5 Whys Analysis

“When you truly understand a problem, the answer is already halfway there.”
State the Problem

How It Works

The 5 Whys is a simple but powerful tool for cutting quickly through the outward symptoms of a problem to reveal its underlying causes, so that you can deal with it once and for all.

  1. Start with a clear problem statement
  2. Ask "Why?" for the problem and write the answer
  3. Take that answer and ask "Why?" again
  4. Continue until you reach the root cause
  5. Identify countermeasures and solutions