Product Design Playbook
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  1. Converge
  2. Exercises

Five Whys

Supplies needed: Post-Its, Sharpie, Whiteboard

Estimated time: 30 min

Best to use when

Five whys should be used to get to the very root of a reasons for a problem. It also shows the relationships between several causes of the problem.

Instructions

  1. Write down a specific problem

  2. Ask the team to individually write down why that is happening.

  3. Form a new problem from the answers the team gave.

  4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 four more times or as much as necessary.

  5. Analyze the results and form relationships between answers.

Example

  • The vehicle will not start. (the problem)

  • Why? - The battery is dead. (first why)

  • Why? - The alternator is not functioning. (second why)

  • Why? - The alternator belt has broken. (third why)

  • Why? - The alternator belt was well beyond its useful service life and not replaced. (fourth why)

  • Why? - The vehicle was not maintained according to the recommended service schedule. (fifth why, a root cause)

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Last updated 6 years ago

Taken from

Wikipedia