team
Name: Five Whys
Aim: To get to the ‘root causes’ of an issue before developing solutions and get
buy-in from the team
Outcomes:
• To help the team understand all the causal factors that have an bearing on an issue
• To help fix the problem rather than the symptoms
• To use root cause analysis to identify issues
Duration: 20–30 minutes
Resources:
•
Enough flipchart to create a ‘wall’ about 3m long (and a wall long enough!)
•
Marker pens
•
Some challenges the group is currently facing
What to do:
1. Start by making a concise statement of the challenge you are facing e.g. budget
overspend
2. Write this on the far left of paper wall and pose the question – “why is that?”
3. Capture the answers to the question in short phrases rather than single words
4. Gradually work across from left to right as you pose the same question “why?”
5. Try to work a branch your analysis to 5 levels or until you reach the ‘root’ cause
whichever comes first before returning to a higher level and analysing another branch
6. The completed analysis identifies all the ‘root’ causes that must be taken into account
in your solution. See below for example
What next?
• You may not be able to solve all the root issues you identify, but don’t worry, having the
insights from your analysis will ensure that your solution will be better informed.
• Finding solutions may be tackled at a separate session unless you want to extend this
session to create an action plan.
team
Example of root cause analysis using “whys”