1. A method of compiling causal rules into continuations for use in root cause analysis of a system comprising a plurality of inter-related elements, the method comprising: defining observable events occurring on system elements; defining at least one of a cause and a result of each of the events; defining causal rules, each rule describing a causal relationship between an event and its cause or its result; and compiling the causal relationships as continuations in a continuation passing style (CPS) for use in analyzing the root cause of at least one observed event symptomatic of at least one problem on the system.