The Five Whys
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The Five Whys is a simple but powerful technique used to uncover the root cause of a problem by asking “Why?” five times in succession (or as many as needed).
🧠 Core Idea:
Instead of treating symptoms, dig deeper until you find the true cause.
How It Works:
Example:
Problem: A customer didn’t receive their order.-
Why didn’t the customer receive their order?
→ Because it wasn’t shipped. -
Why wasn’t it shipped?
→ Because it wasn’t packed. -
Why wasn’t it packed?
→ Because the packing slip wasn’t printed. -
Why wasn’t the slip printed?
→ Because the printer ran out of paper. -
Why did the printer run out of paper?
→ Because no one is assigned to check supply levels.
Root Cause: No one is responsible for restocking printer supplies.
Why Use It:
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Identifies the real issue, not just surface-level problems
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Promotes continuous improvement
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Encourages team problem-solving
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Prevents recurring issues
When to Use It:
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Quality control issues
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Customer complaints
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Process breakdowns
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Mistakes or inefficiencies
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