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Five Whys

The Five Whys is a tool used to get to the root causes of issues by repeatedly asking "Why?". It involves: 1) Stating the issue and capturing it visually. 2) Asking "Why?" and capturing answers to uncover deeper causes. 3) Continuing to ask "Why?" until root causes are uncovered. This helps ensure solutions address underlying causes rather than just symptoms. The method is collaborative and gets group buy-in to identify multiple perspectives on the root causes of problems.

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66 views13 pages

Five Whys

The Five Whys is a tool used to get to the root causes of issues by repeatedly asking "Why?". It involves: 1) Stating the issue and capturing it visually. 2) Asking "Why?" and capturing answers to uncover deeper causes. 3) Continuing to ask "Why?" until root causes are uncovered. This helps ensure solutions address underlying causes rather than just symptoms. The method is collaborative and gets group buy-in to identify multiple perspectives on the root causes of problems.

Uploaded by

mammutbalaji
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Five Whys

A tool for quickly getting to the‘root causes’


of an issue before developing solutions. A
great team-builder because it gets the group’s
buy-in as part of the process
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Objectives
•  To help the team understand all the
causal factors that have a bearing on an
issue / problem (i.e. fix the real problem
rather than treating the symptoms)
When Would You Use It?

•  When you have a problem -- it’s a simple


diagnostic tool to explore an ‘intractable’
issue
•  Always use before developing a solution --
that way you avoid slipping into ‘fix-it’ mode
and addressing symptoms rather than causes
Are There Any Rules?
•  Always go through a root cause analysis phase
of difficult problems -- otherwise solutions may
be shortlived and unsustainable.
•  Don’t debate each point to death. Identify issues
and move onto the next as quickly as possible.
It’s important to complete it so you can see the
whole picture before drawing conclusions.
Resources required
•  A willing group of people
•  A large square piece of blank paper big enough for everyone to
stand around and see comfortably (1m high by 3m long is
normally enough)
•  Wall space to put the paper up on
•  A private quiet open space surrounding the paper
•  Marker pen for the facilitator (at least one with some spares if
required)
•  No tables and chairs – this is a standing high-energy exercise
Roles & Responsibilities
Facilitator Participants
Focused on getting through the process Contributes their ideas and expertise

Keeps the process on track and avoids Follows the process


getting stuck talking at length about issues
Helps the team attain the goal
Ensures all notes made on the tree are
unpacked, clear and understood by not Stays positive throughout (lots of issues
only the participants but people outside will be uncovered)
the process so it can be used later
Process
1.  The Facilitator starts the analysis with a concise statement of
the challenge you are facing -- in this example the challenge
is: “Revenue budgets not balanced”.
2.  Having captured the issue on the left, move to the right and
pose the question: “Why is that?”
3.  The Facilitator captures the answers to the question as short,
succinct phrases rather than single words. For example, rather
than ‘Costs’ or ‘Income’, unpack these topics by describing
the causes in a succinct phrase, such as ‘Cost are too high’
and ‘Income is too low’.
Process
4.  Gradually work across, from left to right, as you pose the
same question “Why?” at each successive level of your
analysis. In this example I have worked the staff cost
issues through four levels of analysis.
5.  Try to work a branch of your analysis to five levels or until
you reach a ‘root’ cause -- whichever comes first -- before
returning to a higher level and analysing another branch
of the issue.
6.  The completed analysis identifies all the ‘root’ causes
that must be taken into account in your solution to the
issue.
The Five Whys analysis identifies
underlying causes to a challenging issue

Costs too
high

Revenue budget
not Why?
balanced

Income
too low
Posing the question “Why?” at
successive levels of analysis
Staffing very stable
Partners are 70% Why?
Staffing costs 86% of Why? Large number of management points
budget.
Low number of support
staff
Costs too
high Why?

Premises costs 8.5%

Revenue budget
not Why?
balanced

Income
too low
The Five Whys helps us to understand all
the causes of a challenging issue
Staffing very stable
Partners are 70% Why?
Staffing costs 86% of Why? Large number of management points
budget.
Low number of support Decision by management
staff
Costs too Historic
high Why?
Employ own cleaning staff at high rates
Premises staff cost
3.5% Cleaners local people with strong
Premises costs 8.5% connection to company
5-year routine Have allowed some queue jumping
maintenance plan
Revenue budget undercosted Plan still has 3 years to run
not Why?
balanced Company X decided not to reapply 2 years ago
Partners have strong
connection to PwC Co-ordinator’s salary now in main company budget
Income heavily
reliant on few large
clients Roll drop in January
Big fish were necessary in
early days
Knock-on impact in other areas, eg. FSM, SPP
Income
too low Why?
Greater variety of facilities available
Conference center opened Better economic climate for new ventures
locally
Company facilities
are underused Health and safety issues
Meeting rooms not
used for external Management have stopped overtime
events
Secret Sauce
•  When deciding how best to capture the answer, it is good
practice to check whether someone not involved in the analysis
could nonetheless follow the logic of the analysis by reading your
output afterwards.
•  Note: For illustrative purposes in this example I have identified
just two causes at each level. In your analysis there may well be
more than two answers to “Why?” at each level.
•  You might not be able to solve all the root causes you identify,
but don’t worry, having the insights from your analysis will ensure
that your solution will be better informed and more embracing.

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