Dealing With Any Problem: The 5 Whys Technique

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

A simple and versatile way to get to the core and find reasons that don't lie on the surface.

The idea of studying causal relationships was put forward by Socrates. But the method itself, dubbed the "5 Whys", was developed by Toyota founder Sakichi Toyoda. Initially, the equipment was intended to solve the production problems of the company.

Asking the question "Why?" five times, you define the nature of the problem, the solution becomes clear.

Taiichi Ohno creator of the Toyota Production System

The first step is to formulate the original problem. Then the researcher asks the question: "Why did this happen (is happening)?" Having received the answer, he again asks: "Why did this happen?" - thus finding out the cause of the cause.

As a result, a logical chain is built leading to the root cause. It is assumed that it is precisely the impact on the root cause that will be most effective in solving the original problem. Let us illustrate this with an example.

Original problem: conflicts have become more frequent in the family, relations between spouses are tense.

Step 1. Why is this happening? Because the husband is constantly at work and does not devote any time to his family.

Step 2. Why does he spend so much time at work? Because of the many things that require his attention.

Step 3. Why are there so many things that need his attention? Because nobody can make them.

Step 4. Why can't anyone make them? Because there are no employees who would be competent in these matters.

Step 5. Why are there no such employees? Nobody hired them.

In this example, we went from dissatisfaction with family relationships to an insufficient number of middle managers.

You don't have to ask exactly five questions. This number has been chosen empirically and is average. Some problems can be addressed in fewer (or more) steps.

For best results, it is recommended that you write down all the steps so you don't miss out on anything important. Increases the effectiveness of group discussion: the group is able to identify objectively more significant reasons.

The "5 Whys" method has a number of undoubted advantages. First, simplicity. Its use is available to anyone. Secondly, it is less time consuming compared to most other techniques. Thirdly, the minimum hardware requirements: you can even look for reasons in your mind.

But there are also significant limitations. The method is suitable only for simple problems, when you need to find one, the most significant reason. The result is highly dependent on the ability of the researcher to find it.

In the above example, the answer to the third question could be “Because he does not delegate authority to employees,” and the root cause would be completely different.

Some of these limitations can be overcome by allowing multiple answers. Then the result of the application of the technique is the "tree" of causes. But in this case, there is no way to single out any one as the leading one.

Despite these limitations, the 5 Whys method has been successfully used in many management concepts, such as kaizen, lean manufacturing, and others.