate a management-ready chronological investigation record.
Select Generate Report.
Special Processes Institute · sp-i.orgTRACE Visual Investigation Report