5 Why’s

What is Five Why’s

Five why’s is one of the many Root Cause Analysis Tools.

The outcome of a 5 Why’s analysis is one or several root causes that

identify the reason why a problem was originated.

Corrective
Problem Root Cause
Action

5 Whys Tool
Five Why’s Preparation
 It is not always necessary to reach 5 before the root
cause of a problem is fully explained
 It may take more than 5 why’s to get to the bottom of the
problem which could depend on the complexity.
 5 is the accepted rule of thumb, by which most root
causes are clearly identified.
For all the Five Why’s:
 Ask the full question including the problem or cause behind it.

 If the answer is XYZ, then ask: why it was XYZ?

 If we do not follow this approach answers to the why’s tend to lose

focus on the third or fourth why.
Five Why’s Preparation
 It is absolutely true that a well defined problem is a half resolved
problem.
 Hence state the problem as clearly as possible.
 Define the problem in terms of the requirements that are not
being met.
 So we have a reference to the condition that what it should be
and is not.
Five Why’s – The First Why

State clearly the reason for the failure to occur.

The 1st Why should be a concise statement that explains the reason in
clear terms.

 Document it even if it very simple and so very patently clear.

 Justification for the “reason” needs to come only later that too only if
it contributes to the entire 5 Whys process.
Five Why’s – The Second Why

 A more concise explanation to support the first statement.

 Get deeper into the technical arena, the explanation can produce
several different root causes.

 Follow each of them with their own set of remaining 3 why’s.

 Five Why’s – The Third Why
 Most important note at this time: Do not jump into conclusions or rush into
“logical explanations”

 Continue the regular thought process even if you can figure out some underlying
root causes slowly surfacing.

This 3rd why is very critical for a successful transition between the “obvious” and
the “not so obvious”.

The first two why’s have focused on the area where the problem could have
originated

 The last three why’s will take you to a deeper comprehension of the problem.

 Visualize the process (process mapping) and narrow down to the most likely
sources for the problem to occur.
Five Why’s – The Fourth Why
 Set side any preconceived explanations
 Start the fourth why with a candid approach
 You may have several different avenues to explore now, explore them all.
Even if one or several of them turn out not to be the root cause of the problem,
they may lead to continuous improvements.

This is a good time to include a Cause and Effect analysis and look at the 5 M’s.
Method
 Materials
 Manning

 Machines
 Mother Nature
Five Why’s – The Fifth Why

When you finally get to the fifth why…….

 A systemic cause would have been found

 Most of the failures in the process can be traced to this cause
 It could be lack of awareness of Preventive Maintenance
 Or could be lack of knowledge of correct parameters setup for
the equipment
 All these could finally be traced back to lack of training
Five Why’s – The Fifth Why

 While addressing a systemic cause, do it across the entire process and

detect areas that may be under the same situation even if there are no
reported issues yet.

And last but not the least……….

 If you have reached the fifth why and you are still dealing with process
related cause(s), you may still need one or two more why’s to deep dive
into the systemic cause.
Five Why’s – Conclusion
Ifthe 5 Why’s has been carried out in good detail, then we should be
able to organize the conclusion in one sentence and in an
understandable manner.

Ifthis cannot be done chances are that there is gap between one or
several of the why’s. We need to then revisit the 5 Why and identify
those gaps to fill them in.

Ifthere is coherence in the way that the one sentence is assembled, it

shows consistency on the thought process.

The one sentence conclusion would need to look something like (just
an example):
“Problem” occurred due to “Fifth Why”. This was caused by “Fourth
why” mainly because “Third Why” was allowed by “Second why”, and
this led to “First Why”.
Five Why’s – Please remember
 The outcome of a 5 Why exercise is a root cause of a the defined
problem, not the resolution of the problem itself
 This method is not a standalone Problem Solving technique but more
of a tool to aid in this process.