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- 5 Whys is the practice of asking why repeatedly whenever a problem is encountered in order to get beyond the obvious symptoms to discover the root cause. For instance, Taiichi Ohno gives this example about a machine that stopped working (Ohno 1988, p. 17):
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Oct 2, 2019 · 5-Whys Example – Is this Root Cause Analysis? (Updated) Most Famous Example of 5-Whys. Taiichi Ohno (pictured above), created the 5-Why technique. He is quoted using the following 5-Why example to teach the technique: 1. “Why did the robot stop?” The circuit has overloaded, causing a fuse to blow. 2. “Why is the circuit overloaded?”
- The Origin of The 5 Whys
- How The 5 Whys Process Works
- The 5 Main Steps to The The 5 Whys
- Some Real-Life 5 Whys Examples
- The 5 Whys in Daily Life
- Over to You
The 5 Whys technique was developed and fine-tuned within the Toyota Motor Corporation as a critical component of its problem-solving training. Taiichi Ohno, the architect of the Toyota Production System in the 1950s, describes the method in his book Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Productionas “the basis of Toyota’s scientific approach...
At our startup, we perform a “5 Whys” after something unexpected has occurred—and that means we perform them a lot! We keep a “5 Whys” folder in our team’s Dropbox Paper account, and the folder has 20+ notes files and counting (not to mention the 5 Whys docs that might not be categorized into the folder). ‘Fires’ of various sizes are inevitable—and...
Step 1: Invite anyone affected by the issue
As soon as the problem or situation is identified (and all immediate concerns are dealt with), invite anyone at all on the team who was affected or noticed the issue to be involved in a 5 Whys meeting. As a remote team, we hold ours via Zoom.
Step 2: Select a 5 Whys master for the meeting
The 5 Whys master will lead the discussion, ask the 5 whys, and assign responsibility for the solutions the group comes up with. The rest of those involved will answer those questions and discuss. In our experience, anyone can be a 5 Whys master — there are no special qualifications, and it doesn’t have to be the leader of the project or the originator of the issue. We’ve also found that it’s a good idea for the 5 Whys master to take notes for the meeting, unless he or she would like to assig...
Step 3: Ask “why” five times
Dig at least five levels deep into the issue with five levels of “whys.” This seems like the simplest part but can in fact get a bit tricky! Getting the right question to start with, the first why, seems to be the key. When we conduct our 5 Whys, it can feel natural and almost beneficial to go down all potential paths and be really comprehensive. However, this can widen the scope of how much learning and corrective actions need to occur. This is meant to be a ‘lean’ process in which picking o...
To take the 5 Whys from theoretical to actual, here’s a look at a few moments in Buffer’s history that have called for a 5 Whys meeting. In early 2014, we had a brief systemwide outage. Here’s a look at the 5 Whys the team conducted: And the corrective actions that resulted: Here’s an example from the customer happiness world. One of our Happiness ...
Although the 5 Whys is most widely used for manufacturing/development use, I’ve found that it is also quite applicable to daily life in any situation where one might seek deeper understanding—of a problem, a challenge or even a motivation behind an action. This quick graphic from Start of Happinessprovides a great example: Ever since learning about...
What sort of process do you use to get to the root of unexpected situations or challenges in your work or life? Have you ever tried the 5 Whys? I’d love to hear your insights in the comments! P.S. If you liked this post, you might enjoy our Open blog newsletter. Receive each new post delivered right to your inbox! Sign up here.
Two primary techniques are used to perform a five whys analysis: the fishbone (or Ishikawa) diagram and a tabular format. These tools allow for analysis to be branched in order to provide multiple root causes.
The Five Whys technique is a simple and effective tool for identifying the root cause of an issue. It involves asking “why” repeatedly (up to five times) to dig deeper into the underlying causes of a problem and to uncover the chain of events leading up to it. Developed by Sakichi Toyoda, the founder of...
5 Whys is the practice of asking why repeatedly whenever a problem is encountered in order to get beyond the obvious symptoms to discover the root cause. For instance, Taiichi Ohno gives this example about a machine that stopped working (Ohno 1988, p. 17):
A 5 Whys Example. Here’s an easy five whys example to illustrate the idea²: Problem: The vehicle will not start. 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 ...
The five whys analysis was developed by Taiichi Ohno, the pioneer of the Toyota Production System in the 1950s. He details his method of problem solving in his book, Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-Scale Production. The technique Ohno developed was so effective that Toyota uses it to this day.
