Applying Five Why Technique for Root Cause
Analysis
Dr. Nancy Agnes, Head, Technical Operations, Tutorsindia info@ tutorsindia.com
II. THE ORIGINS OF FIVE WHYS
For Want of a Nail
“For want of a nail the shoe is lost,
For want of a shoe the horse is lost,
For want of a horse the rider is lost,
For want of a rider the battle is lost,
For want of a battle the kingdom is lost,
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail”.
- George Herbert
I. INTRODUCTION
Any organization or process or team can be
confronted
with
unanticipated
challenges.
Nonetheless, the challenges might just a symptom to
an underlying issue. Prompt resolution of the
challenge could prove to be the most feasible
solution, but there is no guarantee that it might
safeguard the organization or team or process from
being confronted with recurring errors. Considering
the scenario, it is important for the organization or the
team in question to identify the root cause and tackle
it in an appropriate manner. While there are several
tools that can help an organization to conduct a root
cause analysis, the ‘Five Whys’ technique is
considered as one of the most effective tools in the
repertoire of lean management. Teams are known to
come face-to-face with roadblocks during their dayto-day work. Nonetheless, the use of five whys will
enable the team to identify the root cause of any
problem and thereby safeguard the process from such
problems occurring in future, which might result in
failure This blog aims to acclimatize you with the
Five Whys technique for root cause analysis and
inform you about how it can be effectively utilized to
understand why a particular problem keeps occurring
within your process. But first, it is important to trace
the history of the Five Whys.
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Sakichi Toyoda was the person who has
been attributed with developing the Five Whys. The
idea behind developing the Five Whys was to spot
the root cause to some problems that were being
encountered at the manufacturing unit at Toyota.
Over the years, the Five Why technique has been
widely accepted and adapted by social scientists as
well as educators to facilitate them to develop
problem definitions and pertinent interventions [1].
The application of Five whys is quite simple wherein
it comprises of converting a problem into a ‘why’
question. Five answers are brainstormed by
participants on the basis of their experience and
knowledge. Out of all the suggestions, the answer
that is most feasible is chosen and converted into yet
another ‘why’ question. This cycle is repeated five
times. Participants are motivated to hypothesize and
theorize on the problems in such a manner that it
avoids assumptions that are unsubstantiated,
sustaining relation to their lived experiences.
Therefore, using the five whys technique requires
careful facilitation on the part of individuals who are
skilled in the practice of critical questioning and
reflection and those who are well-versed in
developing contexts which people are comfortable
sharing [2].
III. APPLYING THE FIVE WHYS
At the time of applying the five whys
technique, you might want to reach the essence of the
problem and then try to find a solution. Sometimes,
the five whys would reveal an unexpected source to
the problem. More often than not, issues that are
deemed as problems which would be technical nature
would eventually reveal themselves to be process or
human problems. That makes it necessary to apply
the five whys to find and eliminate the root cause to
restrict the scope for the same problem from
recurring [3].
1
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Figure 1: Five Whys in Action
Source: Serrat [3]
From the above example (Figure 1) the root
cause for running through the red light turned out to
be a simple overlooking of a task which could be
attributed to a human error. But, this problem has
scope to repeat itself if remedial steps are not
initiated.
To conduct a root cause analysis using Five
whys you need to;
IV. FORM A TEAM
Make a team comprising of an individual
each from the department that is being impacted by a
recurrent problem. Or in case of an individual, seek
the help of family members or friends to form a core
team. In either case, all the individuals within the
team should be aware of the problem that is going to
be investigated. Team formation will allow you to
arrive at an informed decision [4].
V. DEFINE THE PROBLEM
At the outset, you should deliberate the
problem with your team members and construct a
clear problem statement. It would be helpful in
outlining the scope of the problem that will be
investigated. This is significant as exploring a
problem with a wider scope might be process which
is time-consuming and the boundaries too might be
blurred. Remaining focused throughout would help
you to reach an effective solution [5].
VI. ASK WHY
One person from the team should be
empowered to be able to facilitate the entire
procedure. The questions will be asked by the team
leader and he or she would also attempt to ensure that
the team remains focused throughout. Care should be
taken to ensure that the answers to each why is based
on real data and actual facts rather than getting
carried away by emotions [4].
VII. TAKE ACTION
Once the root cause has been identified by
the team, they should then focus on initiating
corrective measures. Each member should participate
in a discussion to seek and apply the most appropriate
solution that will safeguard the process from the same
problem recurring again. Following a specific period
of time, the team should meet again to understand
whether the solution they found made a positive
impact. In case it is not making a positive impact, it
would be necessary to repeat the process [5].
VIII. CONCLUSION
The Five Whys has been proven to be a very
robust and potent organizational technique to identify
root cause. Using five whys can add agility to your
team and also presents your organization with the
grounds to promptly respond to problems as it might
emerge, without the need for any over-engineering or
overinvesting.
References
[1]
S. Moaveni and K. Chou, “Using the Five
Whys Methods in the Classroom: How to
Turn Students into Problem Solvers,” J.
STEM Educ., vol. 17, no. 4, 2017, [Online].
Available:
https://www.learntechlib.org/p/174416/.
[2]
D. Kohfeldt and R. D. Langhout, “The Five
Whys Method: A Tool for Developing
Problem Definitions in Collaboration with
Children,” J. Community Appl. Soc. Psychol.,
vol. 22, no. 4, pp. 316–329, Jul. 2012, doi:
10.1002/casp.1114.
[3]
O. Serrat, “The Five Whys Technique,” in
Knowledge Solutions, Singapore: Springer
Singapore, 2017, pp. 307–310.
[4]
F. M. S. Al-Zwainy, I. A. Mohammed, and I.
F. Varouqa, “Diagnosing the Causes of
Failure in the Construction Sector Using Root
Cause Analysis Technique,” J. Eng., vol.
2018, pp. 1–12, Oct. 2018, doi:
10.1155/2018/1804053.
[5]
F. M. S. Al-Zwainy and R. A. Mezher,
“Diagnose the causes of cost deviation in
highway construction projects by using root
cause analysis techniques,” Arab. J. Sci.
Eng., vol. 43, no. 4, pp. 2001–2012, 2018,
[Online].
Available:
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s133
69-017-2850-2.