Definition
The time, place and manner in which the problem was first detected in the problem resolution process.
In detail
Point of Recognition (POR) is the time, place, and manner in which a problem is first noticed. It is the starting point of the causal chain continuum. It helps teams trace the problem from perception to occurrence, and unlike the point of occurrence and point of cause, POR focuses on "when and where it was discovered." Typical output is a description (e.g., customer complaint, quality inspection finding) used to initiate the problem-solving process.
Example in practice
A customer complained about product malfunction. The identification point was customer feedback. The team traced back from the POR to the occurrence point (production test) and the cause point (software defect), ultimately fixing the issue and updating test standards.