5-whys Analysis using an Excel

Spreadsheet Table
 30 Comments  Karn Bulsuk  Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Find out how to visualize your five-whys analysis by putting it into a spreadsheet,
including a downloadable five why template and tutorial.

 How to Implement Kaizen

 The Five Whys Analysis FAQ
 Make small, incremental changes for effective kaizen

Find out how to visualize your five-whys analysis by

putting it into a spreadsheet, including a downloadable
five why template and tutorial. Part 2 of a four part
series on 5-whys.
More information:  An Introduction to 5-whys,  5-whys Analysis using a Fishbone
Diagram  and  The Weaknesses of 5-Whys

Downloads:  5-whys Template Download  and  Step-by-step example on how to

perform a 5-why analysis

Visualizing your 5-whys analysis in a table is the best way to show the causal links
between your causes and the ultimate root causes. One of the easiest ways to do
this is to put it into a spreadsheet - the 5-why Excel spreadsheet template as well as
the example in the article is available for download at the bottom of this article.

Imagine that there is a company called Alencia which specializes in receiving

outsourced executive recruitment work, where they match talent to specific jobs and
receive commission for doing so.
In the past year, demand has boomed and their business has expanded rapidly, but
at a price: while demand has increased, capacity has remained the same, leading to
a large back log of job requests. Previous attempts to bring in a computerized
system have been met with staff resistance and failed. Clients and potential job
seekers are both unhappy with the slow service, and are gradually turning away to
more nimble competitors.

Mio has been put in charge of fixing the current problems, and has been given full
authority to act. To keep things simple, she looked for the root causes using the
table method.

Setting Up the Excel Sheet

In Excel, Mio arranges the table so that it has twelve columns, and set up like in the
illustration below. Each “why” column will contain your why analysis, while each
column in between will consist of arrows leading your reader to the correct Why.

The root cause analysis column will contain all the root causes you identified, while
the recurrence prevention column will contain your recommendations on how to
prevent it from happening again.

To help you save time on setup, a template in Microsoft Office format can be
downloaded at the end of this article.

The First Why

The first why Mio asks comes directly from the stated problem: “Why are processing
of jobs delayed?” From here, she can identify two main causes:

‘Why’ Question Answers

Why are processing of jobs delayed? 1.    There are no computerized solutions to
handle job applications.
2.    There was no formal set of procedures
to handle job requests, and procedures
were passed on by mouth as opposed
to being documented.

Mio maps those two causes in the “Why 1” column of the spreadsheet.

The Second Why

If there
is more than one answer to a “why” question, they will handled separately when it
comes to their turn to ask why.

‘Why’ Question Answers

Why is there no computerized solution 1.    There was staff resistance
 to handle job applications?
Why was there was no formal set of 1.    There was no system in place to do so.
procedures to handle job requests, and
why were procedures were passed on
by mouth as opposed to being
documented?

She would then add the answer in the “Why 2” column, with an arrow to link the
chain-of-reasoning together.

The Third Why

This part demonstrates how there can be multiple answers to a Why question, and
how to deal with a branching Why analysis.

‘Why’ Question Answers

Why was there staff resistance? 1.    They were not explained the full benefits
of the system.
2.    They feared being made redundant.
3.    They were uncomfortable about
changing the way they worked
Why wasn’t there a system in place to 1.    The company grew at an exponential
handle job requests? rate that there was no time to document
anything.
To map this out, Mio would add each answer to its own individual cell in “Why 3”. As
you can see, each are legitimate answers to the question, and such branching will
help us to obtain a much deeper and wider 5-why analysis.

The Fourth Why

This set of whys are becoming more involved, but not more difficult as the same
basic principles still apply. She asks “why” to the previous point, and then writes
down her answers in the “Why 4” column.

‘Why’ Question Answers

Why were staff not explained the full
benefits of the system? 1.    There was a lack of communication.

Why did they fear being made
redundant?
Why were they uncomfortable about
changing the way they worked?
Why did the company grow at an
exponential rate that there was no time 1.    There was insufficient planning
to document anything?
Why were staff not explained the full
benefits of the system?
1.    They thought the computer system was
designed to replace them.
1.    They had always been doing it this way.
2.    The positive aspects of the change were
not communicated.
1.    There was a lack of communication.
If you notice, the third why which says “they were uncomfortable about changing the
way they worked” branches out into another two whys. Even at this stage, there
could be several answers to the why question.

The Fifth Why

At the final why, you should be focusing on wrapping up your analysis and identifying
the root causes of the problem.

‘Why’ Question Answers

Why was there was a lack of
communication?
Why did they think the computer system
was designed to replace them?
Why had they always been doing it this
way?
We assumed that the benefits were
obvious.
Because we didn't tell them how it
would help make their jobs easier.
All the work was done manually prior.

Why were the positive aspects of the
change were not communicated?
Why was there was insufficient
planning?
We assumed that the benefits were
obvious.
Top management were too busy
firefighting and dealing with operational
work, rather than developing a strategy.

Root Causes
 At the end of your analysis, you will often come up with a series of common root
causes. In this analysis, Mio has identified the following root causes, and the
following solutions to prevent them from happening again:

Main Root Cause Identified Recurrence Prevention

Insufficient communication in the
following areas:
·       Benefits of bringing in
a computerised system.
·       How the computerised system will
assist them in their jobs and not make
them redundant.
No culture of change and sense of
insecurity among staff.
Management level: poor work
delegation and lack of advanced
planning leads management to engage
in operational level work, and to fire
fight instead of focusing on the strategic
level.
Develop a communication strategy to
clearly inform staff of the benefits of a
software system to them, and to
reassure them that it is not designed to
replace their jobs.
Include change management in
implementation plan. Also, assure staff
that comprehensive training will be
offered in order to allay fears of change.
Develop vision, and coordinate
resources to free up management to
engage in strategic planning. Hire more
people as necessary and implement a
computerized system.

So at the end…
With these findings, Mio is now equipped to develop a strategic plan to solve the
current problems at Alencia.