Strategy
Five Whys
The Five Whys is a classic technique to find the root cause of a problem. By repeatedly asking "why," you'll drill down from symptoms to the core issue. It's simple but surprisingly effective.
Duration
30 mins
Group Size
3-8
Category
Strategy
Difficulty
Easy
Participants will identify root causes, understand cause-and-effect, prevent recurrence by addressing core issues, and build shared understanding of problem origins.
Teams will define root causes, gain deeper problem understanding, and address underlying issues.
Five is just a guideline. Sometimes you need fewer or more "whys." Watch out for circular reasoning or stopping at symptoms, not causes. I've found it useful to create actions for issues at every level, not just the root cause. Sometimes the team gets stuck - don't be afraid to rephrase the question or take a different angle.
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