5 Whys

Steps

• Assemble a team. Gather together people who are familiar with the specifics of the problem, and with the process that you are trying to fix. Include someone to act as a facilitator, who can keep the team focused on identifying effective counter-measures.
• Define the problem. If you can, observe the problem in action. Discuss it with your team and write a brief, clear problem statement that you all agree on. Then, write your statement on a whiteboard or sticky note, leaving enough space around it to add your answers to the repeated question, "Why?"
• Ask the First "Why?". Ask your team why the problem is occurring. Asking "Why?" sounds simple, but answering it requires serious thought. Search for answers that are grounded in fact: they must be accounts of things that have actually happened, not guesses at what might have happened. This prevents the 5 Whys from becoming just a process of deductive reasoning, which can generate a large number of possible causes and, sometimes, create more confusion as you chase down hypothetical problems. Your team members may come up with one obvious reason “why”, or several plausible ones. Record their answers as succinct phrases, rather than as single words or lengthy statements, and write them below (or beside) your problem statement.
• Ask "Why?" Four More Times. For each of the answers that you generated in Step 3, ask four further "whys" in succession. Each time, frame the question in response to the answer you have just recorded.
• Know When to Stop. You will know that you\\'ve revealed the root cause of the problem when asking "why" produces no more useful responses, and you can go no further.
• Address the Root Cause(s). Now that you have identified at least one root cause, you need to discuss and agree on the counter-measures that will prevent the problem from recurring.
• Monitor Your Measures. Keep a close watch on how effectively your counter-measures eliminate or minimize the initial problem. You may need to amend them, or replace them entirely. If this happens, it\\'s a good idea to repeat the 5 Whys process to ensure that you\\'ve identified the correct root cause.