How to sort out any problem: the technique of "5 Whys"

Do you want to penetrate the very essence of the problem and look for the underlying causes are not on the surface? The simplicity and versatility of the art "5 whys" make it accessible to everyone.

The idea of ​​the study of causality has been put forward yet Socrates. But the method itself, called "5 Whys", was developed by the founder of Toyota Sakichi Toyoda (Sakichi Toyoda). Initially the technique was designed to meet business objectives of the company.

By asking the question "Why?" Five times, you define the nature of the problem, the solution becomes clear.

Taiichi Ohno (Taiichi Ohno), creator of the Toyota Production System

The first step is formulated original problem. Then the researcher asks the question: "Why did this happen (is happening)?" Having received an answer, he asked again: "Why did this happen?" - figuring thus CAUSE. As a result, it builds a logical chain leading to the root cause. It is assumed that the impact of the root cause is the most effective solutions for the original problem. Let us illustrate this with an example.

Initial problem: frequent family conflicts, tense relations between spouses.

Step 1. Why is this happening? Because the husband is always at work and not giving time to his family.

Step 2. Why did he spend so much time at work? Because of the many cases that require his attention.

Step 3. Why do so many businesses require his attention? Because no one can make them.

Step 4. Why no one can make them? Because there are no employees who would be competent in these matters.

Step 5. Why there are no employees? They had not been hired.

In this example, we came from dissatisfaction with family relationships to the insufficient number of mid-level managers.

It is not necessary to ask five questions. This number is chosen empirically, and is the average. Some problems can be considered for less (or more) the number of steps. For best results it is recommended to write down all the steps, so as not to miss anything important. increases efficiency panel discussion: A group capable of objectively identify the more significant reason.

Method "why 5 'has a number of undeniable advantages. First of all, simplicity. Its application is available to anyone. Second, the small investment of time compared to most other techniques. Thirdly, the minimum hardware requirements: look for reasons you can even mentally.

But there are significant limitations. The method is suitable only for simple problems when you need to find one, the most significant cause. The result is highly dependent on the researcher's ability to find her. Thus, in the above example, the third question could be the right answer, "Because he did not delegated powers employees ", and the root cause would be very different. In part, these limitations can be overcome by allowing multiple answers call. Then the result of the application of technology becomes a "tree" of causes. But in this case there is no way to identify any one as the master.

Despite these limitations, the method of "5 Whys" is successfully used in many production management concepts. For example, in kaydzene, Lean manufacturing and others.