5 Whys Exercise

"Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers"

Voltaire

The 5 Whys is a questions-asking method used to explore the

cause/effect relationships underlying a particular problem. Ultimately, the goal of applying the 5 Whys method is to determine a root cause of a defect or problem. The following example demonstrates the basic process:

The Problem: My car will not start.

1. Why? - The battery is dead. (first why)
2. Why? - The alternator is not functioning. (second why)
3. Why? - The alternator belt has broken. (third why)
4. Why? - The alternator belt was well beyond its useful service life and has never been replaced. (fourth why)
5. Why? - I have not been maintaining my car according to the recommended service schedule. (fifth why, a root cause)
6. Why? (optional) - Replacement parts are not available because of the extreme age of my vehicle. (sixth why, optional footnote)

The Solution (possible): I will start maintaining my car according to the recommended service schedule.

Template: On a blank piece of paper write down a problem and walk through the 5 whys to identify the root cause.  Upon doing so think about a potential solution or two.

Template: On a blank piece of paper write down a problem and walk through the 5 whys to identify the root cause.  Upon doing so think about a potential solution or two.

The Problem: ______________________________________

1. Why?____________________________________
2. Why?____________________________________
   
3. Why?____________________________________
4. Why?____________________________________
5. Why?____________________________________

The Solution: ______________________________________