Many times in life we are presented with a problem for which we need to get to the root cause. One technique for arriving at the root cause is called the five why’s. If you ask the question “why” repeatedly you will come to the root cause. The number five is a good rule of thumb for the number of times you will need to ask “why?” to arrive at the root cause. This is a very simple tool to use, one that does not require a data collection plan, and it easy to complete without any statistical analysis. I recommend that you follow these set of steps to utilize the five why’s method.
- Write down the problem. Grading down the specific problem helps you to describe it completely; it also helps the team to focus on the specific problem.
- Asked why the problem happens, and write the answer down below the problem.
- If you have not identified the root cause for the problem you specified in step one, ask why again. Write that answer down.
- Repeat step three until you or you and your team agree that you have arrived at the root cause. This may take more or less than five why’s to accomplish.
Problem Statement: You are on your way home from work and your car stops in the middle of the road. (I borrowed this example…)
1. Why did your car stop?
– Because it ran out of gas.
2. Why did it run out of gas?
– Because I didn’t buy any gas on my way to work.
3. Why didn’t you buy any gas this morning?
– Because I didn’t have any money.
4. Why didn’t you have any money?
– Because I lost it all last night in a poker game.
5. Why did you lose your money in last night’s poker game?
– Because I’m not very good at “bluffing” when I don’t have a good hand.
As you can see from this example, using the five why’s has allowed the team to arrive at a root cause that can be acted upon. It is much easier to work on root causes than it is to work on symptoms.