Five Whys Analysis

By: A Staff Writer

Updated on: Jul 19, 2024

What: Root cause analysis technique. Starting with a problem, you ask “Why?” repeatedly to dig beneath the surface.

Who: Sakichi Toyoda, of Toyota Industries.

Why: Simple yet powerful. Helps entrepreneurs stop applying band-aid fixes and solve problems at their true source.

When: Any time something goes wrong that shouldn’t! Use it to get beyond the obvious to the underlying cause.

How:

1. 1. State the problem specifically.
   2. Ask “Why?” and provide an answer.
   3. Repeat, asking “Why?” of each new answer, typically around 5 times.