Below the consequent event, the tree is divided into two sides, the failure side and the recovery side.

The limbs of the causal tree are made up of antecedent events. Antecedent events are actions that reveal what prompted or influenced the consequent event. These events are displayed in both logical and chronological order.

By continuing to ask "why" of each event (beginning with the consequent event), all relevant antecedent events, as well as the root causes of those events, are revealed.