About the 5WHY section
The 5 Whys technique is a problem-solving method used in lean manufacturing and other disciplines. You find the root cause of a problem by repeatedly asking "Why?". The aim is to drill down through the layers of symptoms to uncover the underlying issue.
Here is an example of applying the 5 Whys to find a root cause.
Problem: A batch of products has been produced with defects.
Why | Question | Answer |
First Why | Why are the products defective? | Because the material used was of poor quality. |
Second Why | Why was the material of poor quality? | Because the supplier sent a batch of substandard material. |
Third Why | Why did the supplier send substandard material? | Because the purchasing team did not check the quality of the material before accepting it. |
Fourth Why | Why did the purchasing team not check the quality? | Because there is no standard procedure for quality checks of incoming materials. |
Fifth Why | Why is there no standard procedure for quality checks? | Because the company has not established a quality assurance process for purchased materials. |
The 5WHY section in a Kaizen lets you target a problem and record its whys, together with an Action/Counter Measure.
Good to know: Each 5 Why item targets one problem. If you have more than one problem to analyze, add multiple 5 Why items.
How to use the 5WHY section
Watch the video walkthrough (runtime 1:17)
Step 1
Add the 5 Why section from the available list to the required phase. To learn how, see How to add or remove sections from phases in Kaizen module.
Good to know: A newly added section appears below the last section in the phase.
Step 2
Expand the section by clicking anywhere in the section field, or on the arrow on the right side. You can also use the arrow to collapse the section.
Step 3
When the section is added for the first time, it has no 5 Why items. Click Add New to add a 5 Why item.
The Add New button is replaced by the fields for entering the 5 Why information.
Step 4
Enter the information in three parts:
Part | Field | Type of field |
1. Identify the problem | Root Cause Category Potential Cause/Phenomenon | Drop-down menu Text field |
2. Ask the why questions (at least one why is required) | Why fields | Text field |
3. Suggest an action or countermeasure | Action/Counter Measure | Text field |
Good to know: Add as many Why fields as you need to reach the root cause. There is no limit; the number 5 is a guideline, not a restriction.
Click Save when you finish.
To add more 5 Why items, repeat Steps 3 and 4.
Collapse the section.
Related features
RCA Agent: From the Kaizen project toolbar, RCA Agent → Run RCA Analysis can generate a 5 Whys analysis (along with 4M1D and a fishbone) from the Kaizen's fields, linked records and uploaded files.
Related sections: 5W1H, 4M1D and Root Cause Analysis.