In high-pressure production environments, every second counts when something breaks.
That’s exactly what we tackled in our latest webinar: “What to Capture When It Breaks: 16 Artifacts That Reveal Root Causes.” The session brought together performance engineers, SREs, and backend developers for a practical, hands-on discussion about the most critical data points to capture during incidents.
From GC logs and thread dumps to OS-level metrics and metadata, we walked through a comprehensive list of 16 artifacts that provide deep visibility into production failures. More importantly, we didn’t just talk about what to capture, we covered how, when, and why each artifact plays a vital role in root cause analysis.
Packed with real-world examples and tool recommendations, this session served as a blueprint for smarter, faster incident resolution.
What We Covered on Root Cause Analysis in Production
During the session, we walked through the exact steps engineers should take the moment something goes wrong in production. Instead of scrambling or relying on vague logs, the webinar provided a clear roadmap of 16 artifacts that can accelerate the diagnostic process.
We discussed how each artifact, from GC logs and thread dumps to OS-level metrics like vmstat, top, and dmesg, reveals a different piece of the performance puzzle. Attendees got a deep dive into how to collect these artifacts, when they’re most relevant, and what common red flags to look for inside them.
We also explored how these techniques apply to real-world outage scenarios, demonstrating how teams that are better prepared can recover faster with far less disruption.
Why Capturing the Right Artifacts Matters in Production Environments
When things go wrong in production, time is critical—and so is clarity. Without the right diagnostic artifacts, engineers are left guessing, often prolonging outages and increasing customer impact.
That’s why knowing what to capture, and how quickly you can do it, can make or break your incident response.
In the heat of a live issue, delays in gathering evidence often lead to lost context, compounding the difficulty of root cause analysis. Worse, critical data may be overwritten or unavailable by the time engineers begin investigating. By equipping teams with a predefined list of artifacts to capture, supported by scripts and automation, you reduce friction, avoid guesswork, and dramatically shorten time to resolution.
This proactive approach doesn’t just improve response, it builds resilience.
Key Takeaways: A Blueprint for Effective Root Cause Analysis in Production
Here’s what attendees walked away with from the “What to Capture When It Breaks” webinar:
- A checklist of 16 must-have artifacts to capture immediately during any incident—covering JVM, OS, and application-level data
- Expert guidance on interpreting complex diagnostics like GC logs, thread dumps, and system metrics to uncover the real root cause
- Time-saving tools and automation techniques to streamline data collection and avoid scrambling during a live incident
- Real-world examples where capturing the right artifacts helped engineers quickly resolve critical production outages
- Confidence to troubleshoot smarter, not harder—with a proactive and structured approach to incident response
Webinar Deck
Revisit the key strategies for faster root cause analysis in production with our full slide deck—packed with examples, tools, and the complete 16-artifact checklist.
Webinar Recording
Watch the full webinar recording to revisit expert strategies and actionable insights for effective root cause analysis in production.
Q&A Session
Our Expert, Ram Lakshmanan took time to answer some thoughtful queries from the audience, sharing practical tips and real-world stories around Java performance and troubleshooting.
Participant Feedback
We always appreciate hearing from you! Here’s what our attendees had to say about this session.
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