THE 5 WHYS

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 The 5 Whys is a simple problem-
solving technique that helps you to
get to the root of a problem quickly.
Made popular in the 1970s by the
Toyota Production System, the 5
Whys strategy involves looking at
any problem and asking: "Why?" and
"What caused this problem?"
 The 5 Whys is an iterative question-asking
technique used to explore the
cause-and-effect relationships underlying
a particular problem.[1] The primary goal
of the technique is to determine the
root cause of a defect or problem. (The "5"
in the name derives from an empirical
observation on the number of iterations
typically required to resolve the problem.)
How to Use
the Tool:
 When you're looking to solve a problem,
start at the end result and work backward
(toward the root cause), continually
asking: "Why?" You'll need to repeat this
over and over until the root cause of the
problem becomes apparent.
Root Cause Analysis


Using 5 Whys
The following examples demonstrate the
basic process:
 The vehicle will not start. (The problem).
1. Why? - The battery is dead. (first why)
2. Why? - The alternator is not functioning.
(second why)
3. Why? - The alternator belt has broken.
(third why)
4. Why? - The alternator belt was well
beyond its useful service life and not
replaced. (fourth why)
5. Why? - The vehicle was not maintained
according to the recommended service
schedule. (fifth why, a root cause)
6. Why? - Replacement parts are not
available because of the extreme age of
the vehicle. (sixth why, optional footnote)
 Start maintaining the vehicle
according to the recommended
service schedule. (possible 5th Why
solution)
 Purchase a different vehicle that is

maintainable. (possible 6th Why

solution)
 The questioning for this example could be taken
further to a sixth, seventh, or higher level: the "five" in 5
Whys is not gospel, but five iterations of asking why is
generally sufficient to get to a root cause. The key is to
encourage the trouble-shooter to avoid assumptions and
logic traps and instead trace the chain of causality in
direct increments from the effect through any layers of
abstraction to a root cause that still has some connection
to the original problem. Note that in this example the
fifth why suggests a broken process or an alterable
behavior, which is typical of reaching the root-cause
level.
Example 2:
In this example, the problem is that your client, Hinson
Corp., is unhappy. Using the 5 Whys, you go through the
following steps to get to the cause of the problem:
1. Why is our client, Hinson Corp., unhappy? Because we
didn't deliver our services when we said we would.
2. Why were we unable to meet the agreed-upon timeline or
schedule for delivery? The job took much longer than we thought
it would.
3. Why did it take so much longer? Because we
underestimated the complexity of the job.
 4. Why did we underestimate the complexity
of the job? Because we made a quick estimate of
the time needed to complete it, and didn't list the
individual stages needed to complete the project.

5. Why didn't we do this? Because we were

running behind on other projects. We clearly
need to review our time estimation and
specification procedures.
6.) 5 Whys root cause analysis is a powerful
but very simple tool to help you in solving
root cause not symptoms of a problem, either
in your business or in any other walk of life
asking why can lead you to the root of a
problem. Far too often in our businesses we
tend to address the symptoms of a problem
rather than addressing the true root cause of it,
because of this the problems fail to go away
and just reappear again at a later date. Asking
WHY five times can help you reach the root
cause of a problem allowing you to prevent re-
occurrence
 7. Use the 5 Whys for root cause
analysis and stop wasting your time
putting sticking plasters over the
problems to fix them for a day or two. By
addressing the root cause of a problem
you prevent it from re-occurring, saving
yourself time and money
 It is interesting to note that the last answer points to a
process. This is one of the most important aspects in the
5 Why approach - the real root cause should point
toward a process that is not working well or does not
exist. Untrained facilitators will often observe that
answers seem to point towards classical answers such
as not enough time, not enough investments, or not
enough manpower. These answers may sometimes be
true but in most cases they lead to answers out of our
control. Therefore, instead of asking the question why?,
ask why did the process fail?
 A key phrase to keep in mind in any 5 Why exercise is
"people do not fail, processes do".
  It helps you to quickly
determine the root cause of a
problem.

 It's simple, and easy to learn

and apply.

Benefits of the 5 Whys include

 Note:
The 5 Whys technique is a simple
technique that can help you quickly get
to the root of a problem. But that is all it
is, and the more complex things get, the
more likely it is to lead you down a
false trail. If it doesn't quickly give you
an answer that's obviously right, then
you may need to use a more
sophisticated problem solving
technique such as Root Cause Analysis
or Cause and Effect Analysis