> "I missed X - there's not enough time to check everything and I missed X". "Well, you should have told us X wasn't checked" or "you should have raised the alarm before"
You've probably thought of this, but if X is checkable, then perhaps the question to be asked, potentially outside 5 whys framework is why it's not automated. Or at the very least a checklist developed. Allowing an RCA to fall on 'human error' should be rare, not the default.
Another angle, if there is automated QA in place, is whether the go/no-go signals are good enough. Measures like code coverage can be a signal that your project is cutting QA short, and if it _is_ being tracked and shows green, that's a signal you need more advanced metrics.
In short, if management is shortchanging QA that should be in the causal path. We have an entire section on 'why metrics and tests missed the problem' outside the 5 whys just to prompt participants to discuss these perspectives.
> There are rumors of other developers being interviewed, but no one has come on board
Call me crazy, but if they're thinking about hiring another developer but not inviting you, the sole/lead developer to interview the candidates, then you're being replaced. But if they're asking you to work on vacations, then perhaps this is for the best. (Not that you're going to enjoy being laid off)
> Assuming someone does, I suspect the thinking will be "let's double the previous workload - we have 2 people now".
Well, yea. The alternative is probably to give you a pay cut. It sucks but you usually can't hire your way out of a budget crunch.