flpbalada Five Whys
Find root cause by asking why repeatedly. Focus on systems, not blame.
Goal
- Define specific problem.
- Trace cause chain.
- Validate with evidence.
- Identify systemic root cause.
- Recommend fixes that prevent recurrence.
Rules
- Use facts over assumptions.
- Ask one question at a time.
- Stop when cause is actionable and verified.
- Go past five whys if needed.
- Avoid personal blame.
- Complex problems may have multiple chains.
Better question forms
- What was going on when this happened?
- What caused this situation?
- What led to this outcome?
- What were we trying to accomplish?
- What process allowed this?
Flow
- State problem with metric, date, and scope.
- Ask why it happened.
- Answer with evidence.
- Ask why the answer happened.
- Continue until root cause is systemic.
- Verify fixing root cause would prevent recurrence.
- Propose fixes and success metrics.
Resources
Output
## Five Whys Analysis
Problem: [specific problem]
## Chain
1. Why? [answer + evidence]
2. Why? [answer + evidence]
3. Why? [answer + evidence]
4. Why? [answer + evidence]
5. Why? [answer + evidence]
## Root Cause
- [systemic cause]
## Fixes
- [highest impact fix]
- [supporting fix]
## Success Metrics
- [metric proving recurrence is reduced]