Introduction:
The 5 Whys technique is a problem-solving method that delves into the root cause of a specific issue by asking the question “Why?” repeatedly. Its aim is to identify the underlying cause-and-effect of a defect or problem, moving away from a short-term solution and towards a long-term fix. This technique can also be applied to achieve favorable outcomes for customers, which I will elaborate on in the following sections.
Origin:
Sakichi Toyoda, the Japanese industrialist, inventor, and founder of Toyota Industries, developed the 5 Whys technique in the 1930s. It became popular in the 1970s, and Toyota still uses it to solve problems today.
Toyota has a “go and see” philosophy. This means that its decision-making is based on an in-depth understanding of what’s actually happening on the shop floor rather than on what someone in a boardroom thinks might be happening.
Where can it be useful:
Although the 5-Whys method can be used in any industry, I will only focus on its application in software/IT companies. It is particularly useful in the following situations:
- Investigating the root causes of production issues
- Facilitating team goal-setting or decision-making sessions
- Simplifying technical language and creating customer outcome statements in plain English.
How to do it (playbook):
For logistics, we will require a room with a whiteboard, markers, and stickies. If a physical setting is not possible, we can use online tools such as Mural or Miro to simulate a team whiteboard. Once logistics are confirmed, the following steps should be taken:
- Invite the necessary stakeholders
- Clearly state the problem
- Ask “why” and explore the cause of the issue
- Process the response and continue asking “why” until the root cause is identified
- Stop probing when no further questions are necessary; typically, the root cause is found after 5 rounds of questioning.
Image – Concept board
Examples:
Let me give you a couple of examples explaining how the 5 Whys technique can be helpful in different problem situations.
Problem 1: The project deadline was missed.
- Why was the project deadline missed?
Because the team couldn’t complete the required tasks on time.
- Why couldn’t the team complete the required tasks on time?
Because some team members were overloaded with other responsibilities.
- Why were some team members overloaded with other responsibilities?
Because there was a lack of clear task prioritization and resource allocation.
- Why was there a lack of clear task prioritization and resource allocation?
Because the project manager did not have access to the team’s workload and skill sets.
- Why did the project manager not have access to the team’s workload and skill sets?
Because the company’s project management tools and systems were outdated and not integrated with one another.
Problem 2: Key production service was down, thus resulting in a bad customer experience
- Why was the production service down?
Because there was an intermittent issue with the database connectivity.
- Why was there an issue with the database connectivity?
Because there was a network issue.
- Why was there a network issue?
Because Network switches were getting replaced, and something went wrong.
- Why was there a maintenance activity during business hours?
Because there was no other window available as today was the last date for replacing them.
- Why was maintenance not planned in advance?
Because the engineering team forgot to add it to their maintenance calendar.
In both of these examples, the initial cause of the problem was not the actual root cause. Through the use of the 5 Whys analysis, the first team discovered that the issue was not just related to task completion, but rather a larger problem with the project management infrastructure. In the second example, the application went down because of a problem with the network infrastructure.
Using 5-Whys to write customer outcome statements:
We plan to add the Time In Status plugin to JIRA.
By applying the 5-Whys technique, we can transform this technical statement into a clear and inspiring outcome that will motivate the team.
- Why install the plugin?
Because it can tell us the time taken by a JIRA ticket in a particular state/queue
- Another Why?
Because teams will be able to measure the flow of their delivery/efficiency of the team members
- Why measuring the flow is essential?
Because it tells us the time taken for a customer requirement from inception to the implementation stage.
- Why is that measurement important?
Because we can remove the blockers, reduce time to market and make frequent releases
- Why? Frequent releases?
Because by releasing frequently, we can deliver value to our customers and seek regular feedback.
As you can see, by asking 5-Whys, we can develop the correct customer outcome statement that everyone understands.
Conclusion:
When you ask the question “why” repeatedly, you can uncover the root causes of a problem instead of just focusing on the surface-level symptoms. This approach helps reveal multiple layers of causation rather than just accepting the most obvious cause. Using the 5 Whys technique is a helpful tool for problem-solving because it encourages thorough exploration of the issue, identification of underlying causes, and implementation of effective solutions for long-term improvement.
Leave a Reply