> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://ultimatewebsolutions.gitbook.io/qa-knowledge-base/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://ultimatewebsolutions.gitbook.io/qa-knowledge-base/analythical-thinking.md).

# Analythical thinking

Imagine a user reports: “The application is very slow.”

An analytical QA engineer would break it down:

* What exactly is slow? Login? Search? API calls?
* When does it happen? Always? Only at certain times?
* Can I reproduce it?
* Is the UI slow or is the API slow?
* What does the server log show?
* Is CPU/memory usage high?
* Is the database responding slowly?
* Does the problem happen for all users?
* What changed recently?
* Can I identify the root cause from the evidence?

> For me, analytical thinking means breaking a complex problem into smaller parts, looking at the available data and evidence, identifying relationships and possible root causes, and then making a logical decision based on that evidence. As a QA engineer, I use this when investigating defects, analyzing test results and deciding what areas need the most testing.