💡 Why This Tool Matters
Surface-level problems are usually just symptoms of deeper systemic issues. Fixing the symptom feels productive — but the problem returns in a week. The 5 Whys technique, developed at Toyota, peels back layers until you reach something you can actually fix: a broken process, a missing standard, or a gap in the system. If your final answer is 'someone made a mistake,' you haven't gone deep enough. Keep asking until you find the systemic cause.
⚡ Facilitator Pro Tip
Read each answer backwards using 'therefore' — if the logic doesn't hold in reverse, you've made a leap. Example: 'Bearing seized therefore motor overloaded therefore fuse blew therefore machine stopped.' If any step doesn't logically follow, you need to fill a gap.
1 Context
Who's in the room, what area, and when?
2 Problem Statement
Be specific: What happened? When? What was the impact? Avoid guessing at causes here — observations only.
3 The 5 Whys Chain
Ask "Why?" for each answer. Stop when you reach a systemic cause you can act on — not a person to blame.
WHY 1
WHY 2
WHY 3
WHY 4
ROOT
4 Corrective Action
Now that you know the root cause, what will you change in the system to prevent recurrence?
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